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“One chocolate at a time.”

This was the best piece of advice I received from one of my college acting professors, who was otherwise quite a sketchy dude. But, at the start of our senior year in college, he played this famous scene from I Love Lucy and reminded us that when our senior year inevitably became impossibly hectic that we should remember to focus on one chocolate at a time.

I’m having one of those times where I need to remind myself of this. So many balls in the air, so many things to possibly drop. New jobs, new students, new shows, new performances, new creations, new stressors, all wonderful things but they are coming down the line at hyperspeed….

I know some of you also feel this way – say it with me: One chocolate at a time 🤘

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At yesterday morning’s service at St. Peter’s, the rector turned to the choir as she always does every Sunday and offered her thanks for the musicians at the service. Note, friends, that she referred to us as “musicians,” and I appreciate it every time.

That’s because, unfortunately, the music world tends to perceive singers as “less-than.” To some, we are simply either lucky or, at best, trained monkeys. It is often assumed we do not know anything about music and that we can only copy what we have heard on a recording. I have literally been asked in an audition what key a song was in, and after I answered correctly I was immediately interrogated on how I could possibly know such a thing. Another time, I was a paid section leader in a choir, and when I offered to help a bell ringer with his part he told me “thanks, but it’s in bass clef,” as if that would be a hindrance. Another church I worked at neglected to provide me with a name tag after a year of me asking, yet the new pianist had a name tag his very first day. How many times have I heard “there’s a budget for the string quartet/pianist/bagpipe player but not for the singers.” (Countless.) And of course, there are the multitudes of masterworks performed where the conductor thanks the “musicians and singers,” which doesn’t ever help.

I have news for y’all. A singer is every bit as much of a musician and artist as any instrument player. Our music comes from within our body – we create something from nothing, with no help except for, well, I don’t know, THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF TRAINING AND PRACTICE. People applaud the concertmaster and muse they must have spent their youth practicing and a fortune on lessons, but what of the singer? I have spent so much time in practice rooms, classrooms, choir rooms, lessons, plus a four-year degree; and we’re not even going to discuss the cost.

Of course, I do not mean to detract from the skill and knowledge of the instrumentalist; I only argue that singers are entitled to the same respect and this is a stigma I work very hard to correct in my daily life.

But, what really breaks my heart is when my students are defeated before they begin – I hear “I don’t know anything about music” from the most unbelievable sources. Singers who can bring a house down and mesmerize every audience member from here to Tokyo, stand there and say they don’t know anything about music and don’t feel capable of learning. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

First of all – you are already a musician. Full stop. You create art with your body in a way that is entirely unique to you. That makes you a musician.

Second, if you want to learn music theory, terms, definitions – you are FULLY CAPABLE of learning! You are not at a disadvantage just because you’re a singer – again, absolutely not. Find the right teacher, the right environment, and you can learn anything you want.

Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now. But remember, friends – if you make music, you’re a musician, and don’t let any fool tell you otherwise.

Break a leg out there!

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Hey y’all! This Saturday is the first Saturday of the month, which means it’s time for First Saturday Dance! Once a month, we get together at 9am at The Dancehouse and I teach a simple dance combo related to a theme such as hip hop, musical theatre, 80s, Madonna, disco, and so much more. This month we’re dancing to hip hop, which is probably my favorite style overall.

Ever wonder how First Saturday Dance came to be?

I was pigeon-toed as a kid (still kinda am, to be honest) which meant ballet only lasted one year when I was eight. This was a huge disappointment for me, but I just didn’t fit in with the dance kids. I started doing theatre not long after, and the remainder of my youth “dance training” was through doing shows and dancing my ass off in my bedroom on a daily basis. I danced to everything; musicals, pop, R&B, all of it. I choreographed entire shows from start to finish and zillions of music videos right there in my bedroom.

When I went to college for my degree in Musical Theatre, I had to take ballet again. Again, it was a nightmare; I remember the instructor physically wrenching my left foot while I hung onto the barre, desperate to get some kind of turnout while everyone else stared. Again, my feet wouldn’t budge. It was so demoralizing and placed me firmly in the category of “not a dancer.” Not only was I not skinny, not only was I taller than everyone, but I can’t even turn out my feet.

After college I left music for a time and began a law career, but in my late 20s I became quite sick. I was very fortunate to have excellent care and a supportive family, and as part of my long recovery I had been gifted a gym membership. I remember wandering into the gym, somewhat frail and unable to work at the time, and slipping into the back of whatever exercise class happened to be going on at the time. It turned out to be a dance class and I breathed a sigh of relief – this was something I could handle. The class was fun, it had great pop and hip hop music and the moves were very familiar; they were the sort of generic dance moves I had naturally come up with as a child. I now had a place to go every Friday.

With each week, my confidence grew and I slowly inched my way towards the front to better see myself in the mirror. The instructor had taken notice of me, and after class one day she asked me if I would like to be trained to teach the class! I was still recovering, but my soul lit up at being asked to participate. I completed the training and went on to teach the class for about five years. I really loved creating a safe space where everyone could dance and not care whether the moves were perfect; I was never, ever going to make anyone feel bad for what their body couldn’t do. I estimate over that time I taught over 200 different dance routines, and the hip hop routines were my favorites. Those routines were often my participants’ favorites as well – there’s something so fun about getting deep in your legs and push/pull with your movements and the music is fantastic.

After I moved to San Diego, I approached several gyms with my class yet had no takers. I realized I needed to let go of trying to recreate my New York life in California, and let my California path develop naturally, and so my class (and dance in general) went on the shelf in 2012. But of course, I never stopped dancing in my bedroom.

Fast forward to 2022. I’ve left my law firm job and have decided to focus on music and new paths. But, I’m stressed. I’m REALLY stressed and I need to let it out. I need to pound a dance floor; dancing in my apartment just isn’t cutting it. And just as it tends to happen in my life, the universe answered. A dance space fell into my lap the very next day. I now had a space, plenty of rage, and choreography ideas coming out my ears. I was so excited to have that space, but I also felt like I wanted to share that space with people. I reached out to some folks and invited them to join me if they wanted to learn a dance combo. Fortunately, they were willing to come see what the hell I was up to (I’m pretty sure hardly anyone knew that I had taught dance beforehand, LOL).

We had a blast, and that wonderful feeling of dancing with others came flooding back. It had been so long that I had forgotten what a big part of me needed this, needed to dance with others in a safe space, free from judgment. And even though I’m still figuring out some things, the overwhelming joy I felt that day meant I needed to get teaching dance back into my life, pronto. And so, here we are over a year later!

I can’t wait to see everyone on Saturday – let’s dance!

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I never knew how much fun I could have in my home studio until I started working in music full-time. I have been fortunate to have a lot of my business come in the form of preparing practice resources, recordings, and sheet music for people. I used to pretend to be a DJ when I was a kid, and now I sorta feel like the real thing.

Being self-taught is wild, though. There’s so much I don’t know and that I’m probably missing. I don’t know what in the world I’d do without YouTube tutorials and my knowledgeable friends. I remember being stuck overnight in the Philly airport and deciding out of sheer boredom to open up GarageBand on my computer and start fiddling around. Fast forward to now….

Who else can say that they’re grateful for the 26 hours they were stuck at the Philly airport at Christmas? LOL. Although, on the flip side that event did officially put an end to my travels to NY in winter.