I have this rib (mid-way down my back on my right side) that I continue to pop out of place. I go into my chiropractor and he adjusts it back to where it supposed to be. And then I dance again, and out comes the rib. Now that mis-placed rib is causing muscle spasms. My chiropractor told me the only way to fix it is to rest. I told him I will rest in 2 weeks when the performance is over.
Here are some of the bruises I have sustained during dance practice….
Yes, those are fingerprints. On my leg.
I came home from practice last week so frustrated with myself! (There might have been a little bit of crying.) There is a move in our salsa routine that I just can’t seem to nail! It doesn’t sound too hard when Nathan describes it – simply run forward, vault into a kind of forward cartwheel, keep my legs fanned as they rotate over my head, use his arm as a pivot point, and land on my feet gracefully. No big deal! Never mind that I have never once in my life done a cartwheel. Or a handstand. Never mind that I feel much more comfortable with my feet on the floor rather than rotating in the air over my head.
My husband did what any normal husband would do when his wife is crying about her failed attempts at mastering this dance trick.
He offered to practice it with me.
Never mind that my husband has absolutely no dance (or dance partner) experience.
He knelt on the grass and held his arm out to the side as my pivot point.
I (trustingly) ran forward and vaulted myself through the air.
I guess his arm was supposed to be more than just a pivot point. It was also supposed to push upwards on the small of my back to help me finish the rotation.
I landed on my rear end. There might have been more crying. (I blame my husband’s lack of arm pivot skills rather than my lack of cartwheel skills)
So my husband found a solution.
He called and booked me a private gymnastics lesson. (Oh my word, that man is a gem! I mean really, most men would look at their crying wife with confusion. “Wait. You are crying about dancing? Really?”)
On Saturday, I had a one-on-one lesson with Coach Andrea. She was fantastic! When she found out that her student was a 35-year-old woman with absolutely no gymnastics experience (no flexibility, either, mind you) who wanted to learn a dance trick in a one-hour session, she took it well.
She made me do this….
Did I nail the trick? You will just have to purchase tickets to the show to find out! Go to www.cascadetheatre.org and get your tickets!
Clearly, I have sacrificed my body for the cause. I have been dancing, and thinking about dancing, and dreaming about dancing for 2 months. I have also been fundraising.
Thank you to everyone who has donated. There are seriously too many people to name. I have friends who have donated time for my fundraising events. I have friends who have donated profits from their business. I have a friend who designed and sewed and bedazzled my costumes. I have a mother-in-law who has designed and printed all of my flyers and promotional materials. And I have many, many, many people who have gotten online and donated to Shasta Women’s Refuge and Family Justice Center. (I have to give a special thank you to Redding Bank of Commerce and Kevin Ramstrom of Steelhead Constructors for their VERY generous donations!)
Why am I fundraising for SWR & FJC?
Shasta Women’s Refuge and Family Justice Center provides victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, their families and friends with safety, healing and prevention of further victimization.
Services provided by SWR & FJC include emergency shelter, a 24 hour crisis line, legal advocacy, a children’s program, and assistance with restraining orders, counseling and other vital support services.
Last year SWR& FJC assisted over 5,000 victims of domestic violence with shelter, counseling and other life saving services.
SWR & FJC staff is committed to keeping administrative costs to a minimum. Eighty five cents of every dollar you donate goes to sustain their programs.
Please, if you haven’t donated yet, will you consider it today? We have two weeks left until the big show. Two weeks to raise the money that this agency needs to continue to provide these services.
You can click on the donate button on the side of my blog. Or you can go directly to www.shastwomensrefuge.org and donate.
Blessings!
Natalie