Beantown

I spent last weekend at Beantown Camp in Beverly, MA. It's dance camp for adults and it was absolutely fabulous! I can't remember the last time I had so much non-stop fun. So instead of boring all of you with the rundown of my weekend, I thought I'd just list my favorite things about it, in no particular order.

1. Beverly, Massachusetts is a very quaint little town. I fell in love with it the second I saw the knee high stone walls that bordered the streets.

2. Endicott College campus, where camp was held, is absolutely beautiful. While the campus map was impossible to comprehend, it provided opportunity to explore the campus to find my classes. I found a lovely little path which led to a bridge over a pond, complete with croaking frogs and ducks.

3. Camp food. The food was good, and I'm not going to complain about any food I didn't have to cook or clean up after, even if there wasn't any beef served (that I can recall).

4. Alone time. Because I drove the 8 hours to and from camp and also didn't know anyone who would be there, I was afforded lots of much needed alone time. Since I didn't bring anyone or know anyone, I felt no obligations to anyone. I came and went to classes, meals and dances as I pleased.

5. Fun, Talented Instructors. A few of the instructors seemed really familiar to me, and I'm not sure if it is because I watched videos of them on Youtube or saw pictures of them on the Beantown website, or what... I think I actually had Jojo and Kevin at a Charm City Swing workshop, but I'm not sure. Personal favorites: Evita and Michael, Marty (so adorable I kept making mistakes because I was distracted by his cuteness) and Sylvia, Ryan and Jenny (famous UK dancers with credentials longer than my arm) and Eric the amazing hiphop/ movement instructor (I was feeling his class for days afterward).

6. Social dance time. Every night there was a dance giving us all opportunity to practice the days lessons and to fake at being better dancers than we really are. I was happily surprised to have several of the more experienced leads ask me to dance and show me how it's done.

7. Diverse people. From a grumpy octogenarian to the perky 18yr old hiphop dancer; French Canadians and Brits; many races, religions and origins. There were even French Canadians. Overall I found this diverse group fun and welcoming to a newbie like myself. I do hope to get back there again.

8. Dancing all day. Can't feel guilty about eating dessert at lunch and dinner when you're moving all day long :)

Swingin' into action

Look who's on this month's brochure for the Friday Night Swing Club!
Yep, it's yours truly dancing in one of my very own sewing creations, doing a little East Coast Swing with my good friend, Brian. (Those are the shoes I got for my birthday that I was so excited about! They make my feet happy too, thanks again mom and dad.)

So even when the crappy winter doldrums have got me down, I can look forward to dancing on Friday nights, which instantly lifts my spirits. But really, I think the doldrums have waned for now. I found great encouragement just the other day while out walking. I noticed tulip bulbs breaking through the cold, crusty dirt, and buds tinged with green on the Dogwood tree. I also noticed, as I was out around dusk this weekend, that the days are getting a teensy bit longer now. And while I know we've still got more winter to bear, I've seen the signs of Spring and I'm heartened by them. It was a somewhat mild day today, so I spent some time on a bench, while the kids played "mud pies," facing into the sun and trying to absorb those rays. Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, and so does dancing on Friday nights.

Entertaining Myself

Lately I've been watching season 3 of Project Runway. The first disc had a long wait on Netflix (no, I don't have cable T.V.) so I just skipped on to disc 2. I love this show because it has not only to do with fashion, but construction of garments. I love watching the process of an idea being made into a reality. The people on the show (real people chosen for their talent) are characters to say the least. The dynamic in and out of the workroom with these people can become quite intense. They are under extreme stress, limited time, sleep, and budget, with crazy criteria and high expectations from the critics of creating "fashion forward," "innovative" designs that are made and fit well. I can't help wondering what kind of stuff I'd make out of recyclables, or what I'd design for a plus size woman to make her look fabulous and "fashion forward," or what kind of outfit could I make with only one day and $50 starting from scratch? It's "reality" television, yeah, right, this stuff never happens in reality, but it's still fun to watch.

Friday afternoon my cheap-o plug'n play Dance Dance Revolution game arrived in the mail. I had bought it from ebay for cheap, and now I know why, but it's still great fun for the kids and myself. Dancing is really the only form of exercise I enjoy, so I thought I'd get this as a workout kind of thing. The music is cheesy electronic versions of pop songs from three years ago (or more) and the graphics are reminiscent of programs we designed in 8th grade computer lab (OK maybe not the ones I designed but other kids in my class). But it keeps us moving. The boys have taken to the pinball game where they move the "flippers" by jumping on the dance pad, and L likes the "whack-a-mole" game if we all help her, so she only has to jump on one square. Now, after playing for only three days, I'm seriously considering going for the real deal...

Friday night I went to a party for my friend's birthday and learned about another cable show I'm going to be hooked on called "Flight of the Conchords." It's completely quirky and hilarious and I can't even begin to explain it in a way that would do it justice. Only that I laughed so hard that there were many lines I missed, so I'm definitely going to watch those episodes again. Watch a clip here.

Marilyn Me

Now I'm famous! I just found a picture of myself (enjoying the fan) posted on the Friday Night Swing Dance Club website! Check out some of the crazy Halloween costumes here, or better yet, come dance with me sometime.

Belly Flops and Belly Rolls

I was able to get out for a little fun recreation today. I took Light Rail down to Baltimore's Inner Harbor for Flug Tag today. For those of you unfamiliar (as I was), Flug Tag is an event where people create man-powered flying machines and test their abilities to fly....landing them in the harbor. Some were designed well for flying or at least, gliding down to the water gracefully and others were just fun to watch plummet, flop, or even get hung up on the side of the platform before going down.

Then this evening spent a few hours with some girlfriends learning how to belly dance. Just watch me figure 8, belly roll, chest pop, and shimmy. It was great fun. Our instructor first performed for us a dance where she balanced lit candles on a tray on her head. Later I learned she does the same dance with a sword! Now that would have been cool to see! But the candles were pretty impressive. Not sure when I'll have opportunity to put any of these new learned skills into practice, but it was entertaining and I think that I may have created a few new synapses in my brain because of it.