i volunteered those swing cats still in town to perform tonight for a group of people. 'no problem' people tell us, 'just do 'california'' (one of the routines that's done by neoswing/tasc performance team/hepcats). well, yes, but i suppose it would help if we had that music, wouldn't it? plan b: social dance one song and, heaven help us, do a routine we made up *last night* to 'sing, sing, sing' (aka the 'chips ahoy commercial' song). yes. it's fast. i can't believe we're doing it. a choreographed part at the beginning (shorty george, charleston, shorty george, charleston, tap/spin, charleston, charleston with level change, charleston, kick/spin, charleston with partner (2), kick, kick, spin, swing out!). free dance. partner switch. solos (2). free dance. partner switch (5). lindy circle. charleston. half-time swingouts. lindy like mad for the last eight measures. collapse from exhaustion and try not to fall asleep in the dinner they're offering us.
'think it'll work?' 'it'll take a miracle.'
it'd better — we worked on it from 8pm-1am. at the end, it wasn't that i didn't know what i was supposed to do, it was just that i couldn't get my body to move that fast any more. even still my body feels like it's moving in slow motion...except for my stomach which is jittery. if only i could channel the energy from my stomach to my feet — i'm certainly going to try tonight. i guess the good thing is that the chances of there being someone in the audience who actually knows what we're doing is very slim. (who me? i meant to do that...yeah...)
oh, and that's not all. these really cool sailor pants i plan on wearing? i dropped them off a the drycleaners as soon as they opened yesterday morning. when i picked them up after work, of course it's this one pair of pants that's missing a button (yes, there are six on the front, but it's really obvious!). i took them back in and they told me 'we'll look for it and sew it back on.' me: 'um, i was planning on wearing these *tomorrow*. could you call me as soon as your done?' them: 'sure!' truthfully, i didn't expect to hear back from them until this afternoon, tomorrow, the day after... i was pleasantly surprised, though, when they called this morning at 7:20, which gave me enough time to stop by on my way to work. whew! things are falling into place.
i think i can, i think i can, i think i can....
one of the minnie's moochers, that is. they're based out of ithaca and are one of the best swing dance performance teams in the nation. where? lindy hop body shop in dallas. i didn't get up there for the workshop, but i was able to go to the dances in the evening. we spent saturday bumming around shopping at a thrift store in mckinney. *gasp* one that appeared to have not been found by a swing dancer yet. i found the cutest pair of sailor pants you've ever seen - black, high-waisted, six buttons down the front, and three white stripes around the bottom of each leg. i also got a pair of striped pants, another pair of sailor pants without the stripe, and a cute swishy skirt. all in all a good trip - i only spent $13!
anyway. i was having a great night. my knee held up beautifully (i'm still not going to push my luck!), and i finally seem to be figuring out musicality and stuff. there is quite a bit for me to work on - i'm pretty sure i'm still a heavy follow, and i'm trying to get rid of these weird kick things i do instead of swiveling. i'm working on it, though.
it's moving day! or moving week, at least. the apartment complex agreed finally to paint the cabinets in the kitchen of my new apartment white (it looks *so* much better!!), and they should be moving the appliances back into place this evening. i spent last night shuffling boxes around in my apartment, grouping them by room in my roommate's empty bedroom so that when my friends help me move they won't have to ask where stuff goes. i've also found a ton of stuff my roommate left behind. I really don't want to store it/keep it. i hope she gets back to me soon - otherwise i'll probably just pitch it all in the garbage or something.
back to work, i suppose. i'm in the middle of up updating information for the new school year on the webpage at work.