Dance Relief

I encountered a lot of potholes in the road of This Week. I woke up this morning wide eyed and anxious far too early and unable to fall back asleep. The anxiety remained active until I was picked up for a fabulous lunch at Obento-Ya where all subsided.

This afternoon I was attempting to get some work done at home and back crept the anxiety into my thoughts. AAAAH! I need some dance relief!!

And so I did, to this.

Yes, I dance just like they do and it is as fun as it looks.
xoxx

Stills from Music + Movies.

I love love love to dance. I try to everyday (usually in our dining room by myself). But I do relish those moments, dining room or dance club. So when I saw the man above this evening dancing solo at The Walker's Music + Movies in The Park I felt nothing but love and admiration. Between Jayanthi's (also above) rich and velvety voice and Mr. Dancing Machine's moves I was in seventh heaven for entertainment.

Music + Movies is a highlight of Minneapolis Summer for me. I am sorely disappointed that next week is the last one (!), especially since tonight was the first one I could go to. When you go, you always run into someone you know, giving reason to share your (or their) blanket & wine & snacks. The greatest summer nights ever in Minneapolis happen here.

xoxx

Debra Miller's World of Dance

I have 9 years of ballet and tap lessons under my belt from Debra Miller's World of Dance. The photo from the right was taken in June of 1985, "The Wee Rockettes", I was 6 & just finished up 1st grade. This was my third recital at Miss Debbie's (as we called her), and I had 6 more to go.
Miss Debbie was crowned Miss Columbia Heights of 1976. In the dance studio was a portrait depicting her royalty, her long flowing brunette hair with tiara and sash and a velvet blue robe over her shoulders. She was beautiful. As I got older I always giggled when dads would come and watch our classes thinking that they were probably there to watch Miss Debbie.
My years spent in that carnation pink walled dance studio are bittersweet. I was kind of an odd little girl; an only child, very contemplative and I talked to myself a lot. While I do believe that I had a gift for dance, I think Miss Debbie was puzzled by me and wasn't sure what to do, so she just let me be. That aloofness was hurtful and made going to dance a little tough at times, but I really loved the recitals, so I stuck it out.

Every year we had a Christmas recital, in red and green leotards, tights, and legwarmers we danced to "Jingle Bell Rock" and "We Need a Little Christmas" at the local VFW hall. Afterwords we all gathered around a couple of tables and shared Christmas Cookies and punch. Then Miss Debbie's husband, Bob, would come out dressed as Santa Clause distributing gifts to all the dancers. This recital was okay, but for me it meant that I was at the halfway mark to The Final Recital. This was my favorite and why I stuck out the aloof MIss Debbie all year long.

The Recital was in the local high school auditorium and hundreds of dancing girls ages 3 - 18 huddled in the cafeteria/dressing room and Got Ready. The older girls cordoned off their section of the cafeteria with bed sheets as walls which made them very mysterious and interesting to us little ones. We would imagine them eating up their downtimelounging around giggling and changing the colored rubber bands on their braces. Our downtie was spent playing Candyland and Shoots and Ladders. The cafeteria held garment rack after garment rack filled with costumes, accessories, and little ballet and tap shoes. There were tables with a make-up station for each of us. Miss Debbie required that we all wear blue eye shadow, mascara, rosy blush and dark pink lipstick. I knew how to apply mascera by the time I was 9 thanks to Miss Debbie. The costumes were elaborate and typically handmade by our mothers. In the last 4 years of dance lessons from Miss Debbie, I expanded from tap and ballet to Jazz & Hawaiian. Yes, Hawaiian. Probably not too authentic coming from a little hole in the wall dance studio in Minnesota, but we did wear leys and our costumes were made from Hawaiian Print fabrics, and that's the closest some Minnesotans got to Hawaii in the 1980s.

The make-up, the costumes, and the cafeteria dressing room were a piece of what made The Recital so exciting for me. Waiting in the wings and watching the class whose dance was before us was another piece. But stepping onto stage, feeling the lights come up (always with my eyes squinched closed as tightly as possible) and then the first steps of our Recital Dance routine was the biggest excitement for me. I relished those minutes dancing on stage, they always seemed to go too fast and the minute they were over I began looking forward to next year. The Recital that is, not the classes.

xoxx

Mc Rove in The House.

This footage has been the talk of Handsome Randy & I since we first saw it. Taken at the Annual Press Club dinner, Karl Rove proves to be quite a stage presence. Perhaps he'll be the next talent Rhymesayers finds and open on the next tour for Brother Ali or Atmosphere. ha.

go here to see it (I couldn't get blogger to upload it...sorry).


You have to give them credit for doing it. it's not half bad for the purpose that it holds, and they even did a little beatboxing! amazing.
xoxx

i heart metric.

my favorite shows are those which are spent in the front so close to artist on stage you can see what color socks they are wearing. or you dance and dance and it's so much fun when the show is over you go home & put the album on to dance some more.
last night's metric show has been added to the list.
my friend, jessie & I went to the show. mingled, watched from afar, went out to smoke when we heard "Hustle Rose" starting we gasped, "we should go in for this one."
so we did. right to the front where we danced and giggled in awe of front woman, Emily Haines.
we went out for a smoke and came in and danced the rest of the show in the back of the club. so fun.
we left the show with giant smiles on our faces and giggled all the way home.
xoxx

dancez vous

dancez vous
Originally uploaded by stardahli.

so my new fantastic camera has led to photo shoots all night long. this is my fav. I set up my tripod & put the automatic timer on and danced! this is a perfect illustration of how happy i am to have my new camera...xoxx