Why Ain't It Always Summer?

When I was about 10 years old we went on a family holiday to Prince Edward Island. It was a dream vacation to for me, as I was a HUGE L.M. Montgomery fan. I'd read Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, Anne's House of Dreams, Emily of New Moon, Rilla of Ingleside, Mistress Pat, Pat of Silver Bush, A Tangled Web....but of course it was Anne of Green Gables that almost single-handedly launched the Island's tourism industry, with the *real* Green Gables a much-visited tourist attraction attached to a golf course in Cavenish.

My father bought us tickets to see Anne of Green Gables the Musical at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown. I adored the show and was allowed to get the original cast recording - on vinyl no less - which I played over and over on my parent's stereo in our basement in Ottawa. 

By far my favourite song was the one where Gilbert and the boys are complaining about going back to school.  I remember they danced barefoot, the point being that putting shoes on again after a summer of going barefoot, well, sucks.

"Why ain't it always summer?
It would be geat -
Singing around the campfire,
Staying up late.
Might even take a chance on a romance or two,
Why ain't it always summer?
It's over too soon."

This week I attended the annual IncentiveWorks conference and tradeshow, which pretty much demanded that I get out of my Lululemons and put on some more business-like attire , so I wore a bone-coloured Anne Klien suit. I couldn't, however, bring myself to wear closed shoes. My brown Oakley flip flops may have been a bit of a fashion faux pas, but they sure were comfy!

Julie

The Best of Dances, The Worst of Dances

Dear Madonna,

I competed at the Michigan Classic last weekend and achieved my first "picket fence" win. That's when all the judges have you in first place so that the number 1's line up like a picket fence....and that was despite a pretty spectacular error.

Same event - same day, even - I danced in another division and was placed DFL, or Dead F***ing Last. That was another first for me and I'm owning it - which is, of course, easier to do (as Michelle said) when I have a Picket Fence to hide behind - but being at both ends of the spectrum does speak to the immediacy of dance, and how it is appreciated (and judged ) so much in the moment.

Was I better - or worse - dancer from one contest to the next?  Of course not. And as much as I appreciate the feedback from judges and coaches, the biggest trophy I received all weekend was from my partner in the Novice Hustle Jack & Jill who told me - very sincerely - how much he enjoyed dancing with me.

That trumps a Picket Fence any day.

Ciao,
Julie

Ma Vie En Rose

Dear Madonna,

It started innocently enough.

A few years ago I had a dance team called 24 Feet of Funk - made up of six couples - get it? They were getting ready to make their debut at the Toronto Swing Dance Society's Open House and I wanted to wear something that would connect me to the team, without actually dressing in costume. The Followers were in all black with a hot pink hip-band, so I settled on a Nike baseball cap in hot pink.

Little did I know that that would be the thin edge of the rose-coloured wedge.

Today I own a plethera of pinkish T-shirts (which I wear to work out in, along with afore-mentioned pink baseball cap.) My iPod is pink, and there are touches of pink peppered throughout my wardrobe: pink piping on my 'Damzels' dress that Cava-Karen bought for me, pink trim on the Pink Tartan jacket I bought on sale in Syracuse with Dana, and a pink broad-rimmed hat which I bought to wear to Ben and Crystal's wedding.

I'm wearing that hat quite often these days to protect my sun-sensitive skin. You wouldn't believe the compliments I get from complete strangers - men! - on the street. The attention causes me to blush - a subtle shade of...

Julie

P.S. You can see me in my pink baseball cap and pink top in the National Ballet School's official video of our 2010 International Dance Day "flash mob" performance at the Toronto Eaton Centre:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAIzXPqwcag&feature=fvw

International Dance Day Eve

Dear Madonna,

Well tomorrow's the big day: our International Dance Day performance at the Eaton Centre. We have one more rehearsal tonight in the actual space, around the fountain. I'm coming on fairly early in the dance but I still have to pretend to be an ordinary shopper, feigning interest in a store window or something when the music starts - then running (and dancing) into position on cue.

I'm going to miss rehearsals at the National Ballet School. In fact I very nearly *missed* the last rehearsal there on Monday. In a panic to be on time I grabbed a cab and when I told him "400 Jarvis" he said right away: "Ah - the National Ballet School", asking if I was a ballerina. Not wanting to make things complicated I laughed and said something like "wannabee ballerina", though I don't know if he understood.

Then he starting talking about how I must like Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, and fiddling with the radio until he found a classical station. He may have even been Russian himself. We both fell silent when something sweet and soothing was found, putting my rattled nerves at ease so that I arrived relaxed and ready to dance.

He dropped me off at the same place all the other ballerinas were being dropped off.

Julie

SATC Meets WCS

Dear Madonna,

So I finally saw the tribute to you that aired on Glee this week; PA sent me a link.

It's actually the first time I've seen the show. I don't watch much TV. Thanks to a little Christmas Elf, though, I have the complete DVD collection of Sex and the City. I like to put on a single episode late at night when I come home from dancing - kind of like my own SATC-TV.

Lately I've started to fantasize about what it would be like if the characters from Sex and the City danced West Coast Swing...

Charlotte would have a classic approach to the dance, preferring 6- and 8-count patterns to crazy amalgamations. Her syncopations would always be feminine, lady-like, and perfectly chosen to accompany accents in the music. I see her as a very focused and strategic competitor - always searching for the perfect partner to do Strictlys, and ultimately grooming someone to compete with her in Rising Star.

Miranda is also a no-fluff kind of dancer, and is pretty strict about keeping things inside the dance ("It's walk, walk, triple, triple - how hard can that be?"). In Jack & Jills she's a bit of a magnet for, uh, "challenging" draws. She has a slightly addictive personality so stays up very late social dancing at events, still getting up early for the morning workshops. She loves dancing to Blues more than contemporary and watches YouTube clips constantly.

Samantha of course is the consumate Jack & Jill competitor - anything more than a minute with a single partner and she gets bored. She's more than happy to dance outside the box, is a little more "out there" in her styling - which is always executed with complete confidence. Sam's up for anything that will give her more floor-time: Bookends, Three-ways, and anything with lifts and tricks. She lives for dancing spotlight.

Carrie has a kind of style of dancing West Coast that somehow only she can get away with. Even her Jack & Jill outfits are risky: she gets noticed on the dance floor but has had more than one wardrobe malfunction. Carrie's always questioning her own abilities, and takes a ton of Private lessons, making copious notes - on her lap-top, of course. She owns an inordinate number of dance shoes.

New York, the "fifth girl" in the series, happens to be where I saw West Coast Swing the first time and where some of my best memories of the dance were formed. Like West Coast Swing it's exciting, challenging, and resilient - always evolving but true to its own, unique essence.

Hmm - kind of like someone else I know.

Until next time....vogue, vogue, vogue, vogue
Julie

No Spring Kitten

Dear Madonna,

According to the chart in the vet's office, my cats are about my age - in cat years. But unlike me, they haven't made any age-appropriate lifestyle changes. Nor do they floss regularly.

Poor, toothless Zouk.

Julie

Pulling Up My Big Girl Panties

Dear Madonna,

I was at the Chicago Classic last weekend and actually made Finals in both the Advanced and Masters divisions of the Jack & Jill contests. Unfortunately I missed that one line in the Sunday schedule that said "All J&J Finalists must check in with the Head Judge (a.k.a. "God") between 9:00 am and 11:00 am." I showed up at 11:05 to the news that I had been "scratched" from both competitions.

In quick succession I went through several of the stages of grief: shock, pain, anger, depression -not to mention getting on my knees (literally) to "God", tearing up in front of one of the event directors, and pointing the finger of blame towards others - and the system - rather than accepting responsibility for my own oversight.

Thank you, Crystal, for your empathy and encouragement to "move on". It was indeed a learning opportunity - for me and hopefully others.

Until next time,

Julie