It happened. It really happened.
And not just once.
Four times. Four!
If it was possible to evaporate into the air, I would have done it right then. Unfortunately, I am human not an X-man (woman) nor a scientist from the year 2066, at which time I am sure humans and animals will be teleporting and tele-flying and tele-everything. Therefore, I sat in front of my boyfriend, facing my shame, while he laughed his bearded face off.
“You farted,” he accused. “You’re a farty girl.”
“No, I’m not!” I cried.
“Don’t deny it, you farted.”
“I’m not denying it. I’m just saying–”
Then he grabbed my ankles and lifted my legs in the air, high above my head and sniffed my behind. That happened. That really happened.
“You farted, ma belle. It’s confirmed.”
By then I was dying more of laughter than of shame. Eventually it became a big joke.
“Ma peteuse,” The Rock lovingly nicknamed me. It’s only been two days since this last incident but my first transgression was approximately four months ago. I was opening the fridge door, which requires some exertion as it is quite heavy, and a slip of gas escaped. A tiny little wisp. Mortification immediately ensued but The Rock just laughed. And laughed and laughed and laughed some more. He later told me it was cute. I told him he must really be in love to think my fart is cute.
We have been in Manic 5 for nearly two weeks now while The Rock completes his last shift as a paramedic. Then it’s The Firman Academy for him. Me, I’m on vacation. Sleeping in every morning, working out at the gym, biking to the lookout at the edge of a cliff, making love in the afternoons, reading and writing to my heart’s delight, cooking delicious meals together…if that’s not vacation, what is? The only downside is that every few days, someone calls 9-1-1 which happens to be The Rock’s work number. Not that I mind seeing him dress in uniform and respond to the emergency. He talks into the radio and zooms off in the ambulance. It’s thrilling.
This vacation is exactly what I needed after these last couple of months. I went on tour with Publiqué (the dance company The Rock worked for up until his retirement this month), I did the Transformation stage, then Springboard, and then two weeks of shows with Breez.
After Springboard, I took class with XYZ Danse every day. The director saw me in ballet class at Springboard and invited me to take ballet with his company. Benoit had also been invited so the two of us showed up every morning for two weeks. The two of us joked and stretched and rolled around to warm up before class. At the barre, we each lost approximately 2 litres of fluids due to the heat and our hard work. When it came time to do pirouettes in the centre, we both freaked out liked non-thoroughbreds before a pony show. But we danced well and had fun. And that’s what counts.
Some days we stayed to watch XYZ rehearse their newest piece. The guest choreographer, Thunder from Israel, had seen me in the Springboard show and invited me personally to watch the rehearsals.
Wow. What a piece! I was in love. I needed to dance this style. I needed to work with Thunder!
Thunder recommended me to a dance company in LA that performs his repertory so we’ll see what happens.
Benoit was inspired too. It was all we could do not to drool all over the dance floor. Our excitement about dance was evident during our performances over the next two weeks. Breez had been offered three evenings of shows in Galerie IQ’s art festival “Rope+Thread=ism” at the St-Brigid de Kildare Church. The seven dancers and Breez had worked evenings and some weekends to remount the show and all our hard work paid off. The live opera singer’s voice sounded heavenly in the church acoustics and we danced our tight little bottoms off for our friends, colleagues, and other members of the arts community who comprised the audience.
There were some speed bumps along the way:
- The church stage was a cement block, which is very hard on the joints, especially when you are spinning on your knees and jumping to The Cumbia.
- The heat was so intense that we left puddles on our rented marly floor.
- The circus act that performed before us was juggling clay. Thankfully they cleaned up before it was our turn. Otherwise there would have been many muddy face plants.
Other than that, the shows went as smoothly as a newly oiled sports car. After the second evening, I was approached by the director of my favourite Toronto dance company.
“What are you doing these days, besides this show of course,” he asked after introducing himself.
I gave him a quick run down of my upcoming projects and asked, “why?”
“I would love to work with you.”
Gasp. This has never happened to me before.
“Your solo at the end was beautiful. So musical. I think my partner would really like working with you too. You would fit in well with our style.”
Oh my god…..
I promised to send him my availabilities for the year and skipped out of the church like a kid with an ice cream cone.
“What are you so excited about?” The Rock wanted to know.
“My favourite company in Toronto might hire me for a project!”
I couldn’t control my excitement so I jumped all over him. Being as strong as he is, The Rock was able to catch me mid-jump. He pulled me to his chest and wrapped my legs around his waist. In that position, I told The Rock about the conversation.
“I am very happy for you, ma belle. Very very happy.”
Things are looking good. It’s been a busy summer of dance and Breez has another project coming up in September: a Mexican Cabaret! Maybe I’ll get to dance in Toronto and LA this year, or maybe not. Either way, it makes me dream.
Right now, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. With The Rock by my side, I know I’ll always have a smile on my face, laughter in the air and love in my heart. That’s a foundation upon which I can build any dream. In fact, it’s already happening.
List of #’s:
Days left in Manic 5: 2
Times I have laughed today: enough that I have cramps in my cheeks
Projects and dreams I am building with The Rock: 1 big one and a few smaller ones
Days until The Rock starts school: 11
Days until I start school again: over 30
Times I have passed gas in front of my boyfriend: #4 was hopefully the last.
Dance Diary 