Atlanta: The Spence, Trey McIntyre, and Baseball

Trey is doing a farewell tour since he has called it quits with his full-time dance company. I've cried just about every day since it was announced. 

The BF knew how much this has hurt and suggested we take a trip to see a final show so I could mourn the loss of one of my favorite pieces of dance the world. We settled on Atlanta and selfishly did so for the addition of some good food and a baseball game to make it a complete weekend. 

We left DC bright at early (maybe not bright- but certainly early) on Saturday morning and were in Atlanta before brunch time had passed. After a brief stop to grab some metro cards (way to go Atlanta for a way better ticket system than DC!) we headed to our hotel and checked-in. A brief nap and a little research we set off to track down some pancakes at Ria's Bluebird. Now I am not much of a pancake lover. I typically opt for bacon, eggs, hashbrowns-those types of things. However, these pancakes were supposed to be epic, and throw in the words "caramelized bananas" and I was sold.

They. Did. Not. Disappoint. Be still my heart-- they were phenomenal. By far the best pancakes I have ever  had. Epic. The bananas created this amazing syrup that I would have drank from a cup if given the opportunity. 

On our way back to the hotel we wandered through a beautiful historic cemetery and also wandered a bit farther than anticipated to see Coca Cola world (can we say diabetes? It was a zoo, but with 9 million bottles of soda and overly caffeinated children). After our minimal sleep the night before, we opted for pulling the black out shades and napping until we had to get ready to go to dinner.

It is no secret that Richard Blais is at the top of my list for favorite celebrity chefs (ok...I'll be honest...he IS my favorite...I mean...can you blame me?!). 

SIDENOTE: I am practically bff's with Richard's sister, so it is just a matter of time until we get to meet.

Anyways, back to the trip. We had been long awaiting an opportunity to eat at The Spence.  It was phenomenal. Even just going to Atlanta for that meeting was entirely worth the trip. Not only is the food fantastic, the space was beautiful, the staff was friendly, and the cocktails were delish.

Did I mention that my love of keys was indulged as well!

Oysters & Pearls

Fried Olives

Bone Marrow

Beet pasta

Short Rib

Sweet Potato "brulee"

And of course we had to have the table-side liquid nitrogen ice cream dessert (how could we not after watching Blais on Top Chef!?!)

The Spence dining room is sunny and beautiful!

Couldn't get enough of the key!

We ubered back to the Rialto Theater, just in time to grab our tickets and make it to our seats for Trey. I can't even begin to tell you about the performance. It haunts my thoughts. 

We saw The Vinegar Works, a work commission on part by the Rialto, which was eerily beautiful and satirical. When Trey nails it--he nails it.

We also were lucky to see Mercury Half-Life, which took my right back to the first time I ever saw work by Trey in a cramp studio theater in Boise Idaho. I remember getting chills. It was the first piece of dance I had seen that made me realize that dance was so much deeper than movement with meaning. His choreography is human, relateable, and emotionally pungent. I can't shake some of the movement that I swear will be seared into my memory forever. It was almost as good as that first time I saw him. Forever I will think of The Reassuring Effects of Form & Poetry, but Mercury half-life was in its own realm of wonderful.

It was a good goodbye. I cried. No joke. Its a close to a period of my life that has such fantastic memories tied to it. I do hope there will be more of TMP in the world, and hopefully some more dance too.

 After a night of emotional recovery- we woke up and headed for a Braves baseball game. All I can say is....Tomahawk chop.

We avoided getting drenched in a horrible rain storm, made it back to the hotel, grabbed a snack and then headed back to the airport to get back to DC so we could pack up and both leave on work trips the next day!

Twinkle Toes

I have thought about picking up ballet again for a long time. I even took that one class....forever ago. It has just never been something I could make a priority for a variety of reasons. Luckily, everything falls into place for a reason, and I haven't been the only one thinking about getting back to my dancing roots. My friend Lauren, who was WAY more serious about ballet than I was, wanted to start taking classes again. As we all know, having a buddy always makes it a bit easier to to something and stick with it. 

Lauren and I found a few classes in the area, and ended up settling on the Dance Institute of Washington, since it is in an easily accessible location for both of us, and had a class time that we could both make with our jobs. 

We have attended two classes and I am loving it! It is hard. Like makemefeellikeiveneverdonethisbefore hard. My legs hurt. My feet hurt. I can hardly hold a passe or do a single turn, but it feels good just to think ballet again. I also love having a standing date with a friend. It is really refreshing to do a something that is self centered. It is something that reminds me of someplace besides here. It reminds me of some of the best times of my life, and while we are just struggling to to a simple plie these days-- it is something I look forward to.

I am pretty sure we will stick with it, and possibly pick up another class so we are going twice a week. While I am sure Lauren will graduate to some more advance classes at a different school- I am perfectly content doing the basic and just working on the basics for now. 

Makes me think about other things I did growing up, and how I should get back into them! What would you get back into if you could?

Ballet Fashion and Reading

I love anything ballerina themed: parties, movies, cakes, art, and clothes. I could get suckered into buying just about anything if it looks like a tutu or leg warmers. Ruche just released a look book all ballerina and all me recently. I can't tear my eyes away from these awesome images!

I love a soft grey and pale pink paired together. Timeless and classic. Also love that high necked meshy white leotard! Classy look!

Love the stripes, but more so love the meeting or urban and classical here. Pointe shoes meet concrete. My hearts goes lubdub.

Red shoes (nice historical tip of the hat if you ask me). Tulle skirt. Glitter. Low knotty bun. Yes. Yes. And some more yes.

In other dance related news I have started reading Apollo's Angels looking at the social history of dance. I saw this book almost two years ago now, and I am just not getting it on my reading list. In the first 35 pages it has given me more to think about regarding ballet than I have mulled over in a long time. It is a meaty read. Not really leisure reading. Thought provoking and educational. If you like that sort of thing when it comes to dance.

(Also when I took French in high school I went through a few years were I would spell danse. How refined of me!)

 

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What have I done!!??

Well I have done something that makes me incredibly nervous, scared, excited and happy...

A clue:

Yup. Thanks to a girl at work I got the tip off about BTI in Logan Circle. I can not tell you how excited I am to go take a ballet class tomorrow. I am also really really nervous. I haven't danced in a LONG time. And that last year in college when I was finishing out my minor in dance I was so over the dance department at UW I just didn't care and only went to class to make sure I graduated. I really want to find something here that makes me excited and I am hoping this is it. It is a bit expensive to be getting back into dance, but I figure it is good for my physical and mental health AND maybe I'll make some friends. So class is at 1:30 tomorrow. I did a quick barre tonight just to make sure I haven't forgotten my french :) but I know tomorrow is going to kick my ass. I am going to be so sore and exhausted. But if I like it I am going to go ahead and purchase a class card and hopefully get into the pattern of going more.

As some of you know, ballet/dance was a HUGE part of my life for quite awhile and I honestly have not felt whole since I stopped. But dance in really personal. You have to be comfortable with where you are dancing and who is teaching you. I am praying that BTI is awesome and I love it. Fingers crossed for me people!

Also a round of applause....I have officially lost 15 pounds! Which was my first weight milestone. I have another 15 to go (hopefully this dance thing will contribute!). After moving out here I pretty much ate my emotions for a solid year until I moved. Things are a lot better now but it is just hard to find the time to active things outside of work. I am going to make a big push in the next few months to see if I can jump start the next phase so I can go home for Christmas feeling really great! Anyone up for walks in the evening?

5-6-7-8

I am sure I am just behind in the times, but someone pointed this out to me the other day on youtube and I seriously can not get enough. I listen to it for hours on end right now. I am dancing around my living room right now (ok well not right now since I am writing this) playing around with choreography and trying not to wake the neighbors or roommate by doing any crazy leaps in my itty bitty space of a living room. I miss dancing. I miss playing the violin and piano. I miss those outlets of emotion. Granted the violin was one of the most frustrating things I ever took on in my life. And dancing had its own set of challenges, but I can safely say when asked the question "what would you do with your life if money and obligation was not a factor?" I would say:


Own a dance studio.

This is where I danced back in Idaho. Dance Arts had the most amazing environment and my dance teacher there was one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. I will be totally honest, when I started ballet (and I started late compared to most people) I sucked. Bad. But I can not even begin to tell you about the time Lary invested in me. By the time I headed off to college I had gained so much technique and skill and I ended up becoming a dance minor in college. Unfortunately I did not really buy into the dance program in college so it wasn't the experience I was hoping for, but some of my teachers there were equally as inspiring and I learned some great things from them as well.

I feel a need to really be expressing myself through dance again. I think for awhile I really was just emotionally disconnected from things which dancing is all about emotion (and technique) but if you aren't ready, or emotionally available to be passionate about it, it will be a constant struggle. Because let's face it- there is nothing natural about pointe shoes or the form of ballet.

Now I feel like I am in a place where I am in tune with my passion and emotion for dance and I am hungry to brush off the shoes and really make it apart of my life again. Sadly I have been less than impressed with the DC dancing scene as far as finding a studio that is close by, affordable, and comfortable. Hopefully I can find one and get back into it.

Or my roommate is going to have to deal with me using our dining room chairs to do barre exercises in the evenings!

All I Wanna Do is DANCE

Well the dance bug has bitten me again. Maybe it is my Colonix system kicking my energy levels into high gear. (If I haven't mentioned my Colonix system to you yet...ask me on the phone...it is too gruesome to post on here! Lets just say my diet is a little more restricted than usual, I am drinking more water than you could store in 20 camels and there are some other things going on.) But wherever this burst of burning desire to dance and create is coming from I am going to need to fuel the fire and soon!

I have been dancing around the apartment occasionally when a song of inspiration plays on my Pandora Station. I have found a piece that I am dying to choreograph to. Unfortunately I can only move so much in my 1-bed apartment. I have been experimenting with some moves and have come up with some really beautiful modern/neo-classical moves that I hope to incorporate if I can ever find the space to put together the bits and pieces of this dance I have running through my head.

Deep down I am relived that this time as come. Granted it is sad to know that due to the hip injury and age in general my days of dancing on pointe are most likely over, but I think that with some diligent work-outs and flexibility I could be back in a studio (now to find the money to support my dance habit) in a short amount of time. After my last year in school I wasn't sure I was ever going to enjoy returning to a studio. Being a dance major was a blessing and a total curse. A blessing because I have the minor to possibly support my long-term goal to open my own dance studio. But a curse because the classes I took in college with the exception of two, were decently miserable and made me question my love and passion for dance. The dance department just didn't do it with their "progressive" teaching techniques and ass-hole personalities. Frankly I think I would have been better to have taken classes outside school if the minor wasn't something I wanted. But let's not dwell on the negative past. I am just glad that I have any interest in a plie or grande jette since for months on end I didn't even like to watch "Center Stage" GASP!

I used to practice turn in my parents kitchen when I was cooking and would do full barres everyday after school on my days off from dance. I missed that enthusiasm and love for ballet and wondered after college if all the technical and political bullshit ruined me for life.

I won't say I am the same. I don't try to fall asleep with my legs turned out anymore, or lay for hours on the floor in contorted positions to lengthen muscles. But I do find myself listening to music and moving my arms through first position and marking movements with my feet. It may not be the same...but it is a start.

I really need to learn how to notate choreography. I am not even sure there is anywhere you can take a class on that sort of thing. I may just be buying some books and self teaching.

Since I have started looking for a ballet studio to take some easy starter classes so get my back into dancing shape I have realized that my idea for a community dance school is still in the back of my head. Hence my reasoning to go back to get my MBA (see previous post). Awhile ago I had someone really pushing me to work on opening my dance school, unfortunately we don't keep in touch much anymore and my motivation to research and put together some formal ideas of a business plan fell off the to-do list. But perhaps something to think about for the future. For now...I am going to run with the fact that I am enjoying expressive movement again!