Huntsville, TX

mdw has arrived safe and sound in Huntsville, TX for her five week guest residency at Sam Houston State University. I will be teaching technique and creating a new piece of choreography on the students. The drive was uneventful (Except for the truly "Motel 6" experience stating at Motel 6 in Texarkana, TX) and I arrived to a hot Texas afternoon. The apartment, arranged as part of the residency by the university, is beautiful! If feels a bit like being at a retreat in this stylish apartment "on the square" (meaning the hip block of Hunstville - lots of antique shops, consignment stores, cafes, salons - very Texas chic).

The prison - yes THE prison where Texas executed convicted persons - is about four blocks north of the apartment, and you can hear the changing of the guard horn throughout the day. I guess Texas has the highest number of executions in the country- doesn't seem to really be an effective deterrent, says I.

Four blocks to the southeast is a lovely historical park that houses Sam Houston's old plantation home. I've walked through it twice now on the way to campus and am enjoying the history of the place. The residency so far has entailed placement classes. Auditions will be held tomorrow, so things will really get going on Thursday. I've been able to reconnect with some colleagues and am enjoying being a guest artists very much.

I miss my boys and Samantha terribly, and we are connecting throughout the day through phone calls and videos. mtw explained to eaw how email works so that eaw can tell papa what he wants to say to mama, and then papa will type it and send it. So far I have received the following email from eaw: "Blue" - sheer poetry.

Grandma and Grandpa Ballis Visit!

Hooray - a visit from the NJ side of the family. We had so much fun being with Grandma and Grandpa Ballis. They arrived on Friday morning and we met for a fun lunch near OSU's campus at "Eddie George's" where our own eddy ordered and consumed (in large quantity) edamame. The weekend brought many outings and adventures, including some work around the house (thanks pops!); a trip to the zoo (where we ran into our friends/neighbors); a tour of German Village with stops at Schiller Park and the famous Thurman's (where we waited for 90 minutes for an okay burger - oh well). I guess sometimes the wait is the famous part.

eaw particularly enjoyed the atmosphere of the burger joint, singing and dancing and entertaining patrons to his heart's content. Maybe next time, they'll seat us sooner if we drop his name.

On Sunday evening, we hosted a bbq for neighbors - thanks for all your hard work and delicious cooking Mom! It was fun, although very very very very very very hot. We almost melted Grandma Ballis. The evening ended with an impromptu concert with Terrence (on accordion) and mtw (on trumpet: and mdw, eaw, and Colby dancing with glee. A fine summer fete indeed.

Painting Tape

Having finished painting (for now), we are hanging pictures and decorating. Hands down, eaw wins the award for most creative use of blue paint tape. Judge for yourself:

I did this!

mdw has entered acceptance and is investing in making a home here. As ghd2 often cheers, "bloom where you are planted." mdw gave some sweat equity this week, (FINALLY) painting the front room (with a bold dark brown accent wall-now we just need to hang pics!) and bringing her playful vision for eaw's room to life. Here is a photo of the blue sky and clouds that she painted on part of his ceiling. There will be a quote by Said Aql (translated from Lebanese) stenciled on the ceiling just adjacent to the sky that reads: "Once ... I heard a bird, an absorbed, ecstatic bird, eloquently telling its child: 'Fly away, soar high: a few bread crumbs will suffice you, but the sky you need ... the whole sky.'

Milestones and passages

August 2nd - Happy Birthday Jason: father-to-be and eldest Wall sib! We are glad you were born!

August 3rd - Happy Birthday Ama! We love you very much and hope this year brings you abundance of joy!

August 5th - Rest in peace Alvin Kelly Wall. Thank you for the legacy of your children.

Ohio State Fair, baby!

eaw on the fairgrounds with the Ohio state bird, the cardinal

We secured our discount tickets and headed to the fairgrounds at 8:30am, a full 30 minutes prior to the gates opening. Turns out , this is the best time to head to the fair. We parked mere yards from the entrance, and missed the crowds entirely – enjoying the attractions, rides, exhibits, animals and food kiosks almost all to ourselves. It was a gorgeous morning – clear skies, mid-70’s, with light breezes. We literally ran into our friends (who we had hoped to meet up with at some point) at the first exhibit, and traveled through the agriculture, horticulture, cattle, natural resources, and dairy exhibits with much interest and interaction. eaw and his friend Nate planted flowers, rode tractors, milked a pretend cow, danced with a talking chicken, fed many goats, measured the age of trees, rode a pony, enjoyed milkshakes and cheese sandwiches, saw a 3 day old calf, and of course, rode the rides! Unfortunately, our lil’ man is not yet tall enough to ride most of the rides, but we found a few he could do by himself and some he could do with mama and papa, and even one he could do with Nate – definitely a highlight. mdw showed her true colors, trying to talk eaw out of a ride he was very interested in by saying “this ride only goes around in a circle on a flat track.” mtw stepped in and reminded mdw that eaw is the child – and we are the parents and that maybe we should support him in his interests – boring amusement park rides and all☺!

Goose Route, Take 2

mdw and eaw set out on Wednesday, July 22 with choreographer extraordinaire Ashley Thorndike for a road trip to perform Ashley’s work (in collaboration with composer Peter Swendsen) at the Goose Route Arts Collaborative in Shepherdstown, WV. Faithful readers will recall that mdw took her choreography and dancers to this festival in July 2007, and had a fabulous time. True to form, this visit to the Goose Route was very satisfying – it’s a delightful festival. eaw was a trooper and mdw was thrilled to have the opportunity to see what “touring” would be like with him in tow. Of course, mdw had the help of some amazing women (the cast just happens to include three 30-something baby-hungry single gals so it might not be completely representative of a typical touring experience). Still, we drove from Columbus, OH to West Virginia to Pennsylvania to West Virginia to Maryland (to pick up one of the dancers at BWI) to West Virginia. Yes that’s right, we drove to West Virginia three times to get there as our final destination. eaw was a rockstar in the car and loved our hostess’s beautiful home deep in the woods of WV – almost heaven, indeed. mdw loved reconnecting with Kate, one of her dancers in Philadelphia. mdw and eaw enjoyed a change of pace, hanging out in the dressing room, walking along the Potomac river, and hanging out (literally) in Siri’s (our hostess) indoor hammock. The end of the tour brought the most delightful treat in that mtw and Samantha beat us home, returning from their gig at ADF. It was a sweet reunion all around. mdw enjoyed the change of pace from teaching at BalletMet and returns for a week of rehearsals and setting a repertory piece on the pre-professional dancers. Glad to have the better half home!