dancing

Festival

The church we attend is Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church, and since it was recently the Feast of Mary Magdalene, what else was there to do but have a festival? Never mind that the temperature was 101, with humidity that made it feel ten to fifteen degrees hotter — in spite of all risen mercury, the turn out was fairly impressive.

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It did make for some challenges. The inflatables were hot to the touch — so hot, we were afraid L would burn her feet without socks, so we didn’t let her romp about on them. (After she touched one, she didn’t want to either.)

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The other rides probably weren’t much better.

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Due to the high attendance, though, I didn’t usually find out. I wasn’t too upset about missing the whirley ride, though. Dizziness mixed with heat would be potentially embarrassing. How odd: such rides rarely turned my stomach as a kid. As I get older, though, I get more sensitive, which is itself odd: the general trend in aging is to grow less sensitive to so many things.

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As always, the highlight for the Girl was the dancing. L will dance — and has danced — to just about any music: bluegrass (one of her favorites), traditional Polish highlander music, Bach’s “English Suite No. 2”, the Grateful Dead, Sonny Stitt, etc.

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One of the things I like about the Catholic church in America is how it tends to draw so many cultures into its community, and these communities often have a strong sense of their heritage, which they pass through the generations. It’s most evident with the Hispanic cultures, but that’s probably more a question of demographics than anything else.

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Emptiness

Emptiness inspires dancing — the echo of footsteps is always impressive.

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With the sofa and love seat sold and the remaining furniture stowed throughout the house, we now have a ballroom.

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Conversely, the acoustics inspired music making, with L taking the lead.

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Ice Cream and Dancing

There are few things in life the Girl likes loves more than ice cream (a new love) and dancing (an eternal love). We had a little outing Sunday that included both.

We began at the Marble Slab Creamery, where freshly made ice cream is mixed with just about anything — by hand. L wanted “pink ice cream,” which left our options somewhat limited. Fortunately, she’s wild about strawberries, and strawberry ice cream turned out to be equally popular.

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She savored it.

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Afterward, we wandered down to the main park, where, unbeknown to us, there was an Irish festival (St. Patty’s Day and all…), which included dancing — sure to hold the Girl’s attention.

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The dancers were impressive, and L wanted to join them. K literally had to catch her just before she made it onto the stage.

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Dancing lessons seem to be a definite future weeknight activity.

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More pictures available at Flickr.

Still Dancing

It has been a while since I made any videos. Six months, to be precise. The reason is simple: our computer crashed, and while re-installing the software I use to make videos, it crashed again. I’ve just been putting it off since then.

Not much catching up to do — here’s one from December. The Girl dancing to the brushing teeth song.

Dancing

The Girl has always loved dancing. As her coordination grows, so does the intricacy of some of her moves.

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Occasionally she’ll get a partner.

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The partner is often stiff with fear.

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Dancing Again

The Girl has added some moves

Orawian Dancing

Highlander music is an acquired taste, which I personally haven’t completely acquired.

Highlander dancing, though, is a different story. Both graceful and almost violently energetic, it seems to require knees of steel and lungs to match.

Pictured here is the men’s dance called “Zbójnicki” (pronounced “zbouy-nits-key”). If men were birds, this dance would be struting their plummage. In other words, it’s to show their strength, agility, and endurance to potential mates.