move. dance. be born

So, this weekend was my sister's dance competition, which i competed in for about 7 years with the Encore Dance Company (Camp Hill, PA). This always gives me a lot to talk about, whether i was in it or not. There is much to talk about this year and I can't wait to get started!

Issue 1: Dance Explosion
Dance Explostion, which i believe was centered near Baltimore, MD, did not return this year to the All American Talent Awards. To many of you, this seems like nothing, but if you have ever attended this competition before, you would quickly realize that this completely changes the dynamic of the competition. First of all, what are we going to do without the bikini-like costumes and the screaming stage parents? My life isn't complete without a little mother-daugther-dance teacher spat just before a number begins (these spats usually arise out of a costume problem or the fact that their child is not in front). Their failure to return could have many causes. Some speculated that they were ejected from All American for a time because of their provocitive garments. This cannot be so, because many dancers returned with similar outfits. Others say that they went on to bigger and better things. yeah, right. They were good, but i have a feeling that we would have heard about it. also, a one A.S. would not have defected to another dance team. The real reason (in my mind) is that they did not win enough last year. The judges were no longer biased towards them and they simply could not handle this crushing blow. Because of the lack of Dance Explosion (and a few other staple companies that also did not return), Encore Dance dominated a number of the categories.

Issue 2: The Overuse of Popular Music
In the past, I went to All American and came home with all kinds of new showtunes and songs to fill my computer with. This year I did not. First of all, the songs "Lose Control", "Yeah", and Kelly Clarkson's "Addicted" must have been used 8 times each, at least. Seriously. If a song was on the top 10 in the last year, this is what will happen. My senior year, there were 3 Cell Block Tango's and one spoof. Also, no one seemed to want to use good music. There were some real stinkers. Someone even danced to "Mary, did you know?" dressed as a vague virgin Mary. I didn't hear any new showtunes this year. They were all from Rent, Chicago, or Fosse.

Issue 3: Little Kids
This is personal, but it burns me when there are small children dancing better than the older girls. It took me years to learn a foite turn, and this weekend i witnessed 8 year olds doing them perfectly. ouch to my ego.

Issue 4: Encore Dance Company
My home team. They did awesome this year, as most years. However, i think they now realize that they have a Terrell Owens in their midst, but as John pointed out to me, at least Terrell Owens was good at football. One for John. But seriously...grow up and get over yourselves.

Finally, I saw Rent this weekend, and i enjoyed it. The only complaint that i have (and i always have one) is that they put in dialouge. It's cool to put in dialouge, but at least put enough dialouge in to get a thought out and use something other than what was sang in the stage show. It sounds like they're mocking themselves, much like you would speak-sing a song to be funny.

Oh! Listen for me on New Brain this week. Wednesday at 11 on wexp ( www.wexpradio.com)

i'm peachy!