Encounters: Javier

Of course I shouldn't have been surprised to run into someone else on U Street, but I hadn't seen Javier in a while.

I actually met him while I was doing my undergrad at UMD. My first semester there, I was one of multiple dancers in Dan Singh's Thesis. He now is Artistic Director of his own dance company, Dakshina.

Javier was one of the social dancers he pulled in for the piece (geez, this was almost 7 years ago). And it was a cool thesis because the audience sat in the round and the evening alternated with social dance to dance pieces, so the audience alternatively participated and became performers themselves (if they so chose).

Was good seeing him.

Encounters: Tony

Went to the Logan Caribou (which you can follow on Twitter, except they haven't tweeted in several months) with my friend Ravi, and saw a bar friend, Tony, doing work there.

Apparently he's in grad school too, but completing an online program.

Hadn't seen him in a while (as with most of the people I seem to have been running into lately)

Encounters: Rayne & Roland

So I'm waiting outside CVS as I'm taking Sam to the airport. He actually had to run in and get a wedding card and as I was parked, I see a familiar face.

It's Rayne, this party kid who I used to see all the time at Buzz (when it was at Nation). And she was with another PK, Roland.

Anyway, can't remember the last time I saw them, but it's really interesting seeing club kids out...in natural light

Encounters: Adam

Going for a walk 17th & U St, I ran into Adam, who works at the Historical Society of Washington.

I've gotta admit, I'd never even stepped into the building until I went around to try to get them on board to advertise with the Capital Fringe Festival.

Right south of the Convention Center, it's probably one of the most unassuming buildings in DC I've ever come across.

Anyway, was nice running into him in a non-karaoke setting for once :-)

Encounters: Tyler W.

I'm leaving my dentist and see a mother walking into the building with her (looks-like) high school age sun.

It's Tyler, one of my colleagues from Adventure Theatre, taking her boy in for a dental check-up at the same place I go to.

I can't even remember the last time I saw her. She did visual/graphic design work during her time there and was part of an old guard that passed on the banner as Adventure Theatre transitioned to less of a working model and one with more paid staff.

By the way, Adventure Theatre just opened "The Red Balloon", yes based on the french short film. One of the first films I remember ever seeing. I'm definitely going to try and catch it, and you should too :-)

Experiences: RuPaul's Drag Race

Decided to go to 30 Degrees/Cobalt to check out the 2nd Season Finale of RuPaul's Drag Race. They were supposed to be showing it live, and, despite some technical difficulties, managed to display it on their screen on the bottom level.

Tatiana, who made it to the final four, made an

appearance. She was a lot taller than I expected

First Real World DC, then this appearance, Real Housewives coming up next...is DC slowly becoming a reality tv destination?

Encounters: Mark G.

I'm in the Columbia Heights Harris Teeter, and run into Mark in the produce aisle.

Mark was one of the movers and shakers when Buzz was still at Nation, and is still actively involved with them.

Encounters: Ted S.

Ran into Ted, walking from the Greenberg back to Katzen, where we were spacing pieces to show for our informal dance showcase for the semester.

I haven't seen Ted since the beginning of the semester. He just started.

I actually met him back when I used to hang out a little more at Soho (near dupont). At one point, he actually was roomies with a classmate of mine from STA.

Encounters: Jason D., Helanius W., Alvin M., Melissa L., & Dana T.

So I'm actually a little conflicted about this entry. I was (and still am) debating about people I run into at performing arts events. Part of the reason is because it is such a small community, that blogging about encounters at a show doesn't seem to be as happenstance as just running into people out on the street.

But I guess I'll just try it out for now and see how it goes.

Tonight was definitely a who's who of the people in my dance world, teachers and choreographers I've had the pleasure of working with in some fashion or another.

Jason D., I actually almost performed with for one of the Dance is the Answer flash mobs. By the way, Dance is the Answer is still going on until May 2nd.

Helanius W., several years ago, I was actually a sound board operator for a performance his company, Edgeworks Dance Theater, had out in Rockville, MD, at the American Dance Institute.

Alvin M., was one of my professors in the program at UMD.

Melissa L., I actually teach with at NCS. She's also one of the company members for Dakshina.

And Dana B., I worked with several years ago when he choreographed movement for a show at Adventure Theatre. He has his own company in the area and is also the head of GWU's department of Theatre & Dance.

Encounters: Holly B.

I meet up with my friend Jerry, before this performance at Dance Place, and as we're getting ready to go inside, I experience a bike-by encounter with Holly B.

She's one of those working professionals/artists that makes me wonder if I'm actually doing all I could with my time.

She's multidisciplinary, with skills ranging from moving her body through space, to moving the pen on paper, and overall just a wonderfully nice person.

Encounters: Aysha U. & Meredith R.

Today NCS hosted the annual WAISDEA Festival. In case you don't know (and it actually took me a year or two until I remembered it right), that stands for Washington Area Independent School Dance Education Association.

It's a day of dance master classes and choreography workshops. There were a bunch of faces that were familiar, and I expected to see, one of which was Aysha U. teaching a master class. She's an awesome dancer in the area who teaches and has her own company.

I didn't expect to see Meredith R., who was actually with one of the member schools, Sandy Spring Friends School, participating in the day's events.

I don't think I've seen her since she was in a piece I choreographed at MC, the first piece I actually choreographed professionally within a year of graduating from UMD. It's still one of my favorites, and it was to Rusted Root's "Send Me On My Way".

Anyway, it was cool seeing her there. Small world, right??

Encounters: Steve P.

We're sitting having dinner at Straits of Malaya, and Steve walks by.

Didn't get to chat long enough to see what he'd been up to, and it'd really been a while since we've actually hung out.

I'd even forgotten how long he'd been back in the states after being abroad for some years.

But he was one of my first friends of choice, in high school.

Don't get me wrong, it's not to say that I didn't choose who my friends were, but half the reason we were friends was because we went to the same school. That says nothing and doesn't affect the value of the friendship though.

It's just Steve was really one of the first people my age that I hung out with outside of school. Socially, I was a bit of a late bloomer, and honestly I'm still figuring things out. But I'll always be grateful for having Steve as a friend at that point in my life.

Encounters: Dean B. and Joey S.

Parking around Dupont Circle/Adams Morgan just isn't easy normally (much less on a Friday night), but I lucked out and had barely driven around the block more than a couple of times before finding parking on 17th St.

It's a couple of blocks from Sam's place and as I'm walking north on 17th and see a gaggle of guys walking east on, what was it...must've been R St.

The first I see is Dean, who I met singing with GMCW a couple of years ago. I asked him what he was up to, if he was still singing/dancing with 'em, and he'll be in the upcoming GMCW Pride concert in June, DIVAS.

As the rest of the group catches up, I see another performer friend (one I have yet to have the pleasure of sharing the stage with). This one isn't part of the theatre scene which previous encounters have belonged to. Joey Salinas is actually a singer/dancer primarily. As busy as I get, I run into and catch up with Joey and he makes me feel like I'm not trying hard enough, sometimes. I do say that mostly tongue in cheek, but it's admirable to see what he's done and exciting to see where he's going :-)

Encounters: Ben G. and Jennie L.

This semester, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays I take 2 1/2 hours of dance classes between 10am & 2pm, at AU.

I exit the dance studio at the Katzen Arts Center and who do I run into? First I run into Jennie L. who I actually last saw in a production of Rent, by Kensington Arts Theatre, sometime last month. However the first time I met (and actually got to perform with her as well!!) was in a production of Footloose at Montgomery College, back in...2004?

Geez...how time flies...

Anyway, apparently she was coming to speak to a musical theatre class about auditioning.

I walked with her to the class room (which was in the Katzen's black box), and get ready to wish her farewell, when I see another stage professional/performing friend, Ben G., also brought into class for the same purpose. I got to share the stage with him when we were both part of the "studio audience" for Studio Theatre's production of Jerry Springer: the Opera, summer of '08.

That was intense, as you could probably imagine. Ben also shares a connection to AU as he is an alumnus of its Theatre/Musical Theatre program. Unfortunately, I haven't seen him in anything lately.

Just one of the frustrating things about working in the arts. You have very limited time and resources to support your fellow artists...

Encounters: A student of mine

So I'm walking around the Tidal Basin, making my across the bridge which allows Independence Ave to span the north portion of the body of water, and I pass by a familiar face.

It's one of the high school students I indirectly worked with on a production of Annie, where I teach. I mean I technically teach dance at NCS, but because they have a joint performing arts program with St. Albans (where I went to high school myself, class of '99), I end up working with the boys at STA on musicals and the annual dance concert. Now when I run into students of mine, I'll simply refer to them as such until they graduate; this is partially because most of them are minors, and also to respect their families and the schools, with regards to privacy.

I asked him how school had been treating him and what he was working on. He let me know he'd be doing tech for the Spring play, The Laramie Project.

Encounters: Melinda E., Jeri M., & Aaron R.

I'm trying to leave this Artists' Bloc event we have at Woolly Mammoth (I'm Membership Director, for the former organization, not the latter) as the audience for Woolly's main stage production, Clybourne Park, is leaving; and I run into three theatre professionals/friends whom I've worked with over the years in various capacities, Malinda Ellerman, Jeri Marshall, & Aaron Reeder.

I say I'm trying to leave because I had been saying goodbye's for the previous 10 minutes and finally. But I shouldn't be surprised running into them, I suppose...I mean, that's how much of a community there is in DC, when you've worked in the area for any number of years.

Malinda...I think we might've actually met doing Summer Dinner Theatre at Montgomery College about 7 or 8 years ago. Our paths crossed again in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, when I transferred to UMD as a Dance major; she was a Theatre major.

UMD is also where I happened to meet Jeri, who I worked with a couple of years ago at the Smithsonian's Discovery Theater, which produces and presents "live performances for young audiences" in the DC area. I was Assistant Director for a show she was cast in, Going the Distance, a piece about Jesse Owens and Wilma Glodean Rudolph.

Aaron...I'm not actually sure how we met initially, but we got to work together on what was my last professional theatre gig before I started grad school, Jerry Springer: The Opera, at Studio Theatre, summer of '08.

Aaron has been performing with the Washington National Opera, for a number of season and is currently in their production of Porgy & Bess, which closes this weekend. Jeri is working on something with the Maryland Shakespeare Festival (I believe); and Malinda is performing with the St. Mark's Players in a production of Oliver! coming up in May, where she is playing Nancy.

That's the awesome but sometimes frustrating thing about all the awesome work that's being done in and around this area. There's a lot of it, but only so much time and money one has to go out and support it, particularly the friends and professional acquaintances you make over the years. Can't hurt to try and catch 'em all, though, right?!

(And yes, if you picked up on a Pokemon reference, that was intentional...I'm so ashamed...)

Encounters: Dionne A.

So just when I think I couldn't be farther away from running into someone, I'm in the lobby of the Holiday Inn at Fisherman's Wharf (in San Francisco, and it has a Fan Page if you're on FB), and run into Dionne!!

She's an actor from DC and I just ran into her in a hotel lobby on the West Coast!! Just when you think the world can't get any smaller, right?!

I met her at some theatre event or another in the past several years...the Helen Hayes Awards, I believe. I haven't had the pleasure of working with her, yet, but all in good time. Apparently she was in SF for the day, doing some kind of training workshop. Between the ADHD and the 7 kids I'd been charged with not losing during the course of the trip, I unfortunately heard but didn't listen enough to commit the information to memory.

Although DC's got the 2nd largest theatre scene in the country, right after New York City and only recently before Chicago, it's definitely a small community if you're the type of independent performer who diversifies their income streams by working at various organizations. :-)

Encounters: Michael H.

Ran into Michael H. in the wee hours of the morning, at Reagan National Airport.

I was helping to round up about 80 high school students from National Cathedral School & St. Albans (where I teach Dance) at about 5:30am, for a chorale trip to San Francisco. I know, what was I thinking!! I kid, of course; I love being their teacher.

Anyway, we're getting ready to herd the first wave of kids through security, and I see Michael walking by me, apparently on his way to Florida. We met when I sang with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington for several concerts a couple of years ago or so.

Michael's pretty involved in the arts community and sector in the area. Now in addition to singing with GMCW as well, I'm not sure if he was at the time, but he is a member of the organization's Board of Directors.

He is also the Director of External Relations for the Washington Ballet and an adjunct professor for George Mason University's Arts Management program. If you've ever gone to a Washington Ballet performance, chances are you've said hi to Michael. And if you haven't, you should. He's a nice guy.