Happy Tiger Year and Valentine's Day

Apologies for my belated greetings; my schedule has been full! I've even had to unfortunately turn down an event or two because there was just too much going on. I feel a stab of pain every time I cannot commit to dancing, but it's even more important to balance life and energy.  I'd rather dance fewer shows than too many with subpar performance.

Thus far I've danced at mostly corporate events, but the community events give me a wonderful sense of involvement. When children and even their grandmothers come to take photos with me and give me a kind word, I know that everything is worth it.  Most exciting, I'm rehearsing new dances and - I admit it - I always feel that sweet rush of excitement that comes with new costumes.

Valentine's Day almost seemed to slip by as the Lunar New Year fell on the same day this year. I hope you had a happy day, whether you were spending time with family, being with your special someone, working ... Here's to a happy and successful year of the Tiger!

Holiday Cheer (and All That Jazz)

I love the holidays! Now that the excitement of Christmas morning is now a fond yet still palpable memory, we have the New Year to look forward to. Thank you, dear friends, for all your support throughout 2009. Let's welcome 2010 with open arms and work hard towards our dreams!

(About the photo: I miss those New York City days when I danced theater jazz. There's not much work that calls for Fosse style dancing around here. That detached, slinky, and utter cool that is Fosse embodies my brief NYC experience. And, gotta love the the signature bowler hat! Although, my finger placement could be better.)

How the Grinch Stole my (limited) Flexibility

With the winter comes colder weather, and hot cocoas and wonderful get-togethers with friends and family. However, it also means very grumpy muscles! Lately my body doesn't seem to want to extend in any way. Most noticeable is how my back doesn't want to bend. At all. This casual photo was taken in the studio after I'd warmed up, and yet my back still doesn't want to cooperate. My legs are slightly less complaining (only slightly). They say ginseng helps, but I'd say continual stretching and more sleep would be the ticket. I'm good on the first, not so good on the second count. Will Santa give me a more flexible back for Christmas? Ha, only hard work will do!

Dreaming

This is another from the recent photo shoot. The photographer told me to look like I'm dreaming, so I thought of cherished memories of times I've treasured with people dear to me, and how I long to have those times once more. I feel this all the time, but especially at Christmas, when all the songs you hear are of spending time with loved ones. The holidays are my favorite time of the year, and yet it's easy to find myself wistful, the sweet pang of yearning swirling about me like the beautiful music I hear.

Checking Light Levels

Recently I had a photo shoot with 3 photographers, and it was fascinating to hear them discuss how to achieve the best lighting with the placement of lights and levels. One of the photographers captured the other taking a light reading. It does make an interesting composition.

Fans -> Leafy Greens

Rehearsals are well underway for upcoming performances, and some new costumes should come in fairly soon, which is always exciting! For Chinese New Year I'll be dancing "Jasmine" again, which is pictured here. The fans are beautiful when opened, but when closed, they resemble Chinese green vegetables. Don't you think so? After a couple of hours or rehearsal, I always wanted to eat green vegetables!

... when I'm awfully low

There are days when I feel really low. Everybody has those days. You just don't want to get out of bed because there's trouble at work, and on top of that I find no peace in my heart. But I should be happy that I am alive and otherwise have no complaint, and when I change into my practice clothes and go into the comforting feeling of warming up, it doesn't matter if my muscles complain because the weather's getting colder. Before I know it, I'm smiling again, dancing. It gives me something else to concentrate on, to strive for.

Even though my troubles inevitably come back to me afterwards, I can't imagine how I would feel if I hadn't danced. Some days, I fear I might just implode. Thank goodness I have a body that, so far, functions well (knock on wood). I hope I'll always be able to stretch my limbs and bring myself that much closer to happiness.