Thanks to the COVID-19 global pandemic of 2020, the dance studio was closed for in-person lessons and events, starting mid-March. But when there is a will to dance, there is a way! :) Fortunately, I was able to do virtual lessons and coachings, as well as some virtual events!
1 We would all gather and cheer each other on via a Zoom meeting. The silver lining is that meant that family could easily join to watch from afar. (Note "Linda's iPad". :) ) The other cool thing is that it gave everyone a chance to see everyone else in their home environment. This is a screenshot of some of the participants and viewers of the Spotlight Checkout Party on June 12th. (photo from Yaxin)
2 The second performance was just two days later on June 12th. Urs watched again to provide an additional written critique, as well as to take notes for his recommendation on which direction to head next on this crazy dance journey. Oh, and the expectation was that the critique from the first performance was applied for the second performance! :-| Again, I danced a waltz solo to "Dreams Are More Precious" by Enya. Make sure to listen to Peter's comments at the end to hear what made these performances even more challenging than just dancing waltz solo in a small space. (I didn't catch it on the first video, but the same thing applied to both the first and second performances. :) )
3 The third virtual Spotlight event was the Cinema Spotlight Premiere Party on June 24th. This set of spotlights was about leveraging video in a way that you couldn't in live performance. Since we had to be physically separate and do a video instead of live performance together, I wanted to do a concept where that actually strengthened the depiction of the concept and the piece. Plus, it was nice to be able to actually do it within the context of a scene, which we usually don’t get the luxury of doing. So, we we went with the "Cinema" theme to tell a story through the movement. The song is "To Where You Are" by Josh Groban.
4 The second Spotlight event was Spotlight Checkout two-part event. The first performance was on June 10th. Urs Geisenhainer - champion dancer, owner of the studio I go to, and one of my coaches - was watching to provide written critiques. I danced a waltz solo to "Dreams Are More Precious" by Enya. Make sure to watch the second performance and listen to Peter's comments at the end to hear what made these performances even more challenging than just dancing waltz solo in a small space. (I didn't catch it on this first video, but the same thing applied to both the first and second performances. :) )
5 The first Spotlight Party was on May 8th. I danced most of our open jive routine as solo as solo can be. That was definitely a first! The song was "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" by Alex Swings Oscar Sings.
6 Spring of 2021 - Things are starting to get back to some sort of normal, but wearing masks is still a thing, as are virtual gatherings. So the studios in the Southern CA region took advantage of it do a virtual theater show. We had our watch party on April 23, 2021. The theme of the show was "Dancing Through the Decades".
