Friday, July 28, 2006
Herrang Foam Party
There was a foam party on the Dansbanan (outdoor dance floor) during week 4 this year. It was crazy. Dancing in foam up to the ears and being slid across the dance floor in a human sling shot were just a few of the highlights. However, it wasn't all fun and games. Someone split their chin open pretty good and I almost lost one of my follows to the foam pit when playing a trick on her. I did one of my "famous" dance moves (most of you probably know which one) and she went down in shock and never came back up... or so it seemed, apparently she came back up on the other side of the foam pit but I spent almost 2 minutes in panic looking for her under the foam.
Labels: foam, herrang
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Contact Lindy
A new dance form has been created!!! Contact Lindy is similar to Steal dancing and similar to Threesome dancing but ... Oh so much crazier! Basically, it is exactly what I always dreamed Steal dancing and Threesome dancing could become and finally now I can explain it and teach it in a way that makes it understandable and more fun than a pocketful of Slovenian Jumping Beans (which I have by the way, and they are a ton of fun)! Here is my official description: Contact Lindy is a new collective dance/game, in which at any one moment you might be dancing solo, leading or following in a couple or with multiple partners, or even leading one partner while following another. Throughout each song, partnerships swap and change organically, allowing each individual to create their own spontaneous choreography. Ideas of Contact Lindy have really been around as 3some or even 4some dancing for 7+ years but now there is a way to teach it to the beginners and make it easy for them too. So instead of 4 people dancing it, you can have 40 or even 400 people dancing it together. Thanks to Dax Hock who helped me teach my first "Contact Lindy" class and influence the first ever, Contact Lindy Party, where we had 80+ people jammed into the library of the Folkets Hus dancing Contact Lindy for an entire hour! The mayonnaise was thick!
Labels: contact lindy, dax, steal, threesome
Monday, July 10, 2006
Blind or Deaf... Which would you choose?
"Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind and therefore is winged cupid painted blind" a midsummer night's dream
This is the quote that stoked the conversation which led to the following... I spent an hour being blind while Claudia Nobauer from Vancouver spent an hour being deaf, and then we swapped. Being Blind... Sucks in the real world! I was totally dependent upon my helper to get me around, I couldn't play pool (or most games for that matter), and eating was a challenge. But... Being Blind... Rocks in the dance world! I felt so much better blindfolded. I had better posture because I didn't have to look away from my partner to avoid the awkward stare moments and I was forced to really rely on my other senses to dance with my partner. Which made me realize how often I must rely on visual when I should be relying on feelings (just like I am always telling the follows in class)! Hmmm, I should take more of my own advice! Being Deaf... Not nearly as bad in the real world. I could still get around pretty easily. I could talk to people as long as they were looking at me, speaking slowly and gesturing. But... Being Deaf in the dance world SUCKS!!! This was frustrating. Partly because the closest thing to really being deaf was to play really loud music thru headphones to block out other noise. Try dancing to a nice slow bluesy song when you have Shout n Feel it racing thru your head. It's frustrating, however, it is something you can learn to block out. Being Deaf was mostly frustrating because I could not hear the melodies, phrasings, and mood changes in the songs. I could have someone tap out the beat on my shoulder, so I could be "on time" but it just didn't feel like dancing anymore.
Labels: blind, claudia, deaf, herrang
Saturday, July 08, 2006
New York Mayor's Picnic
I trained and performed with Hop Swing and a Jump this weekend. The performance was for the mayor's company picnic. It was more like a circus/amusement park than a picnic. They had men on stilts walking around doing tricks. Baby panthers, tigers, bears and monkeys to pet. Alligators and turtles to hold. A giant outdoor roller-rink, a mechanical bull, pool, ping pong and foozeball tables, video games, giant slides, merry-go-rounds, and food, oh glorious food!!! Crab legs as long as my forearms! Not to mention a giant outdoor stage with shows going on all day long. We had just 2 performances and the rest of the day was spent enjoying the picnic. Only later did we find out we weren't suppose to enjoy the picnic. Oops, ignorance really IS bliss sometimes.
Labels: Hop Swing Jump, mayor, New York, picnic
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Camping in Chicago
What a blast! I spent 3 days camping with Jenna. It was awesome! We climbed giant sand dunes and learned how to cook a full blown meal with just a few tin cans and sticks. Jenna is AWESOME!!! (And that is a huge understatement!)
Labels: camping, chicago, jenna
