Latest News

Posted on

Dance Teacher Gifts

harmonie impact dance belt

Oh what to get Jacob and Pasha for little holiday gifts?… What to get, what to get? I hate getting presents for people — I suck at figuring out what would be just the right thing!

Chimene, from the Winger board, posted the above pic of our favorite male dancer 🙂 and I asked jokingly if it came in steel (dance belt, not David Hallberg) for my teachers (b/c of my little problems). Chimene suggested I buy this Harmonie Impact belt, which is currently on sale, and have it bronzed, like baby shoes. He he he, I love Chimene — what would the Winger board be without her 🙂 🙂 🙂

Posted on

No Blog Award Category For Dance!!!!!

I just saw this on Konagod’s blog. Congratulations, Konagod, for making finalist in the best new blog category! But what stunned me is that there is a category for just about everything under the sun, except dance. Yet another instance of dance not being taken seriously in our culture. Yet there is an increasingly large number of blogs by dancers, choreographers, and dance enthusiasts and advocates, and there are a few excellent dance blog / websites that provide an invaluable service to the dance community, such as The Winger. Upon closer inspection, I found that the arts in general were profoundly underrepresented. I find this very disturbing; a society without a strong arts life is greatly lacking.

Posted on

I Am A Dedicated Reader, Of Course Of Course:)

What Kind of Reader Are You?

Your Result: Dedicated Reader

You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader

Another quiz I found from Konagod. Fun for avid readers, and likely designed by one judging from some of the answer choices, which I could have come up with verbatim. You mean there are people who don’t have at least two books — one fiction, one non — on them at all times, who don’t carry at least three in their carry-on when traveling, whose apartment floor is not sagging from the weight of their three floor-to-ceiling bookcases?? Who are such people and what planet do they come from? Ha ha. Well, I’m a wanna be writer, so it makes sense that I’m a crazy, insanely obsessed reader — almost as much as I’m a crazy, insanely obsessed dance fan…

If you wanna, take the test here.

Posted on

Money-Hungry, Who Me?

birthday quiz

***Your Birthdate: May 8***

Watch out Donald Trump! You’ve got a head for business and money.
You’ll make it rich some day, even if you haven’t figured out how yet.
A supreme individualist, you shouldn’t get stuck in a corporate job.
Instead, make your own way – so that you can be the boss.

Your strength: Your undying determination

Your weakness: You require an opulent lifestyle

Your power color: Plum

Your power symbol: Dollar sign

Your power month: August

Ha ha ha — I don’t know about this? It’s partly true — I am determined, want badly to be my own boss, and am a “supreme individualist” (and I think, with this trait, I greatly annoy and worry friends and family by traveling and going to theater alone, etc., as well as dance teachers who try to dictate to me my styling and costumes, etc. 🙂 ). And I guess I do require just a bit of opulence, seeing as how I absolutely need: 1) to sit in the front orchestra at ABT so as to have the perfect view of all my wonderful men; 2) to travel to exotic places, like Rio where I can witness real Samba, and Blackpool for real ballroom dancing; and 3) to take ballroom-dancing lessons (by far the greatest cost of the three!!!!!) But I don’t really consider myself on a money power trip?… Although, maybe, this sheds light on some of my previous dating posts… Oh no, I am not a gold-digger, I swear!!!

Anyway, Konagod always comes up with these fun / goofy quizzes. If you’re dying to know what your birthday means, take the quiz here.

Posted on

Rocka My Soul!

Alvin Ailey performance at City Center

It’s Christmas time in the city! Which means, in addition to shopping till you drop … Alvin Ailey season! They opened last week, but I was still in North Carolina for their opening night gala, so today’s matinee was my first Ailey experience this season. And, as always, it was an amazing one. Above is the cast following Revelations — a ballet that for me, no choreographer will ever outdo. It will always be my favorite, will always bring tears to my eyes. And, really, you know you are a crazed, obsessed nutter of a dance fan when you are neither black nor have ever lived in the south, yet you know all of the words of the ‘negro spirituals’ sung to that ballet by heart, and can’t seem to help yourself from unconsciously singing along during the performance 🙂 … and you cannot then sit still and refrain from at least bopping your head all about during the last song, Rocka My Soul! Everyone was clapping along to that one, so my nuttiness wasn’t so noticeable 🙂 Clifton Brown is definitely my favorite (he’s from Arizona 🙂 ), and Matthew Rushing and Glenn Allen Sims (whom I’ve noticed before) both really impressed me as well this time in a lovely little pas de trois called “Solo” set to a staccato piece by Bach, and choreographed by the dutch choreographer Hans van Manen. Very playful but very lyrical and beautiful. I also saw for the first time Tharp’s The Golden Section, a very fast-paced piece much like The Upper Room, with some very difficult jumps and lifts — some jumps directly into a lift, and set to some great David Byrne music. The dancers got a standing ovation for that one, which they definitely deserved. And the final piece this afternoon was Witness, another of Ailey’s spiritual pieces. Renee Robinson gorgeously danced this solo, which was set in a church pew with a candlelit background. I’ll be seeing Revelations at least twice more this season, as well as Ailey’s other classics, and Pas de Duke, a piece that was originally choreographed for Baryshnikov and Judith Jamison and that is being revived, I think for the first time since then. Can’t wait!

After I left the theater, prompted by an H&M ad on the back of Time Out New York advertising a dress that looked very cute and very me and was discounted only today, I headed over to their store on Fifth Avenue. There, I found exactly what other bloggers have been talking about — the insanity of the New York Christmas crowds, which I hadn’t yet seen since returning from N.C.

Christmas crowds on Fifth Ave.

It was true madness. And many of the buildings are decorated. Here’s Cartier, wrapped with red ribbon, like a giant present:

Cartier building

Ugh. Glad I braved the crowd though, because, amazingly, the Fifth Ave. H&M actually had the dress in stock, which I bought 🙂
H&M sale dress

The one advertised was gold with a brown lacey overlay, but this one looked better with my coloring. Okay, it’s not Chanel, but hey, not bad for $24.90 right?

Posted on

Confident Little Me Versus Unconfident Big Me

before tap routine in Phx

While visiting my mom recently, I was searching through photo albums and came across this picture of myself. It was right before my dance school’s recital at Phoenix Symphony Hall. I was six years old. We performed a tap routine to “You’re a Grand Ole Flag”. Kristin Sloan had invited Winger readers to send in a piece about their first performance, which is what had prompted me to search through old photo albums. My mom even remembered part of my childhood tap and ballet performances being on home video. So we watched them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t write about this first experience because I have no actual recollection of it. But, interestingly, on the video I looked soooo much more at ease, so much happier, more confident, more like I was just having a load of fun bouncing around on that stage smiling widely. And, in this pic, I look so excited to go out there on stage in front hundreds, without a care in the world. Such an enormous difference from my experiences performing as an adult. I showed my mom a recent video of Pasha and me doing our rumba routine at the DTS showcase and I’m so appalled at how terrified and self-questioning I look. I think a good 90% of the problems I had with my rumba — bad lines, missed steps, near slips — were due to plain and simple nerves. What is it that you lose of yourself in adulthood — you’re so much more inhibited, so much more conscious, and afraid, of what others think of you. Not that questioning yourself is always bad — it can prevent you from making mistakes sometimes. But when it turns into self-doubt it can lead to a serious inability to act, and that’s a shame. Ugh. I want the little, confident me back!

Anyway, I ended up sending a piece on my first adult performance since I had no recollection of this one. I’m waiting to see what she does with them all before posting anything here (though it’s mostly things I’ve already blogged on previously). I definitely encourage all Winger readers to participate though — it’s fun!

Posted on

Evil Biscuits 'N Gravy!

biscuits and gravy

I ate way too much of this over the past week! I know it doesn’t really look it, but it is just so yummy! Definitely my very favorite southern dish. I gained six pounds, in just one week … Jacob took one look at me last night and said, “okay, let’s talk about music!” He’s going to be gone next week at a competition in Las Vegas, so I have two weeks to lose it before lifts begin again! Seriously, methinks I am finding a rather not so good connection between ballet and standard ballroom involving body image. Now that I have decided to do a Tharp Sinatra Suites-esque routine with Jacob, i.e. foxtrotish waltz, rather than Latin, I just keep envisioning myself romantically floating across the floor, lightweight and feathery. Latin is more about connecting to the floor, being, not heavy, but just solidly grounded. Plus, Latin dancer bodies are usually voluptuous and curvy and buff. Standard bodies are more light and weightless-looking, like ballet. Meaning, ugh, weight consciousness time…

Anyway, Jacob cracks me up. I’d bought several Sinatra and Harry Connick Jr. CDs in North Carolina so that I could listen to them on my 11-hour train ride home, and hopefully, find a good song for our next routine. I found four possibilities on the classic Sinatra CD, which I stupidly forgot to take out of the disc player and put back into its holder, which of course I remembered to bring with me to the studio but left the disc player at home. I was so mad at myself. But Jacob simply asked me what the names of the songs were, most of which I didn’t know, then asked me to sing some of the words, hum the tune even, which I did. And he named each and every song! Even with my horrible singing! We ended up deciding on “Luck Be a Lady Tonight,” which I like because it has a few different rhythms that we can play around with, and fun, saucy lyrics that can be acted out. So, it’s not a straight, syrupy love tune. Should be fun. We started playing around with choreographing the beginning, during which he took me down about three-quarters of the way into the splits, which I surprised myself by being able to do. Guess helium-filled stomach did not affect my flexibility too much! Anyway, I think it will be a fun routine.

Here are some more pictures of my trip down south to visit Mom.

Posted on

Very Serious Trouble…

Okay, I have given up trying to steal my cousin’s internet connection on my wireless. So pics of my lovely North Carolina trip, that I downloaded onto my computer, will have to wait until my return to NYC, very shortly now.

I have been here for a week and, since there is nothing to do in a small town but eat, I am in serious trouble. I am so fat I can literally barely walk. My stomach feels like it is full of a NY-Thanksgiving-parade-balloon-sized shot of helium. My mom took me to her doctor’s office to get a flu shot today and the nurse asked if I was pregnant. I said no. She turned around and looked me up and down and said, “are you sure?” I have my next dance lesson Wednesday night. Jacob is going to SCREAM when he sees me…

Well, it’s been a delicious trip. I have eaten biscuits ‘n gravy (milk gravy, that is; I don’t eat sausage) every single morning for breakfast at this lovely local diner called “Grill Worx” here in Burlington, N.C. My mom kept wanting to take me to IHOP or Bob Evans or somewhere that she considered good, but I prefer the local joints where you can get real insight into the town denizens. And practically every evening I have had delicious Mexican food — crazily I can’t seem to find a good, down-home-style Mexican place in NY, and, I guess because of the migrant workers who came to work first on the tobacco farms, now on the large wineries that are cropping up everywhere around here, North Carolina is now boasting some excellent authentic Mexican food. Fortunately, last night my Globus (more later about this lovely choking disorder I sometimes get…) began to kick in, forcing me to hold back a bit…

Anyway, since I can’t post pics myself, let us visit another blog and view Matthew Murphy’s David. Why? Why why why did he do it? Is he trying to be black (as in Othello)? Did he get tired of people calling him Golden Boy? Is he trying to distance himself from his past as a dance thong model? Will we ever know? Will he ever post again on the Winger?

Posted on

Ever So Fun Goofy Thanksgiving Meme

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Since I’m too lazy to figure out how to connect my wireless from my mom’s house in North Carolina (where I’m spending the holiday) so that I can download pics and therefore write a proper blog entry, I am cutting and pasting this “Thanksgiving meme” from one of my favorite blogs and filling in my own goofy answers. Why are these crazy things always so much fun?!

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? Oof, where did those heinous under-eye bags come from? Do I need to spend another few days contact-lense-less, or am I allergic to Katydid, the cat with whom I’m spending Thanksiving, who has found in my face her perfect little bed?

2. How much cash do you have on you? $0.33. One of best things about visiting Mom is that she pays for everything 🙂

3. First word that comes to mind that rhymes with more? Bore. (what does this say about me?!)

4. Favorite planet? Mars (reminds me both of candy and bravura men from American Ballet Theater 🙂 )

5. Who’s the fourth person on your missed call list on your cell phone? Dance Times Square, reminding me that I have an upcoming lesson.

6. What’s your favorite ringtone to download on your cell phone? Same answer for me as for ABB. I’m not savvy (or patient) enough to learn how to download ring tones. I just chose the cheesy “Latin” that came with my phone — which is totally corny and bears no resemblance whatsoever to real Latin music.

7. What shirt are you wearing? I’m wearing a black dress with a pink wrap-around Danceskin sweater.

8. Do you label yourself? Hmmm. I don’t like to, but sometimes feel the need to.

9. Name the brand of shoes you’re currently wearing. Stuart Weitzman.

10. Bright or dark room? Bright, definitely, ‘a clean well-lighted place’ 🙂

11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you? Love her, can’t get enough of her! She is by far my favorite non-dance blogger!

12. What does your watch look like? I don’t wear one; I use my cell phone to tell time.

13. What were you doing at midnight last night? Drinking green tea (as recommended by Kristin Sloan) and reading Fred Astaire’s autobiography en route to falling asleep.

14. What did your last text-message say? Can’t remember; my friends know I don’t use the cell all that much and prefer email 🙂

15. Where is your nearest 7-11? Geez, dunno; I don’t think we even have any in NY??

16. What’s a word that you say a lot? Heinous (used hyperbolically).

17. Who told you he/she loved you last? Mom.

18. Last furry thing you touched. A sweet, smelly, slobbery lovable black Lab named Gilley, who lives with Mom.

19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days? Does Advil count? If so, four doses for tendonitis flare-up.

20. How many loads of film do you need developed? None; I only use my digital now.

21. Favorite age you’ve been so far. 23, when I’d just moved to New York and before I went to law school.

22. Your worst enemy: My own self doubt.

23. What is your current desk-top picture? A vintage New Yorker cover.

24. What was the last thing you said to someone? Pass the mashed potatoes, please … again. (I don’t eat turkey).

25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or be able to fly, what would it be? Million bucks, definitely. I have fear of flying!

26. Do you like someone? For sure.

27. The last song you listened to. ‘Rocka My Soul’ from Alvin Ailey’s ‘Revelations’ soundtrack.

28. What time of day were you born? 4:15 a.m.

29. What’s your favorite number? 3.

30. Where did you live in 1987? Arizona.

31. Are you jealous of anyone? I try not to be, but can’t help succumbing to that nasty little emotion from time to time.

32. Is anyone jealous of you? I hope not.

33. Where were you when 9/11 happened? On the PATH train from Hoboken, bound for the concourse of the World Trade Center. Needless to say, I didn’t get to my destination; train stopped halfway under the Hudson river and we returned to N.J. I’ll never forget what I saw when I angrily emerged from the station for the rest of my life, of course.

34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? I honestly can’t remember the last time I ever used one.

35. Do you consider yourself kind? Yes.

36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? I can’t imagine ever getting one! They’re just not me 🙂

37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? Mandarin.

38. Would you move for the person you loved? Ohhhh, I really don’t think so, I love New York so. Only if it was absolutely essential to his health or career and only if it was to a city not one bit less exciting!

39. Are you touchy-feely. I guess so 🙂

40. What’s your life motto? Geez, this is questionnaire is hard! I’m stealing Hughes de Montalembert’s (which is posted on the side of my blog) — “If you learn to dance with people, with life, than nothing wrong can happen to you.” I was introduced to this man at the Tribeca Film Festival. He was a French artist and filmmaker who was blinded with his own paint eraser by burglars in New York in the not-so-good-old-days here. He learned to “see” in other ways, traveled, and became a writer. Talk about not letting life’s tragedies get you down…

41. Name three things that you have on you at all times. pen, notebook, camera.

42. What’s your favorite town / city? Duh, New York! After that, Paris.

43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? A cheese and cracker plate and mini bottle of white zinfandel, on the Amtrack from NY to North Carolina.

44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? In June, I wrote a letter to my dad to accompany my Father’s Day card.

45. Can you change the oil on a car? Hell no! I’ve lived in NY for so long now, I don’t know if I still even know how to drive!

46. Your first love, what was the last thing you heard about him / her? My very first love ever, that he had dropped out of high school. (Can’t even imagine what he’s doing now). My first love in adulthood, that he’s a professor at the University of Chicago, that bastard!

47. How far back do you know about your ancestry? Just about three generations, unfortunately. I know that my great great paternal grandmother was an American Indian from the Blackfoot tribe!

48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy? For the finals evening of the U.S.National DanceSport Championships in Florida, we were supposed to dress up. I wore a little black cocktail dress and a crotched green shawl with black velvet tango shoes.

49. Does anything hurt on your body right now? No,thanks to the aforementioned Advil! Before that, my left tendonitis-prone knee was aching a bit.

50. Have you been burned by love? Definitely.

Okay, gotta get back to Mom. Thanks to ABB and Toddspot for the fun diversion from food and family 🙂

I don’t know how to tag people, but if anyone else does the survey, let me know! And happy Thanksgiving all!

Posted on

Oh How I Wish I Were In Ohio Right Now…

Ohio Star Ball advertisement

I know, odd thought, right. But that is where the Ohio Star Ball is happening right now. Decided not to go this year to save money and vacation time at work, but now I’m so sad! Tonight they are filming America’s Ballroom Challenge there. I went last year when they filmed the show for PBS for the first time in many years, and it was so much fun being part of a studio audience. Making fun of Marilu Henner with her umpteenth costume changes and do-overs, cheering wildly for no reason at all simply because the announcer told us to, watching the camera-man operate his elephantine machinery to get the most interesting shot… such an experience.

Anyway, I peeked at their website to find out when it’s going to be broadcast on PBS, and they seem not to have set the date yet. But, they are now re-airing last year’s show. In New York, it’s going to be on Channel Thirteen this Wednesday, November 22nd from 8-10 p.m., and elsewhere in the country it’s set to air on December 25th. Check your local PBS listings for the exact times.

Everyone please watch it if you can! This is soooo much better than Dancing With the Stars — in my mind at least! These are the best Latin and ballroom dancers in the country, and this is what a real ballroom competition looks like. The first half is where the finalists are all on the floor at once, competing for the judges’ attention, which is the main part of an authentic ballroom comp. And the second half is where the top three from the finals round perform a solo exhibition showcase, which is flashier, and hence like the popular TV show, but is only a very small part of a real competition. Andrei Gavriline is my favorite Latin male — and he’s the current US champ, so someone agrees with me 🙂 He’s tall and thin and dances with such amazing speed, he really seems to fly across the floor. And his body is such a contrast with that of his tiny former-gymnast wife, Elena Kryuschkova. She appears just to fly up into his arms during their lifts. My favorite showdance couples are Max Kozhnevnikov and Yulia Zagoruychenko, who do the most amazing ballroom samba I’ve ever seen, and Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine and Joanna Zacharewicz, the current world Mambo champs, who do a super fun, encore Mambo. Also, in the first hour, please watch for couple number 310 (Pavel Kovalev and Anna Garnis). They didn’t make it to the solos, and it’s such a shame because they really know how to put on a show, more than many ballroom dancers I think. They have incredible rhythm, she is one of the most voluptuous female dancers, and they are so much fun to watch. All of this is apparent, though, in the first half 🙂 Go couple 310!

Okay, that is my happy ballroom reflection for the day. In world of ballet, look how gorgeous David Hallberg looks!!!! (Here with Winger woman Kristin Sloan, and Matthew Murphy, posted on Matt’s blog). His face is maturing and he is really starting to look like a man 🙂 He looks 10 years older than in his pic on the cover of Pointe magazine from earlier this year…

Posted on

Orgasm and the Successful Straight Woman, Part II

Apropos of my earlier post, my friend, Kathy, sent me this article, which I found very disturbing. It’s by journalist Vicky Ward, though it sounded a bit like Candace Bushnell, and was in the Financial Times. She basically says that highly successful men — at least of the business variety — do not want careerist women, or even women with any sense of self. Rather, they need handmaids who, while glamorous and intelligent, exist to cater to their every need, like a mommy or personal servant:

“He wanted someone who was smart enough to read him, in the same way every top-level executive needs a personal assistant smart enough to know, instinctively when to speak, when to stay away and when to put the call through. . . He needed this person to run his life seemlessly so that his time would never be wasted with menial tasks like reading an electric bill, packing a suitcase or instructing the staff. . . He needed someone glossy enough to reflect his glory and power but clever enough to know not to outshine him. She needed to know when to chatter away charmingly and when to shut up … ”

So, a successful businessman needs a wife who’s smart, sophisticated and glamorous but who will completely subjugate her every will and desire to him. Just when I was asking myself whether we were living in 2006 or Jane Austen times, when women were educated simply for the purpose of obtaining a man, and what kind of woman intelligent, educated and cultured enough for these men would actually be interested in landing such a child-husband, Ward announces that these women so subject themselves because they’ve presumably signed pre-nups and know they will be left with only $5 million and an apartment, which is nothing here, “since Manhattan for single women over 40 can be a brutal place.”

This remark makes me think the article is a joke. Kathy says it’s not. But, I mean Ward has to be saying that tongue-in-cheek, right? Does she really think the city is brutal for women over 40 or for those who have only $5 million? Or, am I just so poor that I have no idea what’s at stake for those accustomed to having five houses, their own jet, and a full help staff?!

Ha ha, it’s funny because, in looking for a link to Bushnell, I found this interesting article which half confirms and half provides a counter-point to Ward.