let’s dance.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, photography, Thoughts and Feelings
as booty, care, care students, circle, dancing, Elementary, girl, indication, lots of fun, Miss Jessica, nichelle, nutcracker, praise dance, professional dancer, retainers, someone, time, today, Urban, urban promise
“I’m a professional dancer,” a little girl about seven or eight years old informed me quite seriously this afternoon.
“Well, I am impressed,” I said. “And very happy to get to dance with you.”
And I am, too. Every week I get to go to the Urban Promise Elementary School in Wilmington and spend some time dancing with the after care students. And if today was any indication, it is going to be hilarious. And lots of fun.
“You look strange when you smile,” one little boy said.
“Well, that might be because I have these retainers I have to wear over my teeth,” I explained. Though, to be fair, I could just plain look strange when I smile, retainers or not, I suppose.
“You look like a vampire,” he told me without missing a beat.
Awesome, I thought. “That’s not the nicest thing to say to someone,” I said.
And then he promptly left my room to go join the drum circle in another classroom. Maybe it was somebody else’s turn to be told they look like a formidable creature, I am not sure.
And then I got to watch the kids dance with their instructors, Nichelle and Michelle. And man, I loved it. “Do you know much about praise dance?” they asked me. “Not a whole lot,” I admitted. “Well, it’s when you bring the lyrics to life with your movement,” they informed me. And then I proceeded to watch them do just that.
They all asked me to please, please, please! dance for them. I hadn’t really prepared anything, but all those years of training has me at least able to do an impromptu variation from the Nutcracker, if need be. I did Arabian, which involves many splits and extensions and they all oohed and aahed very encouragingly. They might just have been one of the best audiences I have ever performed for, actually. And when I finished, they didn’t mind telling me, “You’ve got dust all over your booty, Miss Jessica!” And we had a good laugh at that one.
They wanted a picture and frankly, so did I.
They insisted that I drop into a split right in front, 8th grade cheerleader style.
And just look at them:
You would have dropped into a split, too, if you had been there.
In other news, I am choreographing a piece for the Delaware Dance Company’s spring Gala. I had my first rehearsal with the dancers yesterday, and it was a blast. I am pretty excited about this piece. It’s a duet and I love working with just two dancers. We are also using a bench, a newspaper, and an apple. When I was giving these dancers–a guy and a girl–their backstory, I realized that I was basically giving them a glimpse into my own story, without even really meaning to. Believe it or not, this is a pretty happy, quirky, and whimsical piece. Sure, it’s kind of girl meets boy, but the boy is eating an apple at one point, so it’s not your every day dance, I think.
But then again, if it was truly autobiographical I suppose I should make the girl look like a vampire. Cause apparently, that’s what I look like.
conversations.
in Funny Stuff, Thoughts and Feelings
as badminton, coed, day, divorce, Don, getting a divorce, girl, married couple, Miss Jessica, resident expert, South Korea, time max
Life is sad and it is beautiful and it is strange and it is normal.
This week I am teaching a dance and theater camp and working exclusively with six to nine year olds. They are adorable with their recently acquired grown-up teeth that have not yet quite settled and so still seem too big for their little mouths. And man do they get tired. But their dances are not even that hard! I know cause I am the one choreographing them. I mean, I am making them use some pretty sweet little benches as props and they do have to carry them around like all day every day (read: for about 15 seconds at a time, max!), but don’t worry. Cause these benches are tiny. And very light. And these kids are just fine, though very good at pretending to be “so tired, Miss Jessica!”
And it’s amazing how they have not learned to keep secrets. They’ve barely learned to be embarrassed. We were rehearsing yesterday; they were all piled on those little white benches, when one little girl just announced to the world that her parents are getting a divorce.
At which point another girl asked what a divorce is.
Silence.
Being the resident expert, I stepped in and explained that it’s when a married couple decides not to be a couple anymore. I tried to act nonchalant about it, for the sake of the girl whose parents had just decided this. It’s not a nonchalant thing, not at all, but on my watch, I didn’t mind if this girl has a little more time innocently believing that maybe it is.
And then the girl said that it’s pretty cool, though, because her mom’s gonna have another baby. Oh great! I said. Oh shoot! I thought. How sad. And then the girl said that her parents’ couldn’t afford two houses, with this new baby coming and all, so they all still lived in one house and I said, Oh, well that’s something! And I thought about how weird that would be.
Divorcing somebody doesn’t really mean that you wouldn’t mind still living with that person. I mean it’s a pretty strong statement. About the strongest one you could make in terms of setting boundaries. And you don’t usually make that kind of statement to another person and then don’t mind them seeing you in just your towel as you flit from the bathroom to the bedroom.
Another little girl finally asked when these parents are getting this divorce. But with her little-girl accent, it sounded more like divoice. And so, with a little bit of laughter, the girl corrected her, saying, It’s divorce, not divoice! And it already happened!
And that was that.
And I thought it was sad but look, another sad thing that is just somebody’s new normal. That happens a lot in this world, I guess.
Oh, and now I have to share with you a wonderful and vast mistake I made the other day. I was at a party. A party full of church-goers and I know what you’re thinking: WILD. And I don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable or anything, but well, badminton did happen. And not just once, either.
Anyway.
A friend of mine was asking me if I wanted to go on a midnight swim in a creek. I said sure because duh! who doesn’t? But then it quickly escalated to talks of skinny dipping and does this really shock you? I already mentioned the badminton! And I didn’t want to admit this, but all of this conversation was taking place while I was actually in the act of playing badminton. So I was talking quite loudly, being on the other side of the court and all.
And that’s when I mentioned that I had never actually been skinny dipping. Oh, but I remembered something so I had to amend it by saying, Well, okay. So I’ve done some organized skinny dipping, I guess.
Huh? Was basically the general response to that, so I went on to explain that while I was in South Korea and Japan, I visited the public baths there and yes, everyone bathes completely naked.
But then I tried to put all fears and judgy feelings to rest by loudly proclaiming, But don’t worry–it was COMPLETELY coed.
And then there was a pause while nobody said a word and I thought to myself that I was glad I explained it so as to leave no room for misunderstanding.
But then I remembered something about the word coed actually meaning well, COED. LIKE GUYS AND GIRLS TOGETHER. Ohhhhhh. So I was like, wait! Does coed mean both sexes? Cause I meant it was NOT coed. I might have been confusing by saying the exact opposite of what I meant, you know.
And then everyone started cracking up laughing and we even took a tiny break from badminton (I wish I could say that it was at that point that we finally stopped that dismal behavior, but alas, we continued for quite some time). We kept quoting Don’t worry guys, it was COMPLETELY coed! to each other because how dumb! And how opposite of what I meant!
And how very glad I am that I explained myself after explaining myself.
