Nothing Constant in Life...

About a year ago I took a lateral move at work in hopes of upward mobility later. I lost a few perks with the move (a few that I can not get back) but my main focus was to be make myself more marketable if I need to relocate or find another position with another company. The position was a total career change and it really took some time to adjust. It has been about a year and there is now some restructuring in my department which means yours truly is being moved into another position.

Just as I was starting to get my footing in my current position I am being moved. I was hesitant about my last move but I knew that I needed this position to round out my career background. This new move will also put a major point on my board but I know it will be difficult. During the last year I was exhausted every day and there was very little in my life outside of work. I just did not have the energy after a long day at work. I loved the weekends because it meant I could just relax. I was just getting to a place where I was starting to have energy again but....

there is nothing constant in life except change.

Until Next Time,

Peace & Blessings...

Things I learned in Vegas (The Good, Bad and WAY too Ugly)

Another bucket list item crossed off. I finally made it to Las Vegas and I now know why they call it Sin City. I am not the demographic they had in mind when they built the place. We were there for four days and by day three KayC was ready to go home.

Lesson #1 - Do not plan on doing much of anything when you travel all day after starting at 6 in the morning. When we finally fought the herds of people to buy shuttle tickets to the hotel and another massive herd of folks to check into our room, I was ready to curl up and sleep. No drinks for me on night one, I was too damn tired!

Lesson #2 - You will attract all of the drunk people of a certain skin tone who have an affinity for women of color but will never admit it sober. Men ran up behind us to take photos and quickly run off. One grabbed my friend's butt and then tried to pretend he didn't do it. Celebrity life is NOT for me.

Lesson #3 - Drunk women of a certain color will take their heels off and walk barefoot down a nasty street in Vegas for the sake of being "cute" 0_o

Lesson #4 - Yes, whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but you might have taken it too far when you need two friends to almost carry you to your room. Oh, and drinks are served 24/7 along with no apparent open container law. Drink, drink, gamble, drink is the motto.

Lesson #5 - Dry heat is still heat. I am now an even lovelier shade of brown.

Lesson #6 - You must walk through a casino to get to....well, everything! Your room, the corner cafe, the restrooms, and there is a slot machine in every corner.

Lesson #7 - Take your allergy and/or asthma meds with you! As a matter of fact, refill your prescription before you go because you will need it. The smoke just lingers and attacks you at will. My furry one was sniffing my carry on bag after I returned home like "where in the hell have you been?!?"

Lesson #8 - The USA is the most out of shape, let it all hang out, show it to the world and let it jiggle country in the world! People really need to buy their size and cover it up.

Lesson #9 - If I return to Sin City I will venture off the strip and see hot the locals live. I can't imagine being around that 24/7 without having a severe care of adult ADHD.

It was all worth it with the new dances that were had. All in all it was a good trip and a new experience. The performance went well and all the instructors were full of compliments after we were done. What made this trip EPIC? We had a private lesson with a couple I have admired for years. I always thought she was badazz but seeing her in person...made me feel like a novice. I need to improve my salsa, like yesterday. And to top it off....they were both very humble.

But see for yourself. This clip is a few years old but her body movement is unmatched! And yes, she moves like that all. the. freakin'. time!

Until Next Time,

Peace & Blessings from  

The First Time...

I love dance. I love most genres of dance but my attention right now is Cuban-style salsa.

I started to dance salsa about seven years ago when I started to find myself again and was hooked after my first class. I attended a free weekly class taught by a Cuban and his girlfriend and quickly became a member of the unofficial "Cuban Coalition." He has danced all his life and she was raised in ballroom but found salsa as an adult.

As with love I have a love/hate relationship with salsa at times. There were times due to petty drama (yes, even the dance floor has petty drama) that I stopped dancing but I always seem to find my way back to the dance floor. I have performed with Grammy nominated artists and taught classes with my performance group but this week I taught my very first class solo.

My adopted Cuban family spends 2-3 weeks every year visiting family in Cuba and while they are gone, they have someone cover their classes. This week, that someone was yours truly. I had to decide what I would teach during class (many different levels of dancers) and how I would get my "lesson" across to people with so many levels of dance skill. I prepared my music and worked through my nerves to get through class.

I was lucky to have enough people attend that could lead to actually teach what I wanted and we built an entire class that ended with them dancing socially through an entire song (something entirely new to them). We went over technique, finding (and staying) on beat and leading/following technique. Then applied all of those to a series of moves that they can use to dance. It was a great feeling to have people go from looking at me crazy to saying "let's add on more to that!" I had a good time with them and I can only hope they enjoyed it as well.

I did lose one because she "didn't have a partner." Interesting because there were three leads short so neither did the other two ladies but they were patient and we were worked in the rotation. What's the phrase about pleasing all the people all the time? Guess she's part of that 1% but I think she wanted individual attention. Not happening in a free group class. You want one on one, you must pay for THAT experience! I did get some positive feedback after class with people thanking me and saying how much they learned and how much more confidence they have in their dancing.

All in all I feel very good about my first time.

Now I need to up my equipment game. Anyone have a set of these laying around they want to donate to the cause?


Until Next Time,
Peace & Blessings...

The Meetup...Yeah, THAT one

I like my hair. I have not put any chemicals in my hair for about 17 years and counting. Way before all the blogs (unheard of in the 90's) and the web sites that help women transition and be their most glorious natural self.

My help was the first black hair care (dot) com before it disappeared and reappeared as something new. There was also naturally curly (dot) com which had a small section for us with tighter, coily and kinky hair. I muddled my way through and lived on those boards until figuring out how to do my hair.

Now I often forget about my hair. I am shocked at times when I get a compliment or a stranger asks me about products or techniques. I could care less about shrinkage or how long it looks on a particular day. I have been featured on hair sites and I enjoy reading about hairstyles but am usually the last to spend money on a new product.

Source

After typing all of that maybe that is the reason I was majorly disappointed in a recent curl girl meetup with Mizani. I plan events, which makes it difficult sometimes to just relax and enjoy them but this one....my people, my people.

They asked that you RSVP and it made it mandatory that you add a friend to the list. I was fine with that because I was taking a dear friend and fellow dancer because she still has hair questions. 

We arrived 10 minutes before the event began and stood in line, outside, in the freezing cold, wondering WHY the doors were not open when it started at 7? About 10 minutes after that we became really annoyed when they continued to take photos of the ladies in line, obviously freezing with feet hurting as they begin to rethink their wardrobe choices for the night.

We made a few friends while standing in line as we discussed being stuck in line and what products we use (strangely enough none of us used the products by the sponsor of the event) and laughed as the line finally begin to move. Sometimes you just gotta laugh because after they checked our ID we were just ushered into the relatively small space without anyone checking the mandatory RSVP list. 

About 5 of the 8 or so booths were reserved for the "guest speaker" which left little to no seats for the crowd and we were wondering just how many people one person could bring with them to take up FIVE booths?!? Well, we went to check out the upstairs area and met a few more curlies who were talking about their disappointment of the venue. Apparently the place has great pizza, we had to take her word for it because there was no food being served. No appetizers and no menus to order your own... at a restaurant. 

They did do a short intro of the who's who of people including the "guest speaker" who said three sentences and headed to the photo area by the door. We were instructed to pick up a goodie bag and "talk and meet your fellow curlies to talk about hair and products" during the event. 

Maybe I expected too much. Maybe I expected an event to not hold people outside in the freezing cold. Maybe I expected for the "guest speaker" to be at the event when it starts and not arrive 45 into an event that only lasts for 2 hours. Maybe I expect hair demos to be demonstrated throughout an event that advertises hair demos. Maybe I expect to not see the people scrolling through songs on Pandora while they are showing a video on the projection screens. 

Maybe I EXPECT too much but now I see why certain businesses are in the position they are in.

I do enjoy reading the blog of the "guest speaker" and have enjoyed it since it's inception but I think I will skip the next time she "shuts ish down" in my city.

We waded through the crowd waiting to take photos with her at the front door and left to go to a restaurant that was serving food...and had a beer!

Until Next Time,

Peace & Blessings...

My Sweet, Sweet Dance Hangover

I mentioned my first performance with my Salsa group last year and how we were debuting a new routine at the 3-day Cuban Party in December. There was some gooooddddd dancing at that party!!!!!

I have NEVER experienced a party like that but I guarantee I will do my best to make my next event just as good. I met some new DJs that had some people literally dancing out their shoes, hats and bra straps. One of my Salseros changed his shirt and could almost wring the sweat out of it. Good times...good times!

I took some great classes, saw some old friends and made some new ones. There is a wonderful Latin DJ from New Mexico that I have on tap for an event later next year and I learned some great new moves, watch out hardwoods! But the best part of this past weekend was the performance. Last year I watched as these ladies performed and I thought how nice it would be to learn to dance like them. Little did I know I would receive an invite to join their group a few weeks later and be a part of their performance this year!

I am so proud to be a part of this wonderful group. These ladies are BAD and this performance was the absolute best performance I have ever had. It wasn't perfect but the energy and vibe during that performance was so good people were coming up to us for the rest of the weekend telling us how much they enjoyed watching us dance, how much energy we have on stage, what great chemistry we have in our group and how much they can tell we have fun being together. It is all true and something tells me it will only get better from here. We closed out the performances on the main night and the best compliment was the owner of the party coming up to us saying "THAT is how you close out the performances!" Video? Of course there is video ;-)


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The last night of the party we danced with the Salsa singer from earlier this year. He is a wonderful man with a warm spirit and I must say he rocked that crowd. We were once again his backup dancers. The dancing to his singing was beyond belief. We lost him in the crowd and as I looked up he was singing with the mic in his left hand and dancing with a lady in his right! I hope that opportunity leads to bigger and better things for him. He so deserves it.




It was back to work the following Monday and I was nursing a dance hangover but man, was I happy! I am truly blessed and highly favored. I am surrounded by a network of people who care for me and want what's best for me. Finally, I am rejoicing in a place where I am comfortable in who I am and I am enjoying life. I have met so many wonderful diverse people and I have hobbies that keep a smile on my face, that are great for my health and well-being and I am happy. Let me repeat that, I AM HAPPY!!!!

I am truly overwhelmed in my life and I am so happy to stand in this spot, at this moment and let the tears of joy roll down as I recall this year. The great memories, laughs, love, friendship, family, travel. I am excited to see what comes next.

I hope you enjoyed your holidays...I really enjoyed mine.


Peace & Blessings...

Introducing...The NEW Venture!!!

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” - Herman Cain

I have been told numerous times that I need to find something I enjoy doing. I need to find the thing that makes me happy, that I would do free and then find a way to get paid doing it. I have been 'working' full time since I was fifteen years old and I have finally found it.

I am beyond myself to introduce my newest entrepreneurial venture. Follow us on Facebook or Blogger or Twitter. Stalk us PLEASE!!! This company was destined to be in existence. There were people who encouraged me without knowing it, people who told me I was on the right track without knowing I was working on a company that would do exactly what they were complaining about.

I have managed to combine all of my hobbies and the things I love to do. By divine intervention I have combined my love of event planning, great music and wonderful dancing to birth a company that truly makes me happy.

I often wondered why I was meeting so many people who had diverse occupations, careers and love of the arts.

Now I know.

I know each of these people were placed in my path for specific reason and each of them are more than happy to help me succeed. Every person I reached out to offered to help me without hesitation and for that I am truly thankful.

I am thankful that I waited out the misery to find the 'why' I took the long path to my destination. Hopefully, you will also join me in this wonderful journey. I have two events in the works and working on a proposal for a third. Follow me in one of the social networking sites to stay updated and hopefully attend a few events.

Trust me when I say you do NOT want to miss any of them and I would say that even if this was NOT my company ;-) There are big things in the works and I plan to enjoy each and every one of them.

God is awesome! (and so is my Dream Team :)

Until Next Time,

Peace & Blessings...

Names and Numbers (Call Me Five)

I have the urge to expand my social circles. Even with my regular job, Salsa classes, two performance groups and hanging out at various venues around town I sometimes feel like this metropolitan area is way too small.

I have my regular spots where I hang out (sadly, a few of those closed recently), my dance spots where I know a good many Salseros/Salseras and my chill spots. Lately all of my worlds are starting to mix which fuels my desire to expand.

I attended a monthly Latin Night at a new lounge-type restaurant (new to me, anyway). I kept hearing about the nice atmosphere and the good food and drinks so I ventured out to check out the scene. In my haste to find a new chill spot I forgot how late my Latino crowd arrives at places.

If I was prepared for a club type atmosphere, this would have been great but I went to dance. What I got was three Salsa songs every rotation with a LOT of Merengue and Reggaeton. That night had more Merengue than I have heard in my three years as a Salsera! Reggaeton is cool with me when it is on the reggae side not when it is on the latin rap spectrum and the DJ played a LOT of latin rap.

I think I heard 8 Salsa songs all night which was dissappointing but my friend and I had a great conversation with the promoter. He had an interesting story and also danced Salsa. Our dance reminded me how badly I need to replace my dance shoes and take a few LA Style classes. I kept losing my balance and stepping off the line. (I know that makes absolutely no sense to my non-Salsa blog fam) But it was really bad because I was taller than him in my 3 inch dance heels and balance is of the essence when you're doing triple turns!

We managed to laugh at our dance experience and the night (although a little eccentric) was different and exactly what I needed.

The title is homage to the promoter, who goes by a number instead of his 'slave, government name' which had me cracking up. We got into a conversation on numerology and I decided to look up my name and dive a little deeper. My curiosity always seems to get the best of me.

I think it is pretty accurate though...KayC will now go by the name 'Five' at nightlife venues ;) Maybe I'll get creative and spell it like this, 5ive!


What your first name means: Female Knowledge. Can also be a blend of meaning royal obligation; clear water and protector of man, or manly or masculine. Female Prophetess.


Your number is: 5

The characteristics of #5 are: Expansiveness, visionary, adventure, the constructive use of freedom.

The expression or destiny for #5:
The number 5 Expression endows with the wonderful characteristic of multi-talents and versatility. You can do so many things well. The tone of the number 5 is constructive freedom, and in your drive to attain this freedom, you will likely be the master of adaptability and change. You are good at presenting ideas and knowing how to approach people to get what you want. Naturally, this gives you an edge in any sort of selling game and spells easy success when it comes to working with people in most jobs. Your popularity may lead you toward some form of entertainment or amusement. Whatever you do, you are clever, analytical, and a very quick thinker.

If there is too much of the 5 energy in your makeup, you may express some the negative attitudes of the number. Your restless and impatient attitude may keep you from staying with any project for too long. Sometimes you can be rather erratic and scatter yourself and your energies. You have a hard time keeping regular office hours and maintaining any sort of a routine. You tend to react strongly if you sense that your freedom of speech or action is being impaired or restricted in any way. As clever as you are, you may have a tendency to make the same mistakes over and over again because much of your response is glib reaction rather that thoughtful application. You are in a continuous state of flux brought by constantly changing interests.

Your Soul Urge number is: 9

A Soul Urge number of 9 means:
With a 9 Soul Urge, you want to give to others, usually in a humanitarian or philanthropic manner. You are highly motivated to give friendship, affection and love. And you are generous in giving of your knowledge and experience. You have very sharing urges, and you are likely to have a great deal to share. Your concern for others makes you a very sympathetic and generous person with a sensitive and compassionate nature.

You are able to view life in very broad and intuitive terms. You often express high ideals and an inspirational approach to life. If you are able to fully realize the potential of your motivation, you will be a very self-sacrificing person who is able to give freely without being concerned about any return or reward.

As with all human beings, you are prone to sometimes express the negative attitudes inherent to your Soul Urges. You may become too sensitive and tend to express emotions strongly at times. There can be significant conflict between higher aims and personal ambitions. You may resent the idea of giving all of the time and, in fact, if there is too much 9 energy in your nature you may reject the idea. You may often be disappointed in the lack of perfection in yourself and others.

Your Inner Dream number is: 5

An Inner Dream number of 5 means:
You dream of being totally free and unrestrained by responsibility. You see yourself conversing and mingling with the natives in many nations, living for adventure and life experiences. You imagine what you might accomplished.

Copyright © 2006 Paul R. Sadowski (http://www.paulsadowski.com)



Until Next Time,
Peace & Blessings...

I Moved...Did you? Baila!

National Day of Dance has come and gone. Did you move? I DID!

Part of my movement was cut short when I had to meet a fellow performer to get my top to wear to the National Day of Dance Festival. But I more than made up for it later :)

I made my debut with my Salsa performance dance team. We participated at a festival in one of the more popular areas of town. It was sponsored by a local television station and they had many performances and dance schools present.

It was blazin' hot and by the time our time slot came around I was soaked! Since we did not have enough ladies to perform our routine, we had our Salsa dance school Director come out with us and conduct a Salsa lesson. The crowd seemed to love the first song but by song two...let's just say the 100 degrees in the shade was too much for them.

I don't know if you watch the show that started the MOVE movement but the guys who performed the robot pop lock routine went on stage after we did. Let's just say they were even more phenomenal in person than on television. As I stated before, the temperature was hovering around 100 in the shade and they had on complete gear and performed for the entire 15 minutes. My group wore tanks and shorts and my tank was soaked by the middle of our first song! I give them major props for that one! The crowd really enjoyed them.

After sweating off about 5 pounds of water weight I made it home in time to walk the furry one, relax a little and drive to my next engagement. It was the birthday party of one of my Salseros. Let me preface this by saying, their parties are good old fashioned house parties and they are invite only. I am not sure how I got on this coveted list but after attending my first party, these are a must!

They are invite only because they feed you, supply the adults 'spirits' and beverages and then move the tables out and party! When I say they feed you, they fire up the grill and put on steak, tortillas and shrimp kabobs. You wrap it up with this freshly made salsa, slap on some beans and eat until your heart is content! That is the BEST cook out I have been to and not only is the food flowing, but we could not help with anything! The Southern girl in me kept asking him to sit down and let us help, his response was "No, I like doing this. Did you have enough to eat? EAT! EAT!"

After the tables are moved out of the house, the lights are turned off, the disco ball is cranked up (yes, I said disco ball) and the DJ hits the tunes. My people of color may have invented the house party, but my Latino family perfected it! After the traditional Birthday rueda, there was a really large Tres Leches cake. Tres leches cake is the most delightfully rich and moist cake I have ever tried. After all of the eating at the beginning of the night, everyone has cake, more to drink and dances until....well, the last person drops! I have always called it quits early and never witnessed 'the end' myself. Their parties are better than any club I have stepped foot into.

In case you need proof, here is a short clip when the 'dance floor' was relatively empty. The dj was playing a merengue song (Salseros rest on merengue songs :) and the dance floor is considered empty at this point...





Yes, that is a Merengue version of In Da' Club and they were jammin to it! You know it's a good party when they give up on the air conditioning and just open the back door and hook up the fans. We danced, laughed, drank and sweat up a storm until the early hours of the day. I had wonderful Mojitos and on my way home I could not stop the smile that had found its place on my face as I celebrated with wonderful people on my National Day of Dance.

So, enough about my day. What did you do?



Until Next Time,
Peace & Blessings...

Never Knew Love Like This

I can not remember a time in my life when I have felt so...loved. In approximately three weeks I will celebrate a birthday. Each year is special to me, I treat it like my own personal holiday because my Grandmother instilled it in me to do so. She always told me "this is your day, celebrate it and own it."

This year I am celebrating in very large ways, ironically each one had very little planning on my part. I will start off celebrating on stage with an ensemble of world-class percussionists. My performance group will be putting on the "best of" show...how appropriate for my birthday. (BTW, if you want to purchase an ad for the program, let me know) So even though I will spend the majority of the day in the theater (theater call is at 10 a.m.) I can not think of a better way to celebrate a wonderful year.

If that is not enough, a friend has agreed to turn his wine bar into a Salsa club for the night. Complete with a live band that I absolutely adore. All of this came to be because people were willing to rearrange their schedules to help me celebrate. I am overflowing with joy and excitement!!!

I even have a signature drink for the night on the menu named after me and Purple.Rain!

As I reflect on this past year and the ups and downs of it all, I can not express enough how much those laughs, tears, love and memories have meant to me. As my excitement grows I am reminded that although I never knew love like this, the best is still yet to come!

One Helluva Day

I often wondered about films and other types of media that portrayed one day as a life changing event. Surely, one day can make that much of a difference in a person's life, and I believed that until now.

One day changed almost everything in my life, and it changed for the better. My soon-to-be-ex is now officially my ex and I do not have any real feelings about the subject. I watched the person I planned to spend the rest of my life with tell a judge about our 8 year marriage and split with a feelng of detachment. I could not stop thinking the person on that witness stand is someone I really don't know. He looked the same, and sounded the same but he was a totally different person.

I even found myself falling back into the person I was around him and I didn't like it. It took me a couple of hours to shake off the stifling feeling and return to person I now know and love. Funny how people have a hard time breaking old habits.

On the same day I placed my very first home under contract. It is something I did totally on my own, and it is a big deal for me. I can't describe the feeling as I know I would not come close to doing it justice.

As I look back on one of the most important days of my life, I once again have the feeling that life is playing out as it should.

It was one helluva day.

Learning the Lesson

I need more positive thoughts and positive people in my life. In college, after a horrific year with the death of a few close friends and the cancer diagnosis of my Grandmother, I took a long look at my life. Then I started to fix it.

I removed people from my life who were draining me, the people who make you physically tired after a phone conversation. We all know them, the people who can walk into a room and suck the life right out of it. Yes, we know them well but we continue to keep them around anyway.

Fast forward more than a decade and I find myself staring into the mirror once again. This time it is different. I stare into the mirror as a woman who knows who she is and what she can and can not tolerate. A woman who knows what she enjoys and what she is not willing to compromise.

My happiness and self-assurance has come with a price. Although I am still young, it has taken me far too long to get here, but I will wallow in a great feeling so many people do not know.

I am healed from the wounds of the past decade and I am excited about my next steps in life. The possibilities and choices that I have are endless. After a great weekend of hanging with some really cool people from my Blue and White fam, I can say with confidence I am ready for the next step and starting to have a great time.

Thanks to a couple of Frat who are cool peeps in my book. Let's start with Frat who gave me the great stepping lesson Chicago-style, Frat who danced with everyone and got silly with us without worrying about the blackmail pictures that I am sure will show up on the Web, Frat and Sorors who did the New Edition dances with us on If It Isn't Love (love you for that :) and for the great laughs as I enjoyed the time with old friends and met new people.

I can now start my Love List with a bang but this post is about burying old habits and leaving the hurt and pain behind while learning the lesson. Finally, I am in love with me and it sure feels good.

Yes, I will continue to concentrate on learning the lesson.

Vacationing in Your Own City...(Week in Review)

I had to take vacation time last week before my employer took some of it back. With gas prices over $4 a gallon and plane tickets almost doubling, I decided to take a vacation in my own city and do some things I always wanted to do but never seemed to find the time.

During the early part of the week I had brunch with a friend from high school at a quaint coffeehouse cafe. I think my brunch totaled about 10,000 calories, but it was well worth it. I Indulged with a chocolate-whipped cream-concoction masking itself as coffee along with a to-die-for croissant sandwich followed by an extremely rich piece of Oreo cheesecake. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it? It was good laughing and catching up with my friend. We sat in the covered patio while it rained, then the sun came out and it rained again before we called it a day.

Gotta take time to do that again.


I finally made it to the aquarium and it slipped my mind that it's summer and everyone is fitting in their last vacation before school starts. Many times I was almost run over by kids saying "excuse me" in various languages. The only two I understood were in French and Russian(I think). At least most of the patrons were friendly (especially when I almost walked through a family photo) and I took some great pictures. The two above are a few of the best.

The baseball game was my next stop in the week as I love, love, LOVE baseball!!! There are a variety of reasons to go to the stadium but the most important is the great hot dogs! They cost an arm and a leg, but I swear they are the best dogs I have ever had and they are huge. Top that off with cotton candy (the kid in me :) and a great game that came down to the last out in ninth inning. My friend (pictured with me, it was extremely hot until the sun went down) is not really into baseball, so I gave her a crash course. We really enjoyed the variety of theme-music for each player as they came up to bat, and we REALLY enjoyed the pitcher's mini-video as he made his appearance. (We both have degrees in Film & Television so it's in our blood) We were still singing "one, two, three, you out" when he was pitching, that song was definitely catchy.

To top that off, along with the drunk college kids that decided to battle it out by shouting their college at each other after the beers kicked in (we had great seats, BTW), it was Fireworks Friday. We got a free fireworks show after the game. Gotta love this city!

The Black Arts Festival is in town so my week ended with a tribute to Judith Jamison dance performance. There were three groups performing (picture to the left is of the second group, I forgot my camera so I missed a great photo op at the end) and the first two were okay, but everyone seems just okay when you are followed by anything with Ailey in the title. The third piece was a duet danced to A Case of You. Let's just say I would be grateful to drink a case full of that male dancer. Even Ms. Jamison gave props to that great specimen of a male (her words, but I agree :) at the interview with the three Artistic Directors after the show.

The female lead was wonderful as she executed lifts that had the audience gasping. Yep, they had me ready for my own performance group to start back up. As usual, women were flocking the male dancers outside. When will we learn to appreciate without having to have it? My people, my people...

It was a great week. I highly recommend anyone to take a vacation in your own city. I did all of that and still found time to be lazy on at least three days. The next time I will bring my camera with me everywhere, since I missed a LOT of great photos.

Oh well....back to work.

Books, Heat and Drums

I decided to lighten the mood of this blog and post something upbeat and happy. It was bright and hot outside this weekend and I decided to venture out before dance practice to give one of my line sisters some support.

The book signing was held downtown and I forgot how much it costs to park, but it was good to get out and walk around. I had not been a pedestrian in the downtown area since college some 10+ years ago and the landscape has changed drastically. I loved seeing the families and couples of all colors walking around to various locals enjoying the hot summer weather.

And to top it off, I got a chance to support my line sister and buy a copy of her book (which was edited by another LS of ours, gotta love networking :). So, if you get a chance to stop by your nearest bookstore or library make sure to pick up a copy. She’s a good writer.

After dance practice I attended a West African Drum Show. One of the drummers is a part of my performance group so a few dancers went to the show. They had a guest master drummer that gave me a few Azucar Negra moments. It was a fun outing for Saturday night, nothing like seeing people get up and move to live drum beats.

Hmmm…we should go to another performance when we are not tired from dance practice. I bet we could wear that dance floor out! (Not that we didn’t give it a good shot this time :-)

Peace and Blessings,

Real Love

I have fallen in love.

I finally know straight-forward, no holes barred, no pretense, unconditional love. This person finds comfort with me, looks me in my eyes and shows genuine joy. Their smile makes me smile and they share warmth and contentment with me in a world of pain and misery. Finds happiness and contentment in my arms that can last hours.

Let me tell you there is nothing like real love.

I didn't realize how much I was starved for love until I received it again. To find it after not having for so long is like overdosing on chocolate after being on a year-long diet. This person can smile at me and make me forget all of the pain, sorrow and weariness that has seeped deep into my soul. I am just sorry it took me so long to meet you.

I know by now you must be curious of the identity of my love. The identity of my inspiration that has me thinking there is some good left in this world. That has my thinking things do turn out "right in the end". Here is the object of my affection:



I call her Ellie and she is my new niece. (Who did you think it was?) She is a couple of months now and I recently had my first visit with her. We bonded over a few days (her parents called it spoiling) and I can not wait to see her again before she grows and changes. She is my new inspiration to be the best person I can be...

A role model for her.

"Big" ...Big Boi and the Ballet

In my effort to broaden my cultural experiences I attended the collaboration of the Ballet and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. With dance lessons coming more frequently for an upcoming show in July, I thought the meeting of two opposites (rap/hip-hop and ballet) would be a great experience.

I was wrong.

First, let me say that I have always wanted to attend the ballet, but have found it difficult to attend for a variety of reasons. I have also never attended a Outkast or Big Boi concert.

Our seats were fantastic for a show that may have gained a few more followers for Big Boi and/or the ballet, but probably succeeded in losing more. I was expecting a compilation of greats. Great music accompanied by great dance delivered by even greater dancers. What I got was a great concert with flashy backdrops and dancers who looked more like deer caught in headlights than dancers. Three separate entities (concert, dancers, backdrops) on stage that never quite meshed together.

I attended the closing show thinking they would "go all out" as most performers do at their last show. The choreography seemed to just miss something and never really interpret or showcase the songs. In fact, the dancers were dancing a slow ballet to Bombs Over Baghdad.

There is nothing slow or delicate about that song.

Let me not forget the singer (can't remember her name) who decided that coming out in a tutu and dancing with the very talented prima ballerina was a good idea. When she broke into the robot I thought she was joking. I remember being really confused when Big Boi shouted "Throw you hands up" to the audience. The audience was kind of taken by surprise on that one and I heard someone ask "Do we throw our hands up at the ballet?" Could not stop the laughter at that one.

At the end of the night it was like everything else in the world. Some people raved about it and huddled in groups talking about how wonderful the meeting of the two opposites were.

Others of us wondered how this great idea of merging two opposites just seemed to not quite meet in the middle.

Meeting Pearl Cleage

Pearl Cleage is one of my favorite authors. I discovered her first book What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day in 1998 after asking an employee in Books-A-Million for a title that was not in stock. I do not remember the employee's name, but she suggested Ms. Cleage.

I devoured that book in a couple of hours and went searching for more of her titles. I have since been a devout fan of hers and seemed to always miss her book signings and appearances.

Until last week.

With a leisure stroll through the local newspaper, I stumbled upon Ms. Cleage's next book signing and eagerly drove into downtown only to find her appearance rescheduled. Bummer.


Disappointed, I put the new date on my calendar and almost stayed home. The book addict in me took over and I am elated that I ventured back into the mangled asphalt of downtown. Ms. Cleage is an inviting, honest and sincere warm-spirit that can be described as nothing short of simply a joy to be around.

She read from her new novel Seen it All and Done the Rest. With a small crowd, it was delightfully easy to have a great question and answer section and even have my first purchased Cleage novel signed.


Thank you Ms. Cleage for the open and honest discussion. I enjoyed myself tremendously, and the writer in me is soaring with inspiration and new ideas ;-) Can't wait until the next book signing. (I have a few friends who are peeping my book, but this one is not being loaned out!)

Me'Shell...the experience continues

"You want me to go see who?" I asked.

"Me'Shell. Me'Shell Ndegéocello." He looked at me like I had lost my mind for asking him to pronounce her name again.

"You should come with me, just look at her name on this ticket," He said as he quickly pulled two tickets from his wallet.

"Anyone whose name can use up an entire ticket like this deserves a couple of hours of your time."


That was 12 years ago.


It was my introduction to the neo-soul, funk, jazz infusion, bass guitar playing, openly bi-sexual woman who rocked the 14th Street Playhouse and my idea of live music.

I was not ready then for the Me'Shell experience and being one of the few heterosexual couples in the joint. But, she converted me to a fan for life and I always have her music in my CD player or on my jump drive at work.

She doesn't seem to tour often, similar to Prince with his hit and run style tour dates, so after 12 years I had the chance to see Me'Shell again live at Apache. None of my friends wanted to go, not wanting to miss her again I flew solo. After all, it might be another three years before she returns.

I got there early and claimed my spot on the floor mere feet from the stage and enjoyed every minute of the 1 1/2 hour set. Being on time had it's advantages since there were only two people separating me from the musical genius and I could hear her whisper to the musicians when she pulled away from the mic.

A little disappointing that she only did new songs, but they got into a groove that included seeing her play the hell out a bass guitar. I really missed some of the older stuff, but she opened the set by saying she was "40 years old now and her music is changing." Very few people seemed to mind the new sound.

It was a great night.


Check out one of my favorite songs from her old music.

My First Ailey Experience

I had the fortunate luck to attend a student show of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The best part was that I went as a chaperone with a group of high school ladies and attended the show for free.

I am happy I waited until now to see Ailey for the first time because I appreciated it so much more after beginning to study dance. The control of some of the dancers was outstanding! I can only dream that I will be able to become half as good. Maybe one day I will be able to do the leap pictured above :) (Ha!)

The student show took place during the day and was only about an hour long. I look forward to next year's calendar, when I will make sure to attend a regular show. (and probably attend the student show as well ;-)

I was completely mesmerized watching them, and they were wonderful inspiration for my own show later this weekend.

Smashing Stereotypes

My dance troupe recently performed with a Master Chorale. It was extremely interesting and liberating.

Let's set the scene, our very eclectic, colorful and very African-American troupe performed at a Jewish temple with an all Caucasian chorus.

Not amused yet? Hold on.

The chorus performed Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes and Mack Wilberg’s Dances to Life complete with two Steinway pianists as we danced very lyrical and ballet heavy numbers complete with high lifts and throws. Mesh all of that together for a very entertaining Sunday afternoon.

Now, if we can only get a copy of the DVD. Judging from the conversations of the patrons after the show, I am more than positive there are some hilarious looks on the faces of the crowd ;-)

Appreciating the Little Things (and being Serenaded)

I promised myself when I started this blog that I would post at least once a week. As life has taken interesting twists and turns, sometimes that is not possible. These past few weeks have been filled with tough situations and decisions. At times I find myself falling into the "what if" syndrome. But just when I got really down a couple of things happened.

- I was serenaded. Yes, a perfect stranger sung his rendition of Jesus Loves Me in the parking lot of one my favorite places, the library. There was no hidden agenda as he simply bowed slightly, smiled and said "Have a great day, sister." And you know what? I did.

- I have a great appreciation for nature. I've been known to disappear to a beautiful park or beach to get away. A friend sent these pictures of a rare white peacock who looks like snowflake.



I thought he (because only males display feathers this way, right?) was gorgeous.



So, thank you to my friend for the pictures and if by a slim chance the singing gentleman is reading my blog, thank you for the heartfelt song.