Extremes...

Wow. What a whirlwind of emotion the last week has been. With the loss of my dear friend Weiferd, my mother's 75th birthday celebration, teaching, rehearsals for my new play and the ongoing accolades for Skeleton Stories all accompanied by a nasty cold, I think that I have experienced everything that there is to experience in the last seven days.

Weiferd's funeral was so incredible. The chapel was filled with family and friends from his disparate worlds. The sermon was fiery and heartfelt and inspiring. I spoke, as did his best friend Shannon, several family members and a model and a body builder. Each aspect of his circle of friends brought together for the first time. It was amazing and tender and heartbreaking.

from our 2009 Golden Gate Bridge Shoot

I flew directly from Oakland to Las Vegas for my mom's 75th Birthday celebration and extravaganza...what a change in emotion and tone. Las Vegas is just unreal. The immense Americana of it--the excess, the cheap sexuality, the lights, the overwhelming noise and vulgarity. My niece looked up to me at one point and asked why everyone was wearing such short skirts. She had just witnessed one that barely covered what it should...

We had an incredibly overpriced but tasty meal, and saw Cirque De Soleil's Beatles Themed Show, Love. The whole trip was a surprise for my mom, and she was definitely surprised. I got to spend time with my favorite small person and even saw Mr. Obama's plane take off the next morning. Even though I would have liked to have spent more time in the Bay Area, I have to say that it was nice to move onto a celebration....

The Girls....

Adding to that the intense pressure of being in rehearsal and teaching 20 classes a week and I, for the first time since being a small child, went to bed at 8PM on Saturday night. All worn out....I love the show I'm in. I'm super proud of Skeleton Stories. Life is crazy and busy and full of extremes and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Another good bye...

My all time favorite shot

My dear friend Weiferd died this week. Weiferd has been photographing me since I was 17. He is, or was, an AMAZING dance photographer and one of the nicest people on the planet. A funny looking guy, who hung out at dance studios. It's hard to separate my personal loss from the community loss. We've worked together for my entire adult life, but he ended up shooting EVERYONE in the dance world. I could always count on Weiferd to make me laugh, to make me feel beautiful, strong, fearless. I would climb anything, freeze my butt off, hang off of anything to get a great shot for him. I will miss him so much. We last shot together just two weeks ago and when I was feeling low, I posted a pic just to remind myself that I am a strong woman with options. That is what he gave me and for that, I will be eternally grateful.

Here are a few of my favorite shots;

From our last shoot, on Santa Monica Beach

Dancing in the park....

From the famous shower series....

From the bridge shoot

and again...

There are so so so many more, but for now..

Just Because I Can

I thought I'd post a photo from a recent shoot on Santa Monica Beach. The picture makes me feel powerful and strong, something that I forget, as an actress in LA, that I am. I am a powerful person. I make things happen. I am in control of my life. And if it doesn't go the way that I want it to, I can go off and join the circus.