So You Think You Can Dance!
Hey Wingers!!
I’m sorry I haven’t been able to post in such a long time. With a tv show, there are a lot of things we’re not allowed to do, and any sort of interactions on the internet are one of them! But now that I’m off the show, I can somewhat resume to a normal daily life.
Just thought I would update you all on what has happened since I last posted! SO - I auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance again (season 7) and after a long and grueling process, I made it to the top 10! (Top 11 this year). I had such an amazing journey on the show and I learned SO much and I am so grateful for everything. I spent 5 weeks on the show, and during that 5 weeks I had the most life changing experience. I know it sounds crazy that something can really drastically change your life in 5 weeks, but this definitely does! With the crazy schedule, how much we learn and the amazing people that you get to work with AND live with, it just completely betters you as a person.
I’ll update everyone later on my specific experience through the whole process but I just wanted to check in first and let everyone know how I am doing. On my 5th week, I suffered an injury the night before show day during a rehearsal of my Bollywood piece on stage. I completely snapped my right Achilles tendon in half, and that has forced me to withdraw from the competition.
I’m just waiting here in LA for my surgery tomorrow morning (Tuesday, July 13th) and hoping that it all goes well so I can start my long journey to recovery!
I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my journey and that I am so grateful for even being here in the first place.
If you’d like to follow me closely I will be keeping my facebook page and my twitter page constantly updated. You can follow me on twitter here:
http://www.twitter.com/alexdwong
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/alexwongdance
Here is the Sonya Tayeh contemporary piece that I danced with Allison Holker:
And here is the Tabitha & Napoleon Hip Hop piece that I danced with Twitch! :
Enjoy!
Godiva Friday!
All of my good friends know that I have a great LOVE for chocolate, specifically Godiva chocolate! While in college, I started what became a weekly ritual called “Godiva Friday”. During my sophomore year, I often found myself overwhelmed with the amount of work I had to accomplish each week. Balancing rehearsals, auditions and homework along with daily academic and technique classes became very challenging. I have a great ability to multi-task, however, I often found that at the end of the week, I wasn’t taking enough time for myself to ‘be’ and ‘enjoy’ being me.
As a student in the Ailey School/Fordham University, BFA program, I bounced back and forth between the two campuses numerous times throughout the day. The Ailey building was where all of the dance classes and rehearsals were held, while the academic classes were held five blocks up the street at Fordham University. Between the two schools are the Shops at Columbus Circle, where I often went to window-shop in between classes. Conveniently, a Godiva chocolate boutique is located within the shopping center. Somehow, I found myself in the chocolate lovers paradise every Friday, at about the same time each week.
Just prior to my final class or rehearsal of the week, I would stop by the store and purchase a few of my favorite truffles, to enjoy on the subway ride home. My classmates quickly began to notice my habit and eventually the term “Godiva Friday” was coined. I used “Godiva Friday” as a little weekly incentive. With the chocolate, I would celebrate getting through the week. It was the one thing that I did for myself, no matter what, every Friday, just to take some time to sit back and reflect on the fact that I have survived another week, was accomplishing my dream of living in New York City and working hard at becoming a strong professional. Despite everything that happened that past week, including something someone may have said that wasn’t very nice, an audition that I didn’t do well at or received a less than favorable grade on a paper, I continued to take the time to distress and come back to reality that everything is going to be ok and that I survived the week. I used this time to reflect on the week’s challenges and accomplishments and recharge for the week to come.
Years later, even-though I’m on tour, I continue to partake in “Godiva Friday” every week. Monday is our day off at Wicked and our Friday is the equivalent to a ‘normal’ person’s (one who has weekends off) Wednesday “Hump-day”. While on tour with Wicked, we perform eight shows a week and Friday is our midweek hump. Come Friday night we will have completed half of our week’s performances. Never the less, some way, some how, I find some Godiva chocolate and I take that time to prepare and motivate myself for the remainder of the weeks performances.
It’s amazing what a simple piece of succulent chocolate can do for our spirits! When was the last time you had a little Godiva in your life? Go get some and celebrate whom you are and all you’ve done this week! You deserve it!
Happy “Godiva Friday”!
Counting My Blessings!
During Sunday’s matinee performance, I celebrated my 200th performance in the 1st National Touring Company of Wicked!
My 200th Anniversary Cake! (Red Velvet...my favorite!)
“What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it - would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have.”
-Ralph Marston
People often wonder why I keep count of how many performances of Wicked I’ve completed. The reason why I count is because performing in Wicked was a dream of mine that I never in a million years actually knew if it was going to come true or what that experience would be like. When I was in college, auditioning for Wicked so many times a year, I constantly prayed that I would have the opportunity to even just perform in the show once and even that would be enough memories to last me a lifetime. So when I go into work, some times having to deal with various challenges and obstacles, I continue to count my blessings and each performance that I’ve been given to perform in the show of my dreams. Doing this helps keep me grounded and thankful for each day, each performance, each person I experience in the land of Oz. I realize that the universe didn’t have to give me this opportunity at all… but it has. I’ve been very blessed to have been able to perform the show many times and have a wide range of memories and challenges that I’ve been able to experience. I am, and shall continue to be, forever greatful for this opportunity to be able to share my passion and this amazing story of Oz with audiences across the country.
So, in true Broadway fashion, I celebrated with a cake! I treated myself to a yummy cake and lit candles after the performance to sit back and bask in having completed 200 performances!
McQueen as the Ribbon Dancer in the Emerald City
24: A Year of New Beginnings
Hi readers! Please forgive me for not posting as frequently has I had promised. I have been very busy out here on the road but am determined to do more blogging!
I’ve recently celebrated my birthday! Two weeks ago I turned 24 years ‘mature’, as I like to say. Birthdays and New Years Eve are two very sentimental days for me, filled with lots of reflection, prayer of thanksgiving for life and all of its obstacles, moments to rejoice and blessings while also praying with thanksgiving for the future. I had the wonderful opportunity of being able to celebrate my “Year of New Beginnings” (as I’ve been calling this year as a 24 year old) with close friends in New York City in-between tour stops. Thinking about all of the wonderful and also challenging obstacles I’ve had to overcome in the past year, I can’t help but think of where I was just one year prior. On my 23rd Birthday I was still having issues overcoming an ankle injury I had sustained earlier that year, was unemployed and broke. Emotionally, I was in a rough place, especially because on that very day, only one year prior (my 22nd Birthday), I had just graduated from college and was headed to start my professional life, performing in Susan Stroman’s Contact with North Shore Musical Theater in MA. At the time, it was hard to reflect on how different the two Birthdays had been experienced.
McQueen as a child
Within my first year out of college I had basically jumped from job to job, back to back. I was truly living the life as what we call in theater, a Gypsy! I performed in Contact, took a mini vacation at home in California and went straight into working with a ballet company in Texas as a guest artist. While finishing up my job in Texas, I found out I was offered another job traveling to Germany dancing for Panasonic Electronics, which started literally weeks after the Texas gig. Then, while in rehearsals for the job I was just about to do in Germany, the day before I departed for Germany, I received a phone call informing me that I had been hired to dance on tour with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Rehearsals began literally weeks after I returned from Germany. It doesn’t end there! Once I was back from the Christmas season on tour, I went to one audition and booked it! In about a month of my returning from being on tour I was back out on the road again performing in a regional production of Disney’s High School Musical. Looking at it on paper, I worked consistently for 10 months with very few breaks. I was thrilled that my hard work and perseverance was paying off but I knew it wouldn’t last always. In any event, I proceeded to “hustle” my way through auditions (as I like to call it) while on short breaks or just before leaving to start the jobs. I was looking everywhere for potential opportunities for work and build my career not only as a performer but also as a choreographer and keep myself busy. I must say, I auditioned like no other to get my face out there, going to as many auditions I could a week, but in the end, I truly felt like things were all falling into place. In a sense, the hard work and lack of rest was paying off. I was “on a roll” so to speak and the more I rolled…the more I kept trying to keep that ball rolling and the harder I pushed and worked, often not getting enough sleep at night.
On my 23rd Birthday I had not been onstage in what felt like forever (which was actually only a couple months) and was itching for something to do. I was having the hardest time getting a job. I would go into tons of auditions and come out feeling great, but none of them resorted in a job offer. I had fully been a part of what I like to call the “Roller Coaster Complex”. This is where you have stints of just doing really well, getting job offers after job offers in a row and always being busy, and then all of the sudden are left anxiously wondering what’s going to happen next and having difficulty even getting a callback. You know that feeling when your stomach drops from beneath you as you are coming down from a roller coaster really fast? The one where you’re left feeling uneasy, apprehensive, scared and vulnerable as if the ride is going to break? This Roller Coaster Complex, which hit me hard on my birthday last year and left me with much anxiety as I felt I was coming down the hill really fast. I knew in my heart that I just needed to remain faithful and focused that my situation wouldn’t be like the way it was, forever. I was off to a bumpy start of my 23rd year of life but I knew that I had to just continue keeping myself disciplined and continue “hustling” at auditions and the right opportunities that were meant for me would at some point appear. For the first three months of my year as a 23 year-old, I had a lot of time to really think and reflect on life and what it meant to me and what I hoped to obtain out of it. Through this unemployment slump, I was able to really reflect on my mission in life and focused a lot of my attention on volunteer work and giving back. In my heart, as much as I didn’t want to accept it at the time, I knew this was a time in my life that I knew I needed to have to a one-on-one conversation with myself about my life and my goals. Not to mention, I really needed the rest and time to rejuvenate my spirit. Through this period of reflection, I was able to discover whom Jeremy McQueen is and how he wants to leave his mark on the world.
McQueen (second from right) as a Flying Monkey in Wicked!
Fast forward to the preset day, only a year later, I cannot believe how much my life has changed. I have had so many wonderful blessings in such a short period of time! I finally got my “Equity” card touring with the 1st National Tour of The Color Purple, performed onstage at Radio City Music Hall, continued to make progress as a choreographer and now I am employed (On my Birthday!), performing in another Broadway national tour in a show that I’ve longed to do for so long, I am forever grateful for all of the challenges and moments of reflection I have had and will continue to have at points in my life. I truly believe that those moments help not only enhance your character but also prepare you for the challenges and blessings that lie ahead.
As I look forward to embracing whatever the universe has in store for me this “Year of New Beginnings” I have promised myself to be more faithful. I’ve devoted myself to really embracing my favorite quote that “Everything happens for a reason”. Even though we may not know how things will transform in our lives, I’ve dedicated myself to be more relaxed this year knowing that what is meant to be for me will be for me, when the timing is right. Until then, I will continue to be diligent in honing my craft and enjoying every little bump, fall, twist, curve, dip and climb that the roller coaster of life has to offer.
More PT
Finally addressing some lingering hip issues with some physical therapy.
I’m about 3/4 through my treatment - right about the time when you’re
not entirely sure if you’re getting worse or better. At least things
are moving!
Otis Houston Jr Has A Posse
Otis Houston Jr aka Black Cherokee has a posse and we are assembling. People are in play, talking to each other and working together. Case in point, member Chelsea Spengemann is curating FLOAT, the biennial series of performance and temporary sculpture at Socrates Sculpture Park, August 29 – 30, in Long Island City. For this show, Otis is crossing the river to install sculpture and manifest his concentrated human presence.
This social assembly requires consideration by promoters of online dance communications. It is another great example of how networking technologies can connect artists, viewers, producers and critics. The use of mobile video blogging (iphone 3gs) is new however there is something novel going on here beyond a mere technological advance, that is the treatment of the artist as the subject itself. Through the collective presentation and documentation of Otis’ life and work we build a group narrative around what we see in the artist, not only what he does but who he is.
The talk on Great Dance and DTW misses something else too. The grand narrative that surrounds the production and performance of “great dance” should not one of marketing or branding. Using the language of business is not the best way to conceive and develop relationships between artist and audience. A broader, more effective, grand narrative is that of social interactions rather than financial interactions.
The language of business is limited because it cannot properly conceive of itself. Otis’ support will never come from a bank or a tobacco company because he is their critic . Otis’ support comes from the people and the power they manifest developing social credit outside the logic of the marketplace.
Otis Houston Jr has a posse and we are assembling a story together.
Ballet Austin - Michelle Surgery Diary Entry #5
After not seeing Michelle for a couple of weeks, I was floored when I saw how much progress she had made! I repeatedly wanted to ask her if she should be doing [fill in the blank]. But as I kept watching, she didn’t seem to be in any pain, or to be compensating in any way, so I thought “dance away!”
Here’s Michelle’s next Diary Entry!
Michelle with Shannon, one of our fabulous PTs
Michelle doing one of her exercises
Michelle doing one of her exercises that we are all probably quite familiar with
Michelle hard at work doing yet another of her strengthening exercises
“It has been too long since my last update. It is Monday June 15th, which means I am exactly 2 months from my surgery date. The recovery is going extremely well. I am still dealing with swelling, scar tissue, and am working to gain full flexibility and strength. To give you an idea about the strength I have gained I will give you an example. The day I got my hard cast off I could only pointe 2 pounds (my PT’s have this super cool device that you push on in any direction (pointe, flex, sickle, wing) and it will measure your strength). I think the last time they measured me I pointed 68 pounds. Pretty cool I think.
Anyways, I have been taking ballet class and I am doing almost all the jumps in class. I am still taking a lot of care for big jumps. Any jump landing on one leg is also an area where I want to make sure I am not overdoing it. I have been taking barre on pointe for the last 2 weeks and that has been going well. The first couple times on pointe it was very difficult to get over my box, but every day I gained more flexibility and more strength. Last week I started to do a few combinations in the center, and not too many turns right away. By Thursday of last week I did more turns and then needed to take it a little easier on Friday. There is a fine balance between needing to push it, but also wanting to make sure I am not causing too much swelling.
I have been doing physical therapy 3 times a week and of course doing the exercises on my own as well. Ice is still my best friend right now. I have started doing contrast baths before ballet class in the morning. Ice bath, hot bath 3 times. I am told this is another technique used to help reduce swelling. If I know that I am going to class or do something else physical, I will finish with heat, but if I am just going to be hanging out at home doing homework, I will finish with ice. In physical therapy we have been doing calf raises off a step with added weight (single and double leg), bosu ball, half foam roller stability exercises, ruber wobbly things, trampoline, wobble board, quick fire jumps and relves, tons of theara band exercises, manual stretching, pool jumping, and a lot more scar tissue massage. The one thing the doctor recommended more of when I saw him 2 weeks ago was working out that scar tissue. It is not fun, but it needs to be worked out.
It is nice to feel more like yourself again. I get excited every day, because I know that I will dance again. I think the day I got my hard cast off was the hardest day. That was the one day where I doubted my own ability and getting better seemed impossible. Don’t doubt yourself or give up, because those days will pass and you will get stronger. If you go through something like this don’t let those hard days bring you down. I’d say a positive attitude can improve anyone’s recovery exponentially.
XOXO,
Michelle”
AIDS Walk - San Francisco
Please click the link at the bottom of this e-mail and sponsor me for AIDS Walk San Francisco!
For 22 years, AIDS Walk San Francisco has evoked a powerful outpouring of public support. This year, please join me in making a meaningful difference in the lives of people struggling with HIV and AIDS.
In this year when clients need so much and resources are tighter, I am asking you to reach deeply into your heart and consider making a gift to help cover for those who are unable to give this year. I am set on surpassing my goal this year—Please sponsor me today by clicking the link below to visit my AIDS Walk fundraising Web page! The website is secure and all donations are 100% tax deductible.
If you prefer to write a check donation, please make it out to “AIDS Walk San Francisco” and mail it the address below—including my name along with the check. Be sure to let me know that you have made the donation so I can properly thank you for your support! Mailing address: AIDS Walk San Francisco, P.O. Box 193920, San Francisco, CA 94119-3920
The fight against AIDS is not over! Did you know…
• Every 9 ½ minutes, someone in the U.S. is infected with HIV?
• Nationally, 1 out of every 5 people infected with HIV don’t know it?
• There are over 25,000 people currently living with HIV in San Francisco?
The San Francisco AIDS Foundation has set new, bold and aggressive goals to improve HIV prevention in the Bay Area and help the rest of the country—and the world—learn from their example. The Foundation’s comprehensive array of services, advocacy and outreach ensure that individuals get tested, know how to prevent infection, and that HIV-positive people receive the treatment they need.
The AIDS Walk is our community’s single most powerful and enduring response to the AIDS epidemic. Thank you in advance for being as generous as you can and for joining me in this important cause!
Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support AIDS Walk San Francisco
The Black Cherokee Project
Its been a while since I have written. Have been working on projects underground and coming to appreciate the value of a secret. Here is one I am ready to reveal.
Many of you may already know about my interaction with famed unknown nyc performance artist Otis Houston Jr aka Black Cherokee. A record of our correspondence through the winger is archived here. Last I wrote Otis was posting advertising for the winger uptown and I was trying to figure out a way to archive his work. Soon I realized that the Black Cherokee project was not something Otis or I could not do alone. We need help from the people. So this weekend Otis and I setup a social network for this purpose. Everything is there: poetry, short writings, papers, music, photographs, video, documentation from magazines and newspapers, Otis and also you!
All the responses I got from these little blog posts indicated that Otis’ work is meaningful to many people and fills their hearts with joy. Also because of the space-time vortex Otis inhabits viewers can only see the work for a few seconds as they pass on their commute, maybe enough time to wave and snap a picture. In order to fill out the whole story, in order to see the entire performance, the people (as Otis calls us), have to communicate with each other.
Ballet Austin - Michelle Surgery Diary Entry #4
Here is Michelle’s next Diary Entry!
Pre Doctor Appointment
Post Appointment! Looking Good Michelle!!!
“I am walking with two of the same shoes on. Yippee!! Just yesterday (May 7th), I got the okay to slowly work away from the walking boot. It is in the car, but I haven’t put it on since that appointment. Walking is feeling stronger and smother. It is important to work through the foot as you walk. At first I was afraid and I was shuffling or dragging my foot. Working through the demi-pointe is good. It is nice to have the boot off too, because it was making my hips and back very unbalanced. I looked a little bit gangster when I had it, which definitely gave me some street cred.
PT leading up to that appointment consisted of a plethora of fun exercises. Moving a towel from side to side with my toes (working inversion and eversion). Picking up marbles one by one and putting them in a tiny hole. Bicycle and Elliptical. Rising and lowering off a step taking 20 seconds for each direction. Lots of theara band. Standing on a super wobbly, rubber thing (don’t know the technical name) and playing catch with a friend (on one leg, turned in and turned out). Shin burners (basically tap your toes really fast while sitting in a chair, and your shins will start to burn. It feels good!) Light stretching of the arch and lots of calf stretching. Plus much more.
The doctor gave me the okay to start taking class (too bad I already did the day before). He wasn’t upset. He just reminded me to take it easy and continue to be smart and listen to my body. So, I have only done the first few combinations at barre and I will just try to progress over the next couple of weeks. The hardest part for me is releve, because there is still swelling and scar tissue at the back of my ankle. It feels chunky as I try to rise up. That will just take time. Also, pointing the foot all the way and drawing my toes back as I close fifth. That will take a little bit more mobility work and strength work.
Today (May 8th) I began working in the pool at PT. We did a lot of walking, side stepping, tippy toe walks, heel walks, releve, leg lifts, using weights as I walked, pase in and out, squats, bicycles, and much more. Next time we will probably add some flippers into the mix as well as a little bit of jumping or at least more releve. Chris and Shannon are in communication with Dr. Dehne and they are watching my every move to make sure I don’t do too much or do anything improperly. They are very encouraging and extremely pleased with my progress. The incisions are healing nicely, and Dr. Dehne trimmed the long pieces of the stitches that were hanging out at his office. The stitches inside will dissolve eventually.
I am feeling good about my progress and I am excited to continue on my journey. I am very appreciative of all the friends and family sending me love and support. The time not dancing has opened my eyes to many things I want to work on not just in my dancing, but in my life. I hope this can be a fresh start and be the beginning of discovery and growth. ”
