Dallas Pulse On Tour

You would think that self-employed people would take more time off. Maybe “they” do, but I hardly seem to be able to find the time. Tomorrow is an exception though. Marilyn traveled to Houston for a meeting yesterday, and Alexandra has Friday off, so we agreed to meet in Dallas for a fun filled family weekend.

For Alexandra, a fun family weekend means dance. She is meeting some of her Los Angles dance pals for #thepulseontour in Dallas. For Marilyn and me it means the opportunity to visit one of America’s great cities and eat at some amazing restaurants. Watching our daughter dance is the cherry on top of the cupcake.

I have to say, this has been the most excited I have been for a trip in a while. I am not sure why. I think it may be because this is the first chance this season to see Alexandra perform one of her new solos in front of a live audience. Watching the dance in the studio is never quite the same. Marilyn is likely bummed that she will not get to Dallas in time to see it. That means that I will need to get her ready to perform. Honestly, I cannot do hair and makeup, so Sparkles is on her own for that. But I have learned to help her warm up. Shout out to one of her coaches, Tahirih Ellison does more than train Alexandra. She trains us too.

Each new dance season brings fresh anxiety. I have learned over the past few years that you never quite know how things will go. I imagine that the anxiety is twice as bad for the dancers and choreographers. They work so hard on every number regardless of how it turns out. The same dancers and choreographers that win the National Championship have some dances that simply flop, and you never really know why.

The cool thing about the Pulse is that it is not a competition. It is a showcase. You get feedback from some of the top choreographers in the industry without the score. However, you kinda know how well you did by the way they award scholarships for future events. Alexandra is dancing on a scholarship that she won last year at Pulse in San Francisco. Beyond running her solo in the Showcase, Sparkles will have two fun filled days with many of the top young dancers in America. She is building lifelong friendships with kids from around the nation that share a passion.

I am not sure who gets more out of these weekends, Alexandra or us. It is such a joy to be able to provide these types of opportunities for her. She appreciates it a lot, and works very hard.

Alexandra dances at Dellos Performing Arts Center in Arroyo Grande, aka DPAC. The studio owner Johnna Clark is an inspiration to so many children, including Alexandra. Alexandra told me about a talk that she gave last week. The theme was Dream, Plan, Work. I am not sure how she filled in talk, but it hit home. Perhaps we all need to remember dream, plan, and work. Pretty good words to live by.

Alexandra is going to write two blog posts this weekend. You can follow her at http://sparkleslund.com/2013/10/24/camppulse/. There are also links to her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram if you want to follow along with the weekend events.