The dancing gene

This blog is not new to my lament about how a Tamil Brahmin dude and ballroom dancing (or dancing) don't go well in the same sentence. 

I am not the only guy in the family tree to pick up dancing. Turns out my two nephews both picked up one form of dancing or another. 

This weekend we drove to Los Angeles and back to watch my nephew compete in a Bhangra dance competition. He is part of a team from Pittsburgh and they went up against 10 of the best teams in the world at the Orpheum theater in LA. 

Any reunion on the fathers side of the family is rare for me. My father is the last of 12 siblings. Of all those siblings and their spouses, only three are alive. My aunt, my dad and mom. Given the wide spread of ages among the next generation and the generation after that.. we meet in little clumps. 

The little one tells me "I thought most of grandpa's side of the family are dead. So all these people exist and you never told me?".. looks like I have my work cut out for me.. My MIL who joined us for this trip was also surprised as she has never seen any of my nephews or nieces or cousins for that matter!

The great unifier, aka my SIL got a lot of us to come to this event and cheer the nephews team. We even got matching T-shirts prior to the event!

The guy kneeling down who looks like a younger version of Virat Kohli was the star of the show for us.. 

We got treated to some amazing talent and group formation dancing.. Yet to edit the photos and videos from the event. Here are a few..

These guys were literally leaping off the stage a good 4-5 feet in synchronization. The energy and beats were so high that the audience was on their feet at times!

 Did not like the white cloth background obstructing my shots from the gallery seat. So I mirrored the flooring on that white background to generate this photograph.. 

Need more men in the family to pick up dancing.. any and all forms of dancing!

The star of the show did not disappoint! Had happy tears watching him dance with abandon!

A long weekend implies a short busy week. Will update this post later this week with a video link. .  . 

Jr. improves on dancing

Another year has passed with Jr. continuing to learn Classical Dancing. 

Here is a short clip from her groups dance performance at Pushpanjali Dance Academy 20th annual day celebration. 

She has come a long way since her first steps. While she will continue to get a barely passing grade from her mother and grandmothers and all the women in the family who have danced before her, I have only adoring eyes for my little darling. 

She makes me so proud.. 

be it on the stage while smiling away..

and having fun or

 off the stage at home posing for pictures..  

and still having fun!

 

It is our sincere hope that she continues to practice and get better as time goes by! 

Throw back "everyday"

Have recently started seeing posts on Facebook for TBT (which I learned was Throw Back Thursday)! 

Old pictures are being posted for TBT. Given this blog has 60% of stuff that is nostalgic, there is a lot of Throwing back 

One thing that specially stands out is that Jr. is a splitting image of my sister. Just looking at her face when she dresses up makes it a throw back event.

Last weekend was busy for her, what with a Saxophone performance that was followed by a dance performance. Her dance school celebrated yet another annual day. 

She did an "okay" job as per her mom, sister and other critics. I was just standing in the back taking pictures and a video and going "awww. what is her rush to grow up?!" A short video clip is here. She danced for 7 minutes and we heard there was a lot of huffing and puffing going on at the end. If only she came to Yoga class with me, she can learn to breathe between steps better.. but one can only wish.. 

On the one hand there was the lecture from her mom and me which usually goes like this:

San : We work so hard to put you through all these classes, so you better not disappoint us..

Me  : when I was a kid all my parents could do was put us through a CBSE school. they could not afford to pay for extra curricular activies. I had to grow up and learn things at a much older age which makes it harder. You learn faster when you are a kid. So don't miss this chance.. 

Little One : (who does her usual armchair quarterbacking, after she has backed out of every class in less than a month) You are not dancing even the same compared to last year. You have to improve! 

Then I go through a remorse period thinking "maybe we are pushing her too hard?!" and San, who is the sanest voice in the house says "NO! we are definitely not."

We all have our own benchmarks to compare things. Most of my comparisons are considered "foul" by San and the kids because my growing up was in a "different time, different world under very different circumstances". 

All that said, my sister did not dance. She did learn to sing. If she ever wonders what she would look like in a dance costume, she need to look no further!

That was Jr. posing after we reached home. January went by fast. So fast that this is the first time I took out the Canon this year! Given pictures become few and far between from Jan to Memorial day, here is a photo of the little one! 

This one is also in a rush to grow up. Sigh! 

Our sincere hope is that all these activities teach them the importance of "trying" and "persevering" to accomplish something and that the end result is that they feel proud of what they have achieved.

Here's to many more annual days!