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New on Medium – ‘Bitch’: Realizing I Don’t Have to Be Just One Thing

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Now that it’s full on Spring leaning into Summer, my days cycle through work, dogs, ballet, Zumba, and mowing the lawn. Nothing too exciting for my ballroom dancing readers, but for those who enjoy non-dance topics, please check out my latest post on Medium! Inspired by Meredith Brooks’ song ‘Bitch’, I journey back to those crazy high school days:

‘Bitch’: Realizing I Don’t Have to Be Just One Thing

For those who are still interested in my daily life in Maine, here’s a reel from last weekend. It pretty much sums up my free time these days.

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Support Rx Ballroom Dance on Giving Tuesday

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Hi dancers!

Popping in real quick to share a post from a nonprofit I work with – Rx Ballroom Dance. I’ve shared information about the organization before. We provide FREE ballroom dance classes to people struggling with neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s. The effects of these classes on the participants have been incredible to witness. People are getting physically stronger, improving their balance, coordination and memory recall, AND they are happier!

Free to participants means we depend on grants and donations to keep the program running. So please consider making a donation today!

Learn more and donate:

https://rxballroomdance.com/its-giving-tuesday-double-your-donation-up-to-5000/

House Projects

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Well, dancers, I hope you did more dancing than me this past week! I saw the PT this morning (yay, my hips are sore but re-aligned!). I’m looking forward to working with her and getting back to more dancing. In related news, my neck spasmed when I stretched/twisted the wrong way trying to put sunscreen on my back on Friday and I had to get my hair cut with less mobility and a lot more pain. It was real fun trying to lean back enough so the hairdresser could wash my hair! Not to mention making turns in the car to and from the salon. Ouch. My neck issues will be the next thing I tackle with the PT.

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If You Make It, Ballroom Will Bling It

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A year into the pandemic and like me, you probably have a nice collection of face masks. Are you the disposal mask type, Etsy shop supporter, or homemade type? I personally have spent most of my face masks dollars with one particular Etsy shop whose masks fit my face Mary Poppins-style (practically perfect).

Toward the end of 2020, I received an email about a new brand who has taken face masks and turned them into an art form. Seriously, wait until you see them!

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Dancing with a Heavy Yet Hopeful Heart

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The apartment complex is unusually quiet today. No kids playing outside, despite the beautiful weather. No cars rushing in and out of the complex to run weekend errands. Even the adjacent street that is typically bustling falls silent every now and then, leaving only a few birds and the breeze. Elsewhere, I know it is different. Cries for justice are echoing throughout the country this week as people stand up and say “enough is enough.”

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Is Dance a Relatable Art Form? Part 2

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Welcome back, dancers!

Last time, I told you about a podcast I had listened to that really got the gears turning in the brain. I pondered the question, “why isn’t dance as relatable as other performance art forms like acting or singing?” I concluded that connection and shared experience were key. It’s easier for an audience to connect with actors and singers through a shared experience. Dance has a dualistic experience that happens externally and internally at the same time, and dancers don’t need an audience in order to feel fulfilled in their dancing. If a dancer isn’t able to bring the internal part of the experience out so the audience can connect to it, the audience won’t be able to connect and relate to the dance performance. As the panelists in the podcast episode discussed, this lack of relatability could be a major factor in how publicly successful dancers can be, compared to actors or singers.

So how can we make dance more relatable?

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Check Out This Year’s Cast for Dancing With The Stars

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It’s that time again! Dancing with the Stars just announced the cast for Season 24. In case you missed it, here’s the breakdown. Leave a comment on who you think will win, be the first to go, or who you think will surprise us all. A big thank you to Tracy Wilkins, who was kind enough to contribute this article.

There are myriad of dance competitions currently on air, but probably one of the most anticipated shows under this category of reality television is Dancing With The Stars. On this series, we’ve seen celebrities across the industries tackling different kinds of ballroom dancing, and it’s been quite thrilling watching them explore something out of their comfort zone. The show proves that anyone can be a dancer with practice. Plus, the routines, outfits and music are just spectacular.

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Let’s take a look at this year’s cast:

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