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The thing about performance, even if it's only an illusion, is that it is a celebration of the fact that we do contain within ourselves infinite possibilities. |
Friday, June 25, 1999
One year ago: My Dinner with Helen
I was reading at Pigdog today. There's usually fun content there, and stuff that's new to me. They had an item that was dance related, so I checked it out. The group, AWD, sounds pretty cool. I checked out the workshops they were giving. Butch dance! Wow, I wonder what that's like? Oops! It was Butoh dance, which is also cool, but a different sort of thing than I was imagining.
* * * * * * * *
Tonight was the last performance of the season for "Swing This!," the performing group associated with the Century Ballroom. I'd been to the first show, so I wanted to see the last one, also.
I got to the ballroom in good time, and was seated in the front row. I was sitting next to Adam (he injured his ankle playing volleyball, the fool! A non-dance-related injury will keep him off the floor for the rest of the summer.) and Brian came and sat next to me. But then the crowd got a bit bigger than expected, and they brought in another row of folding chairs -- and put them in front of us! I was a bit annoyed; we should have automatically been moved to the front, and the folks who came later should have been seated behind.
Oh, well, I could still see. The performance was great! Good enthusiasm from the crowd meant good energy for the dancers. There was lots of variety in the music and choreography. I'm still very admiring of the skill and creativity involved in the whole show. I think maybe the party scene done to This Joint is Jumpin' is my favorite, with everyone rushing in, pairing off in every concievable way, dancing with joy and verve, then rushing out when the police raided the joint. So funny!
![[Hep Jen after the show]](062599hepjen.jpg)
They took a few minutes at the end to thank all those involved, especially Hallie Kupperman (ballroom proprietor, lead dancer, and co-artistic director of the show) and Loviça Callisti (the other artistic director), who dreamed up the project and made it happen. I got a few pictures of folks milling around and talking to the performers afterwards, but only this one of "Hep" Jen Holland came out well. She and "Cat Daddy" Chris Chapman are leaving town Saturday, and won't be back until mid-August. They'll be at Beantown in Boston, then Herrang in Sweden, all for dancing. Someone else DJing instead of her, three nights a week at various places, will really make a difference in the swing scene here!
I ate dinner in the cafe attached to the ballroom, while the beginners' lesson was happening on the dance floor. Chicken breast, artichoke hearts, snap peas, and polenta, cooked in a parchment pouch -- very tasty, but the chicken was a bit overcooked. I'd try it again.
The music for the evening's dancing was compilation CDs -- favorite songs of the Swing This! troupe. This meant that no one had to sit and DJ, but the price of the evening didn't reflect the lack of live music or live DJ, which seemed odd. There were some rather unusual selections, since each performer had picked five songs they love to dance to. I had a good time dancing, but there was a bit of a lead shortage, that is, of leads known to me. So I danced with a number of folks that I hadn't met before, which is always a good challenge.
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