Being the new kid and Birthdays

[rhiannon76]

The last couple of days have had their ups and downs. Wednesday evening I went out for some beers (well, some pear cider, actually) with several of my coworkers. It was all women, mostly around my age except for one who's been here 30 years, and was my first social outing. We did end up talking shop, but I got my first introduction to office

Comments

[sioneva]

I was thinking, not an hour ago, that it's frustrating that, while you're SO much closer than you were before, it's still not exactly in the neighborhood, you know?

Wish I could be there for your b-day dinner!!! Will be thinking of you :)

Also, could you e-mail me your new addy? I'm sure I've got it somewhere, if you've sent it out, but I want to be sure.

[rhiannon76]

Yeah, but at least we're in weekendy distance. Speaking of which, we should plan something soonish! When does your semester end, and will you get a break at all?

Did you get the message with my address?

[innostrantsa]

Sigh, indeed. It would be a truly bitchin' party with plenty of cake! And high-quality beverages of adult nature! *sage wisdom-like nodding* Perhaps, even, weirdo karaoke.

Lawdy, office politics. Good times, good times. Which is a good reminder to make a post about the current state of things, there have been lulz.

[rhiannon76]

Oh, there were high-quality beverages of adult nature-- first I had something called $Money$, which was basically a cucumber vodka martini and very good, then I had something called Lady Ginger, which was a little sweeter and girlier but still quite tasty. And there was some dancing, as the restaurant clears the tables out of the front room and turns into a club around 11, but I wasn't really feeling the music selection so I didn't stay too long for that. I did get into a conversation with Lindsey's husband Patrick, who's quite the karaoke afficionado, and he's of the opinion that there's not really any good karaoke around here... but maybe when you come visit we could talk them into an outing at somewhere that would be acceptable. ;)

[fastrada]

i really enjoy reading your dance geekery. :) for a while in my troupe, we were having such fast turnover so i'm really familiar with the "oh shit! they don't know this one yet!" feeling when leading.

man, i wish there was someone in chicago teaching strict ATS. it seems like everyone here is veering off into their own interpretations thereof. which, you know, is cool, but not exactly what i'm looking for.

[rhiannon76]

It's kind of weird to me that there's not a sister studio there, since there seems to be such an emphasis on improv tribal. Maybe it's because RMH started the tribal scene there and was based off of FCBD format from a long time ago, before things really got codified into ATS and ITS and certifications and all that jazz, and other groups like Jezebelly broke off from them and had to differentiate themselves? That, and there is/was a sister studio in Milwaukee, so maybe that was close enough for the purists? I dunno.

The woman who owns the studio where I've been going to class teaches her own brand of ITS that incorporates FCBD, Gypsy Caravan, Black Sheep, and a lot of her own stuff, and I'm interested in taking her classes too, though I was hearing some of what people have to do just to get into her student troupe and it was kind of crazy. She also has a huge movement vocabulary, which sounds awesome but also tricky-- Lindsey (the ATS teacher) said she used to take Sabine's classes and liked them but had to stop because she

[fastrada]

actually, from where i sit, it seems like these days there's way more fusion and cabaret going on here than tribal. even RMH was becoming more fusion-y when i left.

i dunno, i just wish i could take improv from various studios depending on time and schedule and money and not have to learn an entire new damned vocabulary each time. i took a class from jezebelly once and liked it but the vocabulary differences made my brain hurt. RMH changes their vocab a lot; i've been away a year so if i went back today i would be lost!

i'm curious, what do they have to do to get into the student troupe?

[rhiannon76]

I don't know if this is all of it, but what I was hearing last night about the auditions involved 15 minutes straight of dancing with members of that teacher's pro troupe and other auditioners, and something about annual evaluations. All of which I would consider reasonable components of an audition for the pro troupe, but seems like a lot for a student troupe. (But then, I pretty much let my students form & run their own student troupe, and would provide coaching and feedback as needed in preparation for gigs. I assume that if this teacher is actively directing this troupe and booking their gigs, then she's probably running a tight ship?)

[autumn_hearth]

I so hear you on the new kid awkwardness, I feel that quite a bit as I'm becoming more involved with Silver Falls Grove, taking major parts and helping plan rituals, but am not yet a grove member. Feel like I'm stepping on toes, showing off, over stepping boundaries frequently.