Recently, one of my students who is in both my weekly class and my student troupe mentioned that she felt she was “getting off easy” with the class choreography. I should first tell you that I have a remarkably hard-working student troupe that constantly reaches for a new challenge – and does it with gusto and smile. For this I am eternally grateful as a troupe leader. Her comment did get me thinking about how […]
This past week I’ve realized there’s a few things I need to add to my wish list. Aside from the usual… more time, more costumes, more money (to buy more costumes!) and a personal assistant… I have two very specific requests to put out there. #1 A gig bag that is truly and fantastically functional. It should roll like a carry-on suitcase but open up with two sides so I can pack all the parts […]
I am dangerous in a bookstore. Amazon.com isn’t safe either. Among my obsessions in life – dancing and cooking are at the top of my list. The opportunities to indulge in books abound for both of them. My cookbook collection numbered over 250 at last count… and that was a while ago. Curiously enough, I can still locate any specific recipe in less than 3 tries. This is particularly inexplicable when I can barely […]
Last weekend my student troupe and I performed our newest choreography, a multi-part Saidi, at our MECDA chapter’s annual festival. They were very excited about it and deserved to be – they worked on it diligently for months, aligning cane angles and synchronizing their spins. Their post-show glow took a rude hit in the dressing room unfortunately when another dancer approached them and said, “Your piece was…. interesting.” When she told me later my student […]
Early this year I attended an out-of-state weekend workshop to study Turkish Rom dance. After the final class, a group of us went out to restock our many burned calories. Our dinner party included the instructor and the sponsor in addition to a group of us students. Aside from being hungry, I was also there to work – specifically, to interview the instructor for Shimmy Magazine. After the meal and interview were wrapped up, the talk […]