Dominic and Me leaping
I’m dancing with sjDANCEco this October 2nd and 3rd at the California Theatre located in downtown San Jose. It’s a gorgeous space and I’m so excited about dancing with such a great company!
Tickets are $27 if you buy them either through me or the box office by the end of September. Otherwise, it’s $32 at the door — no, this is not general seating, folks! One of the things I love about this theatre, aside from it’s lush history and architecture, is the fact that there really isn’t a “bad” seat in the house.
So come check me out! I can’t wait to see you all there!
]]>My studio is having their recital the last weekend of June. Yes, I know it’s Pride Weekend up in SF, but we have several days you can come see the show! I’ll be dancing in it as well to help out the girls do their quick changes. Overall, it should be a fun show! Dominic and I will also be doing a duet which is awesome… but my lil bro is an awesome choreographer so that goes without saying. Come check it out!
Dates: June 25,26,and 27, 2009
Location: Louis B. Mayer Theatre @ Santa Clara University
Show time: 7:30 p.m.
Admission: $15
Dominic Duong’s Exurgency from the Dancin Downtown Festival, held Sunday, April 26th, 2009 in downtown San Jose. This piece was dedicated to Fred Mathews for his contribution to the Dance Community and won the sjDANCEco ChoreoProject Audience Award. It features Joshua Lau, Michael Saenz, and Dominic Doung.
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Dom found our pics that were taken from the Dancing Downtown Festival! I’m not sure why I’m looking down or why I’m pitched so far in my pose, but at least I’m pointing my foot? (Tries to look for the silver lining). Overall, I’m happy with the pic! Just in case you couldn’t tell, I’m the one in front looking at the floor — something I always tell my girls not to do during class. Ah well… just something to work on while honing my craft.
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Last Sunday I was in downtown San Jose to see my girls perform in the 7th annual Dancin’ Downtown Festival hosted by sjDANCEco. They were great! The marley dance floor was a bit sticky to begin with and they had some problems with that in the beginning, but perservered and did very well.
As for my performance later that day on the same stage… it was more like an out of body experience. I had this partner lift that has never given me problems before… turn into an excruciatingly slow motion nightmare all in the course of two seconds. My partner wound up flipping and turning and we were in the middle of spinning… and I had visions of us being in this big heap on the floor while the music still played around our collapsed bodies — yet we somehow managed to recover and I was able to put my partner down on his feet without dropping him. Don’t ask me how I did it because I haven’t the foggiest idea how!
That’s what I love about live theatre/dance, though. You never know what to expect.
]]>I’m a dancer, an avid sci-fi fanboy, a dog lover, and a teacher. Sometimes these different interest intersect, but not often. We all have professional and personal sides to ourselves and I find that, online, the line between the “public” and “personal” me get blurred. How does one separate these personas? I’ve tried filtering and having different pseudonames, but invariably there is not much of a definitive break from the two.
I’ve been online since I was fourteen. I’m no longer the obnoxious kid (I would hope) that I was back then and my views have changed since then. The downside of the internet is that it retains EVERYTHING. That embarassing moment you had when you put your foot in your mouth? It’s saved forever to posterity online! One only has to Google for it.
How do you manage your public (professional) and private (last weekend’s bender with your old college buddies) identities online? How do you brand yourself?
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(source)By DAVE GRAM, Associated Press Writer Dave Gram, Associated Press Writer –
MONTPELIER, Vt. – Vermont on Tuesday became the fourth state to legalize gay marriage — and the first to do so with a legislature’s vote.
The House recorded a dramatic 100-49 vote — the minimum needed — to override Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto. Its vote followed a much easier override vote in the Senate, which rebuffed the Republican governor with a vote of 23-5.
Vermont was the first state to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples and joins Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa in giving gays the right to marry. Their approval of gay marriage came from the courts.
Tuesday morning’s legislative action came less than a day after Douglas issued a veto message saying the bill would not improve the lot of gay and lesbian couples because it still would not provide them rights under federal and other states’ laws.
House Speaker Shap Smith’s announcement of the vote brought an outburst of jubilation from some of the hundreds packed into the gallery and the lobby outside the House chamber, despite the speaker’s admonishment against such displays.
Among the celebrants in the lobby were former Rep. Robert Dostis, D-Waterbury, and his longtime partner, Chuck Kletecka. Dostis recalled efforts to expand gay rights dating to an anti-discrimination law passed in 1992.
“It’s been a very long battle. It’s been almost 20 years to get to this point,” Dostis said. “I think finally, most people in Vermont understand that we’re a couple like any other couple. We’re as good and as bad as any other group of people. And now I think we have a chance to prove ourselves here on forward that we’re good members of our community.”
Dostis said he and Kletecka will celebrate their 25th year together in September.
“Is that a proposal?” Kletecka asked.
“Yeah,” Dostis replied. “Twenty-five years together, I think it’s time we finally got married.”
Craig Bensen, a gay marriage opponent who had lobbied unsuccessfully for a nonbinding referendum on the question, said he was disappointed but believed gay marriage opponents were outspent by supporters by a 20-1 margin.
“The other side had a highly funded, extremely well-oiled machine with all the political leadership except the governor pushing to make this happen,” he said. “The fact that it came down to this tight a vote is really astounding.”
Also in the crowd was Michael Feiner, a farmer from Roxbury and gay marriage supporter, who took a break from collecting sap for maple syrup-making to come to the Statehouse.
“I’m taking a break to come and basically make sure that I was here to witness history,” he said.
The House had initially passed the bill last week with a 95-52 vote.
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I went to the UDT Dance performance last night at San Jose State and was summarily blown away by some of the dancer’s and choreographer’s creative energy. Some of it inspired me and found me leaning forward in my chair to take an active interest as to what was happening on stage.
My friend, Stephanie Anderson, is in the UDT dance company and I am truly proud of her. She’s definitely grown so much from our time together at Foothill College’s Dance Company that I can’t help but burst with joy. It’s like the girl finally discovered her wings and is able to fly!
The last piece of the evening was done by Jill Yager (Thanks Dom for the reminder!). I know of her by reputation and haven’t really seen her previous work. Last night I was left speechless — what an amazing piece she’s created! It invoked fear, courage, determination, dispair; it was about facing our own demons. If there is a video of this somewhere I need to get my hot little hands on one! She spoke so honestly and openly that there were certain moments when I just got chills. It’s haunting me still today and I’m finding that maybe there is a reason for this. What demons do we have that need to be addressed individually as well as a whole?
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