WOW Weekend Wrap-up: Dance is Ageless. (Days 23-28)

For performers, weekends are not usually a time for rest.  Weekends are for entertainment, and when you are the entertainment, that means you better wuuuurk. And since weekends are so jammed-packed and exciting, I’d like to present: WOW Weekend Wrap-up.  When I have a jam-packed weekend, I will share with you my favorite weekend experience I had dancing, teaching, performing, and/or learning.  Here is the highlight from my weekend:

Friday: Performing at a 90th Birthday Party

Friday night, my fiancé and I had the pleasure of being hired to perform at a 90-year-old woman’s birthday party.  Her favorite memory as a young girl was dancing to Frank Sinatra songs, so her daughter thought it would be a lovely idea to hire a ballroom dance couple to dance for her.  When we arrived at the nursing home, we weren’t sure what to expect.  The receptionist at the front desk told us we could head up to the second floor where the party was taking place.  We found the art room where the party was and peeked in- it was so small! There were long tables along two sides, which fit about 15-20 people.  I couldn’t help but think how impossible it was going to be to get our routines to fit in such a tiny space.  The daughter, who was hosting the party, showed me a restroom down the hall where I could change my costumes (mind you, I had 5 different costumes- one for each dance).  This restroom was public, and I quickly realized how often the ladies of the nursing home needed to use the facilities.  When I would come out of the stall, all the ladies in the restroom would ooooh and aaaaah– they loved seeing the dresses! They told me stories  about when they were young and the dresses they would wear.  A group of ladies stayed outside the dressing room during our show just so they could see my costume changes.  Once we were introduced to the party, I realized that the size of the room did not matter- the birthday girl was just so happy to see us dancing! Our first dance was a foxtrot to Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon– she was smiling ear to ear.  We also performed the Argentine Tango, Cha Cha, Waltz, and ended with a fun Lindy Hop.  In between dancing, while I was entertaining the ladies in the rest room, my fiancé was getting to know the party and even got some of the ladies to get up and dance with him. At the end of the show, the birthday girl stood up and thanked us for dancing for her; she said we made her feel young again and it was such a gift.  What she doesn’t know is what a gift this was for us.  Meeting so many wonderful people, who have seen and done so much in their lives, was inspiring.  I loved seeing everyone smiling and truly appreciating what we do- it formed as some sort of validity for why I do what I do.  Dancing and Performing is not only self-satisfying, it can serve a much greater purpose… it brings emotion and meaning to others.  This woman turned 90 years old, and we got to be a part of the celebration for her life…and she will forever be a fond memory in my life, as well.

Rhythmically yours,

amandaidance   o-)-<