Welcome to the Clouds!

Well the adventures of Aysha and Juli, The Dancing Diplomats, continues, this time in Bolivia. After a really strange 4-hour plane maintenance delay in Miami, we arrived in La Paz. During our briefing before this trip, they let us know that the altitude would most likely affect us for a few days, but not to worry because there would be oxygen tanks on standby. WHAT??!! That freaked me out and I had convinced myself that I would be hospitalized because of the altitude. (Don't ask why I took it this far, but I did.) Well, the altitude in La Paz is NO JOKE!! As soon as I stepped off the plane and into the airport, my head began to hurt and started feeling like two huge elephants were sitting on top of me and the Energizer bunny was thumping his drum inside of my ears. This sensation only got worse as the day went on.

Anywho, we were wisked through customs and security (perks of working for State Dept, I suppose.) The airport is actually located in the city of El Alto. It's appropriately named because it surely is high...13325 feet (4061.5 m) above sea level. Denver ain't got nothin on this place! On the drive down from the clouds to La Paz, I am suprised by two things: 1. the indigenous culture here is very pronounced and intermixed into more contemporary culture and 2. golly-gee-willakers these streets are steep!! I've not been to San Francisco yet, but I cannot imagine anything more steep except a perfect 90 degree incline/decline.

The trip down from El Alto, one we took quite a few times, was like riding a rollercoaster. Not only because of the angle of the streets, but because there are no lanes and rarely stop signs or traffic signals. (My journeying mercies prayer became a daily occurence.) We finally arrive at our hotel, the Ritz Apartment Hotel, and get settled and head out on our first journey to a farmacia (pharmacy, yeah I'm trying to teach you some Spanish). We're told it's only about a media cuadra (1/2 block) from the hotel, so we set out to find it. This would be our first altitude-humbling experience. It truly was only 1/2 block away...but uphill. Can you imagine two pretty inshape dancers stumbling into the pharmacy completely out of breath to ask for vitamins??? My lungs and my head (and my pride) were so confused how I could be panting like I just performed a 20-minute piece after only minimal to nil exertion. Maybe we will be using those oxygen tanks after all.

Over the course of the next few hours, we met our Embassy superheroes (trip coordinators) - Fabiola "Fabi" Ibarnegary and Benjamin Hess. They take us on a little tour of the city and see one of the dance schools. I am SO excited to be on another Envoy journey, but I'm starting to feel like re-fried poop b/c of the altitude. There are now 6 elephants and 2 Sumo wrestlers sitting on top of my head and my ears hurt!! My breathing is not normal...anyone who really knows me knows I DESPISE panting. But there both of us were sounding like we just finished a marathon as non-marathon runners. Not cute.

We push on and decide to buy groceries for our apartment style hotel suite. This took the last bit of our energy and oxygen. Carrying those bags in that air for 4 blocks was like telling yourself you can get through the last 4-eight counts of a 10-30 minute piece. (Sorry if you're not a dancer & don't understand the analogy.) You're expending as much energy to cheerlead yourself to the last move as you are actually moving...so you're triple exhausted when it's all over. We collapsed in our hotel rooms and got ready for our full day of interviews and workshops ahead of us the following day.

My prayer: Dios quitame de este dolor y mar de altura (God take this altitude sickness away) and please don't let me be the first one to have to use the oxygen tank!!

Tela's Got Talent!!

Okay, this post is coming really late, but it's still relevant. This past May, Juli and I were on a tour of the northern coast of Honduras as Cultural Envoys in Dance. After fun times and successful workshops and shows in La Masca and San Pedro Sula, we ventured to Tela. At La Casa de la Cultura we met and were floored by some AMAZINGLY talented and self-taught young dancers. The girls were sassy and fabulous and their vestuarios (costumes) were more dope than ours. The young guys...wow, apenas hay palabras (there are barely words)! These young men watch youtube clips and then try to teach themselves the breakdancing moves. What they've been able to accomplish on their own is incredible!! All these dancers meet everyday on their own will at the center and practice for hours. While Juli and I do not have the ability to spin our hands and head, what we were able to was help their musicality and teach them about the history of Hip Hop.

Again, we worked our two days of magic with willing students and coordinators and had a full house at the big show!! We performed, the students performed and members of the audience joined us for the final cipher. We were so impressed by this group of young people that we decided we should do something for them. Hip Hop dancers in the States are shoe fanatics (ladies and gents alike), so we thought maybe we could get a few folks to donate some kicks to these kids who do not have the latest or greatest foot attire. What began as an idea has materialized into a whole campaign. Life, Rhythm, Move Project put the word out about our shoe drive and it blossomed into "We Got Sole." We have collected SO many pairs of shoes for the Tela youth. It is apparent that the best way to ensure the shoes arrive and also to really show that we are invested in these young people, is to deliver them in person. So, in December, I will be returning to Honduras to continue this cultural diplomacy...shoe diplomacy if you will. We Got Sole is sure to continue as an ongoing LRM...Project!

Roses Spring from Concrete

Hola!! La gira sigue!!

So, we have just spent the past two days in San Pedro Sula working with youth at Central Didactica de FUNADEH, a center in Chamelecon, one of the roughest areas in the city. We were briefed beforehand and reminded by everyone, including natives, that San Pedro Sula is a very dangerous city. Gang violence and homicides run high. This is not disturbing to me as I was born and raised in St. Louis, a city rocked by gang violence in the 90s and that consistently ranks in the top three for most dangerous/crime-ridden cities. Despite this, I like to think I turned out "okay," and I even attended public schools. So, in many ways I feel prepared...but then again what in the world do I know?!

Streets are different. Driving patterns are different (just say a prayer while riding). The poverty is different...vastly different. But the kids...there's something familiar about them. They are super excited and eager to meet us and hungry to learn. This is their first dance class...ever!!! And while they have heard about and seen images of Hip Hop, this is their first personal encounter with it. Juli and I teach them about the history, including the 5 elements and the 4 principles, along with basic steps. These kids are natural movers and absorb everything like sponges, extremely enthusiastic sponges.

We also did some self-image and self-esteem exercises to encourage these talented youth to embrace what they love about themselves and to be open to working on those things that they don't like so much. To our surprise, the students embraced this self-exploration and movement exercise. The guys were champs...not afraid to move or speak. Some of our young ladies in one group started out a bit timid, but by the end they too were "jammin on the one!"

So here's the long of the short of it: In one and half days, we worked with 100 young people and put on a show. For most, if not all, this was their first public dance performance. Although this is the beginning of the rain season here and we had some afternoon showers, the sun came out and lit up the stage at the center. A few words about this stage: It had been completed only 3 days before our arrival, created/funded by Coca Cola and was made of concrete. What an honor...our program was the christening for this performance space. No, concrete is not the ideal surface for dance. Nor is concrete an ideal source for flowers to grow from. But I'll tell you what, something beautiful happened on that concrete stage this afternoon!

And now, I realize why these kids seem so familiar. Their faces, their gorgeous faces, remind me of faces from my childhood - mine and those of my family and friends growing up in the hood, you know, that 'concrete jungle' as it has been called. I remember not having much in the way of money, feeling stressed by life at home at times, but being so eager to learn from any artist coming across my path. I remember being super geeked up about special assemblies at school and any chance to be picked to participate. So here I am in this different but familiar place, remembering myself in these new faces and realizing that I am "the assembly lady." I'm so happy to be "the assembly lady" because I am living proof that roses can grow and flourish from concrete gardens and jungles.

This afternoon those kids rocked that stage, performing our choreography and presenting their own. Juli and I shared 2 solos and a duet and were greeted by, almost mauled by our students, wanting autographs, photos, email addresses AND phone numbers. Some kids from the neighborhood came and wanted one more thing...besos!! As Juli fended off her smooches line, I looked at that stage and those little faces and realized that maybe concrete ain't so bad after all.

Muchas gracias a Arturo Aleman, Leslie Gamero y todos a FUNADEH, Barrio-Ciudad y Chamelecon por su trabajo. Esto ha sido un sueno realizado para nosotras y queremos seguir trabajando (y luchando) juntos!! Chamelecon Hip Hop Festival 2009 fue un exito enorme...hasta la proxima vez!! Un abrazo fuerte!!

-Aysha (y Juli)

Dances with Drums

Tales of the Dancing Diplomat continues...

On a mission to save the world through dance again...but not solo this time. Juli and I are Cultural Envoys on a tour of northern cities in Honduras. We've been here for a day and a half and it's already been awesome!!

After arriving in San Pedro Sula and a "short" drive to La Masca, all the stress of US life melted as we arrived in my now-declared, second home. Greeted and received by people who look like me and speak Spanish, the sound of drums, and a view of the sea and beautiful mountains, I felt peace and joy. This Garifuna, Afro-Honduran, village is a gem. Virtually untouched by commercial tourism, we are being welcomed like family.

Our hosts, George Martinez and his wife Clara, have created a special performance for us; guests performers have traveled from two hours away to share traditional rhythms and dances with us in an evening program. Juli and I have Kool-Aid grins plastered across our faces the entire evening, so much so that our cheeks hurt. They hurt from smiling from the inside out. Both of us were raised learning traditional dances...and here we are dancing with drums again. We were so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, that we didn't even want to share our Hip Hop duet. But we did and everyone loved it.

We taught and were taught in a dance exchange for about 4 hours today...sweat our brains out and I could have stayed longer to keep learning and sharing. Jumping in the beautiful water and talking to George and other friends was like having "perfect" acutalized. It was a perfect day...and it was only the start to our trip.

Tales of a Tap Dancing Diplomat

Enjoy pics from my trip as a Cultural Envoy in Dance in Honduras

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Life, Rhythm, Move...post-rehearsal

Hip Hop Performance Class at Joy of Motion

Jammin' on the One!!!

Okay, that is my catch phrase (thanks to Theo Huxtable), but also my dance philosophy. After counting 5, 6, 7,8...you gotta be ready to get down and jam on the one. So, if you want to jam with me and get a chance to perform, check out my Hip Hop performance class at Joy of Motion Dance Center. This class is geared towards students/dancers at the low-intermediate intermediate level and above. That means you've been taking class consistently at the low-intermediate level for at least a year and can pick up choreography fairly well. This class will be fun, but challenging . The 10-week session will be held on Fridays from 6:30-8:30 pm October 5 to December 14 at the Joy of Motion Friendship Heights location. The class will perform December 15 and 16 in the Performance Class Showcase at the Jack Guidone Theatre. For more information about the class, go to http://www.joyofmotion.org/.