A Reel and a Gig

dear winter weather warriors,

it’s been a long time... a lot has happened, and a lot has not happened (performance-wise). at the end of last spring a nasty cold left me with paresis in my left vocal fold. this was temporary, thank goodness, but before it went away it resulted in my throat doing all kinds of bad things to compensate, namely tensing up like crazy whenever i used my voice. and so i developed muscle tension dysphonia (MTD). it’s not a condition that goes away; you just get better at dealing with it. also in my case most people around me would never know, because my voice sounds fine. but to me it may be feeling tense, or tired, or in pain, depending on noise level, stress level, and other factors. i’m now able to speak in most situations pretty well, but singing is still a challenge for me. my voice tires very easily. and if i don’t rest it, it goes from tired to exhausted to being in pain. i’m working on it... another physical rehab journey. 

in the meanwhile, i unwittingly became a member of an irish step dance practice/performance group! a friend named rebecca mcgowan kindly invited me to join Rising Step Dance, and here i am using my brain and muscles in ways I haven’t used them in for decades, gearing up for a performance approaching soon! see below for details. thankfully my feet are still functional!

i’m also continuing to work on building my hands’/arms’ tolerance to playing the harp again, and am looking forward to performing with jaggery in march!

layer up, loves, and make good use of toe warmers and hand warmers!

dancing through the dreariness,
petaluma 

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Rising Step Dance
performing in NACHMO Boston Friday Dance Event (NAtional CHoreography MOnth)
friday, february 8th, 2019, 8pm-10pm
the dance complex, cambridge ma 
536 mass ave 02139
tickets $10-$12 ticket link 
facebook link
ages: all

this performance features dances created during the month of january

featured acts on friday: 
Accumulation Dance
Heather Brown Dance
Nora Buonagurio 
Julie Joseph 
Ruth Levin
Erin McNulty
MonkeyHouse
Nozama Dance Collective
Rising Step Dance  
Sasso and Company
Carly Sheehan
Upasana Kalakendra
Margaret Wiss 


FYI: There is also a NACHMO Boston Saturday Dance event, but i will NOT be performing then. 


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jaggery 
saturday, march 23rd, 2019, 8pm
once, somerville ma
156 highland avenue 02143
celebrating Beat Circus’s album release of “These Wicked Things”
along with 
Count Zero
Kee Avil 
Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band
tickets $10 - $12 ticket link 
facebook link
ages: 18+