Forever a Fan Girl!
I've returned to Thursday night practice of Filipino folk dancing. If ya'll remember that first time I went, the "Fast Tinikling" got me gasping for breath! LOL! Knowing that they'd be rehearsing for an upcoming performance, I didn't think I'd get casted for anything considering my absence. Guess again! Now people, I haven't performed for the last 4 years and now they expect me to learn a couple of dances with only 2 more practices! Aiya! The dances that I'll be doing are "old" to me, but the choreography is definitely new. For the barrio suite, I'll be dancing Pandanggo / Oasiwas- the one where the gal balances a candle on her head and a candle in each hand. Apparently, they split the dances up: one group will do Pandanggo and another group does Oasiwas. The group I'd be dancing with kept asking me which one I'd rather do: 'part 1 or part 2?' Eh? Took me a minute to realize how they do things. btw: I chose 'part 2- Oasiwas.'

Singkil: this dance is supposed to depict the story of a skilled and agile Princess moving gracefully through the bamboo sticks. It's a solemn wedding dance...a dance of royalty. And this is not to bag on this dance group and/or to say that they don't know what they're doing, but...with only 2 more practice left, there isn't anyone who knows their part 100% with confidence! Goodness! I mean, the Princess (who's a real cool chick) was having all kinds of problems crossing the sticks, probably because the clappers didn't know and couldn't keep up with the rhythm! Wasn't looking so graceful as she was too busy trying not to get her feet caught! Not that I'd be any better- I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the best or most graceful dancer, but you know what? You gotta make it look like you are in this kind of dance. It's all about the attitude that the dancers exude. If it LOOKS like you know what you're doing (even tho you're messing up big time!), you keep going and the audience will never know the difference. Us Fan girls (yes, I'm a fan girl once again!) were told to go here and there and to do this and that. Eh? C'mon people! I had to ask exactly when to flip the fans 'cuz it was killing me that we were not all in sync! Oh yah, they tell me, we have to work on that. Helloooo! When? We should've figured that out earlier! One more thing: I was constantly being corrected for holding the fan wrong. Eek! Hahaha! Honestly, I learned to hold an unglued fan open, even if it meant getting cramps or spasms in your fingers! The fans we use are GLUED. Should be easier, but like I said, the whole relearning thing'll take time. All that aside, it is NICE to be back into dancing. It's less stressful that it's not in the professional sense that I'm used to...nothing being thrown at us whenever we miscounted, practicing until 1am in the morning, and trying to lose weight to be in certain dances and/or having to audition for certain parts...but at the same time, I could see how much more can be done if there was more discipline on everyone's part. Oh well, wish me luck as I try to get out of this rusty skin and back into performance mode...

DAY 4: UNPACKING. Actually started clearing out boxes from the rooms and the place is beginning to look like an actual place of residence. Hey! I could see the color of the rug again! Whoo hoo! So far, the kitchen, dining room, and one of the bathrooms are done. It's still a pain in the butt...will it ever end?! Hubby says that by the time we finish up, our lease will be up...awwww hell no!