Blogger App.

Just installed the Blogger app on my iPhone. Seems pretty dandy. It'll be awfully hard to write lengthy blogs with the touch of my thumb, I guess the iPad would be better that way.

I feel that the iPhone Blogger app is for more sophisticated Tweeting. It'll be interesting discovering what this app is about.

Speaking of apps, just started playing Hanging With Friends with my brother. It's sort of a scrabble meets hangman. I'm not really into games that are apps, but this one is pretty neat. Possibly because it has the cool jungle music in the background.

Bring it on as I pop your balloons.

Hello Blog World.

Hello Blog World. It's been a while.

Letting you know that I am writing again. More musical theatre solo types of pieces. Also, I might go back to school and take some theatre courses.

If anyone is interesting in collaborating with me on material to write, let me know. I'll also be looking for singers to help compile different pieces together. Not too many musical theatre composers in the Denver area, so it should be exciting once this gets going.

Is this called work?

Europe.

Quite an exciting adventure.

Taylor and I are leaving for Scotland on Thursday and will be there for a week, then head over to Sweden for another week.

*Insert Sigur Rós theme music.

Preview.

Here is a little clip I found on IMDB of the short film.

http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi3745646361/

It will be fun to see the full production soon!

Premier.

The premier of "Three Sisters Laundry" will be on the 26th of this month with a red carpet event at the Colorado Film Festival. I hope I can make it due to some work related things that weekend with a world professional dancer. I will give you all an update if there will be a trailer or even if the movie will be shown online.

Oh the life. Play piano, dance, teach, choreograph, travel, act, sing and most importantly, sleep in. Amazing.

imdb.

Found out today that I am actually on imdb.

Weird.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3891085/

It was for being a dancer in the short film "Three Sister's Laundry" which will be at the Colorado Film Festival this June and hopefully have a premiere with all the cast and crew sometime in June or July.

I crave to do more.

Woah Cha Cha.

I am getting out of my comfort zone and doing a Cha Cha for this upcoming Medal Ball event through work. I have been with Arthur Murray for a year now and have been in shock of what I have been able to accomplish this past year. The Cha Cha that I am going to perform is a fun Hollywood Legends theme. Every professional routine that I have done has been some sort of a smooth dance: Waltz, Tango and Fox Trot. I am finally able to push myself and try something new with one of my favorite latin dance, the Cha Cha (though Mambo is definitely second). Maybe I'll post a video of myself dancing. We shall see!

Voice.

I have started to sing again.

And not just in the shower or in the car, but to really focus on something I love doing.

I tend to reach this euphoric state through song. I don't realize I reach the end of the song till life wakes me up. Then I sing again.

Another song to reach that state of wellbeing.

I started taking vocal coaching lessons again at the end of February and have been doing it once a week since. I have been concentrating my effort in all types of musical theatre, mostly modern and contemporary pieces of art. It has been a very athletic way of an approach used with the voice. Engaging all my muscles to create energy anywhere and everywhere other than my vocal chords to produce the best and healthiest resonating sound possible. The results are amazing.

I have had the opportunity to work with a professional broadway singer that received his doctorate from Juilliard and was the lead in West Side Story with the national touring cast.

For him to say that this acting and singing is the right thing for me is quite possibly the best drive anyone could give me.

No time for testing the water, it is better to jump all in and hold your breath. What is there the lose?

Film.

This weekend I was involved in the filming of a short film produced by a friend. The goal for this project will be hopefully submitted and accepted to Cannes Film Festival in France. It is a twenty minute short with some dancing in it. I did some swing, waltz and fox trot for the camera. It was interesting acting in front of a camera compared to a live audience. The premier might be in three months here in Denver. More information to come.

It is nice to be acting again. IMDB, here I come!?

New Car.

Bought a Smart Car.

It's roomy.

And Comfy.

I feel responsible.

Even if it can fit in my pocket.

Pictures soon.

Exercise

If you want a really good leg workout, I would have to prescribe Bolero and Waltz. Slow and beautiful, but stretches those quads slowly and beautifully quite a bit with each side step that is taken. It's odd having muscle. And people say Waltz is a sissy dance. Give it a try! Ready and, 1 - 2 -3 - 1 -2 -3 x 500. Thank you.

Update on Dancing.

This past Tuesday, I had a checkout with a coach from Iceland in the first two levels of ten dances. Adding up all these patterns and variations is around 182. Then you would have to multiply that by two in order to get the amount for both leading and following. That is 364 patterns that I had to memorize altogether. Not just the steps, but theory behind each and every step. From how the pattern should be aligned on the floor, how much pressure to put into each step and even how to teach each step. After this 3.5 hour test, I finished and passed. It was one of the most stressful and nerve racking experiences I have had in a long time. What helped was knowing that it was a learning experience and I had to treat that way.

There might be chance of competing in Las Vegas at the end of the month in the Waltz and the Tango. Then Washington D.C. in December with Waltz, Tango, Rumba and ChaCha. The Waltz routine is finished, it's just time to make the Tango very dramatic and powerful. The entrance to the Tango is astounishing. We will see how this competing goes.

Teaching has been great. Now having this recent certification makes me more confident with each concept that I present to my students. Our mission statement is to change peoples lives through dancing. It is amazing to witness just that. I've seen people relax from a stressful day at work here at the studio. I've seen people become more confident with their self image. I feel like I have changed a few lives through this. Yes, dancing is the focus, but there is so many underlying benefits that everyone discovers further down this path of dancing. To be apart of this system is remarkable.

Now it is time to get ready for my next certification which will the toughest of all. It will take about six months to prepare for and more countless steps to learn, along with two more dances in this certification, Bolero and Vienesse Waltz. There has been challeneges all across this journey. Frustration, confusion, joy and accomplishment all comes with this journey. So many emotions. I just have to look at the bigger picture of the lives that are changing and the lives that will be touched further throughout this journey.

It is amazing that I dance for a living. It is even more amazing to share this with others.

More writings to come. If you ever wanted to take lessons, let me know. I'll hook you up.

Amazing Routine.

We have a student doing something like this at Showcase today.



Now it's time to get ready to do more freestyles and perform a professional Waltz routine. Oh yeah!

Where the Wild Things Are

I'm excited.

Feels like the whole movie should be done by Sigur Rós.



Amen.

The Highest Title.

Yes. I did it. I auditioned for American Idol.

Try not to laugh. It was hard for me to keep a straight face watching all the crying faces that didn't make it past the producers.

The day went like this:

Wake up at 4:00am to be at Invesco Field at 5:00am

Wait in line for ninety minutes with 8,000 hopefuls till we finally got into the stadium

Spend another hour doing camera footage

During this hour, learn a Carrie Underwood crowd song for everyone to sing to be used for the show. The song is called 'Last Name' which has the most ridiculous lyrics ever. Ever, ever, ever. The story line behind this song is about a girl getting wasted with a bit of poison (alcohol). In the end, she marries some guy and does not even know his last name. Which results not knowing her last name either. I wish I could write something that well. *coughcough*

Finally the auditions are about to happen. On the other side of the field there are twelve tents set up for the the producers to audition a bunch of hopefuls. Four at a time audition just for the producer. You don't even introduce yourself or what you do for a living, you just get up there and start singing until they put a hand up. The very talented and not so very talented singers that are good for the camera went on to face another round.

One hour into the auditions they had a surprise guest to be revealed. So they halted the auditions for one hour so Ryan Seacrest can make a special appearance. Wow, a waste of time.

Finally, after ten hours of waiting in the sun. It was my turn. I sang for twenty seconds and was so relieved to be done with the day. I still had to get to work and teach a few dance lessons. I didn't care about moving onto the next round, the whole idea behind this show is ridiculous.

It was amazing sitting there for ten hours and people watch. The biggest disappointment is that all these people can come together to try and make it onto a silly t.v. show, but this many people can't come together for cause that is more important to the world. I feel sorry for the people that live for this show. People should live for something that really matters.

Englewood... who knew?

I moved to Englewood a few weeks ago to be closer to work. Instead of about three hours of a bus ride every day from Denver to the studio and back, it is nice being five minutes to work. It is odd not having twelve hour days anymore. I can actually sit down and play guitar, write a little, watch a movie and discover new bands with the extra time. Thankfully the local liquor store two blocks away carries Newcastle, I smiled that first trip.

I am living with an old friend from high school who turns out to be a co-worker as well. Lisa Picard and I are are sharing a two-bedroom house. It is nicely renovated with all hardwood floors and very very nice tile and countertops in the kitchen. Comes with a washer and dryer too. There is also a trampoline that just so happened to be there when we moved in. Located in the big backyard, it is a great place for Lisa's puppies. I just need to get a barking collar...

The dancing has been amazing. It is pretty cool to know that I dance for a living. We teach intro lessons for a pretty good price and that is what I have been working with mostly. I had my first extension last week, so they could continue on with lessons. My extension rate is 50% right now and I hope to keep that percentage for the rest of this year. It is nice to teach and make people smile through dancing. I have worker with some tough stories, but knowing that I put a smile on their face is the most amazing feeling in the world.

I taught six lessons last week, which is a descent amount for just starting six weeks ago. This week, I am booked to teach around sixteen lessons in just four days. Craziness. I have learned tons, not just dancing, but teaching as well.

There might be a chance of competing in October at Las Vegas in the smooth category, meaning waltz and tango. Or in November head to Washington D.C. to compete also. Maybe rhythm categories too, which are cha cha and rumba. It will be in the future champions category, for teachers that have two years or less experience teaching. A lot of opportunities with this job. It is amazing thinking that we had a staff meeting one day and worked on some Lindy Hop and we got paid for it. Too good to be true to have work that I enjoy.

Well, there is an update right now. I could write much much more of all these amazing stories I have encountered so far with this "job", but I don't know where to begin.

See some of you in June!

We'll have to dance it up.

Steps in my Mind.

When I have been waiting for the bus or lightrail, I find myself doing all these different dance steps without thinking about it. Then I walk by a store that is playing music and bust into some type of dance. It must make for an interesting sight.

I am currently at work right now on my lunch break. I'm so glad they use Macs here!

My feet should hurt a lot more than they currently are. I have twelve dances under my belt, both lead and follow. I get to be tested on Monday to see if I know ten of them. Then I will be certified to teach beginners. I've been doing mock lessons with fellow instructors and it has been a great learning experience. The dances that I have picked up thus far are: Fox Trot, Waltz, Tango, Rumba, Triple Swing, Cha Cha, 2-Step, Mamba, Merengue, Samba, Salsa and the Hustle. Many more to come also!

When the weekends come, let me know if you want to dance. Seriously.

It is interesting to think that I dance for a living. Wow.

Light Rail Travels/Writings

Took the bus from Boulder to Denver last night after a day in Longmont. I was sitting by myself on this party bus. Everyone was heading to Denver to hit up all the clubs this fine Friday night. Fifteen minutes into the ride after falling asleep, someone asked to sit next to me to get away from the craziness that was happening in the back of the bus. We talked the whole time about life. Life including: school, music, Colorado, futures and food. I even received a free piece of trident gum. He did a semester at a Catholic school in San Diego, then transferred up to the School of Mines majoring in Environmental Engineering. He is going to move to Chile when he is done with school just to 'live'. He was on a way to a concert at the Bluebird theatre. I gave him directions of what bust to take and then we parted ways. I could have asked him for his name, but it just seemed appropriate to have conversations with this stranger and leave it at that.

I like public transportation.

I was out an about today and ran into this guy that I have only met once. It was great conversation with those five glasses of water. Mmm... Refreshing after walking everywhere. Turns out that this person is the dean of admissions at the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver. This is a three year MA program that only accepts ten actors a year. Tuition fully paid for. We talked about theatre for those five glasses of water. He just said that people just need to get their foot in the door in order to get started into this field. So, I asked him where is this door located? He offered me a scholarship for some classes at NTC sometime in the future, maybe this summer or maybe even next year. Just depending when I want to.

I found my door.

Now I am on the light rail heading to Park Meadows Mall. I need to get a few things before I start my job on Monday. Time to be professional. I am even starting a workout schedule.

Amazing opportunities before me.

Side note:

The weather is amazing today, especially while listening to the musical 'The Last Five Years'. Most creative musical. Ever. It reminds me of the movie 'Momento'. Starts an opening song with Cathy at the end of a relationship with Jamie and it moves backwards through the show until she meets him for first time. Jamie starts from the beginning of his and Cathy's relationship and progresses towards the end. The only time they sing together is at their wedding singing their 'I do's'. Throughout this show you can interpret who's fault was the down fall of their relationship. Written in 2002 by Jason Robert Brown. Just a two person cast.

Job.

Finally.

I start training as a ballroom dance instructor at Arthur Murray studios in Lakewood, CO on Monday. It is going to be an amazing experience and opens up so so many doors down the road. Get to learn ten different styles of dance from the get go and more to come as well.

I shall post a first week on the job and let you know my experiences.

Wow.

Amazing.