Stake Dances

Another Dance memory: Stake dances. Growing up, my church had bi-weekly youth dances, and I used to live for them! Packaged rice krispie squares and Brittany Spears, with N'Sync, that was what I loved. My favorite thing was to get a bunch of people in a circle and everyone would just dance. Sometimes someone would go to the middle and everyone would cheer, but it was just fun seeing everyone together.

Ice Skating

Today, I learned to ice skate! I never could get the hang of it when I was in high school, and a few years ago tried again, but lacked confidence, and man it hurt something awful! But I think I must be stronger now, because it was easier then I remember and I stayed on the ice for an hour with only two breaks! Push, Push Push slide. It was a little daunting because everytime I tried to move faster, I would stumble, but I only fell once. My little niece was there too, and she was doing really well. My sister, her mom, was in the same class and we really had a blast. I am hopefully going back next Friday, and next Monday's lesson.
How is skating like dance? You must face it without trepidation and smile the entire time, with confidence! And don't look down! I'm so glad I am conquering this!

Dancing in The Circle

Because I have a lot of posts to make up for, I've decided to record some of my favorite dancing memories.
My parents moved our family in the late 80's to a Virginia home. I remember being scared to death of the second floor, I'd never lived in a house that was so big before. It was on five acres of land, with lots of trees and an Indian wall that soon became one of our favorite places to play. The drive way came straight towards the house then split into a circle, with a wide grassy area in the middle. We called it "The Circle". We'd ride our bikes and banana cars around and around it.
I remember dancing in the circle when I was about 6 or 7. Mom has pictures of me with my arms flung out, and my mouth is open, like I was singing to myself, and my little bottom is stuck out at an angle. I remember thinking I was so pretty.  I'll post that picture as soon as I get a copy.
Dancing, for me, is a way to express what I feel in harmony with something that is higher then myself. It almost seems to make me a better person and soothes and fills something inside me. I thought yesterday how my life would be if I didn't have legs. I think I would still dance with my arms and if I lost my arms, I'd dance with my body. It's simply that amazing.

Dancing can help you win! Full race version.

Last Saturday I went to the Annapolis Irish Festival in MD and it was so much fun! I bought a dress, a girdle with a muslin shirt, (Halloween, I'm ready for you!) plus a necklace made of chain mail (blue with a pretty pendant of a ship on it. But the best part? You guessed it, the music and the dancing! I only heard two of the bands, but one of them, in the early afternoon was going strong, when they noticed a little girl, about 8 or 9 years old dancing in the Irish style. What do these guys do? Invite her up to dance for the whole crowd! She did an awesome job too. Little Sarah Jane, you are one in a million!

This morning I looked at foot strengthening exercises. I've always had sort of flat feet and I tend to walk on the sides of my feet. I'm hoping I can correct with the stretches and training. Today I had to stoop to pick something up and I focused on my feet and not my legs as I went down for it. It made a world of difference.

Been way too long

Stress and Dance

These past few weeks have been really stressful. I finally got my application for Graduate School in, my apartment is back in order, and I've been worried about finances. But it struck me last Wednesday that all I did was worry, worry, worry. I wasn't having fun. So after a road trip with my brother, and a much needed session of Bollywood dancing, I am ready to go.

I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was back in the class. I love belly dancing, but there's not a lot of jumping around, and Bollywood has LOTS of jumping.  My teacher is amazing. She knows how to make these crazy things we do with our hands look graceful and beautiful. She has a great love of what she does, that's one of the most important things a person can have about anything they do. Love begets talent and talent begets greatness.

Ballet, Another B.

Interestingly enough, I've recently become enamored of Ballet. I saw a production of Swan Lake with Gillian Murphy and Angel Corella and my heart was lost! I've even bought a ticket to go see the Barcelona Ballet company perform in April in New York City, I'm so excited! See the interview with Angel Corella at the link here! He's made it a personal quest to rekindle ballet in Spain and now owns (or runs, not sure) the Barcelona Ballet.

What is it about this dance that I love? It's evolving every day, but I think it's the admiration for the skill of the dancers and the marriage they make between the movement of the human body and the music they choose. Even if it's not classical, but something more edgy, showing the grace of the human form in all mediums inspires me to work harder and reach for a better me.

If you want to read a great book about Ballet and how it's fast becoming a lost art try "Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet" I started listening to it on tape and am so impressed. Dancing used to be a way that Man tried to become closer to God, believing that moving the body to music, which music brought the mind closer to God, the soul was then brought in closer communion with the divine. That makes sense to me. Many times I have felt spiritually and emotionally cleansed after I dance and I feel like I want to keep going.