Summer of Tammi: dance

Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Minute by minute

My favorite 5 minutes on the phone (complete with air kisses!)+

New Street Art+

Sidewalk Iris+

The New Spidey+

I got my legs did+

dancing with Deb+

The best kiddos you could ask for=

a week fof minutes that bring me joy.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

After an unexpected trip to CA due to a family tragedy, I came back to New York and I've been feeling a bit out of sorts. Typically, my dad and I spend Spring Break going on a trip together. It's an amazing time for us to share stories, reminisce, build new memories and just enjoy each other's company. Instead, I spent most of the week inside my apartment. After a week of feeling totally blah (and after listening to perfect advice from a wonderful friend) I realized that I can't take care of other people unless I take care of myself first. I wasn't sleeping, kept forgetting to eat dinner and was a general mess! I started thinking about the things I would do as a kid to take care of myself and what I did to enjoy my time and make my life great. Some of my favorite memories as a kid are: curling up in bed with a good book or my most recent Calvin and Hobbes, dancing my little heart out all afternoon long at Joan Golden Dance Studio or choreographing solos in my bedroom to ridiculous music, doing impersonations (apparently I loved doing this for my parents), spending time with friends, writing in my journal and just being an overall happy person. I think it's time to bring it back.

HOW TO LIVE LIKE A KID:

1. Learn something new:

Every week, I used to memorize a new vocabulary word. Since when did that go out of style? Now, I keep a list of words on my phone that are new to me and that I love, but why not seek out more?

Word of the week:

Amanuensis (noun)

a person who writes down your words when you cannot write, for example if you are injured and have an exam2an assistant, especially one who writes or types for somebody
Use it in a sentence: I needed an amanuensis for Summer of Tammi recently, as I've been too darn busy to create a post.

2. Play outside.

I kept myself holed up in my apartment and realized after three days that I needed to get out. Just being outdoors in the sunshine makes everything better. One of my favorite pictures from my childhood is me with my cousins--in our bathing suits, in the grass, licking Popsicles--time to get outside and explore.

3. Try new things:

When I was little, I had these cookbooks that I loved to make dinner from. I would cull my favorite recipes and try them out on the family. These days, I sometimes fall back into what's comfortable. I forced myself to make some new treats. Sometimes it's scary doing new things, but I have to remind myself, what's the worst that can happen?

4. Write thank you notes:

When you're a kid, you are always required to write a thank you note. Why do people stop doing this as adults? I'm a lover of all notes, especially thank yous and realized I haven't had a Grateful Grazie in awhile either...time to get crackin'.

5. Cry....a little, or a lot. Yeah, whatevs, I cry. Sometimes crying just helps.

6. Love and Be Happy:

As children, we just do the things that make us happy. We spend time with the people we like. We don't bother to eat the foods we hate or play with the mean kids on the playground.

I need to spend more time with the people I love and the ones who love and support me.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Singing in the Rain

As I was walking back from seeing Ballet Arizona at the Joyce this past weekend, one of my fave peeps in the neighborhood passed me as I took the long walk home. I said my hello and it took him a moment to get out of his head. I asked him about work and the restaurant, then he said, "How are you always so positive?". Truth be told my dear ones, I'm not always positive. Lately, I've had a spout of negative days and many thoughts of, "What am I doing!?". I've tried watching happy movies at 2am, dinner with friends, leaving voice mails for my close friends that try not to sound pleading and pitiful when I say, "So, I hope I hear from you soon!". In fact, when I saw my neighbor, I was just having a major pep talk with myself and I was walking home instead of taking the train because I needed to try to get out of my negative funk.

Before I saw my neighbor, I was walking along telling myself that it's my choice to be positive (while my inner critic is telling me how much I suck) when this man and his little girl passed by me. They were literally bouncing down the sidewalk, with the 40-something-year-old father singing, "The wonderful thing about Tiggers, is Tiggers are wonderful things. But the most wonderful thing about Tiggers, is that I'm the only one!". It snapped me out of my own head, at least for a moment, and brought a smile to my face. That simple scene brought back and slew of memories from high school. One of my best friends loved Tigger and I immediately thought of us driving to school every morning in my green KRMT mobile, singing at the top of our lungs. It brought back the memories of all those peer groups I was a part of. I wasn't a popular kid, but somehow I fit into many different groups. It brought back the memory of Junior Prom; this little dork was announced prom queen as the truly popular girls looked on in horror with fake smiles. Burying spoons at waterfalls with Jamie Knight. Baking personalized cookies for my entire class, only to wake up the morning of our class party to find out that my brother's dog had jumped up on the kitchen counter and had little midnight snack of his own.

In response to my friend's question, I revealed that I'm not always positive. For some reason I do have a hard time letting people know when I'm struggling. I just always try to remind myself that my happiness is my choice. I think my mom always sets such a wonderful example of optimism and the value of a positive attitude. I try to keep her in mind when I get a little down. For now, I will make the choice to be positive and see the bright side of things. There's so many great things in my life. Just like that happy bopping Tigger-father, this week has a slew of happy snapshots as well:

Juice with Annie=connection bliss

Love notes, totes=My boyfriend giving me a lovely affirmation

Sparkle Boot Find=For my silly shoe messages I send John Yan

A surprise gift from my amazing sister=She's totes incredible.

Seeing Deborah Lohse in the dance studio=Swoon. Happy Heart.

Making homemade arugula pesto=no verdict yet...I'll report back.

My favorite dinner all week=Porsena. Ahh. comfortable, fun, peaceful.

Beginner Classes: 8-year-old Gabriel on what adagio is:

"It's about listening to the music and putting that feeling into your movements".

Parent Teacher conferences: One of my students look around the room and told his mom, "Miss Sham-ba-lin isn't here tonight". She said, "She must be". Then she saw my name at the table I was stationed at. Little Alvin couldn't recognize me because I had my long hair down and he only sees me with a bun on the top of my head.

There's always little special moments that make life so incredible and lovely.

Enjoy them.

Acknowledge them.

Live them.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Magical Mondays

Magical Mondays (don't you just love it when you find a new fun place and it's only three blocks from your house. That's how I roll). +

Pilates Pilates & more Pilates+

A picnic in your apt (why not? Push the couch aside, invite over your fave neighb, put a blanket down and get ready for fun!)+

Delish Upstate (the SCALLOPS! I lick the plate every time. How is it a restaurant gets better every time you go?)+

Cooking for friends part two+

Dinner Date!+

Daniel Kitson (a-mah-zing)+

Secret Projects+

Dance Parties=

I may have a very sore neck, and not due to pilates...dance parties are hard on this old lady.

What can you do? Gotta live it up.

Monday, December 19, 2011

California Dreamin'

That's all I can think this week.

I want to be surrounded by love, caring, warmth and compassion.

Bring it Cali.

Until then, a mix-up of last week's happenings.

Open Classes at Ballet Tech & the annual holiday dance (The best week ever. I learned to "Dougie!")+

Megan McKenna catch up time+

Listening to people talk about jobs they love (and seeing Grover live!)+

Holiday Parties Galore+

Emily's Birthday(secret Speakeasy & apparently people like a Hipster Tamsham)+

Cookie Baking with Annie & Dave+

The phenomenal Laura Careless in Snow White and Oaxaca Taco (which I just like saying)+

Brunch with Immigrant Crew+

Seeing my favorite boys and the memories of youth with ShrinkyDinks=

Get me to the cozy fireplace and calm of my parent's house. Yes, please.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Love notes, totes--crackin' the nut

This past week, I picked up my Christmas tree. I love putting on the Christmas music and lighting my pumpkin candle, while having some cookies in the oven.

Most of my fellow dancer friends are getting excited about Nutcracker--from the first time they hear the Sugar Plum Fairy while gliding through the grocery store, the endless advertisements for a Nutcracker, to the little girls seeing the ballet for the first time--me, I tend to get very melancholy.

For me, this time of year represents something different.

It was 14 years ago that I was poised to dance the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker. Always a coveted role, I was excited and terrified. My dance teacher, Kirk Derby, was also my cavalier. We had rehearsed for months. He was dreading wearing white tights. Always fit and debonair, he was very self conscious and those darn tights is what I know he was least looking forward to wearing. The two of us would meet in the afternoon once I got out of school and rehearse until we both had to teach.

I danced that Nutcracker as a solo.

I received a phone call one night before the performance that Kirk had died. He died many years too early and it's always this time of year that brings him back to me the most.

For Christmas that year, one of the mother's of a student of mine got me a tree as a remembrance of Kirk. My little Christmas tree this year reminds me of that tiny little tree that she gave to me. Now, when I go back to visit my family, that tree is planted at my parents house and has grown much taller than me.

One year during our session for school photos, it was just myself and Dani Snodgrass that showed up for picture day for our routine, Kiss From a Rose. Kirk had such a great sense of humor and our photo ended up being, "Kiss From My Butt". I still have that picture in my teeny apartment, reminding me of him. There are moments from our time together that were paramount in my teenage years. My favorite moments are from our time together in the studio, rehearsing together. Just the two of us, laughing and having a great time.

I can remember walking around backstage at the theatre that year with my dear dance teacher, Kathy Milo, by my side as I cried my little eyes out. She got me through that Nutcracker and I am forever grateful. Having to hold myself together for all my students at the time was one of the most difficult masks I've ever had to wear. I will forever miss his smile, his warm & gentle nature, teaching my mom and I all about "fag hags", the same self doubt that we shared, his tales of cruise ship dancing, his calm demeanor in the classroom. He was my teacher. My friend. My partner.

When I hear those opening notes of the Grand Pas, I just think of putting my hand in his, the biggest grin on my face and him greeting me with that beautiful smile. I sit here next to my tiny tree thinking of him. I will always miss him.