No! I DON'T think I can dance!

Well, I can definitely dance better than Elaine! But certainly not as well as the the very talented young dancers on "So You Think You Can Dance." Check out this story on the show that aired today on Morning Edition.

I've been a fan of this show since the beginning, when I watched it with my 16 year old host daughter from Mexico in the summer of 2005. Aiddy reminds me of one of this years dancers Sara. She is a "B-girl," a girl that dances hip-hop that includes breaking, locking and popping. Locking and popping? What in the world is that? Well, watch and find out!



The idea of the show is to take dancers from diverse backgrounds and specialities, pair them up, throw just about every kind of dance style at them and see what happens! You learn a lot about dance from watching the program. Firstly, it's hard work. Secondly, dance choreographers are a little like Bach and Handel. They simply don't care what they do do your body (or in the case of Bach and Handel your vocal cords), they care about their vision of the dance (or in the case of Bach and Handel about their vision of the music). You are but an instrument in their orchestra of movement.

Mia Michaels seems to expect the dancers to throw themselves on the stage, across the stage and at each other with wild abandon and no concern whatsoever for their physical well being. Exciting stuff but when it beats up 20 somethings you know it's difficult.

I like this choreographer, Jean Marc Genereux and not just because he's French!
He choreographed a great swing/jive/jitterbug routine with the entire cast and anyone who does that automatically wins points in my book. That was and is a great style of dance. What did we do in high school? Well, remember Billy Crystal in "When Harry Met Sally" talking about the "white man's overbite?" That was pretty much it. BORING.



This young man, Ricky, was one of the first dancers voted out and I almost quit watching because of it. He was an amazing dancer with a presence that was so unique and interesting. What a shame. They kept a break dancer on instead of him and that dancer, Cedric, was eventually eliminated. I still think that Ricky would have been in at least the top five.













On the other hand, here is a beautiful dancer who has had trouble connecting with the audience until just recently.













And here is a picture of me dancing "Swan Lake:......NOT! I'm afraid, my dear Northwest Public Radio listeners that you are simply not strong enough to bear the site. However, I do have a picture of the Pastor at my church dancing in a memorable performance of "Swine Lake." Hmmmm......Perhaps I can persuade him to send me a photo?

Farewell to the Alhambra.....

Our visit to Granada's beautiful Alhambra is winding down. One of the last places we visited was the Palacio del Partal. This is the oldest building in the Alhambra and the only part of this palace that still remains. Oddly enough, it was one of the few places in the Alhambra where we were not surrounded by other people. We found a quiet bench near the pool, and for a few moments I felt as if we were not part of a constant and large crowd of Alhambra admirers, but a true part of the palace with the sights and sounds of the many birds creating a mini-oasis in the midst of a busy spirit that seems to belie the very nature of this place. Here are a few shots of this pavilion with its arched and tiled porticos, reflecting pool and stunning views all framed by palms.

We also managed to visit the fortress Alcazaba. There is a ravine that separates the fortress from the Alhambra, but it has been filled for centuries and is now called the Plaza de los Aljibes. Ferdinand and Isabella defeated Boabdil and took over the fortress in January of 1492. In a final symbolic blow to Moorish Spain they displayed the cross on the Torre de la Veja that you see in the background in this picture from www.lexorient.com.




You enter the fort through the Puerta del Vino - "Gate of Wine." It was once connected to an inner wall that divided the fortress from the city of the Alhambra. It doesn't have the same protective shape as some of the other gates and perhaps its proximity to the city explains why that is so and why it is more decorative than the other gates.



You may have seen prints of water colours of this gate as it was very popular with 19th century painters, particularly those from France. "La Puerta del Vino" is a piano piece by Debussy. As Debussy never actually visited the Alhambra perhaps he was inspired by one of the water colour paintings?

Here are some final pictures of the city of Granada, the Alhambra and the Generalife as seen from the Alcazaba's Torre de la Veja.

This picture shows the Generalife nestled in the hills in the far background. In this photo it looks like the Generalife is just to the left of the Comares tower but it is actually a fair distance away.

I leave Granada and the Alhambra with this picture that I found on www.lexorient.com. How is it possible to be homesick for a place in which you spent less than eight hours of your life? Such is the magic of the Alhambra!