Dancing and Judging in Phoenix, Indiana!

I got the fabulous opportunity to judge the team State Championships for Indiana!  It was their 15th annual contest and it was so much fun to be a part of it.  Saw some really outstanding team performances.  I’m always so amazed by what people can put together with nothing but a group of dancers and a basketball court!  No bells and whistles other than wardrobe and on occasional prop.  Wonderful creativity and vision on the part of the choreographers and coaches!  So great to see!

Then Tamara and I attended The Pulse dance convention in Phoenix to soak up some greatness from the industry’s top choreographers.  So much fun!  Took a contemporary class from Mia Michaels.  What an amazingly talented and creative dance zealot she is!  Yeah, there’s nothing contemporary about this dancer, that’s for sure, and I was humorously lost for a good portion of the class, but still a great experience.  Then it was on to the supercool and super talented Dave Scott’s hip hop class.  Yeah, that’s right.  I said hip hop.  I’d like to think I gained something from at least breathing the same oxygen as the talent in that room, but even that would be a stretch.  Cris Judd’s class was wonderful!  Again, hip hop, but not a complete embarrassing failure on my part.  He has a wonderful personality and was a great, down-to-earth teacher.  I was happy just to be a part of it.  Wade Robson taught an interesting little ditty he’s putting together for a Cirque de Soleil thing in Vegas.  We were supposed to be birds.  Freaky birds with giant Cirque de Soleil wings and whatnot.  Loved every minute of it.  Spent a good portion of it giggling with Tamara because I make a really bad bird, but it was cool to be in Wade Robson’s presence nonetheless.  Shane Sparks taught a really fun and sassy hip hop sequence.  Lots of hips and arms and opportunities for hair flipping, so what’s not to love?  Tyce Diorio taught a showy number to an Amy Winehouse song.  Really big moves!  Loved it!  At this point in time, I must share a really funny story, all of it true, true, true.

While teaching us a move, Tyce Diorio says, “Awesome!  You guys got that!  I knew Phoenix would be good!”  We clapped.  Then he said, “Kansas City could not get that.  I’m not kidding.”  Tamara and I exchanged horrified and incredulous looks.  He then turned back around and said, “I’m telling you right now, Kansas City sucked.”  And he punctuated “sucked” with a flick of his hand.  I said to Tamara who was in fits at this point in time, “No, we don’t!  Well….not ALL the time.”  Then we moved on.  I wish I could say that I nailed the routine, then revealed to the entire room that indeed I was from the 816, but this isn’t a fantasy or science fiction blog.  It is steeped solely in reality, so of course that didn’t happen.

Okay, then it was on to Brian Friedman who is the most talented dancer I have ever witnessed.  He’s from Phoenix of course. 🙂  He taught a really fast jazz type of thing.  Even Tamara was struggling, which was a joy to see because I have never seen her struggle with a piece of choreography.  Ever.  Great, great time! Learned a lot!  Below you will find a photo of me, Cris Judd, Tamara and Tyce “Kansas City Sucks” Diorio.

 

Love and jazz hands,

Melanie