The Thespian would be proud! I went on a dance adventure this weekend! My roommate and I ventured north into Los Angeles County for an event put on by Ballroom by the Bay. The event was held in “the Valley” and so was dubbed the Valley Edition of Ballroom by the Bay. Cute. Roomie’s friend was teaching the tango class that started the party, which is how we found out about it.
You know those people who draw everyone’s attention when they walk into a room? Whether it’s their walk or their smile or their eyes or everything about their body language, people notice them. I am not one of those people. I am one of those people who slips in unnoticed and hangs around for 20 minutes before someone says “oh, when did you get here?!” I generally avoid the spotlight. I’ve pushed myself to let some inner light shine through in my dancing. But I still tend to retreat to the shadows as soon as I can. Unfortunately, I will not be able to go after a national title in the shadows. Shucks.
I’m in the second week of “can’t afford group classes or practice time” month and doing my best to stay busy so I don’t get hit with some major withdrawal symptoms. I’m usually at the studio three or four nights during the week for class and practice! So having only one night on the books kinda sucks. I’m anticipating July to be the same deal, not even sure I’ll manage the one class a week. We’ll cross that lousy bridge when we come to it. All for Florida and Ohio, that’s what I remind myself. So what does the Girl do when she can’t get her dance fix? I’ve come up with a list.
You may have heard of musician/singer/writer Amanda Palmer. She recently published a book called “The Art of Asking.” I haven’t read it yet, but I would like to. The subtitle on the book cover reads “Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help.” Besides her creations, she is famous for being a queen of crowdfunding. It was how she was able to release her own music after leaving her record company. She did a Ted Talk in which she described her time as a street performer and made her living off people’s willingness to give her money. She talked about being criticized and harassed for not having a “real job” and for begging on the street. But she wasn’t just sitting there with a cup. She would stand frozen as a beautiful statue that would come to life and interact with whomever gave a dollar or two. It was those brief moments of connection that she was providing in return for whatever people were willing to pay for them. No matter what the critics thought, to those customers, what she was providing was worth paying for. The image of her and her patron in this bubble of satisfaction surrounded by negativity and criticism really stuck with me. Especially as I started exploring the possibility of reaching out to find my own patrons.
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Can you believe it’s June already? The year is almost halfway over! A new month always means one thing: new bills to pay. After paying rent, a utility bill, and a credit card bill all at once, I thought I better take another look at my projected budget for the next few months. I have two budgets: a general one of income and expenses, so I know I’m living within my means, and a projected one, so I can see more precisely where I’ll be financially at certain times in the next few months, like when rent is due or when I need to write a check for comp entry fees. I can also better time bill paying with paychecks. It’s all very carefully planned so I can continue following these crazy ballroom dreams of mine.
I’m sure you can guess by the title that I recently caught a cold. Because of this pesky virus, I missed a day of work and, more importantly, this week’s dance lesson. Curse you, microorganism! Don’t you know I have dancing to do?
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I considered staying quiet about this, but I knew that was silly and what was the point of launching a fundraising page if no one knew about it.
Check it out: Support the Girl
The idea of Patreon.com is old school – be a patron of the arts. Support your favorite artist and their creations. Instead of a one-time contribution to support a specific project, patrons make ongoing monetary pledges. The creators (that’s me in this case) do what they do best – create! They share their creations and special rewards with their patrons. I thought “I have something to share with the world, let’s give this a try!”
Nothing is changing with thegirlwiththetreetattoo.com. Everything stays the same, free for all. But if I’m going to continue on this journey in the directions I want to go (advance in smooth, start competing in rhythm, write a book!), I’m going to need some help. I’m working on expanding my services and am always reevaluating my budget to see where I can cut costs. Patreon.com is one more avenue I’m exploring to help fund this adventure.
So there you have it. I’m no good at asking for this kind of help, so I’ll let my Patreon page speak for itself. Please spread the word and keep working toward your own dreams!
P.S. – Stay tuned for a post about working up the nerve to dare to ask the world to part with their hard-earned money to support my journey. Oh boy, the demons are having a field day! But screw ’em, I managed to launch the site anyway!
People frequently ask me what I do to stay fit, what kind of workout regimen I follow. And I say I dance! And I take two 60-pound dogs with endless energy out for walks several times a day. And I walk up and down stairs to get to and from my second floor apartment and my second floor office. I carry all of my groceries up the stairs at once because I hate making two trips. Does that answer the question?
Side note: I love coming up with just the right title for my articles. But sometimes I draw a blank. So I resort to the “insert clever title here” style. Hence, the title of this post. Can you guess what I’m writing about today?
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Love this imagery. Reminds me of myself as I was getting into ballroom and this awesome part of me was waking up. Once you get going, the floodgates really do just open up!
The Girl with the Tree Tattoo 