Prepping for The Kansas City Classic!

The foundation is being laid for our competition “The Kansas City Classic!”  After a frantic “I don’t know what I’m doing!” email to Yvonne Cole, I got to spend the entire day shadowing her at her competition in St. Louis.  I learned so very, very much!  Her contest is in its 30th year (Yeah, that’s right.  I said 30.)  And she was a coach of the Lindbergh Flyerettes for 33 years.  (Uh-huh.  33.)   Her contest has grown so much over the last 30 years that it’s now the second largest dance team competition in Missouri, second only to the statewide Missouri Dance Team Championships.  She’s such a rock star!  On top of all that, she’s also one of the founding members of the Missouri Dance Team Association 23 years ago.  She’s just a really cool lady, and I feel so lucky to call her a friend, colleague, mentor, etc!

Here’s an interesting little tidbit:  The Flyerettes are now under the direction of one Miranda Gelven who is the former dance team coach of Cassie and Fallon!  I knew her name sounded so familiar (Cassie and Fallon have both mentioned her and how she’s one of their biggest dance influences and all that), and when I asked Yvonne if Miranda had ever spent any time in Milan, MO and she said yes, I got so excited and told her that she coached two of our dancers who love her and learned so much from her!  And then Yvonne said the coolest thing.  She said, “See.  It comes full circle.  She taught them.  Now they’re helping you.  And they’ll teach others.”  I get teary just thinking about it.  And Miranda Gelven got a little teary too when I told her about the Fallon and Cassie connection and thanked her for training those two amazing little dancers nearly a decade ago!

And of course I got to see some of my favorite cronies ever!  Julie Voss Catron, Tarah Sullivan, and Kelly Longo!  Always great seeing those girls!

It was such a great experience, and I was still just lost in it, when on I-70 I saw flashing lights in the rearview mirror.  Even the misfortune of a speeding ticket couldn’t dampen my spirits.  Especially when I turned on the radio as I was driving away, trying to shake off the bad mojo, and the song that was playing was Bon Jovi’s “Wanted:  Dead or Alive.”  I think that was God making fun of me.  I decided to give Him another chuckle when I asked our accountant if I can deduct the ticket as a travel expense.  The answer to that, in case you’re wondering, is no.

Love and Fuzzbusters,

Melanie