Evening of Artistry

This past week was jammed packed with exciting events and Wednesday night was no exception. My good friend, Graham was in town doing a dance workshop and a performance in Takoma Park. Graham and I danced together in high school and became close friends, but I hadn’t seen him in years. We had a quick visit in Philadelphia 6 years ago and his wedding in Salt Lake City the year before that. It was so nice to get to pick up right where we left off and hear about all the “where are they nows” of his family and people we knew from high school. I went to the performance with my friend, Jill, who teaches dance at Annapolis high school. Graham performed with his brother, Joel, a series of improv pieces, choreographed works and music. Graham performed a solo improv piece, a dance with his brother and a choreographed work in a modern style. Graham has always had a very unique movement and it was really fun to recognize it right away as something familiar. His brother’s story is a pretty amazing one. Joel was in a car accident with Graham and the rest of their siblings when we were in high school and Joel was 9. As a result of the accident, Joel is paraplegic. Joel performed a dance with Graham and did three of his songs from his band, Seriously Evan. Joel has grown up to be a very cool guy and it was fun to see how he has found to express himself in this family of dancer artists. It was a pretty emotional display of art followed up by dinner at an Olive Garden in a rough part of town, but it was a really great night.

On an unrelated note, Evan proposed to me this weekend and I said yes. I am going to try very hard not to turn this into a bride blog, but we are very excited. More details to come soon.

High School Arts

One of my best friends from high school, Jill, is the dance teacher at Annapolis High School. Jill and I danced together since we were 6 years old and some of my best life memories were when we danced together in our high school dance company. Two weekends ago, I went to her end of the year performance. She has done an amazing job working with her students and developing a dance program from nothing. Annapolis High School pulls from some of the low income neighborhoods in the area. It is not easy to get students involved in arts in any high school let alone in an area where the families can not always financially support extra curricular activities. She not only got students involved, but motivated them to excel and choreograph their own pieces in the performance. She has been there for four years and now has a company, junior company and dance classes during the school day. To me, the most amazing part of the performances was the end, when her group of seniors got to the microphone to say their goodbye. They thanked her for inspiring them and said that they will always remember what they had learned from her. She is really making an impact on those girls’ lives. She is just like our high school dance teacher who will always have a place in our memories of someone who inspired us to be more than what we were.

This past Saturday, I went back to Annapolis High School for the Drama Club’s Murder, Mystery Dinner Theatre. It was so great! The students worked the crowd, improvised their lines and had a super fun time. It was three hours long and they served a salad, hot dinner and dessert. The drama teacher, Eddie, also a good friend of Jill’s, did a spectacular job putting on a really fun show for the actors to play and for the audience to enjoy. Here is the description that was on the invite, so clever:

Rich (and slightly evil) hotel entrepreneur Ricardo Gough cordially invites you to the grand opening of the “Gough Hotel & Restaurant”. He promises you a night of food and fun, but after a murder happens nothing will ever be the same. Come join the colorful cast of characters in this musical interactive murder mystery– dinner theater show. Featuring songs from musicals and pop culture this show is sure to get you on your feet and dancing and begging to solve the whodunit of the night!!!!

When I was in high school, it would have been crazy to think about going to an arts event at Annapolis High School. That school had a really bad reputation for violence, drop outs and low rates of kids going on to advanced education. Now there are talks about it becoming a magnet school for the Arts and a big part of that must be from the success and great press they have received because of these two amazing teachers.

It is so important that we have arts in our schools. It completely changed my life and the lives of every person who performed on the Annapolis High School stage and in the Annapolis High School Cafeteria.

Owl Print

Yesterday I received the print that I ordered from the wonderful Ann of stilldottie. I ordered it from her etsy store. Ann is a good friend of Evan’s and her blog inspired me to start my own. I already had the frame and location picked out and was patiently awaiting its arrival. It looks absolutely perfect on our bookshelf in the living room. I was so excited to also receive one of her sewn cards as a little bonus. I will be using the card as a thank you for my neighbors who watched the kitties while we were gone. Thank you, Ann!

Bluebird of Happiness

Last week when Evan’s sister, Jessica, was visiting, they went for a drive and came upon this hidden treasure, Terra Studios, in Durham Arkansas. Terra Studios is home of the world famous Bluebird of Happiness, handmade collectible bluebird figurines. Evan insisted I would love this shop, so we went back this weekend. As we pulled in the parking lot, there were glass bluebirds lining the driveway and the patio of the shop. I knew I was going to love it. The shop featured bluebirds, pinkbirds, vases, pottery and other glass sculpture. I picked up some bluebirds for myself and some for gifts along with two small vases. We stood and watched a video of how the glass birds are made. When we turned around to be checked out, the artist in the video totaled our purchase. All of this glass and pottery was being made at the shop by the same people running the cash register. It is a local family owned and operated business, which makes the whole place ever more of a gem. We ventured past the bluebird shop to find an amazing art filled property. In the center of the park were giant mosaic murals, statues and a house of bluebirds. There was and art garden with mosaics, glass statues, pottery and a walking trail lined with art pieces ranging from abstract mixed media to ceramic frogs. Fortunately for us, it was a beautiful sunny day, so we could stroll and admire. I only wish I would have know this place was here when we had visitors from out of town as this is the kind of Arkansas I would want to share with the Yankees.