Last Night a DJ Saved My Life

Yesterday was the kick off for the B Girl Be visual exhibit. We had a Cut-a-thon with Moxie Hair Salon from noon to midnight, featuring artwork on the walls, vocal performances, breakers, and Dj Jennifer & Dj Aaron Money.

Jamela started off the performances around 12:30pm. This woman can sing! She doesn't need a microphone & she sure don't need a stage. She is the kind of singer that makes you stop what you're doing and sit down to listen - which is exactly what happened. There was no hair clippin' going on while she was performing. Beautiful.

Then there was me. I went on around 1:30pm. I did 3 poems and was asked to do another. I got a great applause that was unexpected and it felt really good to perform in that environment. The stylists turned their chairs around so that their clients could watch and listen while they got their hair cut.
Nice.

Then came Miss Sarah White. I was really glad she was able to make it down. She has a new 5 month old baby so it's not always so easy to get out and do things. She was a little nervous when she came in. I think it was a combination of the fact that she hadn't performed in some time and that this wasn't the typical performance venue. Bright lights and no where to hide. She held her new life, Isa while she explained her first piece. Emotions were running high and she could finish it due to a ruch of tears. She was embarrassed - but it was absolutely marvelous. Just what people need to see and hear...a real, live person expressing themselves while holding up a new life. You just don't see that often enough.
Lovely.

Sarah decided to do another piece that wasn't so emotional. She got through it and it was just as powerful as the last. Afterwards she admitted that the tears threw her off but I let her know that it's all just the way it is supposed to be. It needed to happen.

At 6pm the DJ's showed up and got the music going. There were 3 lovely B Girls in the house who threw down right there in the middle of the salon. There we young and old in the crowd and many people who just came to watch the performance. I wanted to get down myself but I would have made a fool of myself trying to do the robot or something stupid like that. 3 Little girls gathered autographs after the performance and we caught it all on tape.
Movement.

I headed down to Intermedia around 7pm to see how many people came for the exhibit opening. I walked in to a crowd of people mingling, laughing, talking and weaving their way through the visual expressions on the walls. Within an hour the place was full. I did an impromtu performance with B Girl Seoul and one of the Lovelies from the Purple House project. People gathered around to watch - it was fun but of course, even though it was my idea I felt a little strange about the whole thing. They caught it all on tape (once again) so now I can painfully sit and watch it to see how uncomfortable I really looked.
Lessons.

I ran home to chage clothes around 9pm - next stop: La Bodega for the PAR-TAY! I entered a packed house around 10pm with Leah Nelson at my side. Miranda Jane was taking money at the door and regulatin' all the peeps who were tryin' to trip about the cover. $8 going towards the B Girl Be summit. I guess not everybody knows what's REALLY goin' on.

There were performances by myself - I hadn't planned on performing but we had some last minute cancellations so I decided to fill up some time. Then we had Jessica Lopez Lyman, Sarah White, Maria Isa & Many Styles, Lady Tobalyas & friends, and DJ Lady Luca spinning the hot old school joints. DJ Stage One also came down to help the ladies out (my favorite TC DJ)! In the background on a flat screen TV Rachel Raimist's video complition of women in hip hop played throughout the show. We couldn't have had a better day!
Exhausted.