Looking Back, Looking Up, & Looking Like an Idiot: A Year in Blog Posts

Or: Ten Memorable Moments That I Blogged About In 2009.

1. Loss, Betrayal, and Longed-For Saving Grace. Okay, not a happy one, let alone to start off the list-- but it's definitely something that none of us are going to forget about anytime soon. It also proved that my old dance company is one hell of a strong ensemble-- those folks can get through any crazy situation you throw at them.

2. Love, Dance, Family, Unity. Mike and Maria finally tie the knot, in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the Pocono Mountains. I reflect on my relationship with them, and there are pretty pictures.

3. A Beautiful Finish. Last spring's production of Si Se Puede turned into a wonderful weekend of performing, photography, and camaraderie.

4. Watching Dance: 'The Convenient Woman.' A neat multi-disciplinary show by Leslie Scates and Teresa Chapman at Diverseworks. I enjoyed the show and all the artwork on display--I really don't go to Diverseworks enough, methinks.

5. Wonderful, Wonderful. My kiddos perform Alice In Wonderland, wrapping up an extraordinarily fun five-month process.

6. Discovering "Thriller." The [Awesome People] Dance Company teams up with Dance Houston and creates a 500-person flash mob at Discovery Green, celebrating the legacy of Michael Jackson (it was the Celebrity Death Epidemic of '09, aka the Summer of Rocks Fall/Everyone Dies).

7. Dance, Film, and Destruction of Property. I meet up with JS, P, and a some other artists to talk about a film project. We had some really interesting discussions, and I shattered a table. With my foot.

8. Crazy Dancing Death Monkey. A fun show by Slump Theater at the Fringe Fest. The whole thing was one big laugh riot...well, until we all got shot, anyway.

9. Watching Dance: 'Manon' at Houston Ballet. What can I say: I just really, really liked this ballet. Reviewing it was fun, too.

10. The Blue Comet. My last performance of Amahl and the Night Visitors/with [Awesome People] Dance Company/of the decade. It was a perfect end to all three.

So this is it folks: The end of 2009, the star of a new decade. Just think, 10 years ago we were all nervous about Y2k, cell phones were the size of VCRs, most people still had dial-up internet. I was a junior-high ballet student living in Pennsylvania-- where were you at the beginning of the 2000s? Regardless of where you were, I'm sure you agree-- we've all come a long way in the last ten years. Here's to another decade of awesome things, progress, and happiness. Salut, and happy new year!