Actually, I’ll be dancing with a lot of other people. Yay! It’s that time of year again – takePAUSE time! Come see the show!

Those of you who know me at all, know I love to dance. I adore it. It’s a passion and a life-giving force. I take classes several times a week at my home away from home, eXit SPACE dance studio here in Seattle – a wonderful dance studio for dancers of any ability or age. I’ve been dancing with Marlo Martin (director) since before she opened eXit SPACE, and I can tell you she’s created one of the most welcoming, friendly, uplifting places I have ever danced. It’s a great community full of wonderful people, and I’m so happy to spend time with them. I’ve made friends and found a place that I can be my weird and wild self and embrace the weird wildness of others and revel in it. Dance is something I feel like I can love without judgment. Even when I’m feeling judgey about myself, or my ability, or my body, I know that dance isn’t judging me, and no one else in class is judging me, and I can work out my feelings on the floor and the floor will catch me every time. (Sometimes harder than others, but it’s always there.) If I need my fellow dancers to catch me, they will be there to lift me up and toss me back on my feet, and I am there for them, too. I am by no means a professional, but Marlo and the other instructors have helped me become a much better dancer than I would be without them. I’m an enthusiastic amateur, and they help me to improve and conquer fears and doubts and push myself without hurting myself. They’ve helped me explore what I can do, and learn how to look good doing it. In short, to embody joy, and to share that joy with other dancers.

And now you can share in it, too, if you want to come see us dance! The studio puts on a show every year, and I haven’t missed one yet. This is our 10^th takePAUSE and I’m so excited to be a part of it again. If you are local, and you want to share in our joy and exultations, the dates are June 12^th and 13^th at 8pm, (Friday night and Saturday night) at 8 pm. We’d be so happy to have you! Tickets are on sale NOW – go to brownpapertickets.com to get some. But GET YOUR TICKETS RIGHT AWAY, because we WILL SELL OUT. We’ve already sold a startling number, and they’ve only been available for 4 days. If you don’t get them soon, you will miss out, and then you will be sad. You don’t want to be sad, do you? Those of you who’ve said you were sad to miss it in the past – now’s your chance! Grab some ticky-tickets!

I’m in 5 pieces this year – which is a lot. It’s more than I’ve ever been in for one show. I know we’re technically counting the Broadway stuff as one piece for certain class rehearsal reasons, but come on, it’s not one piece; it’s three. Two of them are on the short side, but it’s still  completely different chunks of choreography, different costumes, and it’s split up into different parts of the show. So there. The pieces are the audition dance from “A Chorus Line,” (slightly changed) (that choreo looks cheesy, but it’s pretty difficult, and cheese makes it more fun) (If you make it too pretty, you lose the cheese, is our motto), “All That Jazz,” from “Chicago”, and “Too Darn Hot,” from “Kiss Me Kate.” The modern piece I’m in is not quite finished, but it’s getting very, uh, let’s just say we’re jumping up and down a lot. A Lot. The fact that I’ve been working on my stamina and wind is a very good idea, is what I’m saying. The same could be said for the jazz, which is mostly finished and so much fun. If nothing else convinces you to show up to this show, the jazz piece would – we are gonna knock some socks off, and I’m not afraid to say it.

Rehearsals are going well, the studio is full up with the cries of “6, 7, 8!” and “let’s do that again, right?” and “Wait, wait, what was that again?” and “YES!” There are some dancers who are there 6 days out of 7 and I think they should get a little cot in the back for naps between rehearsals. (I am not one of them, but I do feel like I might need to punch a time card some weeks.) All the jumping up and down is getting my butt into literal shape (not kidding, I need to get some new pants), the muscles in my arms are standing out with all the lifting of dancers (and extra pushups and planks), and I think I have better flexibility this year, because I’ve been working on that. Go go gadget dancer! I’m being very careful of my older-than-the-rest-of-me knees, but all in all I’m feeling really good.

takePAUSE will have many dance types on display to enjoy, as per usual– tap, hip-hop, ballet, Broadway, jazz, and modern pieces from dancers of all ability levels. Marlo’s company badmarmar will have a piece in the show, as well. We aim to misbehave and entertain, and we aim to do so with a lot of style. So there you have it. Come to the show! We are awesome and fun and you’ll have a good time. Time for all the boogie!

Title is from “Dancing With Myself” by Billy Idol, but I expect you knew that.