Today I celebrate my father's birthday (though on Sunday his surprise adventure kicks in). I call my father Forever Young because he is—still out there sharing his business expertise, still hopping on planes to visit places as distant as Peru and (soon) Israel, still driving around rural Kentucky with his church friends, still wielding his (shall we say) particular sense of humor.
I celebrate Little Miss Eva and her beautiful family—Cristina, Jeremy, Sophie—who have received the sort of good news (a big promotion) that also results in sad goodbyes. How I will miss watching those two little girls grow up and dancing around the floor with their mother.
Finally, I celebrate The Year of Living Dangerously, a fabulous blog, and its artful puppeteer, Michael G-G, who is today celebrating
his own favorite things—and graciously included my blog among them. Michael would never know (indeed, who could?) that I've been feeling very blue. His gesture of warmth in winter is so appreciated.
One of the most exciting DanceSport Academy presentations this past Sunday was the dance of the studio's two young stars—a wild mix of genres against the backdrop of "The Matrix" soundtrack, all choreographed by Miss Cristina. I photographed the two during the rehearsals Sunday morning. Look at how quickly K. moves. Check out the beauty of M.
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.
Glad to bring some warmth in winter. Your own writing has warmed and inspired me again and again.
Happy birthday to your dad. ( :
A very happy birthday to your father!
Some happy things to celebrate - I hope they lifted your spirits :)
Happy Birthday to your dad...and I hope that you start feeling the warmth of the coming spring on your face and the happiness it brings with newness and beginnings.