Love this post, Claire. And Thanh Thanh's inspiring career and the trajectory that took her to it. Also, this quote from her, "I’m ready to claim my art." Beautiful. She followed her bliss. The photos are inspiring as is her remarkable story. And your connection of meeting her is also one of those serendipitous moments that makes you just believe there is such a thing as fate. Or at least, what if... I love swing music! Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, my fave of the bunch. I lived in northern Calif, ages ago--where loggers (sadly) cut down redwoods, but there was good music (by back-to-the-land hippies) and to fit in, they'd play a country-style set, a rock set. I danced to everything but fell in love w/ swing, both the music and the dancing. It is So freeing. Had a great partner and we'd just take over the dance floor. It was grand--and how fun to think about swing music-- Think I'll listen to "Hey, Good Lookin'" right now--think that's Bob Wills.
You know a lot more about Swing dance and its music than I do! Lovely to read what kind of memories this stirred up. It's rare that I'm able to really dance freely, but it has happened. And I definitely felt serendipity at play when meeting Thanh Thanh!
Finding and hearing it were so cool bc it’s such big music — and the dancing 💃 too! Maybe it originated in Texas and ‘everything’s big in Texas.’ Brought back great memories, thank you! And how Thanh Thanh discovered it? I mean, what are the odds?? Great post, Claire.
I latched onto that same line. “I am ready to claim my art” CLAIM! What a word - it evokes agency, confidence and fortitude. Now I sit here asking myself, “what am I ready to claim?”
The town, on our side of the train tracks is small—there aren't many routes to take—so walking up to the castle twice a day is a must for a writer who otherwise sits at her desk looking at the castle all day.
Living in Montana we definitely have cowboy swing. It's interesting that you mentioned what we are doing for our bodies. My hubby was a great athlete in softball at the time in our 20s. He would not dance with me and I grew up dancing and singing all the time. It hurt. He finally decided to work on it while I'm pregnant with our first child. But I still dream of the Tango. 'Berta
Cowboy swing! That is new to me. We each have our own strange relationships to our bodies. I love dancing, yet have difficulty doing it as freely as I would like. But thanks to the mirror neurons in my brain, I greatly enjoy watching others dance; it makes me feel I am dancing, too.
Love this post, Claire. And Thanh Thanh's inspiring career and the trajectory that took her to it. Also, this quote from her, "I’m ready to claim my art." Beautiful. She followed her bliss. The photos are inspiring as is her remarkable story. And your connection of meeting her is also one of those serendipitous moments that makes you just believe there is such a thing as fate. Or at least, what if... I love swing music! Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, my fave of the bunch. I lived in northern Calif, ages ago--where loggers (sadly) cut down redwoods, but there was good music (by back-to-the-land hippies) and to fit in, they'd play a country-style set, a rock set. I danced to everything but fell in love w/ swing, both the music and the dancing. It is So freeing. Had a great partner and we'd just take over the dance floor. It was grand--and how fun to think about swing music-- Think I'll listen to "Hey, Good Lookin'" right now--think that's Bob Wills.
You know a lot more about Swing dance and its music than I do! Lovely to read what kind of memories this stirred up. It's rare that I'm able to really dance freely, but it has happened. And I definitely felt serendipity at play when meeting Thanh Thanh!
Finding and hearing it were so cool bc it’s such big music — and the dancing 💃 too! Maybe it originated in Texas and ‘everything’s big in Texas.’ Brought back great memories, thank you! And how Thanh Thanh discovered it? I mean, what are the odds?? Great post, Claire.
I latched onto that same line. “I am ready to claim my art” CLAIM! What a word - it evokes agency, confidence and fortitude. Now I sit here asking myself, “what am I ready to claim?”
I agree, it’s a powerful word. We share our art, of course, we give our art and practice our art, but sometimes I believe we indeed need to claim it.
Thanks for this column, Claire. (And amazed at how many times you walked to the castle!)
The town, on our side of the train tracks is small—there aren't many routes to take—so walking up to the castle twice a day is a must for a writer who otherwise sits at her desk looking at the castle all day.
Living in Montana we definitely have cowboy swing. It's interesting that you mentioned what we are doing for our bodies. My hubby was a great athlete in softball at the time in our 20s. He would not dance with me and I grew up dancing and singing all the time. It hurt. He finally decided to work on it while I'm pregnant with our first child. But I still dream of the Tango. 'Berta
Cowboy swing! That is new to me. We each have our own strange relationships to our bodies. I love dancing, yet have difficulty doing it as freely as I would like. But thanks to the mirror neurons in my brain, I greatly enjoy watching others dance; it makes me feel I am dancing, too.