Faster Faster!

I cannot remember the last time I sweated this much. It is looking like highs around 90 for the rest of the week. The studio is not air conditioned. We are all guzzling water like we can't get enough, which is pretty much what's up. But I feel amazing. I forgot how fun an endorphin high is while dancing hard all day.

Ray Hesselink is a complete hoot. Amazing dancer and really funny guy. I feel a nonsexual crush coming on... His class was fast and furious, but he keeps the mood light and I like his focus not on the steps (although the assumption is that you will have them immediately) but on the character of the rhythms, the play, the connection to the audience.

Harold Cromer's class is awesome. We are learning a piece of his choreography called Opus One. I am fascinated by the body of traditional rep that exists in tap. Like tunes in Irish or old time, but recently composed and everyone gives props to the choreographers. I am itching to learn them all. I hear folks talking about Buster Brown's Laura, Leon Collins' 1-4. We started learning the BS Chorus and worked a bit on The Shim Sham and Cole's Stroll in Dianne's class. I would happily do just that stuff for the entire 2 weeks. Ah well, projects for the future.

In my room in a quiet moment, playing a few tunes on the whistle to get out of tap dance head. This could (and did) make me feel like a bit of a dork here in the land where cool is everything and everything is cool, until later when one of the ultra hip young tap dudes said, "Yo, that was tight. What was that thing you were playing?" My life is complete.

The mosquitoes here are the size of small dogs and they attack swiftly and without mercy. We are swatting constantly. You put on bug spray and you can hear them laughing at you...