Christmas Recital - Video!!

At LAST! The videos from the Christmas Dance Recital! I know it's taken me three days to get this posted, but I have literally spilt blood trying to get this up. I woke up at 4am this morning and decided to get it finished once and for all!

I'm a little frustrated at the poor quality of the video. You can't really see faces, so I'll describe where my kids and I are at the beginning of each dance. There were ten dances total with kids ranging in age from 4 years to teenagers, but we only taped the ones my family was in. Now I'm wishing I had them all!

The Opener - Lollipop by Mika

Megan is the little blonde girl in the center front, wearing a turquoise sweater and pink mini-skirt, holding an orange lollipop. She has a couple of little solo parts in the song, and had a blast doing that. Nathan is second from right, wearing a red sweatshirt with a blue scarf, holding a yellow lollipop. I know it looks like he has braids... but it's the hat he's wearing, not his hair. :D

Check out the Coffee Grinder move by the boys at the front near the end of the video.



Intermediate Clogging Class - Gummy Bear

Nathan is on the far left wearing Orange. Megan is second from right in Blue. Scottlynn (Crazy Lady's youngest daughter) is third from right wearing Pink. These kids had such a fun time learning and performing this song and I think they did a great job! It's hard to believe that my kids have only been clogging for 16 months. I'm absolutely thrilled with the progress they're making, and they absolutely love it!



Lyrical Class - Song for a Winter Night

Megan starts on the far right. She is the tallest blonde girl in this class. Scottlynn starts on the far left. I think. I have a really hard time telling girls apart when their hair is all pulled up!



Adult Clogging Class - Chocolate

From left to right: Sara in Blue, Erin in Yellow, Amidey (The Crazy Lady) in Green, My Lameness in Red, and Jessica (my fave Sister Out-Law) in Orange. We had soooo much fun with this song. This clogging class is literally the highlight of my week. I love all these ladies and can't wait for class to start again in January!



And NOW.... the REST of the Story!

Remember This Comment from the Crazy Lady the other day?

"Btw - It was fun pinching your butt!"

Here's the incident she was referring to. What the HECK?! I guess she was trying to make sure I would smile through the performance! Well... it worked!


All I can say is, it's a good thing my husband didn't see her do that!

Something happened before the camera started rolling that I desperately wish had gotten filmed: Jessica started out on stage and nobody followed her! Somehow she didn't get the memo that we weren't quite ready. When she realized she was all alone up there, she did a little curtsy and then ran back behind the curtain wondering what the heck was going on?! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry Jessica! Love you!

Like I've said before... the laughter is one of my favorite things about clogging. Good times. Good times indeed!

Anyone in the area who wants to sign their kids (or themselves) up for clogging or ballet/lyrical dance classes, just contact The Crazy Lady!

This could be the longest post I have ever published but it is very important so you should read it anyway.

Alternate Title: The Big Day
Alternate Title: Cortisone Shots Rock!

Dance Recital is less than 8 hours away.

I am utterly terrified.

OH! But before I say anymore about that, let me show you a video of my cortisone shot to the knee experience from last week. If you are squicked out by needles you may want to skip this next part. (PSSSST! Hiccups! That would be your cue to scroll down PAST the video.)

Oh and btw - that is NOT my hairy masculine leg in the video. Ahem. Ever the faithful blogger, I was planning to video the procedure, but the camera on my cell phone didn't react well to the X-Ray machine (iow, it was RUINED!) and so I was left without tools to document this wonderful hopefully once-in-a-lifetime experience. So I turned to YouTube and wouldn't you know there are TONS of videos to choose from, but they're mostly male knees. Go figure.

First the doctor drains the knee of extra fluid that has built up inside the joint that is causing the stiffness and pain. Then the cortisone is injected.







My experience was a little more interesting than that video, because when the doctor removed the extra fluid from my knee, my thigh muscles, which due to local anesthetic were no longer under my direct control, contracted and pulled the kneecap down on the needle, which caused me a little bit of concern (i.e. pain), and caused the doctor to admonish me to relax, whereupon I tried my very best to relax but couldn't, even after employing my best active-labor breathing relaxation techniques. So we were in limbo for a minute or two, with the doctor not wanting to force the needle and damage something in there, and with me regretting the whole thing and wishing for sudden, instant, and immediate death. But then she had the brilliant idea for me to bend the knee just a tiny bit, which helped my quad muscles release, which relaxed the kneecap, which ended the pain, which enabled the doctor to complete the procedure, and then it was all over.

Ta DA!

After three days of babying my stupid leg (and getting alarmingly out of shape in the process) the swelling was almost completely gone and I could dance again! Yee HAW!! To say I am thankful for modern technology that keeps me walking would be an understatment. Also, Dr. Melissa McLane at Utah Valley Orthopedics simply RAWKS!!! :waves madly: If you live in Utah County and have a joint injury, go to see her first. You'll love her, I promise.


Fast forward 10 days to today. The good news: My knee is still working great. YAY! The bad news: I feel waaaay less prepared than I did for my last recital. Hence the terror.

I think it's justified. At least a little. Getting up on stage in front of hundreds of people is terrifying even when I'm rock solid prepared. Getting up on stage when I haven't physically been able to practice near as much as I needed to is almost paralyzingly scary. I am literally sick over it.

Everyone keeps telling me not to worry, that no one is expecting me to dance wonderfully so soon after surgery. They tell me they're amazed that I am dancing at all. They tell me not to be so hard on myself. They tell me to just have fun.

And I know they're right. In my logical mind, I agree that I should just relax and not worry about doing a great job and just be happy that I'm walking normally again, let alone dancing, however badly. But that perfectionistic deep-down-very-center-core-of-Who-I-Am has a really hard time playing the cripple card. I don't want to dance well enough for someone who had surgery 7 months ago (which is a nice way of saying "you suck but you have a good excuse so I won't tell you the truth"). I want to dance GREAT! And even though the audience probably wouldn't notice the difference, I notice. And I hate mediocrity, most especially in myself.

But maybe this time I don't have a choice. I've practiced as much as the knee will allow. I am not in control of how fast it heals or how much it will let me do. And at 5pm Mountain Time tonight, I'll get up on that stage and do the best I can, and it will just have to be good enough.

And who knows... maybe it will go better than I think it will. Maybe by some miracle I'll remember all the steps and the formations and I'll remember to look up at the audience and grin like I'm having the time of my life and my knee won't buckle and throw me to the ground and to everyone else it will look amazing or at least not awful.

It could happen, couldn't it?

Dance Recital Video: Adults!

The following video is my adult beginning clogging class dancing to "We Go Together". Erin is on the left, Jessica begins in the center, and I am the tall blonde on the far right. I wish. Ahem. I would have been the tall blonde on the right, had I not had knee surgery on May 6. Instead, I am sitting on the front row whooping and hollering obnoxiously while Amidey dances in my place. (I wish that was me though.)



Do these women rawk or what? So much fun to dance and to watch as well. Way to go girls!

Dance Recital Video: Kids Clogging!

Here's Nathan and Megan's first clogging dance: "Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself"





Here's their second dance: "Get Your Head in the Game"



Pretty good for first years, dontcha think? Say yes.

Spring Dance Recital !

May 31 brought us to the pinnacle of our dancing year - the Recital. Because I wimped out and got knee surgery, I did not dance in the recital, but my kids did. I was backstage helping with costume changes, while Tom and my dad recorded the still and video footage. Thanks guys.


This woman is the creator of it all. My good friend Amidey (aka The Talented One) selects the music, creates all the choreography, and teaches all of the dances to forty-some-odd students spread among several classes. There are ballerinas as young as 3 years old, clear up through cloggers in their early teens. Her abilities and patience continually amaze and astound me. This girl is the real deal.



Here is a portrait taken under duress of our adult beginner clogging class. From left to right, Erin, Me, The Talented One, and Jessica on the front row. This class has been a riot, and I continued to attend class even after it was clear that I would not be able to limp through the recital, just to laugh with (and at) these awesome women.


And here is a sample of Jessica's default attitude, which contributes much to the chaos and fun of the class. Have I mentioned that I love this kid? I am so glad she moved to town so we could become joined at the hip. It is because of her that I decided to try clogging, and I am so very glad that I did.

Here is Nathan on stage while dancing "Get Your Head in the Game". He looked awesome with his big smile and high knees. He really enjoys clogging and I am just thrilled.


Megan the ballerina. This girl dances in her sleep, I think. The other morning she got out of the shower and while standing in front of the bathroom mirror in a puddle of water on the tile floor, prepared to do a pirouette. Naked. In a puddle of water. I kiboshed that one, and then five seconds later when I turned around again, she was clogging! Heaven help me if that kid breaks her neck someday.


If I can get blogger to work, I'll post videos of the dances. I had a clip uploading, but I want to go to bed now. I'll try again tomorrow.

Gettin' Old Is Hard to Do...

I'll be turning 39 soon. The number itself doesn't bother me, but I am opposed to the aches and pains that go with it. I feel like I'm falling apart a little more each year.

At 30 it was a thyroid infection. Thirty-two found me fighting horrible post partum depression. At thirty-four I injured my shoulder while water skiing, and spent over a year rehabilitating my throwing arm. For my thirty-sixth birthday I hobbled about with plantar fascitis. And now as I approach 39, my knee has gone on strike.

I don't know what happened, really. On the last Tuesday in March, I ran around the church building with my Cub Scout Den (and came in second), and three hours later I suddenly couldn't walk right. The left knee had swollen and there was a painful click and pop with every step. Wednesday morning I went to a family practice doctor, who took x-rays, and couldn't see anything wrong. He prescribed ibuprofen, sent me to a physical therapist and made an appointment for me to see an orthopedist the next week. The physical therapist helped reduce the swelling some on Thursday afternoon, but I still had to limp around, dragging my left leg behind me like a zombie.

Against my better judgment, I went to my clogging class Thursday night. My original plan (and what I ensured Tom I would do) was to just sit and watch to learn the new steps. But I took my clogging shoes with me anyway. Why? Because I am not a sit and watch person. I am a highly competitive, impatient, perfectionistic person. I had to know if I could still clog, even a little bit. It went quite a bit better than I thought it would, actually. I did everything I could during class in a clumsy effort not to fall behind, and although my dancing was pretty ugly and there was some pain, I didn't feel any instability in the joint. Jessica had a good laugh watching me hop around like and idiot and got kicked in the patootie for her disrespect. I went home somewhat encouraged, and went to bed with bags of ice.

The ibuprofen seemed to help reduce the swelling, and by Saturday afternoon I was able to walk without that painful popping - which was huge to me. Monday morning I awoke with my leg feeling better than it had yet - and I went to see the orthopedist, feeling like a hypochondriac.

The orthopedist was optimistic; there's nothing structurally wrong, and while he suspects a minor cartilage tear, he thinks there's a really good chance the knee may heal on its own. So I'm to wait for 4 weeks, and if it's still giving me trouble, then he'll do an MRI.

In the meantime I'm supposed to stay off it as much as possible. Hah. I've cut clogging practice to once every other day or so, but I still need to walk around, climb stairs, and stand while cooking every day. This morning I did some light garden work, sat through four hours of conference, and stood for a couple hours while cooking, and tonight my knee is more painful and swollen than it's been in over a week. I was going to practice clogging after the second session of conference, but it was already so stiff and sore that I decided not to.

Maybe it's a two steps forward, one step back kind of deal. But I wonder how am I ever going to keep up in clogging while trying to rest this leg? Thursday's class was really frustrating, because already I'm falling behind and forgetting steps. I was mediocre at best when I had two good legs. Now I'll be the class idiot.

I've still got eight weeks before recital. Will it be enough?

The Great and Terrible Day of the Dance Recital

Nathan, Megan, and I began clogging lessons in September... and worked on these songs for four months before the performance on December 15. It was scary, it was fun, it was exhilarating... and all too soon it was done. Fortunately for you, my loyal fans, my dad captured it all on tape. Unfortunately for you, I don't have the vids posted here.

And this is why:

I tried in vain for a week to get the video of our recital off the camera and onto this blog. Well... technically I was successful in getting it uploaded to google video (it took overnight!!!). The bad news is that somewhere in the process, the video and sound got off synch... so it's maddening to watch because the legs don't kick when the music says they should. So I'm not putting it up. Perhaps I'll try again with YouTube and see if it works better. No promises.

For now, all you get is pics of us before we went on stage:


Nathan and Megan's clogging number was at the beginning of the program, and then Megan had one song during which she frantically changed into her ballet costume (not as hard as it sounds; she has her white leotard and tights on under this ensemble, so all she had to do was strip the pants and shirt off, and put on a blue tutu). I wish we'd gotten a pic of her as a ballerina. She was a most adorable one.

Jessica and Me. Yep, we're it. Our class started out at six ladies, and four dropped out by mid October. We were just ornery enough to stick with it, and we had an absolute blast. I think we spend 25% of each class laughing uncontrollably -- usually the teacher and Jessica are laughing at me because I cannot master the new incredibly difficult step she has just taught me. Or else I just slipped and fell flat on my fanny. Good times.

Nathan and Megan dancing "Run Run Rudolph" in formation.

Here's a closeup. Notice the creepy alien eyes. Okay, my kids are not really aliens. I'm just too lazy to fix it since I've already postponed this silly post for three weeks. Deal with it.



Okay... somehow the vid of Nathan and Megan's dance got on here, so I'll leave it. The video does kinda catch up to the music near the end of the dance. Nathan starts out at the middle back, the tallest kid at the point of the V. Megan is on the far left side of the screen. She's the tallest girl with the pile of blonde curls on her head.


As scared as I was beforehand, dancing in recital was one of the funnest things I've ever done. Afterward I felt a little sad that after four months of working my tail off to learn the steps, it was over in 3 minutes on stage. At least I have the consolation that class starts up again next week. Yippeeeee!

Do you think it will be a problem that I've done almost zero exercise and gained at least five pounds since recital?