So You Think You Can Dance Tour 2011

 Audra and I went to the So You Think You Can Dance tour on Wednesday for the fifth year in a row.  It was a great show – they greatly improved the flow of it this year, cutting out all the lame jokes and talking, and working the choreography so that each dance flowed from one to the next.  Just a gorgeous show.  We went to dinner beforehand using a Groupon I had, and it was so bleh that I have been dreaming about Cheesecake Factory ever since.  We didn’t stay after to meet all the stars this year.  The crowd was getting younger and larger every year and we are getting older and busier.  Neither of us could really afford to stay up ‘til 2.  It was so much fun though that I really didn’t miss it, and it was nice to be home by ten to find my husband unfrazzled and my baby asleep (she hasn’t been dealing with me being gone very well lately  and will have nothing to do with a bottle, so I was worried).  Anyway, some of the highlights of the night:

• Melanie’s solo.  Brought tears to my eyes. 
• Laughing with Audra

• Talking about the dancing with Audra (we are of one mind when it comes to SYTYCD)
• Just being out on the town at night!

 

• So many of the dance numbers that I can’t list them all.

 

I had a great time and went home exhilarated but with a somewhat achy heart.  Sometimes I miss dancing and performing so much.  I want to be Melanie!

BTW, yesterday I showed said to Chad, “Hey I took a pretty cool picture uptown” and showed him the picture above.  And he goes, “Oh, you took a picture of my building?”  Yep, I took a picture of the building he works in without even realizing it.  They did just move in over the summer, so I guess I’m not a totally idiotic wife. 

SYTYCD Tour 2010

Yes, it is that time of the year again. Audra and I went to the So You Can Dance tour together last Saturday. We met at The Cheesecake Factory beforehand. I had been perusing the menu there all week in preparation, but the wait there was 45 minutes long, and we really didn't want to be rushed getting to our show so we ended up going to Maggiano's next door. We enjoyed a nice relaxing dinner and then rushed uptown to get to the show.

A few notes on the show:

Still haven't ever gotten the perfect seat. It is in an arena, with the stage at one end, people in chairs on the floor, and then seating all around where you would sit if you were at a basketball game, which isn't at all ideal for a dance show - totally different than a concert. If you get a seat on the floor you can't see in front of you and you strain your neck the whole time. If you want a seat in the inclined section but still close to the stage, you have a complete side view, which is what we have done the last few years. It is great to be close to the stage, and sometimes you get a fun side perspective that you have never had before, but other times you miss out on some of the best action. They don't re-stage the dances at all to consider the side audience, so you do miss out of some things.

One great thing about the show this year is they cut the introductions quite a bit. They always have some running gags between dance numbers, and most of the time they are way too long, and these are dancers, not comedians, so they are much better at the dancing than the talking. They really pounded the dance numbers out this year. Loved it. Not only did I feel less cheated, it helped to keep the mood.

I forgot my memory card so I didn't take many pictures at all, which is okay because it allowed me to just sit

Some of the highlights of the show for me:

My Chick Bad, originally danced by Twitch and Lauren. They put Russell in Twitch's place and it was great. I know, horrible song, I know, but Lauren just stole the show with this number.

Heaven is a Place on Earth, performed by Kathryn and Robert. I have always loved Kathryn and I loved Robert live. Some people draw you in so much more when you see them live and Robert is one of those people.

M.I.A.'s “XXXO”, choreograghed by Sonya and danced by Robert and Courtney. I didn't think much of this one when it first aired, but it was enthraling live.

When The Prom Dance with Kent and Lauren turned into My First Kiss.

Kent and Allison's contemporary. Don't know the name of this song. Very intense and emotional.

Okay, so there were lots of memorial numbers and some great group dances, including a fantastic group Bollywood dance. You know how I said some people were even better live? Adechike and Billy were not those people :o)

We stayed afterwards again and met a lot of the dancers. For the third year in a row we met up with our SYTYCD buddies, Lindsay and her sister Ashley. We originally knew each other through our sister-in-law Sabina, but we always meet up and chat while waiting and waiting (2 1/2 hours this year!) for the dancers to come out and then trade cameras to take each other's pictures. Lindsay is the gal who did our beautiful family pictures last month (and who, btw, photographed a birth hours before the show), so yes, we have a pro doing our photography! All the pictures were on Audra's camera, so I don't have any of them to show you yet. What is the point of this post without those pictures? Basically a chance for me to babble about the show.

There are more and more people waiting to meet the dancers every year and it was so packed this year. We didn't even meet everyone and we left at 1 am. A few years ago we would get the chance to chat a little with each dancer but they were super rushed this year. I felt bad for them. Billy was by far the friendliest and seemed the most genuine. Adechike was by far the quietest. We met Kent last (only by kinda cutting in line) and he was the highest in demand and he seemed very tired and worn out. Didn't get to meet Lauren or Kathryn.

Okay, I guess that is enough for now. When I get the pictures I might have to do another post :o)

It's 2 am, what's up with your friends?

Before last night, it had been a year since I went out at night without Chad or the kids. The last occasion was Oct. 11 of 2006, when I went to see the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour with my two sister-in-laws, Sabina, and Audra. It was a night to remember and we giggled like school girls when we got to meet the top ten afterwards and take our pictures with them.

This is the TV show I hold dearest of all. During the summer, I sit enraptured though every show and Audra and I have hour long conversations after each episode about the performances and choreography.

When the tickets went on sale for this year's tour, Audra and I were online the second the presale started, brandished with our passwords. That was in August, and we have been looking forward to it ever since.

The three of us went to the tour again last night. The dancing was spectacular and when the last number was over I was so sad. I really wanted more. We made our way out of the arena determined to meet the stars again and get our silly pictures. As we rounded the corner and discovered that they had again set up an autograph area, we were excited and good ol' Audra found us a spot right against the barricade where we would be able to snap shots with everyone. I pulled out my cell phone and discovered that Chad had called three times. That alarmed me because he told me before I left that he wasn't going to call and bother me. When I checked my voice mail, I got a message that no mother wants to hear - "Katie, this is Chad, call me as soon as you get this." If Chad calls me Katie, I know it something is wrong.

I called quickly and Chad said that Colin woke up, vomited, and was now having a really hard time breathing. I immediately thought of croup because of the boy we babysat on Monday. I told him to look it up online. Chad was frustrated and I could tell Colin must be bad by the sound of his voice. We talked a few more times, with me giving him suggestions, and him getting more and more frustrated. Chad kept telling me to stay where I was, but I could tell that he was not feeling good about the situation. He finally called and said he was going to the ER, and again told me not to leave. Chad was on his way out the door but couldn't find Colin's sandals, which is a perpetual problem for us, and he was pretty much yelling with frustration at this point. I was torn. Maybe that isn't something I should have been torn about, but I could tell it was croup, and I have read all about pretty much every childhood illness out there, and I could tell Colin was going to be okay, and he had his Daddy taking care of him. And I was frustrated myself - this was the night had been waiting for all year. I knew that Chad was panicked, but I knew that he would handle it. If I left it meant that Sabina had to go too (because I had given her a ride) and it meant Audra would be left to meet everyone by herself. Then I thought about taking pictures with everyone, and I knew it really wouldn't be fun for me, and that every time I looked at those pictures I would think "I took that picture while my little boy was in the ER." As soon as I thought, that I knew what the right (and what should have obvious) decision was. Really, I know, I am a horrible mother for not coming to this decision earlier. You don't have to tell me.

When I got there and saw Colin in his PJ's, laying on the bed, and heard him wheezing with every breath, I couldn't believe I had thought about not coming (but still wondered if Audra had met anyone yet :o). Colin gave me a little smile. He wasn't talking at all because he was having such a hard time breathing, but he was being so brave, and Chad said he was already improving. They had declared it croup and were now waiting around for some sort of treatment that, of course,was slow in coming. Chad decided to take Gabe home.

The nurses gave Colin a nebulizer, which is basically a concentrated and portable humidifier. Then they took X-rays. After that we waited over an hour to have the Dr. come in and tell us that it was a mild case of croup, and that if his breathing got bad again to put him in the bathroom with the shower on, or to take him out into the night air - both tips that I already knew, by the way. I know that Dr.'s are doing their best in ER's and that it's not an ideal working situation, but it is really hell to sit there for hours on end, and after Gabe's spinal-tap, RSV incident in the ER when he was five weeks old, I have had a certain, more extreme, loathing for the whole experience.

Colin breathing got better and better, and he got more talkative by the minute. He starting messing around with me, purposely making his breathing sound like a pig, and sticking his knee through the (embarrassing) hole in his PJs. Towards the end, he actually said, "This is fun!"

We got home at 2 am, and Colin was wide awake. He ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I brought him into our room, where Chad had already set up the humidifier and Colin's old toddler bed. I opened the window to let some night air in. Colin and I both tossed around in bed until almost 3, when we finally fell asleep.

Gabe insisted on getting up at 6:30, despite his very late night, and Colin woke up, feeling just a little wheezy, at 8 am. Chad got up at 8:30 and is working from home this morning and going in later. I am hoping that I can get both the boys to take a nap at the same time at some point today so that maybe I can catch a little sleep, and I am praying that Gabe doesn't get croup .

And I can't wait to see if Audra got any pictures.