I have been asked to dance in the upcoming Dancing with the Stars. The event will raise money for the Big Brother Big Sister program that hooks up at risk kids with community mentors. Big Brother Big Sister does great work in our community, but they need your help. So do I.
Here is the problem. I love to dance, and I love to win. Both of these attributes have caused me to shamelessly and continuously brag to my fellow competitors that I plan to win and I plan to win big.
There were some things that I failed to take into consideration prior to my loud mouth ways getting the best of me. I have a partner. His name is Al Velarde. He is the director of the Child Crisis Center. Alas, having a partner requires a woman to follow. It has been suggested by every dance partner I have ever encountered that perhaps I have not fully embraced my role as follower and that dancing with me is more like wrestling than dancing.
Al and I are dancing the cumbia. I grew up in Central El Paso and in Central the cumbia is pursued with wild abandon, much hip shaking, bent arms, elbows as much a part of the dance as the hips and lots of wide wild steps. Apparently, according to our dance instructor who is trying to prepare us for the event, this is not exactly the way it is supposed to happen at the event. Hers is a tamer version with short steps requiring that I actually follow and elbows and hips are no where to be found. At least not yet. It is taking me awhile to transform my being and my history in order to accommodate the dance. This is not to say that we won’t win. It is only to say that my bragging has far outpaced my actual abilities.
So here is where you come in. There is another way for us to win. You can either win by being the best dancer ever or you can win the old fashioned way by bringing in the most money. Al and I could win by selling the most tickets and raising the most money for Big Sisters Big Brothers. So you can buy a ticket to the event and come and holler loud when we dance making it that much more likely for us to win the dancing portion. Or you can donate to Big Sisters Big Brothers under our name. Either way, the kids served by Big Brothers Big Sisters win. And we win. This is, as we say way too many times at city hall, “a win win situation.”
Here’s how you can help:
Email me at susiebyrd@elp.rr.com if you want a ticket. Ticket prices are $50. The event is Saturday, October 25 at the Scottish Rite Theatre, 301 West Missouri in Downtown El Paso. Cocktails are at 6 P.M. Program starts at 7 P.M.
If you want to donate, go to our donation website and pledge all sorts of money to put us over the top.
Okay, thanks.
Here is the problem. I love to dance, and I love to win. Both of these attributes have caused me to shamelessly and continuously brag to my fellow competitors that I plan to win and I plan to win big.
There were some things that I failed to take into consideration prior to my loud mouth ways getting the best of me. I have a partner. His name is Al Velarde. He is the director of the Child Crisis Center. Alas, having a partner requires a woman to follow. It has been suggested by every dance partner I have ever encountered that perhaps I have not fully embraced my role as follower and that dancing with me is more like wrestling than dancing.
Al and I are dancing the cumbia. I grew up in Central El Paso and in Central the cumbia is pursued with wild abandon, much hip shaking, bent arms, elbows as much a part of the dance as the hips and lots of wide wild steps. Apparently, according to our dance instructor who is trying to prepare us for the event, this is not exactly the way it is supposed to happen at the event. Hers is a tamer version with short steps requiring that I actually follow and elbows and hips are no where to be found. At least not yet. It is taking me awhile to transform my being and my history in order to accommodate the dance. This is not to say that we won’t win. It is only to say that my bragging has far outpaced my actual abilities.
So here is where you come in. There is another way for us to win. You can either win by being the best dancer ever or you can win the old fashioned way by bringing in the most money. Al and I could win by selling the most tickets and raising the most money for Big Sisters Big Brothers. So you can buy a ticket to the event and come and holler loud when we dance making it that much more likely for us to win the dancing portion. Or you can donate to Big Sisters Big Brothers under our name. Either way, the kids served by Big Brothers Big Sisters win. And we win. This is, as we say way too many times at city hall, “a win win situation.”
Here’s how you can help:
Email me at susiebyrd@elp.rr.com if you want a ticket. Ticket prices are $50. The event is Saturday, October 25 at the Scottish Rite Theatre, 301 West Missouri in Downtown El Paso. Cocktails are at 6 P.M. Program starts at 7 P.M.
If you want to donate, go to our donation website and pledge all sorts of money to put us over the top.
Okay, thanks.
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2 comments:
Slick. Your mom and I will take two tickets. She also never learned to follow. Oh well.
Dad
Nuts. You should've insisted on El Paso's homegrown version of the cumbia. This is what constitutes regional pride—when one's way of doing something is advanced and affirmed. (I also grew up dancing cumbias at Bowie High School, the greatest high school in the United States.)
I'm curious about the photo accompanying this posting of yours. El Paso? What was the occasion?
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