Elevation Breakdown

Finally getting to my Elevation post!

Thursday:
Took the day off from work and headed out to Golden for Rachel Brice's 3 hour 8:30AM class. With this class I definitely came away with the want and a pretty good idea of how to reignite and switch up my personal practice. I also pinpointed why I have such a hard time with a few specific types of levels, it has nothing to do with my thighs and everything to do with my ankles. I definitely have the typical girly weak ankles... but I know what I need to work on now!

Went to lunch at Ali Baba Grill with Miss Lisa, had a lovely meal and talk with her. I don't get to see her near enough these days.

Went back to the workshop area and got ready for Unmata's class. I definitely got what I came for... a fast paced dance class where you never stop moving or smiling. I love Amy's way of breaking down movements and then turning it into a combo.

Friday:
Day two of Rachel's classes. She taught a frankly invaluable method for creating your own movement creation. It was the most real life applicable workshop I've ever taken; I'm definitely never going to look at a choreography the same again. My partner for the class was a lovely lady from Australia, whom I will also be seeing at Tribal Fest! They'll be performing on Sunday, May 16th under their name Divine Elements Belly Dance Company.

Saturday:
Day three of Rachel's classes. Before class I ended up meeting a lovely girl Jenny that takes classes near Connifer. We kept with the same theme as Friday with a different twist for creating fusion choreography. It was a fun workshop again but the other three ladies I met with and myself were desperately trying to keep our brains from leaking out our ears by the end. Slightly overwhelming but it was a ton of fun. Had to bust out of class right afterward to get up to FoCo with Molly for Tribal Fest rehearsal.

Later that night we went to the Gala Show, did a decent job of staying away from the vending, got to sit with Miss Lisa and Ryan about 6 rows back which was just perfect. It was by far my favorite Elevation Gala Show to date. The performers were all excellent and the show kept moving with a 20 minute intermission. My only critique was that it was a little long... I'm by no means sad that I got to see Unmata's full RaceCar set in addition to their full new Runway set, but I was definitely having a hard time staying awake by the end and it wasn't because the performers were bad. Rachel of course finished the show and she owned it like a rock star; I say rock star because at one point with the lighting set at a lovely blue-purple hue and the pose she struck to the perfect beat in the music she looked like a rock star. Whoever the lighting director was for the show they did a fantastic job for all of the performances.

Sunday:
I got to sleep in! Sort of... the dogs woke us up at about 7:30am, but considering that was the time I had been leaving for class that past three days it felt like I slept in. Gary had got back from Iowa the night before and was asleep on the couch until all three of the dogs bounded down the stairs. Had a nice chat with him, got breakfast with Ryan at Le Peep then headed out to Golden for my last two workshops.

Awalim's was first and both of the ladies teaching it were pretty hilarious. For the most part I they taught things I already knew but it was a fun one. Rachel's Yoga class ended the entire weekend and was completely blissful. A divine combination of asana, pranayama, chanting and meditation if you chose. It was seriously the best yoga glow I've ever had... I was totally blissed out.

Rachel talked a bit about her new DVD that's coming out at the end of May called Serpentine. I can't wait to get it a Tribal Fest.