flammifera, posts by tag: english dancing - LiveJournal (original) (raw)

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Joanna

I was physically at NEFFA over the weekend, but I wasn't there emotionally. I did a handful of dances (including my alter ego's ECD session and the medleys, of course!), but most of the time I hid and thought about other stuff.I'm cautiously dipping my toe into being here on my blog occasionally. I updated and reorganized my flist, and I rewrote my bio. Do any of you have thoughts on reading my reflections on emotions or self-awareness, occasionally?the audience: Boltbus, then homethe feeling: anxiousthe bard: the highway, then my street Tags: contra, english dancing, me, rc (11 sparks | spark a light)

( The 2007 Swarthmore English-Scottish Ball, the 37th annualCollapse ) --------------------------------------------------------------**( [a small part of] The 2007 Half Moon New York Sword Ale, the 22nd annualCollapse )--------------------------------------------------------------( The 2007 February FlingCollapse )**For some reason, folk dancers apparently decided that they would pack the shortest month with the most dancing POSSIBLE. Although those 3 events were far from the only dancing I did during February, they were the big ones.Tags: dancing, english dancing, ritual, scottish dancing (spark a light)

This is not nearly all that I have to say about the last two weeks, and I hope that I will write about the E-S ball and skiing and cozy little restaurants and awesome sword dances...but for now, this is what I want to say.I danced Autumn in Amherst tonight with JLR, and it was heartachingly perfect. Amazingly beautiful, magnetic and riveting, fond. I felt my poise and class matched hers, and each detail was in tune, down to the weight shifts as the 2s go down the side after the draw poussette. It was really magic.I also danced Long Live London with my favorite non-local English partner. Initially I was hesitant about the worthiness of a Sicilian circle, but the contained, intense ladies' chain...be still my heart. :)There is a long list of other lovely dances with other loved partners, and the band (Hold the Mustard) was engaging and beautiful -- it was a really great day.the audience: homethe feeling: mellowthe bard: silence Tags: awesome, dancing, english dancing (spark a light)

We did the Female Saylor tonight, a brisk English dance to the carol tune 'Masters in the Hall'. Orion Longsword also does a dance, Salton, to that tune. I think it's an awesome tune!!After getting back from the GCD weekly Wed. dance, I sat upstairs at P+R's with tea, myalexandria's just-arrived 2006 Christmas mix, and my dance books. I'm tired and overwhelmed, but it was a pleasant way to knock off the rough draft for one of the big projects that has been looming. Thanks, myalexandria!_This is Christ, the Lord,Masters be ye glad!Christmas is come in,And no folk shall be sad!_[By the by, if anyone is curious, my insta-favorite from this year's mix is 'Patapan', a cool round-like Burgundian carol. My insta-favorite from last year's was 'The Holly and the Ivy'. And, lucky me!, both years included another new discovery/favorite, the Boar's Head carol. Apparently I like English madrigal carols.]the audience: Lansdownethe feeling: tiredthe bard: Masters in this Hall, Robert Shaw Chamber Singers Tags: english dancing, ritual, scottish dancing, seasons (2 sparks | spark a light)

I'm having a hard time dealing with the end of the Playford weekend and the imminence of my paper deadline. The two circumstances combined to make me feel claustrophobic and on-edge Sunday evening; I felt the familiar lurking of guilt on the periphery of relaxation as I enjoyed tea, warm chestnuts, and stories about bits of art with the duo of J-initialed dance teachers last night. I want to dance and enjoy my dancing friends. I will, soon -- I will probably dance Wed.-Fri. and a mini-dancefest will be happening next week -- but I want to enjoy the ball again, NOW.Given the resources available to me, MNS is such a huge topic. I know I'm not crafting the best and widest scholarly introduction, but I think I actually am covering some important ground. I have a lot of stories left to type about, and I hope I can pull them together. It will be a late night, though, and I'm still convinced my writing is tepid and awkward.It's surreal to come back to Swarthmore and do research in McCabe or use the wireless. Agh, bizarre. I have to say, though, nothing quite like the Kohlberg chai. :)the audience: Kohlberg commonsthe feeling: too multitudinous to pinpointthe bard: radio Tags: academia, dancing friends, english dancing, swarthmore, worry (3 sparks | spark a light)

Trips to new places, even places that you *have* to go, are much more exciting if you think about them as expeditions. And expeditions are much more fun if you set out with friends!This is the week of expeditions with chlomar, one of the best expedition partners because she's cheerful and fun and makes me feel the same way. :)Tuesday, we both worked half a day then hopped on the BSL to Temple's Urban Archives in its main library, Paley. We felt like we were trespassing or unwelcome as we opened the barely-marked metal door and walked into an empty room with drab tables and shelves. But there were helpful librarians in a back room, we filled out registration forms, and soon we were settled with filing boxes of books & copied newspaper clippings for her and little brown packets of actual folded newspaper clippings for me. I'm not sure if I ever wrote about the satisfaction of handling an actual manuscript in Cataluña, but I felt the same contact with history when I unfolded these Bulletin clippings from the '60s and '70s. It's still unclear what story this paper will tell, but at least I've started to find my way around the Archives and started to research something. On Wednesday, I went back to her house with her after class, ate pasta&cheese&spinach and freshly-boiled beets, then went to GCD Wednesday. Neither place is new but I hadn't been to either in awhile, so it felt like an expedition. ;) Everyone was so happy to see me show up at the dance! I felt so loved!Tonight, we're both getting on the R5 PT after work and having another expedition! Well, really it is only an expedition for me. I'm joining her for a Ramadan break fast at the Fellowship. I'm *very* much looking forward to this. I've been inside all sorts of churches and several synagogues but never a mosque, and I've been very interested to learn about Ramadan, especially its communal aspects.the audience: One South Broadthe feeling: hungrythe bard: quiet Tags: english dancing, expeditions, food, philadelphia, religion (2 sparks | spark a light)

There were many lovely things about this weekend, from dinner with my mother at La Viola and Perdues, to visiting with puzzledance and her sweetie during and after the Scottish tea dance in Arlington, to an English ball, to the local Scottish Garden Party dance, but here are a couple highlights.-----At the Washington [DC] [English] Spring Ball, I was extraordinarily lucky and had lovely partners for each of the waltzes! Similar to the E-S ball, the band played two waltzes at a time; I heartily support this policy, because it gives everyone a chance to mix around and waltz with someone other than their significant other (if they have one).I almost danced the Sicilian circle Long Live London with a man named David, but he had to set up refreshments for the break. (I had a fun time doing it with Tanya and trading genders at the many feasible points.) After the break, however, he came and asked me to waltz. He twirled me faster than anyone! I was pleased that I could keep up with that -- and pivots, after learning them at NEFFA! Whew. He asked if I'd like to do the first country dance after the waltz, but the band played another waltz so nothing for it but to do that waltz, too! I did not get to dance during the ball with Tom, who comes to Philadelphia dances often. I finally found him before the last dance, but he already had a partner; I pouted prettily that I'd come all the way to his ball and he hadn't danced with me! So we waltzed at the end, which was lovely. :) Then, Ted came and asked me to waltz! Awww, I love dancing with him. We danced for the first part of the waltz, and I finished that waltz with David again. :)-----Sunday, I woke up at the unearthly hour of 8 am on a weekend, to brave DC's confusing streets and meet Jared for breakfast near Dupont Circle. We ate outside, at a restaurant in the back of a bookstore (Kramerbooks). I had a tasty and interesting pile of crisp crostini, asparagus, a layer of lox, basil-scrambled eggs, and a tart hollandaise sauce. It actually all went together. Breakfast with him was enjoyable, of course, and we talked about work and plays/movies. We'd taken a little ramble up Connecticut before settling on a place to eat, and after we finished I wandered around a few blocks surrounding Dupont Circle, admiring the stately houses and enjoying the sunny, breezy pleasant weather. I stumbled into the sizeable Farmer's Market and ambled by many stands for local farms with a proliferation of green leafy and pale root vegetables, local dairies with yoghurts and flavored cheeses, nurseries with flats of flowers and spices, bakeries and sellers of colorful jams, etc. The smells, too, especially the fresh strawberries warmed by the sun and the herbs! The weather was so gorgeous, there was so much amazing food around me...god. Happiness.the feeling: satisfiedthe bard: after-hours silence Tags: english dancing, food, personal life, restaurants (9 sparks | spark a light)

Blah di blah. I haven't updated in awhile, have I? It is fitting for the pace of my life right now that I'm so busy, I don't even have time to keep up with my internet procrastination!The past 7 or 8 days have been gruelingly exhausting, mentally and physically. Or, to sum up, they SUCKED. I think (pray?) things are on an upturn now. Since my weekend in MA (which deserves a separate entry, if I can sit down to write it), there have been a few bright moments that I've managed to wrest from the suckage. (IMO, the relative insignificance of these little things emphasizes that the week was...oh, did I mention it was sucky?)- My first travel to a non-GCD English dance, the all-waltz-time Valentine's Day dance in Lambertville. Odd to be in Lambertville when I wasn't driving between north Jersey (home) and Philadelphia. TOJ mentioned that she often wishes for another time signature by the end of the evening, but I happened to enjoy each of the dances. Especially Winter Waltz With Eric A. (!!)- Perdue's. Especially Barbarini's with Scott. (The hop dance!) - The 13 trolley driver on Thursday night, on my way to dinner (turned into a soup buffet) at Lee How Fook's before pool. He's actually a driver I heard once before, whose announcements of the upcoming stop have an unmistakable, actual gravitas and stateliness about them. 'Free interchange with the Market-Frankfurt Elevated Line' thunders from his tongue.- Going home from work, on Wednesday, straight into my bed + the sick day I took Thursday. These weren't unequivocal highlights, since the whole event involved me having aches/chills/congestion and missing several things I would've liked to attend ([pen]ultimate bridge night and rapper practice), etc. But the luxury of doing nothing. Wow.Hmm. So, basically, a) I need to rest more and b) I like English dancing. ;) I feel...silly...when I describe my anticipation about a night of ECD, but I still feel like it's a treat, an unbelievable gift to my week, to spend a whole evening English dancing. Ah well, I suppose all that vocal hate before my junior-year E-S ball had to give way to an equally passionate love.the feeling: lethargicthe bard: Judy's Jubilation, Dave Wiesler Tags: english dancing, me (6 sparks | spark a light)