Dancing and Babies

I babysat four out of eight days over the last week. Yes, that's a lot and not so normal (though it has happened before).  I try to babysit as much as I can.  It is such a joy to spend time with G & W. The family is so kind and generous. I deeply admire the parents for many reasons. One being that they have been so successful in their careers. Another reason is that they are raising two adorable and loving children.  The last reason, and the one I admire the most, is that they always treat everyone they meet with deep respect. I'm just the babysitter, but they introduce me to all of their very impressive friends as if I were a member of the family. Well, after two years of babysitting for them and seeing their family life up close and personal, I guess I am practically family. This year I get to spend Valentine's Day with G & W.  I can't wait.

Yesterday I went to a dance audition. I danced! And it looks like I will be able to perform in a show on May 6--only three months away. I am ecstatic. I love dancing, but it has been hard for me to dance since I moved out to DC.  At times I think it's because I feel out of shape and at other times I'm just unsure of where I should go and spend money where I'll actually enjoy the class. I was trying to think of a good analogy for how I've felt about dancing and why it has been so hard to get back into it.  The best analogy I can give is that I felt like a broken glass. It's a glass that wasn't being used very often and got knocked off the counter because it was hardly noticeable there.  It is extremely difficult to pick up the pieces and put it back together.  Luckily, as is the case when you've danced practically your whole life, the infrastructure is still somehow intact--as if your whole skeleton and muscles formed to be a dancer.

So after some prodding from a few friends, I showed up at the audition and realized there are many dancers in the same situation as me.  All the dancers at the audition were working professionals who have let dance slip away a bit--some more than others.  But in only a few months' time we'll be whipped back in shape enough to perform in a show.  I'm so excited.

For kicks and giggles, I've scanned a few old dance photos I received in November during a visit with Cynthia Merrill, another successful woman whom I greatly admire.

The bright and fuzzy blob with glasses is me portraying the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz.  I was a freshman. 

I'm an Indian in Peter Pan. Tiger Lily is right behind me.  I was in seventh grade. 

"The Sun" solo, also in Peter Pan.

I think I was a sophomore in this photo.  Noel and I were performing a piece from La Bayadere for a spring concert.  

beck