We spent much of yesterday rehearsing for and then delivering the sixth DanceSport Academy Showcase, sited this year at the Villanova University Connelly Center (which is also where the Lore Kephart Distinguished Historians Series is hosted).
I happen to think it was the best show ever—full of brave souls, innovative choreography, sheer talent, electrifying youth, and the final crowning glory of two performances by Latin champion dancers Jan Paulovich and Lana Roosiparg.
It was also, for me, a chance to dance that waltz with Jan and that cha-cha with my husband—a chance, too, to be surprised by dear friends Tom, Nancy, Mark, Elizabeth, and Laura, who arrived unannounced and cheered us on. How much that meant (and how long remembered it will be). And afterward, of course, dinner with the Bells. We always love our dinner with the Bells, and it's especially fun when dinner with the Bells coincides (another surprise) with a second chance to visit with Tom, Nancy, Mark, Elizabeth, and Laura.
Thank you, Scott Lazarov, John Larson, Cristina Mueller, Aideen O'Malley, Tirsa Rivas, and, of course, Jan and Lana, for seeing us through. For asking us to do more than we think we can—for expecting it from us—and for giving us a stage upon which we can try to soar...or, at least, hear the music.
How often I can be found here on this blog, talking dance, yearning for it. How many books of mine have taken a choreographic turn or stopped and lived at, say, the very House of Dance? I've been blessed by teachers who sway me toward better—Scott Lazarov with his impeccable choreography, Jan Paulovich, who insists that I hear the music and is so artfully exact, John Larson, the King of Standard, Cristina Mueller and her Thursday wonders, Aideen O'Malley who does it all, John Vilardo, who worked me out of paralytic fear early on, and others, too. Blessed is me.
I'm not terrific at dance, but I keep trying, and I console myself that the trying matters. This coming Sunday I'll be trying again in a DanceSport Academy showcase—dancing the cha-cha with my husband and a waltz with Jan Paulovich. I'm not exactly ready for either dance. But the hours tick on, and Sunday comes.
Today, though, I share this video of Jan Paulovich and his partner, Lana Roosiparg, who dance so magnificently together. This is what they do, these teachers, when they are free to be their ultimate dance selves.
Just now, coming home from a ballroom lesson with John (Where is the dance? I asked him; It's in the balance we create between each other, he said) I drove through sunlit rain. Half the sky clear and the other full of gray shout.
Like dance, I thought.
Like time.
Perhaps some of you come to this blog for writing advice (though mostly what I can offer is recommendations of books I've loved or enthusiasm for authors I love...or consolation along this hard journey). Perhaps some of you come to see whether I'm still dancing (yes, I am—waltzing with smooth-shoes John Larson and rumba-ing with DanceSport owner and choreographer supreme Scott Lazarov), gardening (less than I should, but I've got glamorous purples out there this season), and writing (for every 2,000 words I wrestle to the page, I throw another 10,000 away; please don't let that discourage you in your own endeavors). Perhaps you even come for recipes, but I don't actually use or know that many recipes; I feel my way toward my dishes and have never once embarked on a stacked cake, as my friend Kate Moses regularly does, while writing best-selling books with her other hand.
But what I am about to offer you today is better than all of that, better than anything. I am about to offer you some housekeeperly advice. Are you ready?
(Get ready.)
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser totally rocks!!!
(that's it, that's the advice)
I mean, there I was, week after week, trying to get rid of the aftershock of too many hands around a doorknob, and all I ever truly needed was a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. This little item does it all, and I can look fashionable when I use it, thanks to Jan Shaeffer's recent gift of Gloveables...they're lovable (look them up, if you haven't seen them already).
So that's it. That's what this zany-Zumba-dancing-diva-only-sometimes-half-good-writer-with-the-enviable-irises is offering today.
Take it.
Or leave it.
In a few short weeks, House of Dance, my second novel for young adults, will be out as a paperback with a slightly revamped cover.
Those of you who know me a little know this: I love the freedom that dance affords me—the freedom to be my somewhat zany self, the freedom from the mind-bend of at-the-desk problem solving, the freedom of movement. House of Dance, which received a number of starred reviews and has begun to show up on state lists, takes place in a version of Dancesport Academy of Ardmore, PA, where I continue to learn to dance with the likes of Scott Lazarov, Jean Paulovich, John Larson, Aideen O'Malley, Magda Piekarz, Tim Jones, Cristina Rodrighes, and Tirsa Rivas, and among so many friends. I made this "trailer" for the the book with footage that I shot at the studio and around town.
In any case, the point is: I'm having a paperback contest. Those of you interested in receiving a signed copy of the paperback should leave, in the comment box, your definition of what dance is. Two winners will be selected from among the participants, and the two winning definitions will be featured on my blog.
Please leave your comments by March 5th.
Yesterday I danced the waltz with John Larson.
He countered the rain.
Looks like a wonderful time! Now where are the pictures of your dance? :)
We loved seeing your performance - and, to no one's surprise, you tell a beautiful story even in dance. We are grateful for your introduction to DanceSport and the pleasure we have found in attempting to take our first semi-rhythmic steps.
I was thinking of you last night, and somehow just knew it was wonderful :)
So glad to hear my intuition was correct!
Fabulous photos!
Congrats on all of the superb performances!
XO
A.