Dear Friends,
Ballhalla!
Who else is excited about the Golden State Valkyries? If you haven't been following along, the Valkyries are only in their second year of existence in San Francisco, but they have sold out Chase Center for every single game, and now are in the WNBA Finals!
Wear PURPLE this Thursday, October 22nd, to Stop Drop and Dance at 9:30am @UUMarin. We'll be skipping core at 10:30am to record a short routine to "I'm From the Bay" by LaRussell if you can stay!
As an Asian-American, it's especially exciting because Kaitlyn Chen is the first Taiwanese American to be drafted in the WNBA, and Natalie Nakase is the first Asian American head coach in the WNBA! Growing up, it never felt like a possibility for Asians to be top athletes and coaches, but now, it's happening. Let's gooo!!!
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Five Extra Tickets!
Sign ups closed last week, but we ordered FIVE extra silent disco headsets for those of you that still want to join! We have 60+ women ready to DANCE with you this Saturday at Stinson Beach for Lisa Butcher's 50th Birthday! Don't miss out!
Our Next Fundraiser Class
Please save the date for our next Stop Drop and Dance fundraiser class on Tuesday, October 27th from 9:30am-10:45am! Bonnie Kirkpatrick is turning 60 years old, and for her birthday celebration, she wanted to give back to a non-profit organization that she used to work at, and is now on the Board of!
"The mission of Bridge the Gap is to provide comprehensive educational, social and emotional resources to underserved students in Marin County. Our goal is to ensure that all students graduate high school and achieve their greatest potential through college completion or other pathways to economic sustainability and independence. Our vision is for all students to achieve their greatest potential with equitable access, opportunities, and choice."
The theme will be to wear a school or college tee shirt! Even if you cannot make the dance class, please consider supporting Bonnie's fundraiser and helping us make an impact for students in our county! Thank you for your generosity!
Happy 60th Birthday Bonnie!
Dancers in the Wild!
Top Row & Bottom Right: Erin Meyers, Marsha Cellar, Pam Flores, Paula Todd, Jennifer Lee, Jamie Dillon, Tanya Burdick, Karin Conn, and Kristen Sperling all went to support Barbara Roberts' performance at the College of Marin's "Defying Gravity" production!
Bottom Left: Karin Conn and Alzheimer's Today cover girl Kate Dowd at the Believe Music Heals benefit posing with the magazine and article about Kate and Eric T Brandt!
Click on the image below to watch our "Babydoll" by Jamie Miller routine from last Thursday's class!
Defying Gravity
For those of you that did not get to watch Barbara Roberts' perform the last few weeks at College of Marin, the play was called "Defying Gravity," by Jane Anderson. It was a fictional drama about the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. I can share this now because the last show was on Sunday and I can't spoil it for you anymore:
I cried three times.
"Gravity," for most of the play, was in the literal sense - after all, they were trying to defy gravity and send a shuttle to the moon! Barbara and her fellow colleague had incredible performances pretending to witness the Challenger's explosion, and those two scenes brought me to tears imagining the grief and loss of the families and friends involved.
However, at the end of the play, the final character reads another definition of "gravity," not as an invisible force pulling us down, but as "graveness or seriousness; solemnity, heaviness." Gravity, as in the sadness of life, the challenges we face, the pain we feel, the hurt we experience, or the difficulty we inevitably have to deal with.
What a brilliant title.
The third time I cried was not because of sadness, but because of how beautifully the story ended despite the sadness. I finished watching the play feeling uplifted and hopeful.
This past weekend, I had a wonderful girls' trip with my junior high friends from 35 years ago. We went to Sun Valley and did all the things Lisa Butcher recommended - from eating to hiking to biking to relaxing in the hot tub. But most of all, we talked, and talked, and talked.
There have been a lot of changes since junior high. A lot of really happy and wonderful moments. And a lot of really hard and heart-breaking moments. Defying Gravity is how we have shown up and lifted one another up in the heaviest circumstances over the past 35 years. Defying Gravity is why I teach Stop Drop and Dance and my hope that you leave class lighter than when you first arrived. Defying Gravity is always believing and having faith that love wins, good overcomes evil, and we can get through anything.
"I will never see all the miracles of mankind but one miracle is enough for me to know that anything we dream, anything is possible."
Keep defying gravity my friends.
Love,
Grace
