"Hold On"

When I became director of Leo Rouge, the previous people had pretty much everything worked out for concert. So, instead of being able to pick and choose what to choreograph, they had already assigned me a lyrical. I love dancing lyrical, but my body usually just comes out a little bit modern when I try to choreograph. Plus, so often lyrical ends up being this overly emotional form of dance, super dramatic with pained facial expressions. Avoiding both overly dramatic music and music I knew would come out modern, I finally found a piece that I loved: Michael Buble's "Hold On" (Much thanks to Janna for giving me the CD!). Yesterday I started choreographing. Ashlei came up to help me and it was so wonderful to dance again! Sure, I get to teach dance every day, so technically I'm dancing, but not like this. Ash and I have danced together for so long that we move similarly and breathe together. We turned on the music and started improv'ing and just built off of one another. Somehow without realizing we went at the same tempo and felt each other moving. I'd forgotten about that feeling. About how wonderful it is to dance with teammates because of that.  (The pic is from an Extravadance a while ago, but I wanted to put up some kind of picture and it was all I could find. I'm in the blue vest and Ash is in the pink in front.)

So- my girls' concert isn't until May, but I'm already excited for the pieces. I have high hopes for the lyrical. Today I'm finishing up with Ash. If I can figure out how to record us doing it then I'll put it up as far as we have. So fun!

Legacy Prep Beginnings

On Thursday I applied for a dance teaching position at a charter school in Bountiful. Yesterday I had a second interview and they offered me the job! Woohoo! I'll be teaching part-time until April with two dance classes in the afternoon. One is a beginning/intermediate dance class for mostly middle school aged students and the second is their company class, the Leo Rouge, which has 7th-9th graders I believe. They're still young and aren't completely in control of their bodies yet, of course, but they're coming. Plus, they seem to be really good kids who love to dance and want to learn. I'm very excited about the whole thing. :) Even better is the fact that sometime in April one of their teachers is going on maternity leave and they asked me to work full time to be a permanent substitute in her class teaching English.  They have already started planning my schedule for next year too, so unless I somehow prove to be completely incompetent in the next few months (which is very unlikely if I do say so myself) then I have a full time job next year as well. I'll be teaching dance and English. (Sadly no history, apparently they have history teachers on standby already.) I've never thought I would end up working in a charter school, but I really like the administration and the teaching philosophy thus far.

Wish me luck on my first day as an official, paid teacher. Legacy Preparatory Academy and Leo Rouge, here comes Miss Oldroyd.

Sunday Musings: Gratitude and Compassion

Upon moving to Rexburg seven years ago I was asked if I would give a talk in Sacrament meeting. I was 18, brand new to college, new to the ward, and new to a calling I was a bit intimidated by; to add speaking publicly in church almost felt like I was going to implode from stress. Later, though, Bishop Surrey told me the topic was gratitude. Whew! Fairly easy topic and one that I felt I was pretty good at. If I had to talk in front of people, at least it could be on something I was confident about.  In general I'd still say I'm a grateful person who sees the beauty and blessings in the world around me.

However, today in Relief Society I realized something more, something that I've always been grateful for on the surface, but have never plunged into the pool to see it in depth. The teacher was talking about how many women don't know where to find love and search in the wrong places for it. She continued on with the lesson, but I stayed stuck, mired in a new, somewhat troubling yet enlightening, thought. My family is a top priority in my life and I've been blessed to be a top priority in theirs. In that same vein, I've been blessed with a steady and sure set of friends that I love dearly. Both groups have stood by me and grounded me during the best and worst parts of life. I've always been grateful for these wonderful people  and thank God often for their love, influence, support, and even occasionally for their chastisement. I've never had to search for love- it's been around me every moment of my life. I think back to those times when I've judged someone harshly for staying with a boyfriend/girlfriend who treated them poorly, when they decide to join a group of friends that influence them to become less than their potential, when they go through dates like a child goes through their treat bag on Halloween night, and I'm thoroughly ashamed of myself. I kept thinking over and over again- "Lindsay, Lindsay, what has your lack of compassion done to others? Why hasn't your gratitude connected with your charity towards everyone around you?"

So... First of all I want to thank you, my friends and family who inspire me to be constantly better, who catch me when I trip (or when I choose to jump off a cliff), for letting me know someone cares about how I turn out in the end, for people to laugh at the same jokes with, for someone to cry with (and often on) when life gets difficult, for someone to enjoy the peace of the day in sunny silence. You've blessed me more than even I know. Secondly, and more importantly, I'm going to translate my gratitude into the compassion and charity that the world needs so much.

This post is pretty reflective, more like unto a journal than a blog, but I want to be sure to write something every Sunday about the Gospel and my testimony. Since only a few people even know about this I figured that would be alright.

Thank you all, sincerely. Much love...

Busy Nothings and Simple Everythings

As most people know, my family has rather a large influence on me. Thus, when everyone else decided to create a blog and Janna told me to get on it, I complied. Now to my family it may come as a shock that I actually listened to them and took their advice (apparently they think I'm the slightest bit stubborn), especially since I once told them all that I'd never blog. I've come to realize though that almost everything I've ever said I'd never do has come to pass; that little realization means that I might as well embrace blogging sooner rather than later.

My title comes from a Jane Austen book, Mansfield Park, one of my favorites. Fanny is talking about the fact that life continues on as it always has, neither caring to speed up or slow down for anyone. The full quote is, "Life is just a quick succession of busy nothings". It seems to me that she has life quite right. Fanny Price may mean it in a caustic sense, but I'm a bit more optimistic about it. The quick succession is usually more blessed than not and the busy nothings are what give the continuity to life that I crave. Bright, splendid moments add contrast, but it's the everyday things I like best: cooking, cleaning up, chatting with friends, church callings, getting lost in books, dancing on my way out to the car (and occasionally in the grocery store when I don't think anyone is watching), seeing my breath in the cold air, walking barefoot in the grass... All these are busy nothings. But, in their busy nothingness they become simple everythings. And, in all honesty, that's my favorite part about life.