Director's Journal

For those of you who missed us this morning, Bubba and I were on Good Day Atlanta. In polyester. And 5 inch heels (me). With the popularity of Disco Summer Nights, Bubba and I were invited to do an interview and give a disco dance lesson to Mark and Suchita- which has to have been the highpoint of their morning.

Bubba looked great - he got Suchita to dance with him and she was into it. As they were moving in unison, looking hip and glamorous, I, on the other hand, in shoes I could barely walk in, wearing a vintage corral colored disco dress I had no business being in (at 8am), had to stop the choreography to give Mark a rhythm lesson. "Can anybody learn to disco?" he asks. Seeing my opportunity to speak I said: Absolutely! Well.........

Ahhhhhh, the dilemas of small business.  Last week we finally bit the bullet and made the decision we've been avoiding for a very long time.  Faced with the economic realities of our explosive growth and subsequent increase in expenses, we could not continue to be in denial regarding our monthly unlimited cards.  

I walked out of Stretch tonight as usual, into a throng of people, inching my way towards the front desk.  The unmistakable sound of Tim's voice, high above the crowd:  Jazz Fitness in OOOOONE! Jazz Basix in TWOOOOOO! MV Funk in THREEEEEE! And the Bridge in FOOOOOOUR!!!  He is standing on a chair behind the front desk.  The calling of classrooms has become a tradition at Dance 101.  An unintentional piece of studio culture - we've scratched our heads and pondered more professional sounding methods - but nothing has seemed quite right and old habits die hard.  I wonder sometimes how it must be for newcomers - what must they think?

"Disco Will Heal The World"

-Doriana Sanchez- 

July 4th, 2008, was an Independence day I will not soon forget.  No fireworks for me, at least not exactly, I accepted an invitation from Bubba and Tim to attend a concert at the Atlanta Civic Center - the kick off of Gay Pride weekend.  Performing: CeCe Penniston, Frenchie Davis, Thelma Houston and Expose.  It was sure to be a blast to the past and with the Disco Craze that's running through the studio these days (Thanks to Bubba's Disco Summer Nights classes - Thursdays 8:30pm and now Saturdays 3pm), I couldn't wait to hear these artists live.  Further, Bubba got us backstage passes.  Pictured here are Bubba, Tim, CeCe, Frenchie and me right before the show.

Picture it:  1000 people, 3 sports, 1 event.  Thats right, I'm talking Triathlon.  Yesterday my sister and I participated in the Callaway Gardens 2008 Sprint Triathlon.  It's a 'beginner' triathlon, so it was quite a bit shorter than the Olympic or Ironman distances (those people have either the stamina of the Energizer Bunny or else a high tolerance for pain).  Ours was a 400-meter swim followed by a 10-mile bike ride followed by a 2-mile run, on a relatively flat course.   And yes, we did this of our own volition.  Actually, it was Leslie's idea.  I had toyed around with the thought of doing one in the past but never got up the guts to actually train for one.

This entry, while written for anyone attending our show TransforMotion this weekend, is actually written for the 127 dancers participating in this event.  Not to exclude the 17 choreographers, Bubba, Tim, Paulina, Michael, Marni, Rick nor the many volunteers involved, as I move through these days - performing my role in this production, my thoughts constantly gravitate to the dancers - especially those making their performance debut as well as those relatively new to this experience. 

Were you wondering what  happened to the door knob on the men's bathroom?  

If any of you have a suggestion on how to fix this, we'd appreciate your help.  Ofelia

Transformation is the most powerful word in our language. It describes change in a most favorable light, it sums up the experience of living, and it speaks, in a spiritual sense, to what makes life interesting.