There is only one creative art form that gives me more pleasure than collaging. And that is...(drumroll please)...dancing! Okay, there's also playing music and singing which are way up there too. Which brings me to my main point which is that, I am really into doing creative things in my free time. Some people refer to these things as hobbies. Just in case you were wondering here is a list of hobbies I have engaged in during my short life: sticker/gem/shell/button/stamp collecting, gymnastics, diving, capoeira, ballet/jazz/west african/breakdancing/flamenco/modern dance, bookmaking, photography, drums (kit, ghanaian, afro-cuban, klezmer), singing, acting, speech team. I am not always as dedicated to my hobbies as I could be - I guess that's why they're hobbies and no one's paying me to do them. Last night, my younger sister commented on the fact that I seem to be actualizing a lot of my creative fantasies lately. We were talking about why this might be and to be honest, I'm not sure, but I think if social work school has taught me one thing it's that things happen in time, and we have to be patient with ourselves and others. So there's a couple things that I have talked about (or thought about) for a long time that I am finally getting to now. One is this blog. And another is the dance bag.
The "bag" is a spandex bag that one dances in. Clearly. I first used these in Jim Tenuta's mime class at the Academy of Movement in Music back in the day. I'm pretty sure they were influenced by Martha Graham's genius use of fabric. Years later when I was in college, I went back to "the Academy" and talked to Stephanie, the director of the school about the dance bags. She told me about Spandex House, a store in NYC that only sold spandex from which they ordered their oh so special spandex to make the bags. I ordered swatches, but never actually bought any fabric. Years after that I found myself living in NYC and one day on a lim went to the store and bought some sweet spandex. It sat in my apt. for a long time until one day I realized that my friend is not only awesome, she is also a costume construction wizard. Luckily, she indulged me and made the bag I had dreamed about. More time passed and the bag sat in the corner and I looked sheepishly at it, not knowing how I would ever use it. And then one day last month I got an email about a friend's birthday party. A talent show birthday party. And I thought, "Yes. The time has come."
And here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrejeY6DXWA
So the point is, I have officially decided that regardless of what "job" I end up getting post graduation (fingers crossed), I am hereby taking (some of) my hobbies seriously. So maybe I won't ever be a professional dancer. But that doesn't mean I don't put on a damn good talent show.
