My friend Elisabeth dances for joy. She also dances for a living and has jetéd herself into an elite group of people who have made their passion their profession. Elisabeth dances for Li Chiao-Ping Dance and the Catey Ott Dance Collective, and also works as a teacher/choreographer for the Valley Academy for the Arts. On [...]
I am, save a brief, glorious run in the 1968 Green Bay Park and Rec tap and ballet recital, a relegated kitchen dancer. Untrained but unfettered, I dance with dirty pots and pans, dish towels and brooms. I dance because the music moves me. It makes that post dinner pot-scouring time pass much more quickly, [...]
We went to the Boogie Ballroom last Friday night to see Fundamentally Sound perform. We ended up falling in love with the Valley's newest dance studio and its charming owners, Zeke and Pamela Cribbs. A former Fundamentally Sound member, Zeke met Pamela in gospel choir class while they were both students at the University of [...]
The first celebration of my mother's 75th birthday began with a toast by her only son Mike and her oldest grandson Charlie. We'd gathered in Chicago's oldest restaurant for a family party perfectly orchestrated by her youngest, bossiest daughter Jenny, who has some experience producing live events. We ate delicious German food and watched Grandma [...]
When I’m 90, I want to dance the mambo at the Harvest Moon Ball. I’ll sip wine and eat flourless chocolate cake. When I’m 90, I want to explain earnestly to new friends I’ve met on the dance floor that you start to feel old when you’re 86 or 87. I want to be startled [...]