Happy New Year from my family to yours!!

I like my life.  Happy 2009!!!

Happiness is...making a show you love.

Abiyoyo!!  A show made with love from everyone involved.  No one else will possibly see how magical this show because they didn't get to spend three months with it, but it doesn't matter. It's perfect to us.  It's rare to get a show that feels so special when you do so many, which is why I am taking the time to feel, appreciate, and gush over it.  Coming soon to 32 grade schools near you...

Directed, choreographed, written by me

Original music and orchestration by Eric Mayson

Set and Costume design by Amanda Rosmairek 

  (We comprise the top picture and bottom row)

Starring... (second row L to R, top row L to R)

  Kayla Bartlett as Cook and Hermit 2

  Taylor Johnson as Carpenter, Hermit 1, & Abiyoyo

  Kim Steffen as Grandmother and Hermit 3

  Emma Ottoson as Chief's Daughter

  Stephen Crisp as Chief

  Adam Moen as Ukulele Boy

  Duncan Scully as Father

Based on the South African fable as told by Peter Seeger

THIS IS WHY I LOVE WHAT I DO!

My new step-dad

prototypical procrastination post--

As I sit in my office, cooling my heels between pieces in what will be the LAST dance recital of my life, I should be crossing things off of my to do list.  Instead, I am hit with a massive case of procrastination.  Even as I know the less I use my time right now, the less I get sleep, I cannot make myself work on my design project!  (George ignore this.)  Thus I blog...

Thanksgiving was nice.  Family was good.  Chris forced me into braving Black Friday for the first time in my life and I liked it.  It made me realize he'll be leaving again very soon and how much I count on him.  Also...Mom got hit on my a department store Santa Claus.  AND we got to hang out with Heidi for a bit!  So all in all, an excellent time!

I am in tech for the Fall Dance Concert.  I am in a modern piece.  I am dancing for someone else, in a non-musical theatre style, for the first time since I was 17.  It's been interesting.  I loved dancing outside my usual area and a part of me loved not choreographing it...but the other part of me had a really hard time not taking over or trying to clean or clarify the piece.  This piece made me realize how much my knees have really taken the toll for this dancer inside a big girl life I've forced on them.  What I thought would be dancing for the love of it all semester turned into something that made me limp and kept me out of the gym for months.  It wasn't what I thought it would be.  It's a good realization to make: I can teach and choreograph as much as I want because then I decided when I do and don't use my knee, but I can't dance on other people's terms.  Thus this will be the last dance recital of my life.  It's kind of appropriate.  I was 7 at my first one (Elephant Dance forever!) and I'm 27 for the last one.  It's a pretty good run.  I'm at peace with it.