CABARET!

At long last, the videos of my performances on Feb. 28, 2010 at Salon Cristal in Martos, Spain! The show was called "Cabaret" after the title performance, and was also staged loosely like a cabaret with various characters entering, exiting, interacting, and...drinking. Just FYI, the bottles of Vodka you see on the tables in the back were real. I did not know this. I thought they were props and were actually just filled with water, but no. I learned this when Jose poured me a shot after our tango, which of course I took like a champ, and well, let's just say I really, really enjoyed the show.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the DVD cover photo shoot. I got to play photographer. It was really fun!



Argentine Tango

This one is my favorite. I did some American Tango back at Dance Chelsea in NY, but this was my first time with Argentine Tango. I ADORE ARGENTINE TANGO!! My performance was definitely not perfect, but for six weeks it's not terrible. Jose was an excellent teacher and partner, encouraging me to try all the things that I thought were out of my range, but as it turned out, they weren't. Not completely anyway. I'm really excited to keep working on this.



Salsa

I am second one from the left. This one was so much fun. The girls were great, and it was a pretty advanced routine. Having never formally learned salsa before (Well, once at a club, but does that really count?) I relished the challenge! I messed up during the performance, but I still had a great time!



Contemporary Dance


The following dance was the finale, where everyone got to do a little piece. I was in the contemporary dance piece, which is the third group. I am the one on the far left.




Oh, and don't ask about the couch thing. I still have no idea what that was all about!

Here are a few pictures of everyone hanging out during tech week. It felt SO GOOD to be a part of a show again. I can't wait to get back to NYC and start auditioning and performing again!

Marta autographed her burger:

The boys came out to see the show!

Danial's favorite picture of me:

My favorite picture of me:

Ciao!

Martos Olive Festival

As you should all know by now, marteños are obsessed with olive oil. They are said to be the first producers of olive oil in the world, and they are proud of it. And they might just be justified in this obsession because the olive oil here is truly phenomenal.

December 8th was the Olive Festival. The week before my preschool celebrated with a group of mothers coming in and making ollos for all the students and teachers. Ollos are chocolate and olive oil sandwiches. Sounds wierd, but it is pretty good actually!

The actual day of the festival, the whole town turned out at our little park where the city handed out packets of bread, a mini bottle of olive oil, a cube of dried fish, and a little bag of olives. It was mayhem trying to get a packet, but boy, oh boy, was is worth it. I tried the fish... it wasn't my favorite. But the olive oil- WOW.

Then they demonstrated the traditional way of making olive oil. They layered the olives on these mats, then pressed them with this ginormous contraption. Check out the videos! In the second one, you can actually see the oil oozing out!

There was also a little market with different specialty foods. I got a bag of freshly roasted candied almonds and missed NY. There was also a little booth with various herbal teas for various ailments, including menopause and herpes. LOL!

Sevilla - First Trip of the Year!

Sorry this post is a bit late, but better late than never, right?

Becky, Danial, Dietrich, Ian and I (in alphabetical order) set out for a weekend trip to Sevilla during the December puente, Dec. 5- 7. We had to make sure we were back for the Martos Olive Festival on the 8th (see following blog). Here's a pic of Danial and me in the little square by the cathedral.
And here's the famous Giralda Tower.


We stayed at a great little hostel, called Dulces Sueños, which was right in the center of town. Here's Dietrich, Beckky and me on the roof of our hostel.


And here's us on the staircase. Pretty, isn't it?


The first night, we saw a Flamenco show at La Casa de la Memoria. It was FANTASTIC. I cried. A lot. - You can ask Becky. It was just so beautiful and moving! Here's a pic of the stage and the performers.


Afterwards, we checked out an old bar called El Riconcillo, which is said to be the oldest bar in Sevilla, since 1670! They house some really cool antique liquor bottles.




Apparently, their espinacas are legendary, and now I can attest to the fact. They really were absolutely fantastic.

The next day was our busy day. We woke up early and hit up the Alcázar first. It was just as gorgeous as I remember.








Afterwards, we went to Plaza de España to take some jumping pictures. Here's us by the Jaén section.



The jumping pictures were definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We had so much fun! Brilliant idea, Ian. We just may have to do this again sometime. Here are the pictures Ian took. I pinched them from his website, www.iankphoto.com.









In the evening, we decided to grab some drinks and tapas on Calle Betis, the in-place for nightlife in Sevilla. Here's us on the bridge over the river Guadalquivir on the way.


We were a little early, so the places by the river weren't open yet, so we wandered on some of the back streets and came upon the most adorable little place. It was clearly not a turisty place so we decided to invade. In the front part, a group of locals were spontaneously busting out with some Flamenco. Very, very cool. We took over the back ( after scaring off the other group that was there.) The food was good, the drinks were good, the company was good... we were feeling pretty good when we left there. This bar though did not have a legendary drink called Agua de Sevilla, so we had to continue our search elsewhere. We figured it was probably more of a turist thing (which didn't dissuade us at all) so we thought we should go back towards the water. And there Becky and I walked into bar-heaven. Not only was it adorably decorated, but they had Agua de Sevilla and offered all of us champagne on the house! SCORE!



There were also playing fun music, so we danced. Then, Becky decided to teach us all how to swing. Not the basic steps though. She wanted to teach us lifts. Five tipsy tourists doing lifts... we must have been a sight to behold. No wonder they gave us another free round of shots.

They were at it for a while, but here are 2 videos of the most successful attempts.

Here's Becky and me demonstrating the proper hold.



Danial had some trouble with this because as a drummer he apparently can only use his thumb and forefinger to grab things. Imagine trying to swing 125 pounds of Poonam on your hip with only your thumb and forefinger... In any case, I woke up with fingerprint bruises all around my waist! Ouch! But it was worth it. We had a blast.

Happy New Year!

Goodbye 2009. Hello 2010!

We rang in this New Year in Portsmouth, UK with Danial's uncle and aunt (Paul and Chris) and Dietrich. We had made plans to really party it up with Danial's cousin, Laura, but the wallet wasn't having any of it. Did you know taxis in the UK charge double the rate on NYE? Craziness. We ended up staying in and playing Balderdash. It was AWESOME!

[Sorry, Laura! We'll have to come back and go clubbing with you another time. After all, I need to show off my new shoes from River Island!!]

Paul and Chris really went all out entertaining us- not just on NYE, but for the whole week and a half we've been here. I'll be writing a separate entry detailing our adventures. Stay tuned!

This New Year's, I feel hopeful- I think it's going to be a good one. For one thing, I'm getting married to the most amazing guy in the world (I love you, Danial!). Also, as long as I can defend my thesis successfully, I should be graduating with a masters degree. It's like a two in one special year! Well, only if I get through this thesis defense. I'm getting a little nervous. Did you notice?

New Year's Resolutions:
1. Floss more.
2. Sleep more.
3. Dance more.
4. Do more community service.
5. Drink more water.

Bigger Goals:
1. To land at least one really great internship in children's television in the Fall.
2. To be cast in my first paid role on stage or film.
3. To graduate.

On a more serious note, 2009 was a very rough year for a lot of people in our lives. I sincerely hope that 2010 brings more joy than sorrow for everyone.


XOXO,
Poonam

PS
Danial's almost done with his MBA apps now. Once he finishes, I'm taking the computer hostage so I can write my posts on Sevilla, the Olive Festival, Portsmouth, and Barcelona. Everyone wish Danial luck though! He's been working very, very hard.

Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance! Part Deux

I am moving up in the world! I have officially matriculated for the intermediate level Latin dance class. I'm still taking the beginning one as well since there are a lot of basic things I still need to learn, and I want to keep dancing with Danial, but the intermediate level is a little more at my level. I wish I could go a little faster even, but I'll take what I can get. I want to be pushed more! But at least there were a couple of things that were a bit of a challenge in the intermediate class. For one thing, rapid chainé turns to the left in 4 inch heels are not as easy as they may appear. I can just do it, but they're not as clean as I would like. I keep thinking my shoe is going to pop off. Definitely something to work on. I have invested in a pair of Latin ballroom shoes though. They should be in by January. I can't wait! Maybe the turns will be a bit easier with proper shoes. I also need to work on my left triple pirouettes and pencil turns. My right triple pirouettes are back in jazz shoes, but wearing heels kind of throws off my center of balance for some reason. I can do a right double with heels now, but the triple is sloppy. More to work on! Yay!


Also, I started private Sevillanas lessons with a teacher who hails from Sevilla! Sevillanas is particular style of Flamenco dancing. It's done in pairs and is usually what you see at parties or when people break out into spontaneous Flamenco dancing. It is usually where you start when you start learning Flamenco dance. My teacher, Pepi, (who happens to be my friend's mom) thinks I can learn the basic Sevillanas combinations within a few lessons! I'm really excited. I can't wait to learn more! Once I get the basic Sevillanas down, I can move on to other Flamenco forms. She mentioned Rumba Flamenco, which is slower than the more traditional Bulerias, which is super fast, with very intricate footwork. I would love to get to that level, but I don't think 5 months will be enough for that one. My goal is simply to soak up as much as I possibly can and hopefully continue my education in NY. I really like private lessons so I can go at my own pace. And they're so cheap here! Only 9 euros an hour. I'm never going to get a deal like that in NY. I need to make the most of it while I'm here.

Botellón

By now, I'm sure you are all wondering, what is the night life like in a little town like Martos? Well, on a typical Saturday night, it all begins with a giant party in the park called a botellón.


Just dress to impress, BYOB, and mingle 'til you tingle! Everyone from age14 to 40 parties in the park every Saturday night from about 11:30PM to morning, all year long. It's pretty impressive. And once you know some people, it's actually quite fun. You walk through the crowds, pause to chat when you see someone you know, meet their friends...

Here's a picture with our friends, Tania (pink scarf) and Antonio (far right). I forgot their friend's name (black and white coat), but she is apparently a radio personality. She's very cool.


Also at botellónes sometimes people juggle fire:



After the botellón, you can go to a nearby bar or club if you feel like or just stay and mingle in the park. Lo que quieras. Here are some pictures from Dietrich's Birthday Celebration at BauHaus, a popular cafe/bar that Marteños often retreat to after a couple of hours in the park.

From left to right: María José, Dietrich, Me, Ana.


From left to right: Sandra, Antonio, Ian, and Danial.



The last time we went out botellón-ing, we decided to try out one of the 3 clubs in Martos. When I say, "we," I mean Dietrich and I. The others copped out. We went with Dietrich's friend from his school, Sandra, and all of her friends, to the discoteca in the industrial polygon. This club actually has their own car service that takes people from the park to the club for free! And after the club, they'll drop you off anywhere in the city FOR FREE! That part was pretty sweet, but the club itself left much to be desired. The lights were too bright, the music was badly mixed (they played a slow song, for heaven's sake!!), there were way too many guys, and - here's the kicker- NO ONE WAS DANCING!! At a club. No one was dancing at a club. I still can't get over it.

But Sandra and her friends were really sweet, and the night could have been a lot worse. We came home around 5 AM. I think that's the latest night I've had here so far. I'm such an old fogie.

Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance!

I finally started dance classes last week! I'm taking hip hop and Latin dancing. I've managed to drag Danial into the Latin dancing class with me, and apparently he can rock the Bachata. Who knew his white boy hips could move like that? I think he surprised himself. I also almost had Dietrich, but he has Spanish class the same night. And of course, Ian continues to deny his obvious love for dancing, but he's not fooling anyone. :)

Also, they invited me to perform with the studio in February! I don't know the details, but it's some big performance that the studio is actually taking care of the costs for, so it's free for the participants! WAHOO!! We started choreography today. IT WAS AMAZING!! It's a group salsa number, but it's not in pairs. There's just us four girls. It's also a really nice change to have the correct body type. As much as I adore ballet, let's face it- I'm not built to be a ballerina, in more ways than one. Salsa though, wow! It feels so natural! And the more you can stick out your boobs and butt to make that 's' shape, the better, which, well, works for me! I'm so excited.

In other news, I went to the doctor who confirmed that I had in fact injured my sciatic nerve back in July. It's still healing, apparently, which is a bummer because I still can't do the splits. My right leg has been really achy the last few weeks, but it's not debilitating. I'm being very careful not to overstretch, but it definitely feels good to push it a little further every day. I can tell it's getting better. With any luck, I'll have my splits back by the New Year.

A quick note about going to the doctor's office here: IT IS AWESOME! First of all, I got an appointment almost right away. None of that "the next available appointment is 2 weeks from now" crap you get in the states. Granted, Martos is a pretty small city, so a bigger city might possibly have a longer wait, but STILL. Then, the doctor was fabulous, definitely knew his stuff. Then, last, but not least, IT WAS FREE!! Absolutely, 100% FREE. I kept expecting some kind of fee, however nominal, but no! It was really free! They just swiped my health card and sent me on my way. I couldn't believe it. I mean, I knew that was supposed to happen, but it just didn't seem possible. So many years of paying co-pays... it's a tough habit to break, but damn it feels good. I can't wait until the US gets on board. I can't believe we have such an absurd, backwards system still. It's really rather embarrassing.

But anyway, all in all it was a pretty good week last week, and I'm hoping for the same this week.

Before I leave, here is a video of one of my favorite 4 year old classes, singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Aren't they adorable?



XOXOXO
Poonam