Catch-up: Dance Concert
Wow. So I haven't posted in...well, what feels like around a quarter of eternity. 1/4 a chunk of infinity. And the last time I posted it was that sleepy, angsty mess. My computer should be programed to not let me post after a certain hour, because then I start thinking of everything within a woe, panic, and/or doom sort of context. Although I don't think I wrote that post very late; it was more the fact that it was after dance concert, so I was very physically exhausted and all.
Dance concert! Dance concert was fantastic. It went extremely well both nights. The Man Dance was SO much fun. What a great experience. All of the guys were so much fun to talk to, and so interesting, and so amusing and nice. It was so neat to have the realization that I was with this group of men who are so much older than me, all who have lived so much more of their lives already, are at a whole other stage of their lives. and I don't know anything about that or what they've been through-- yet we were all there as a group making art, having fun and being really excited over it. It doesn't sound amazing written, but it's an amazing feeling when it sets in. And to think that after just those few rehearsals we spent together, I felt comfotable and happy around them and even felt kind of like one of the guys....it was just so great. It's also funny that I do know the majority of them either directly or indirectly because I know their kids, who are my age, yet I never thought about that. The dance sort of made everything new. I think this experience gave me a little bit of extra hope for when I am that age; that either I could end up like some of the men and be involved in artistic endeavors all my life, or I could end up indirectly connected to these kinds of things, but every once in a while delve right in and have a blast.
It was either the dress rehearsal or opening night that I first had to put make up on the men, which initially made me kind of nervous..mostly just because one of them was 94 years old. I was afraid of breaking him; 94 is a fragile age. But he turned out to not be too fragile; he was one of the least twitchy when faced with an eyeliner pencil heading straight towards his eyeball, and seemed to feel so pampered when he got his makeup done. He said it felt so luxurious. Hehe! And he said things like "have you made me beautiful?" and "you have a very nice touch" when I covered his face in foundation. So amusing! He is really awesome. The rest of the men were either eager to wear makeup or just chill about it, and they got less twitchy with each performance.
We chatted about college, camp, and Shakespeare. And on the last night, we drank sparkling cider and toasted everyone many times, and then took pictures growling in a manly fashion, and exchanged thanks and hugs. It was so nice!
After dance concert, I was totally exhausted. I think the nights just kept adding up. Plus, after each dress/performance, I would get a surge of energy that would keep me up past midnight, which added to the proceding tiredness. So after the last performance, I decided not to go out to ice cream afterwards. I just kind of wanted to collapse at home, and to not drive myself home at one o'clock in the morning. I also felt sort of disconnected from the rest of a lot of the people in dance concert; the people I felt like I'd really bonded with were the man dance people...and they went off for a little reception party of their own at John's (and as much as I enjoy spending time with that group of men, going to one of their houses after dance concert is just a lil' awwkward). I did regret these decisions a bit later on. But no harm done.
Dance concert! Dance concert was fantastic. It went extremely well both nights. The Man Dance was SO much fun. What a great experience. All of the guys were so much fun to talk to, and so interesting, and so amusing and nice. It was so neat to have the realization that I was with this group of men who are so much older than me, all who have lived so much more of their lives already, are at a whole other stage of their lives. and I don't know anything about that or what they've been through-- yet we were all there as a group making art, having fun and being really excited over it. It doesn't sound amazing written, but it's an amazing feeling when it sets in. And to think that after just those few rehearsals we spent together, I felt comfotable and happy around them and even felt kind of like one of the guys....it was just so great. It's also funny that I do know the majority of them either directly or indirectly because I know their kids, who are my age, yet I never thought about that. The dance sort of made everything new. I think this experience gave me a little bit of extra hope for when I am that age; that either I could end up like some of the men and be involved in artistic endeavors all my life, or I could end up indirectly connected to these kinds of things, but every once in a while delve right in and have a blast.
It was either the dress rehearsal or opening night that I first had to put make up on the men, which initially made me kind of nervous..mostly just because one of them was 94 years old. I was afraid of breaking him; 94 is a fragile age. But he turned out to not be too fragile; he was one of the least twitchy when faced with an eyeliner pencil heading straight towards his eyeball, and seemed to feel so pampered when he got his makeup done. He said it felt so luxurious. Hehe! And he said things like "have you made me beautiful?" and "you have a very nice touch" when I covered his face in foundation. So amusing! He is really awesome. The rest of the men were either eager to wear makeup or just chill about it, and they got less twitchy with each performance.
We chatted about college, camp, and Shakespeare. And on the last night, we drank sparkling cider and toasted everyone many times, and then took pictures growling in a manly fashion, and exchanged thanks and hugs. It was so nice!
After dance concert, I was totally exhausted. I think the nights just kept adding up. Plus, after each dress/performance, I would get a surge of energy that would keep me up past midnight, which added to the proceding tiredness. So after the last performance, I decided not to go out to ice cream afterwards. I just kind of wanted to collapse at home, and to not drive myself home at one o'clock in the morning. I also felt sort of disconnected from the rest of a lot of the people in dance concert; the people I felt like I'd really bonded with were the man dance people...and they went off for a little reception party of their own at John's (and as much as I enjoy spending time with that group of men, going to one of their houses after dance concert is just a lil' awwkward). I did regret these decisions a bit later on. But no harm done.