Teabagging???

Luis said I was doing this to him. Actually, we were coached by school head, Tony Meredith, on Tuesday, for the showcase, and Luis asked him how he could stop this “teabagging” from happening after I smacked my head into his crotch for the umpteenth time doing our “snake” (I think I posted about this trick before, but if not, it’s where he dips me, then I slide backward between his legs and curl around him on the floor, he pivots around and picks me up. Originally, when I was practicing in my soft jazz shoes, everything was fine, but since I’ve begun wearing the Latin stilettos that I’m going to have to dance the showcase in, I’m a good two inches taller, and now I seem to keep whacking my big head into his crotch on my way through his legs). Anyway, I stupidly said, “what’s teabagging,” a little too loudly, causing a bit of a stir in the studio. Apparently it’s a gay thing (what isn’t with L?), and not a bad thing. Which is good because I really thought my hard head was hurting him! Anyway, apparently, according to the brilliant Mr. Meredith, I just need to watch for his crotch and duck! And, if I always look at him (or whomever my partner is), I will also avoid: whacking his right cheek with my left arm when we go into the “scorpion lift” (in which I reach over his body with my left arm, catch my left ankle over his head, then he picks me up and swings me around and around and around and around); kicking him in the back of the head with my left foot on that same lift; piercing all of his toes with my Latin stilettos on cuban rocks in shadow position (where guy is right behind girl, but a little to her side, so he looks like her shadow); bumping him in the crotch on my backward cha chas in same shadow position; and a whole host of other ‘beat-up-on-your-teacher’ probs that I have. And, amazingly, that nifty little bit of wisdom — LOOK at your partner and you will likely avoid hitting, kicking, and stepping on him — has been working … EXCEPT when we dance to the crazy fast, insanely fast music, and then I get so nervous and afraid I’m not going to keep up with Gloria (I know I’ve said this before, but will say again: Do NOT under any circumstances dance to a Gloria Estefan song if you are not a professional – her music is always way way WAY the hell faster than it sounds when you’re sitting on the couch listening!). Anyway, ugh, I am starting to really want this thing to be over with. Just a week and a half now… Here is a pic of my very sore, bruised and battered little knee, from our lovely little snake.

On Monday night, a student who works at Barneys arranged to have some of her makeup artists come to the studio and give us a little demonstration on how to do stage makeup. We learned how to do a Latin face, a Fantasy face, and a Classic Theater face. Here are a couple of pics. I don’t know that I will be able to emulate the Latin face the Bobby Brown guy gave our Latin model, but we did walk away with a handy little Barneys bag of goodies, which included fake eyelashes studded with rhinestones, blush, concealer, high performance cleansing solutions and moisturizer, eyelash adhesive, and an eyelash curler (dramatic lashes are apparently huge in ballroom!)

On Tuesday, after my coaching session with Tony, I met up with Alyssa and we trekked over to the East Village to see ABT dancer Matthew Murphy‘s Two Thirds Quartet, his choreographic debut at Dance Off, at PS 122. It was a lot of fun! Dance Off, which I’d never been to, is apparently an arena where emerging choreographers (mainly of modern dance) can show new work in a small, informal setting. Matt’s piece was the only ballet, and was, in mine and Alyssa’s opinions, leagues above the rest (though I’m a balletomane!), and was an intensely dramatic, rather beautiful duet for two men (one part danced by Matt). We met him afterward, and he’s a very sweet, personable guy who seemed genuinely thankful that we came 🙂 Most dancers I know seem this way — maybe because they’re separated from their families at dance boarding schools and make big career decisions at a young age, they mature quickly, develop good manners and social graces… who knows. Anyway, I thought it was a great accomplishment for someone so young (20), and I love being able to go to things like this here – one of the many things I so love about NYC! I stupidly didn’t think to take pics afterward, but here is a pic beforehand — I sat behind choreographer Elizabeth Streb (and am admittedly a complete goof for being excited about that…)

Finally, I am finally going to be reading from my novel, as part of the Writers’ Room reading series, at the Cornelia Street Cafe, in the Village, on June 21st. I know, this is obviously ridiculously advanced notice, but this is how it is in the lovely world of publishing — everything is so damn far in advance… It really amazes me anyone (a novelist anyway) is actually published before age 40 — they probably wrote the damn novel at 18 and it took all those years of: quering agents, having each one take six months to a year to get back to you, then asking for the first 50 pages of the manuscript, then taking another 6 months to read that, then asking for the whole manuscript, then taking a year to read that, then signing on with you, then having that agent suggest a bizillion rewrites, which you make and send back to her, which she takes a year to read over, only to suggest more, which you make and she takes another year to read, then she sends the manuscript out to editors, who all go through the same process all over again… How do people even get published in their lifetimes?… Ugh. The life of a writer, I’m slowly learning, is waiting, waiting, waiting, and more waiting. Which is why I think blogs are becoming so big … Imagine: writing you can actually have total control over, and can publish whenever you damn well want! What more could anyone want?????