A Gift

We wake up in our hammocks. Half a dozen palm trees ripe with coconuts sway in the wind overhead. Between the trees I can see patches of blue sky and hear the birds chirping away. Sometimes, the sound of the birds and a few neighborhood dogs are the only things that wake us up. On a few occasions however, a full marching band will start to play on the other side of our wall at about 7am. They also set off fireworks quite close to our sleeping heads and the buses that go to Managua (Nicaragua's capital) wail on their horns as they speed down our street. These are the sounds of our mornings. Bags and I have gotten into the habit of telling each other our dreams as soon as we wake up. Everyday I feel more and more gratitude to be experiencing this project with him.

Hula Hula Casa!

We have been in San Marcos for almost 4 weeks. We only have a few more days with the kids at Los Quinchos until their final show and then we're off to Granada for a week. After that Bags and I will be traveling by land to Mexico to teach workshops. That's right, 5 buses over about 4 days from Nicaragua to Guadalajara! 1,621 miles! Should be quite the adventure.

I can't believe how fast we are approaching the end of the project. Los Quinchos is an amazing organization in which Zelinda, an Italian woman started about 20 years ago. She came to Nicaragua as a tourist and was greatly effected by the state of children on the streets. Over time, the few kids she took in to feed has grown to 60+! There is a filter house in Managua in which some of the original street kids that Zelinda took in, now work at. They go to the street to find kids and tell them about Los Quinchos. If the kids stay at the filter house every day for a certain period of time, they get taken into the organization. They have to quit sniffing glue and any other drugs. Once they've stayed there and are cleaned up completely, they get taken to where we are now in San Marcos. Here there is a farm “la finca” that the boys live on and the girls home is called “la yahouskas” (princesses). When the boys grow to a certain age, they are moved to Casa Largo which is a lake house in Granada. All of them are put into the local schools and taught career-based skills like hammock or bread making. To think that Zelinda is a mother of sorts to so many children blows my mind. She is absolutely amazing. She dresses in beautiful, brightly colored embroidered Nicaragua garb and always has a smile for us PWB volunteers. The change she has instigated here in Nicaragua, where children living on the street is a real issue, cannot be put into words. She is a massive inspiration!

Teaching a kid from the Filter House

The kids here at Los Quinchos have impressed PWB with their enthusiasm, focus and skills in circus! I can't imagine them going through some of the experiences that they might have faced: addiction, abandonment, prostitution, starvation, abuse, rape...the list goes on. Each one of these kids is special, beautiful, bright and full of life. They no doubt have blossomed in the care of this organization; they are clean, clothed, fed, active, healthy, happy – like every child should be. No one deserves to go through what some of them have. It makes me feel a range of emotions to think about how or why the world is this way – anger, hopelessness, confusion?

Then there's this concept of fate that I have been contemplating lately. It first hit me while walking through the barrios of Leon. Whole families live in shacks with dirt floors made from scraps of metal and plastic coverings (for the roof or windows). Who decides who ends up in which life? How is it fair? To think you are just born and there you are, in whatever situation it is you ended up in. Most of the time you can't really change it drastically until adulthood and even then it's not an easy task. I understand that most people don't necessarily want to change their situation, because they're happy just the way it is. But I still can't comprehend it.

The realization of my life's truth, full of pure privilege and opportunity has me dumbfounded. Not only have I been born into a loving and caring family in Southern California, I am blessed to be in the alternative circus-dancing-expressing-art making-performing-festival going-hooping-Burning Man community. I can make my life look however I want it to. I don't have to have a 9-5, I don't have to have a husband, family, house or desk job to be fulfilled. I have learned about the other side of life – the one of traveling, performing, teaching, hooping, dancing, making art, dreaming and fulfilling my biggest aspirations. How can I share this with these kids who's mindset fits into the box that having kids well before the age of 20 is normal?

Cartwheeling Quinchos Girls

When the little Nicaraguan girls find out that I am 28 and I don't have kids, they are shocked! “Why don't you have kids?” they ask, “Don't you want them?” And I do. I do want to have a family and a house and a husband one day, but why rush it? The traveling-gypsy-nomad lifestyle can only feel glamorous for so long, and once the glimmer has faded, I would love nothing more then to share my life with a family. But there is more to my life then just that. I have other purposes, and one of them, apparently was to come here to Nicaragua to teach, inspire, play and share with these wonderful bright souls.

Now I am sitting on the second story porch of our house watching thirteen year old Belen fire hoop while a small group of her peers and the PWB team are making music for her while she spins. They are executing the body percussion that Justin taught them for their show in a couple days. Belen is one of the older girls in Los Quinchos who has displayed a high aptitude for circus skills. Since PWB visited Los Quinchos last year, the kids have created their own circus show that they perform in various places all around Nicaragua! We got to see it one day when they performed in a “lost village” of sorts. It was 10 kilometers down an unpaved dirt road, flanked by a beautiful jungle-forest and the occasional farm animal grazing. The PWB team piled into the back of a truck that kicked up mountains of dust as it drove down the bumpy track. When we arrived at the school, it was completely deserted. We all had a good laugh about that, so Nicaragua! (Where almost nothing happens on time). Eventually a whole event showed up: snacks, chairs, a sound system, an audience; all of it! Los Quinchos performed their circus show involving lots of colorful circusy costumes, stilt walking, clowning, juggling, unicycling and acrobatics. Jake and Emily from our team also joined in the show with hooping and slack-rope walking. Belen performs an acrobatic duet in the show with Miguel, both who have now learned how to spin fire this week! They have learned fire poi, hooping, staff and club juggling. All of the tools have been made here in Nicaragua by PWB! Except for the hoops – the tubing for which was graciously donated by Hoopologie and the wicks from Bendy Wicks. I have also been making dozens of hoops to be left here for the kids with the tubing and shiny tape donated by Hoopologie.

Watching Daniyuska fire hoop to one of her favorite techno pop songs was incredibly powerful. She was getting down! DANCING as that fire hoop spun around her waist, having FUN, grinning from ear to ear, exuding empowerment, confidence, sexiness – all the things I feel when I hoop. It really struck home that we have imparted an invaluable gift with them. Their potential is endless and we have lifted them up to higher heights of infinite possibility!

Daniyuska getting ready to fire hoop

During this project in San Marcos I have had the pleasure of being a Curriculum Co-Coordinator with Aileen Lawlor from the Bay Area. We have been deciding the classes that will be taught each day, where and by whom. It is a really important part of the project, which was a little intimidating at first (and still continues to be – we'll see how our final show turns out!) But I am proud of our work. Neither one of us have ever done this kind of thing before, but luckily we have some excellent team members who have! The amount of experience I feel like I've gained from this project is beyond explanation.

After we first showed up here to do our show for the kids (about a month ago), there was a free-play session with all of our circus toys and bumpin' music. It was immediately obvious that these kids have skill! I remember seeing 10-year Rafa getting down with hoops, Elliot juggling 4 balls, Daniyuska asking me to teach her hoop tricks and nailing every new one within seconds. I was blown away. Now after working with them for a month their skills have soared through the roof! I have witnessed solid foot hooping, multi-hooping, juggling (with clubs, balls and passing), diabolo tricks, wand flow, badass dancing, contact staff suaveness and stellar acrobatic achievements. Some of them literally have talent seeping out of every pore. I believe we have facilitated the realization of some of this natural talent; provided a boost in confidence, a connection between them and a healthy active hobby to be passionate about.

Most of the stripy team

On the Friday before our project finished, we did a joint show with the PWB team and the kids. We were performing for a brigade of other volunteers from the states. It was like a dry run for the BIG show on Sunday to conclude our project. If that was a dry run, I can't even imagine how amazing the final show will be! I helped facilitate the large group dance battle between the boys and the girls, the younger boys' routine, an amazing acrobatic duet between two of the older girls (Maria & Diana), a veil belly dance piece with 6 girls which concluded in group veil origami AND a hoop piece with Belen, Daniyuska, Maria and me! I am so proud of them! Their hard work has really paid off and I can see how pleased they are with themselves. Another act that stands out from Friday was a group acrobatic number including about half a dozen of the older boys. They created a lot of their own moves and pulled off some seriously challenging group acro-balance shapes. I was taken aback by their strength, confidence, trust in each other and fearlessness.

We did the big group show last night! There were about 20 acts showcasing all of the skills learned over the last month. Many of the kids really came into their own power on that stage. It was quite emotional. Lots of us (both the Quinchos and PWB team members) were in tears as we said “Adios” over and over again. I tried to explain to seach kid how wonderful they did in the show. It was difficult in my broken Spanish to get the point across but I hope they know just how proud of them I am!

Whoooooaaoooooaaaa

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with PWB in Nicaragua this year. It hasn't been perfect 100% of the time but nothing is. The ups, the downs – all of it is part of the process. Going into this I knew that it would be hard at times. But I have always been up for a challenge. I love to learn. I want to take those life lesson moments and grow from them. Doing this project gave me plenty to work with! On levels of self-improvement, language and circus skills, team building, teaching and performing skills, cultural differences; I can say I have put in hard work, gained insight, experience, satisfaction and pride. I highly recommend this type of experience to anyone who is considering it.

Thank you Bags, Emily, Jake, Aileen and Justin. Thank you PWB.  

I am still fundraising the cost it has taken for me to do this important work. It will make my transition back home much easier if I can raise the rest of the funds. HERE is my fundraising campaign. 

Sombra

Jumping from "sombra a sombra" as we walk down the street in the scorching heat. Shade is such a commodity here, a necessity for survival as a “chele” (slang for foreigner or light skinned person - slightly nicer then saying “gringo” - I think?) Eating frozen chocolate covered bananas, drinking Mexican Coke and “jugo natural” out of plastic bags. The locals turn the plastic bag (bolsita) up-side-down, bite off one corner and suck out the juice. It takes a couple tries before mastering the technique and not spilling sticky, sugary liquid all over yourself.

Las Penitas Beach...it's a tough life!

We have now been in Nicaragua for one month. On New Years Day at 6am, five of us got on a plane to Central America from London. It has been an amazing experience – one that I am already grateful I have decided to embark on, and we're only 1/3 of the way through it!

The amount I have learned in the last month should be illegal. Not only have I learned all kinds of new circus skills, I have also continued to grow my Spanish speaking ability and team living/working skills. I've never worked, lived, traveled, taught, cooked, eaten and performed with the same small group of people in a foreign country before this. Whoa! The whole thing is intense and beautiful for both its successes and challenges.

The first ten days we were at Las Penitas beach which is about a 30 min bus journey outside of León, the city we are living in now. We stayed in a house on the beach with hammocks and a beautiful yoga deck, right on the sand. The beach was pretty much deserted the whole time we were there. It's definitely an undiscovered paradise. Or maybe just not tourist season? The water was warm, the sun bright, the beach empty and the waves quite intense. One of my favorite memories from swimming in that sea was our last day there before we left for Granada. The whole team was in the water for one last family swim. Jake had the idea that we do our group dance routine from our show. We did it, stage placement changes and everything, while the crazy waves crashed on us, giggling all the while.

 7 person - 2.5high!

Those ten days were packed full of some of the most learning I've ever done. We had an amazing tropical fruit breakfast together every morning. After that we would take turns leading sessions for each other. We played lots of amazing games. We played improv games, name games and just plain ol' fun games! We taught each other our own specialty in Spanish to get us ready to do so with the kids. Highlights include learning staff from Aileen Lawlor, diablo from Jake Holland and acro balance from Tilly Twist – all in Spanish! Our initial group acro sessions left me high as a kite. I learned to base a 2.5 person high pyramid with all 7 of us, and am now doing it in the show we perform multiple times a week. I also had to teach hoop to the team that week in my version of "Spanglish" which was a good way to break my fear of doing so, and get me ready with important words for our projects.

We also came up with our show in those 10 days. I am extremely impressed with what we came up with. It is a 10 act show with 7 performers, some of which had never performed together before. It's about 40 minutes long and includes a group ball juggling/clowning act, a group dance routine, a staff trio, a 4 person poi routine, a diablo trio, a Magical Realism act (in which I belly dance, there is an Isis wing dance, contact ball juggling and floating wand), body percussion, rope walking, a club juggling trio, a hoop trio (Bags, Tilly & I – hoop juggling and multi hoop tricks!) and finally a group acrobatics routine to finish the show.

The dance routine was a concept that I came up with at bootcamp. We were brainstorming

Performing our dance routine

about the show and trying to see if we wanted a narrative or theme for it. It came time for Aileen, Penny and I to create the dance routine before we had decided on a story. I was confused to as to how we could choreograph a dance without an obvious concept to work from. I was talking to Bags about it and he said something along the lines of, “Can't it just be for the purpose of fun?” That got me thinking. What about a dance routine in which the theme is in itself dance. An homage to popular culture dance crazes! So I proposed the idea to the team and everyone seemed quite keen. It ended up with Jai Ho (Bollywood thanks to Penny), Madonna's Vogue, a cheesy/clowning ballet to the Sugar Plum Fairy (I made tutus for the boys to wear and us ladies lift them up for a leap :) then it goes into 80s hip hop choreographed by Aileen to MC Hammer's 2legit 2Quit, after is the beloved Gangnam Style which was a big hit EVERYWHERE in the world apparently, Thriller by Michael Jackson, the Macarena and finally the Harlem Shake – the Harlem Shake is an opportunity for us to freak out crazily with no real choreography - organized flailing. In between each song is a robot-battery-dying moment where we all loose energy and regain it before the next part.

El Berrilete

There were definitely moments in rehearsing these pieces in which the team as a whole was skeptical – were we going to look good doing this? Were people going to get it? Laugh? Love it? Hate it? Ahhhh! Not many of the team consider themselves dancers, but primarily circus performers. There were several times in which I wasn't feeling good about this contribution. But the test came in our first show at Sonflora (a Swiss funded project for kids who have domestic violence in their homes) in the Las Penitas area. They absolutely LOVED our dance routine! They laughed and cheered :) Since then we have performed it in every show and have received masses of positive reactions. One of the other participants at the El Berrinche Ambiental Festival in Granada saw a message in it – that everyone can and should dance their own unique way. Which I love. Yes, that is SO the message! Not only have the audiences loved the dance routine, we have also started teaching it to the kids. They have expressed the most enthusiasm about it out of anything I have taught them so far. Screaming “Otra Vez!” (Again!) after every time we run it. It was the most fun (and the most sweaty) I've had teaching here in León at El Barrilete.

HERE are our pictures from Bootcamp and Granada.

Dancing w/ the kids at El Berrilete

El Barrilete is an after school program for kids who's parents can't give them help with homework – usually because of their work. Lots of them are extremely poor, living in conditions of abuse and/or drug addiction. They go to El Barrilete to get help with homework and eat lunch. We go there everyday for 2 hours to play games with them, teach them hoop, poi, staff, dance, acro balance, body percussion, juggling and diablo. We have now been there for about a week and a half. We have 2 more weeks with them and are planning to put together a show with them at the end – to perform all of the skills they have learned with us. I have created some serious bonds with these sweet kids! I love them! They are extremely eager to see us everyday when we show up at the school. Hearing them say “Valentina! Valentina! Mirame!” (Look at me!) every time they get a new trick down just melts my heart.

Watch this video!

HERE are the pictures from our month in Leon. And to the left is the video Aileen made of our time there!

Before coming to León, we spent a week in Granada at the El Berrinche Ambiental Festival. It was held at the beautiful Casa de las Botellitas (House of the Little Bottles) – and it's just that. A house painted in multiple bright colors, lots of beautiful graffiti, glass bottles in the walls and a wonderful training space. This organization, The Escuela de la Comedia y el Mimo, teaches local children from the barrios performance skills and they are serious little circus badasses! We got to see them perform their show which included fearless group acrobatics, juggling, poi, clowning and even a story!

Hooping w/ the kids in Granada

This circus and performing arts festival was conceptualized around the ideas of recycling and Earth preservation involving performance artists from around the world – mostly from Central America. We took and taught workshops with the artists and local children. We slept in hammocks and performed twice. We paraded down the streets of Granada, to the Casa de Tres Mundos, the main square and spot of various shows that we watched and performed in. When we performed there, Jake set up a high line on the building and walked it with no safety! It was the highest line he's walked sin safety and quite a scary/inspiring thing to witness. We also performed inside the Mimo y Comedia Cafe that the Escuela works with often. It's a beautiful space with a large outdoor courtyard that serves as the stage. I had the opportunity to perform a belly dance solo at the Cafe. I don't think there is very much belly dancing here, though they do lots of latin dancing which has much cross over with the isolations in belly dancing. It got a huge response, especially from the kids. Two little girls followed me around for about 30 minutes after I got off stage, they just kept staring at me and asking me questions, quite endearing. I was astonished by the thriving circus scene represented at the festival. It makes me wonder what other corners of the world are pulsing with the life of circus! You can see the video from our week in Granada here.

Performing w/ Bags & Tilly Twist

After Granada we came here to León to start our project with El Barrilete. We settled into our house here, it has been nice to have roots down in one place. Everyday we get into a “camioneta” (truck) to take us to the area Guadelupe where El Barrilete is. It is literally a truck with a cover over it, 2 benches and lots of people. Sometimes the drivers are crazy as they rush and lurch down the streets. It's always an adventure - packed full of locals - I often find myself hanging on for dear life with our circus equiptment!

A highlight from León are the museums Bags and I visited. One, a Contemporary Art Museum called Foundatión Ortiz Gurdián showcasing Central American artists. I really enjoyed the interactive pieces. We made a spyrograph drawing from an installation of perfectly balanced objects. We also went to a museum of Nicaraguan Legends and Myths. We had a one-on-one tour in Spanish and a translator who told us all about these myths we have encountered here but didn't understand yet. It was fascinating and I am intrigued to learn more about them. Lots of stories come from Spanish colonization and interaction with the native people. Some highlight issues in the culture – a woman who turns into a pig to follow her cheating husband around and catch him in the act, a dwarf that steals children from the rivers if their parents leave them there alone, a Day of the Dead carriage of skeletal horses and people representing how the Spanish settlers would cart around dead bodies of the indigenous people.

Bags & I Juggling 

We have had some memorable shows since we've been here in León as well. We performed at a bus terminal in a half built concrete box with columns in the center, sharp pointy pieces of metal jutting out of the top, trees overhanging and a corner that had definitely been used as a bathroom once or twice. When we showed up I was skeptical to say the least. Picturing myself doing group acrobatics, standing on Bags' shoulders in a twohigh, juggling and dancing in that space seemed impossible. It was the most challenging space I have ever performed in. But we figured it out. Adapted our show, bent back the pieces of sharp metal and absolutely rocked it. There was one kid in the audience who had clearly been sniffing glue. This is a common problem in Nicaragua. The glue makes them high and takes away their hunger, making it easier to survive starvation. It was quite sad to see. Lots of organizations that we're working with here, like Las Chavaladas, take in children with glue addictions and help them get back to a healthy, happy life. We work with these organizations to teach kids like this circus skills - giving them confidence, fun playtime, a hobby to be passionate about, a way to connect with others, maybe a calling in life.

Another memorable show was a street show set up by Las Chavaladas. It was literally in the  middle of the street, blocked off by trucks parked in the road. A massive sound system was set up and hundreds of people in the audience. We collaborated with a group of Salsa Stilt Walkers, called the Zanqueros who we met at the festival in Granada. Since we met them, we have been participating in skill exchanges. They teach us salsa and we have taught them circus skills and belly dancing. It is an amazing link to have made since they want to set up a permanent social circus program here in León. They are such a nice group of people. It really helps our Spanish and makes me feel like I'm a true resident of this country, being friends with the locals! For this show, the Zanqueros did their salsa stilting act at the end of our regular show and then we all rocked out a fire set. It was amazing how our tiredness before the show was turned around by an exhilarating performance into excitement and energy.

Group Acro Pyramid!

One last show of note was held in the large central square in the middle of León last weekend. It was a collaboration between us, the Zanqueros and El Nido de Las Artes (a group of circus performers from another town here in Nicaragua, Estelí). All three of us did a two hour show which included juggling, dancing, clowning/comedy, diablo, poi, hoop, contact juggling, clubs, rope walking, group acrobatics, salsa stilt walking and of course a fire jam at the end....all of the things!!! An amazing conglomeration of our combined talents and oh what an experience! 

I am so grateful that I have decided to do this project and I can't wait to see what else is in store for me during the next 2 months. I want to thank everyone who has donated to help me do such important work. I also want to let everyone know that I am still fundraising the rest of the money needed to do this project. You can read about my fundraising campaign here. Thank you!

Dreaming Circles in Nicaragua

Watch our Nicaragua Hooping Video HERE.

The combination of traveling somewhere new, an obsession with hooping and hanging out with someone whom I respect, admire and inspires me has done amazing things to my brain. I am absolutely buzzing! The thoughts, the words, the ideas, the poetry - it's all racing through me. Gotta get it all out. That's what this blog is good for...

I just got back from an exciting adventure in Central America with Bags! He is currently living in Nicaragua for three months and working with Performers Without Borders. PWB's main goal is to "teach performing arts to vulnerable children in countries of high child poverty." I got to see firsthand how amazing this project is! It seems to be truly effective and I hope to work on a project like it one day.

Cutie at the Barrileta School

During the first two days of my trip, I went to the Barrileta School where they've been teaching hoop, poi, juggling, music, stilt walking, diablo, staff spinning, acro, etc. for about a month and a half. The students performed 2 shows for an audience including other students, the PWB team, teachers and parents of the community. The first show included some traditional Nicaraguan dances as well as clowning acts and circus arts they've learned from PWB. What a fun, funny and vibrant culture they have! 

The next day they performed only the various circus skills they've learned while working with PWB. I was completely impressed! Stilt walking and juggling/hooping at the same time?! Full-on 6 person balanced pyramids with someone standing on top juggling?! Epicness. They seemed really happy, confident and stoked to be building these skills. One of the teenagers read aloud a letter she had written (in English) to the team, expressing their gratitude for the time spent teaching them such amazingly empowering hobbies. It was extremely touching and meaningful! 

Bags hoopin' at the cool park we found in Matagalpa 

I had fun on the second day during the free-time just hooping, dancing and playing with the kids. They were so excited to see the team everyday, running up, hugging and jumping on the team members. The kids had so much love to give. Even though I couldn't communicate with them very much because my Spanish is basically non-existent, I could still interact with them through body language, facial expression and play. This type of interaction helped me realize the universality of human nature. We are just people. We're all humans. We all want the same things in life. We all just want to love and be loved. Somehow my brief interactions with these kids exposed me to this realization in a whole new way.

After that project was complete, we headed to Matagalpa, a mountain town in central Nicaragua. We wandered through the town, soaking it all in...exploring the parks, the cathedral and the shops. We drank cold Tonas everyday, the Nicaraguan beer. Ate the standard meal of beans and rice with plantains at the "comedors" (dining room) - which literally felt like you were eating in someone's living room. There was usually a mom-like character cooking your food for you (delicious!), possibly some bookshelves with family pictures on them, a TV on in the corner and a few tables with modest table clothes covering them. We drank coffee locally grown in that region and ate frozen bananas covered in chocolate. YUM!  

One of my favorites days was when we hiked to the top of a mountain overlooking the city. I felt like we were super resourceful travelers! Bags had done some research in an outdated guidebook which mentioned a Centre that provided hike outlines. We could have hired a guide to take us but what's the fun in that? Through asking various people and looking at a map, we happened to find the Centre with the brochures and picked out a few hikes we wanted to do. The brochures were in broken English with instructions like: "When you get to the water pump, go under the roof covering the pump, find the side of the pump the handle is on and then go through an opening in the fence on that side." Huh? We were sure to get lost but we were up to the challenge and getting lost is half the fun anyway! 

On our hike

And we did. We got lost, had to backtrack, had to ask locals in broken Spanish which way to go, accidentally walked through people's property with angry dogs barking at us, laughed at the blank stares coming from village children as we walked by in crazy circus clothes and hoops strapped to our backpack....the usual :) But what an adventure! We romped through mountains, forests and villages. I saw a snake! We saw huge beautiful multicolored butterflies and all kinds of lovely trees. There were farm animals in the villages - chickens, cows, donkeys, horses, dogs and cats everywhere. When we made it to the top, it was so worth it! We went straight up to the viewing tower, cracked open a bottle of wine I brought from home and ate some much needed snacks. The view was spectacular! 

We made it to the top!

We had super intense and wildly satisfying hoop sessions as well. Before coming to visit, Bags told me he had 12 pages of new hoop material he had thought up! 12 pages! Swoon :) We only touched on a fraction of the material but still covered many epic partner moves that came from that brilliant brain of his. When we juggle-partner poi-hoop together, it makes me feel like I can do anything! Like I am an invincible super hero....a hooper hero! It is a feeling like none I have ever experienced and I actually remember feeling it the first time I met him in San Diego years ago. We went to the grass in OB to have a play b/c he was in town to teach workshops. Without actually explaining his partner Z-Spin sequence to me, he just started doing it with me and it was like I already knew the moves and their order even though I had never done them before. I remember being stupefied by this. You can imagine how this synergy has been intensified by the month we spent playing together in England and the countless hours I have spent practicing while away from him. I have to say I am proud of my progression. When we came back to play in Nicaragua, it was like we never left each other. I have never met someone who makes me want to practice so much! He really makes me want to get better and I feel like I am instantly better just from sharing the same airspace as him :)

View of Matagalpa

We shot some video in another beautiful scenic location overlooking Matagalpa - HERE it is. We are trying to create awareness and interest in our cross country US Workshop tour from June - September this summer! Woohoo! I will be focusing on that project now that the Burlesque Circus show is over. Oh and how could I forget to mention...The Burlesque Circus was an EPIC display of beautifully crafted performance art expressing endless passion for the fusion of sideshow and strip tease! We sold out both nights, rocked the house with inspiring performance, raised money for the US tour and created rippling feelings of empowerment for everyone involved. Thank you for coming if you were able to make it! Some of my favorite feedback includes:

The Burlesque Circus

"...this show was so amazing!!!! By far the best $20 I've probably ever spent. All of the performances were so detailed, emotional, sexy, powerful! I was especially inspired by seeing all the beautiful body types being so clearly valued in burlesque. I'm a bit closer to getting on stage myself because of what I saw at your show! Thank you!" - Keli Lalita

"Thank you for putting on such an amazing, sold out show last night! All of the performers gave me a new definition of what is possible in the arena of dance, movement, and expression. I was frequently at a loss for words. Can't wait for the next show!" - Daniel Walsh

Needless to say it was a success and I can't wait for the next one! Mark your calendars for the weekend of June 14th-15th!

What's coming up this month? Anah Hoopalicious is coming down to SD THIS weekend to teach 2 days of workshops! 

THIS Saturday night is Breaking The Chains: A burlesque Benefit for Autism at Sunset Temple. 

Saturday, March 16th is Bobby Burlesque's Fantasy: Masquerade Show in LA! BUY your tickets asap!

April has all kinds of goodies as well! Stayed connected to know about all of it. 

Shedding Skin

Dancing with Manasa

The last month or two has brought on LOTS of changes in my life. As I have been going through these changes, one of my dance partners, my ball python Manasa (pronounced Menesha, named after the Hindu Snake Goddess) shed her skin again. It was like she knew I was doing the same thing! I felt closer to her than ever and understood her cyclical life on a whole new level. I realized that we are all constantly changing. This quote from the book I am currently reading really hit home: 

"He seemed to see time shimmering and moving up above him and through the leaves and down around his feet and through his middle. Nothing was like anything else, including himself, and everything was changing all of the time. He knew he couldn't perceive the change because he was changing too, along with everything else. There was no still point." - Jim Harrison, "Legends of the Fall"

Sometimes you have to shed your skin. Get rid of the old and make room for the new. Grow out of your current situation into the next one. The process might be painful but the outcome is always shiny, new and fresh.

I have taken most of the comforts out of my life and have already learned a lot about myself. Moved out of my apartment, got rid of most of my possessions, put the rest of them in storage and am currently living in my friend's RV. I have entered into the "nomadic" phase of my life. My mom says "nomadic" is just a romantic word for homeless, ha! I feel like I am actually living the traveling circus, gypsy, nomad lifestyle that I represent on stage so often. Instead of just performing it on stage, I am living it! It has been an interesting journey so far and it promises to get even more interesting!

I have struggled with the concept of being a nomad AND being a performer at the same time. Not only a performer, but a hoop making performer! All you hoop makers out there know what I mean! Making hoops takes space! Rolls of 100' tubing, dozens and dozens of tapes and not to mention all of the tools involved in making them! Space is one of the biggest commodities for a nomad. You don't have much of it. Being a performer requires that you have lots of stuff...costumes, stage props, more costumes, jewelry, makeup, fire tools, more costumes, fabric, crafting supplies, you get the point! You have to be ready at any moment to fill the whim of a prospective client. Oh you want me to be a fire spinning hula girl at your beach party? A retro vintage hula hooper at your corporate event? A belly dancer at your birthday? A burlesque performer in your stage show? Suuurrrre. Let me just run to my storage unit. Again.

All in all I have figured it out. It has taken some organization, planning and forethought but so far so good. It can be done! The worst thing that's happened is I've lost a couple material possessions along the way. But who cares? It's just stuff! I'm liking this whole non-attachment to material possessions thing!

In about 3 weeks I leave for my first trip to Asia. I was hired to perform fire dancing for 3 days at the Singapore Grand Prix! I used our flight money to go to Bangkok and then 4 weeks later down to Singapore. That's right. 4 weeks in Thailand! Wow! I am so excited and nervous at the same time I can hardly stand it. It will be a grand adventure! I feel like I will learn a lot about myself and about the world at the same time. After getting back from Southeast Asia I will be going to Santa Cruz to perform at Hoop Camp's Movements Arts Festival. Could life get better than that??

Day of the Dead Burlesque Inspiration

I am already planning my next big production, The Dia de los Muertos Cabaret to be held in San Diego the first weekend of November (2nd & 3rd). More details on the way. Just know now it's going to be EPIC! Then only 3 days later I am off to my 7 week UK tour! Whew! And Weeeee!!!!!

I will be teaching at SWhoop (South West Hoop Convergence) in Bristol, then in Dublin for a Flow Fest, then the Brighton Flow Fest, then I'm off to teach workshops in Plymouth, Oxford and finally London for the Fantasia Belly Dance Festival. This will be the longest I have traveled alone, ever! I'm going to the land of amazing music and amazing hooping! I can't even fathom the inspiration about to be bestowed upon me! When I saw the Bristol Hoop Massive Video for the first time, I was blown away. It might still be my favorite hoop video of all time. The comment I posted when I first saw it was, "I want to come hoop with you all in Bristol one day!" And look, it's happening! Thanks to Emma (Kenna Hoops)! My favorite musicians have ALL come from England! Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Cinematic Orchestra, Mr. Scruff...just to name a few! I hope to see Cinematic live while I'm there. I'm already planning to see Caravan Palace while I'm in Brighton. They are another one of my all time favorite bands but they're from France, close enough!

When I'm back from England I will actually be finding a real address like most of the rest of the world. But not too long after I will be joining about 100 hoopers on the Hoop Ship! Woot!  It's a cruise for hoopers to the BAHAMAS! WOOHOOO! Ever wanted to go a cruise? Ever wanted to go to a Hoop Retreat? Ever wanted to go to the BAHAMAS?? Here's your chance ALL IN ONE AMAZING EVENT! And it's SUPER affordable if you think about all of the amazingness you get! Epic instructor line up and Hoop classes on the beaches of the BAHAMAS! Did I mention the BAHAMAS? Ha! Come play! February 2013!

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum :)

There is talk of a potential trip to India after that and then in summer of 2013 I plan to tour the United States with The Hoop Unit in a painted bus. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she? Look out for the Kickstarter campaign to fund the first ever cross country UNITY Tour!

Enough about what's coming up. What's been happening? Here is where I catch you up on all of the past highlights from the last month or so....

• I was fortunate enough to see the Pretty Things Peep Show when they were in town. That might have been the best show I have EVER seen! If you ever get a chance, jump on it! 

• I taught 14 children how to make hoops, do  impressive hoop dance tricks and perform them for their parents at the New Children's Museum Summer Camp. Watch the video here. There is still one week left at Cuyamaca College. Sign up here!

Me as a Twi'lek!

• I got to be apart of Hell on Heel's Carnival Burlesque show! That was fun!

• I had my first paid Lyra gig that was not at one of my own events! It was with Aerial Revolution for the 4th of July at the Escondido celebration.

• I walked on stilts for the first time! Thanks to Mango!!!

• I got to be a Twi'lek for the Keyhole Cabaret Comic Con show, "Nerd-tastic Burlesque" It was the first time I painted my whole body. What an adventure! There are snippets of the show here. You can see me eating fire as a Twi'lek at the end of the clip.

• Oh yeah and I turned 27 :) My birthday was everything I could have asked for. Relaxing, yummy and full of amazing friends. BRING IT 27!!!