And the man said, "I'd like to replace your cat." And the lady said, "That's all right with me, but how are you with catching mice?

Reason number 460 I love my job: I am surrounded by artistic, beautiful, talented, strong people. It would be a tragedy if I never took the time to observe & appreciate them. Their talents, quirks, style, personalities...everyone brings something uniquely theirs to the table. That's what makes what we do so special. Like, remember when the planeteers put their rings together to make Captain Planet? Earth...wind...fire...ect. (Wind was always my favorite) It just wouldn't work without all five of them, in the same way our line wouldn't work without each one of us bringing our own unique gift to the table. (Unfortunately the pay off isn't a giant green magical eco-maniac superhero...It's a Christmas Spectacular of epic proportion)

Wait one second...Hallmark is showing some kind of I Love Lucy marathon...Oh my God, & she's in a tutu in a ballet class...Magnificent. Lucille Ball was one of the most charming, gifted women to ever be in show business, God rest her soul.

I'm always looking for inspiration. Under every rock & behind every door. The world is filled to the brim with interesting, wonderful things, all you have to do is look. I find it's something that gets me through those six hours a day I spend in an abandoned mini-mall rehearsing when my elbow is flat & which count my bevel is open...I get tired, my mind starts going to the dark place, & one of the girls catches my eye, living in an eight count of choreography. I take note of it, why the hell am I not dancing like that... The thing about dancers is that we're very competitive in nature. It's how we get work. In rehearsal, competing with each other would be counterproductive. We, in fact, feed off each other in order to progress. It takes a lot of talent to put up a show of this caliber, it takes a lot of people giving 110%. I love to watch the other girls dance, I draw inspiration from the way they move. When I see someone doing something beautifully I try to incorporate it into my show. We drive each other, we push each other, motivate each other, inspire each other. We all use each other as tools to become better.

I am a dancer. I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living.... In each it is the performance of a dedicated precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes shape of achievement, a sense of one's being, a satisfaction of spirit. One becomes in some area an athlete of God.

~Martha Graham, c.1953

The same can be said for life in general. If you allow yourself to, you'll be amazed every day at the beauty that surrounds you. I try to pull from all of the things I love. Put my own twist on them & incorporate them into my every day life in my own special way. I collect things that make me happy in my closet, my iTunes, my iPhoto, on my bookshelves, in my journal, I weave them together into intricate patterns in my mind that make up the fabric of who I am... Music, friends, art, nature, family, surroundings, the way my beautiful friends dance...The world can be a pretty magical place, it's all a matter of how you look at it. If you choose to, you can see the world in bright bold colors too.