phases...

this afternoon jt and i had linner at an indian restaurant in our hood. they were playing some pretty rad tunes... i turned to jt and asked him did i ever tell you about my indian phase? he just stared at me. but, not in that christ, layla. what the hell are you talking about kind of way. more in a uh huh? i've been waiting for you to spill the beans about this and i'm not the least bit surprised, not one eentsy bit kind of way. how i adore this guy...

so, towards the end of undergrad, i was studying kathak and bharata natyam (both classical forms of indian dance). i listened to mostly indian music... anoushka shankar, nitin sawhney and lots of bol chanting. i saw performances by shobana jeyasingh and swooned over akram khan... i read a fine balance by rohinton mistry (disregard the oprah sticker... it's not to be missed) and even made a dance about that piece of literature. i talked for hours to grandpa jim about india and his experiences there during the war. i dated an indian fellow. you get the point, yes?

but no, i never went to india. blast.

i've had other phases... in grad school it was mexico. lots of dances about los angeles, angeleno/mexican culture, catholic saints, mariachi music... i realize that these phases may sound ridiculous/awful depending on your point of view. trust, it was my way of honoring and learning about the cultures... promise. all good intentions.

hey y'all? i feel another phase coming on. españa! i think maybe i'm supposed to go to live in spain. like, soon. i found this guy... he takes amazing photos and i cannot stop staring drooling at the flamenco dancers. spain. let's start saving right now, ok? until then, we'll take flamenco dance classes and maybe even a course in spanish. (i know, how come i din't learn spanish during my mexico phase... i was choreographing and writing my thesis at the time. plate. was. full.)

so. look at these: (i don't own these photos... and if you are journey photographic (i give you mad props) and you want me to take these down, i will... but pretty please don't ask me to, because i'm staring drooling...)

i've already looked at flamenco shoes online. it's. happening. now. oh i can't wait to make my feet move like that! and the skirts?! can you stand it?!

xo. i love you.