My next competition, after a whole quarter with none (thankfully, given how crazily busy I've been), is the regional championships next Saturday, June 9, in the San Jose Civic Auditorium. (This will qualify us for Nationals in August.) The first round of my event is scheduled for 9:35pm, give or take half an hour or so, and with subsequent rounds ( Read more... )

Wow -- someone combined cultural studies and ballroom dance in this book, published last November. (Guess I can't do that for my dissertation. ;~))

( Chronicle of Higher Education review )

I'm kicking the quarter off with a competition -- my last one in a few months. (Just as well, because this is going to be a VERY busy quarter for me.) It's hosted right here on the Stanford campus, and if past experience (and what I've heard about the preparations) is any guide, it's going to be awesome. I compete in the evening session, which is ( Read more... )

Someday I'll post about how much I love my classes and what else is going on in my life. Someday. This isn't just a dance blog, really ( Read more... )

As many of you know, I'm back on the ballroom dancing circuit, and I'm in a competition tomorrow -- conveniently just a few miles from where I live! If you want to check out ballroom dancing or see me and some other bab5ers compete, it's a great opportunity. My event is at 10:30pm or thereabouts (Championship Standard). It's all at the Palo Alto Elks ( Read more... )

It's nearly two and I'm not tired and for once I have no urgent assignments to finish, so perhaps I should write a bit about how my life is going. I haven't updated in -- how long has it been now? -- well, either mid-summer or the end of spring, depending on what you count as an update. In that time I've passed the quarter-century mark; moved to ( Read more... )

I'm helping a friend, Julia Minson, teach a ballroom dance program in an East Palo Alto elementary school this year, similar (though smaller in scope) to the program featured in the movie Mad Hot Ballroom. I'm also putting together a snazzy website with information on the program for others who want to do similar things. Trouble is, neither Julia ( Read more... )

I'll be teaching a seven-week "Swing Essentials" class at Stanford this July and August (a reprise of "Swing Essentials" classes I've taught over the years for UCBD). Feel free to join! It's a beginning class but I hope to cover a lot of ground. You'll learn the basics of East Coast Swing, Jitterbug, (ballroom) Jive, Lindy Hop, and West Coast Swing ( Read more... )

I know what I want to do with my free time and creative energies after I've stopped ballroom dancing. The epiphany hit while I was listening to the radio in the car -- it was one of those "driveway moments" when I couldn't tear myself away until the piece ended, even though I was squirming for a bathroom. When the piece did end, I wanted to cry ( Read more... )

I've had trouble sleeping in my room, between streetlights and morning light coming in my windows, so today I made window shades. Two yards of blackout fabric, two wooden dowels, four three-inch nails, and a dozen staples make two shades for about $7 each. Better than the $33 price quotes online! I just need to add some string to raise them. My ( Read more... )