2024 Dance.Classes and.More . Looking.Back is OK
A LIST . with LINKS . My Year of Creativity in Review . Teachers.Classes.and.Studios. WOW! I took classes from more than 40 Dance Teachers this year! & other great things . some.good some.not.so.great
Thanks for taking a peek. Scroll down for the list list of dance classes, teachers, and studios - with links! Audio option Scroll all the way down to listen
SCROLL DOWN for THE LIST of dance classes, teachers, and studios - with links! for the AUDIO OPTION scroll all the way down to listen
A NOTE: I have not had a chance to proof read . pardon crazy grammar, wild punctuation, and my typical misspellings . I appreciate your understanding
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What a treat!
Though 2024 was quite a SH!TSHOW for me in so many ways, I am thrilled to look back and see that there was so much good!!! Even when I wished the rock I had crawled under would crush me (there were many times), I still managed to keep crawling out . often stumbling and tumbling . yet always continuing . in forward motion . towards the things that have helped to keep my light shining . . .
The Things: Voiceover, Narration, Acting, Writing, Performing, Publishing . . . and even creating and completing TEN EPISODES of my Podcast: You Buy The Shoes I Kick You With Them via my ALL THE CHAPTERS NO ONE SEES Substack account - all on my own!
. . . And of course, DANCING!
Dance has always been a part of me. Whether happy or sad. Sick or healthy. Alone or with cats, or in studio with others. Dancing breathes life into all the spaces within me that need healing. The music rustles the curtains . closes the blinds to what hurts my heart and eyes and mind and spirit . allowing moments for rest
Physical motion has managed to tuck my flashbacks and fears back into bed . allowing my mind to rest . resest . defragment . each plié each tendu and each time I cover space in speedy chaînés it’s like placing a nurturing hand upon what aches or startles . calming . quieting . clearing the cobwebs with each count of eight . so I can see the light ahead . . .
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At the start of this year I was looking forward to dipping my toes back into the dance world - I had every intention to start auditioning. I had already started auditioning for theater and voiceover work. I booked a few theater performances, staged readings, VO narration, and was beginning to feel confident enough to take a stab at some commercial auditions as a proud dancer over 50 . but then, something not so welcome came my way. . .
We were finally going to be going to trial.
In January I was notified that I would be called upon to prepare to give my witness testimony in the following months - on May 31st, 2021, I had witnessed the murder of my neighbor, in front of our homes. That murderer killed parts of me when he killed my neighbor.
Come February of this year, I would be required to speak to investigators, prosecutors, lawyers, etc., and repeatedly give my witness testimony in the murder trial of the the dude that killed me nighbor in fornt of our home on May 31st, 2021 and then having to deal with unexpected residual court appearances in relation to the sentences - UGH! all this while trying to tend to my grief from my brother's death on December 2nd, 2022 and all the “first” without him.
I finally gave my last testimony in September of this year.
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I am happy to still be here . I have always prided myself in being a happy, vibrant person - that is my nature - yet those beautiful parts of me were damaged and needed time for healing .
My self-imposed absence from social situations - allowed me to begin healing, yet it has lent to my social atrophy. I do not resent my time away or my slow and lumbering emergence from dormancy. Often, a structure requires breaking down before properly rebuilding. The mind and the body are quite similar . many will agree they are one in the same
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Since May 31, 2021, I had not been comfortable being around - much less socializing with - people - especially people who used to know me. Due to flashbacks from witnessing the murder, and dealing with my brother’s death, my ability to socialize has not been the same. It was challenging to carry on a with basic chit chat, much less a coherent conversation.
My brain, and soul, scrambled. I often couldn’t focus - I became even more easily distracted than was my typical nature. Certain sounds, gestures, and voice patterns freaked me out. I always had the urge to escape. Trying to maintain composure or any semblance of normalcy was beyond-exhausting.
Though I craved human connection, navigating social situations left me frayed.
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I needed to approach my mind as I used to approach any well-planned physical rehabilitation program - like the ones I used to create for my cherished personal training and yoga therapy clients.
I needed to welcome and embrace myself as if I were one of my most cherished clients.
So I did.
I knew I would require a clear periodization program and options when faced with unexpected challenges. Rest and recovery practices were of the utmost priority when mapping out a plan. Resting the mind took priority. Without a rested mind, I knew I would not be able to listen my body when it came to dancing - because when I dance, I am afforded a powerful analgesic that masks any threat of pushing things to far.
I had to tread lightly.
As I often say, “Movement is medicine - prescribe wisely…”
I had to be careful stick to the rest days no matter what. And I knew I had to approach my physical and mental recovery with compassion, kindness, respect, and most of all, patience.
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Since the murder, my body maintained a 24/7 Imminent Danger Alert System. It was running my nervous system ragged.
Without movement it was hard to regulate my fight, flight, freeze resp
Some people, with whom I had confided about my social awkwardness and anxiety, didn’t understand. They assumed I had been “being social” and “should be used to being in crowds” since “I’ve seen your dance posts! I’ve seen you in classes with over 80 people!” and “You need to just get over it - if you don’t want to go out just say so…”
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I don’t blame people for being what some would call “insensitive.” How would they know what my reality is/was. For them to know would be for them to have experienced what I had - something horrible - not cool - wouldn’t want to wish my understanding on them. I’ve reserved that for my therapist.
I knew I had to unload any social expectations. To go back to basics. And to not feel “less than” for going back to the shallow end. the kiddie pool
I made the decision to “socialize” where there was little emotional or professional investment. Nothing at stake. I needed to get used to physically being around people, especially strangers, in stillness - seated - not easy.
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It was back to the social-kiddie-pool for me . back to basics
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I was able to embrace this back-to-basics idea when I remembered a great lesson I learned way back in the day when I was a commercial dancer in my late 20s. I had returned to LA during my “off season” from doing a show for 6 months.
I hadn’t been to a dance class in six months - SIX MONTHS! And not only did I feel it, it showed! and I was sure everyone else was noticing!
I couldn’t pick up choreography. I couldn’t’ even remember the warm ups to the classes I had taken for years! some of them I used to take three times a week! Some classes I even used to assist!
My turns across the floor were a hoot since I kept getting distracted by the mirrors and trying to figure out where to spot (for the non-dancers, it’s where you focus when you are turning/twirling/spinning). No one had ever told me that after months of warming up, rehearsing and performing on a stage where you pretty much can’t see anything “normal” to spot, coming back to the “real world” and being back in a dance studio would take some “adjusting.”
Back to the lesson . . . I confided my embarrassment, my isecurity, and my fear that if my show ever ended I’d never be able to book another job again “‘cuz, now I suck!” to my mentor, Claude Thompson.
I can hear his soft laugh now as I type this.
I was driving him back “over the hill” to his apartment in Hollywood from Hamas Dance Center in Studio City.
Obviously paraphrasing the following since it’s been over 25 years.
He said, “Honey, what do you expect. You haven’t been to class. When you’re doing a show you do the same thing every day at least twice a day and your body just gets used to it. All working dancers go through this. But now, you know not to judge anyone in class. That sloppy gal who can’t remember my warm up is paying her rent, right? You’ve been paying your rent?” he was laughing.
Yep, I was the sloppy gal forgetting the warm up and totally f**king up across the floor and the combo a billion times. Thankfully I was not assisting him at the time. But still I was mortified the entire class.
What he said to me has stuck with me. And every time I came to town during my breaks, and when the show was finally over a few years later, I went through that recalibration period where I had to find my feet again. Not just in the studio. There was a huge social adjustment coming back to LA from Branson, MO. I had gone out there in the mid 90s and arrived back in the year 2000. Major social, cultural, and professional adjustment.
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OK, BACK TO TODAY. NYE 2024-2025 and why I made this list. (scroll down for it), and how and why I took so many dance classes from so many different teachers and studios and how lucky I am to have had the time and financial support to do this - it wasn’t just for my love of dance - it truly kept me alive.
My desire to anonymously navigate the world of creativity became an adventure. I began exploring places, people, and classes outside of my former comfort zones. I wanted to learn, explore, and possibly fail where others had no expectations of, and knew anything, about me.
So, I did!
THE LIST OF DANCE CLASSES
KEY: [+] taken both in-person AND LiveStream .
Lisa Biagini . Theater Jazz . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: lisabiagini212
Billy Griffin . Theater Jazz . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: sillybillygriffin
Chip Abbott . Jazz . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: chipstergram
Al Blackstone* [+] . Theater Jazz . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY and once In-Studio at Playground LA in Los Angeles, CA . Instructor’s IG: alblackstonechoreo
Linda Celeste Sims . Ballet . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: lindacelestesims
Michelle Elkin [+] . Musical Theater . Jazz . via Performing Arts Center LiveStream & In-Studio in Van Nuys, CA . Instructor’s IG: michelleelkin
Dana Wilson [+] . JazzPlus . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: danadaners
Megan Lawson [+] via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: meganguwre
Max Stone . Contemporary . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: maxdstone
Nicole Ohr . Tap . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: coletaps85
Germaine Goodson . Tap . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: germaine.goodson
Christina Carminucci . Tap . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: xtina_nucc
Sara Brians . Theater Jazz . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: brianssarak
Richard Pierlon . Jazz . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: richardpierlon
John Leggio . Jazz . via Steps on Broadway LiveStream from NY . Instructor’s IG: jlchoreo
Kelleia Sheerin at Hamas Dance Center . Studio City, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Billy Goodson at Hollywood Dance Center in Los Angeles, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Risa Arisue at Hamas Dance Center in Studio City, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Michael Rooney Jazz 40 classes at Madilyn Clark Studio in Burbank, CA; Master Classes at Eighty Eight Studios in North Hollywood, CA, and at Tmilly Studio in North Hollywood, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Terri Best . Lyrical . at Hamas Dance Center . Studio City, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Denise Leitner . Lyrical . at Hamas Dance Center . Studio City, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Jasmine Albuquerque . Contemporary . at Angels Gate Cultural Arts Center in San Pedro, CA . Instructor’s IG:
The Seaweed Sisters - Dana Wilson, Jillian Meyers, Megan Lawson . Jazz with the Seaweed Sisters . Dancers for Harris event at West Coast Dance Theater . The Seaweed Sisters IG:
Jamila Glass . Contemporary . at Stomping Ground LA . Instructor’s IG:
Andrew Pearson . Contemporary/Bodies in Play . at Stomping Ground LA and at Center for Yoga . Instructor’s IG:
Bobby Amamizu . Ballet . via Performing Arts Center LiveStream . Instructor’s IG:
David Kim . Ballet . at Premier Dance Arts in Los Alamitos . Instructor’s IG:
Ryan Anthony Jackson . Hip Hop Femme . at Athletic Garage in Pasadena, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Hector Guerrero . Musical Theater . at Premier Dance Arts in Los Alamitos . Instructor’s IG:
Malia Baker at Tmilly Studio in North Hollywood, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Eric Ellis . Jazz . at Hamas Dance Center . Studio City, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Gina Hong . Hip Hop . at Offstage in Anaheim, CA . Instructor’s IG:
David Lee . Hip Hop . at Offstage in Anaheim, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Shiggy - Shiggeto Nakano . Hip Hop . at Offstage in Anaheim, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Jaysu . Hip Hop . at Offstage in Anaheim, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Dylan Sapanza . something called “sneakers” . at Offstage in Anaheim, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Asahi . Hip Hop . at Offstage in Anaheim, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Clair Ku . might have been a jazz class . at Offstage in Anaheim, CA . Instructor’s IG:
Jason Lin . Beginning Isolations . at Offstage in Anaheim, CA . Instructor’s IG: itsjason217 .
Amanda LaCount . Jazz Funk . at Offstage in Anaheim, CA . Instructor’s IG:
I had made a commitment to myself, that this year, I would get out of my comfort zone and try new dance teachers, dance studios, and styles of dance. And I did.
Of course I still took as many classes as I could from my favorites - though not as many as I would have liked.
Commuting from Orange County, CA to Los Angeles, the Valley, and “Over the Hill” (Wilshire/Fairfax area) is often time and cost-prohibitive. Also, with all the classes I was taking up in LA at the SAG/AFTRA Foundation and the SAG AFTRA Los Angeles Conservatory it was even challenging to find time to hit as many of my favorite Classes/Teachers via the Steps on Broadway LiveStream options -
Over the last few days, I enjoyed looking back through my class history.
I had no idea how many different teachers and classes I took in 2024 until I began listing them here. In addition to all the dance classes, I attended open mics of all sorts. I would show up “unprepared” in a way that basically meant I would choose what I would read, recite, or share, in the moment - after reading/sizing up the room. This “habit” has evolved into a thing I now called “FrankenReading,” where I will often open up several of my poems on different tabs in my phone or shuffle printed pages of my writing and read them as one prose piece - inserting words or phrases or changing the tempo timing intention and inflection as needed to make these one coherent piece. This is so much fun! I also love the challenge of getting things in at the perfect “time” - priding myself in never going over the allotted time restrictions by “feel.” I thank dance for this gift of knowing how long a minute feels and how to speed it up or slow it down.golly I’ve learned to love this! This fun “activity” or “adventure” has upped my cold-reading skills exponentially.
This year dealt me a lot. . . . Complex PTSD is no joke! I am proud that though I often found myself an absolute wreck at times, I had the forethought to schedule things - to give myself the incentive to get up and attempt to continue existing . constantly bargaining with myself that once I was done I was welcome to crawl back under my rock (into my bed, under the covers with my cats and often an audio book to keep flashbacks at bay) and hibernate, cry, sleep . . .
I managed to book several (non-dance-related) stage performances, two short films, all while taking as many dance, acting, and commercial classes.
I continued writing. Three more of my poem were published and one received a Pushcart Prize nomination as well as a Best of the Net nomination.
Healing does not happen alone. One cannot heal without support. Social support. Financial Support. Physical and Mental Health Support. Spiritual Support.
Thank goodness for my therapists! My Mental Health AND Physical Therapists, who encouraged me to keep dancing - even putting it in my aftercare summary notes to keep taking dance classes. Honestly, if I hadn’t been “told” to dance, I may not have continued . . .
I am thankful to my husband who took on the heavy burden of supporting me and our four kitties on only his income, while I committed to a full year of dancing, writing, studying, learning, performing, resting, recovering, and healing.
At my age, I am in no hurry. Just because I can, doesn’t mean I have to.
I chose to not commit to auditioning for any dance gigs.
I knew I would not have the time, nor mental/physical/emotional energy to lend 100% to being of use in a dance space. And dance relies so much on one’s physical appearance. I knew I would not be able to rally at a moment’s notice to make myself look “presentable” much less “camera ready” after a sleepless night of debilitating flashbacks and crying that resumed once I was tasked with reviewing. my original witness statements from the day of the murder - talk about a mind fvc<! I also know that being on set requires more than just one’s physical presence - a dancers presence, attitude, energy, and ability to focus, not only impacts the rehearsals and performance, it impacts everyone in the room. I did not want to be “that guy” bringing the room down.
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All this year I thought I was being useless and lazy - Depression stemming from Complex PTSD sure knows how to mess with perspective.
Many people don’t understand that practical training and experiential learning is essential to entertainers. It takes time, and it is not cheap. It is an ongoing, life ling investment - all the things that go on behind the scenes to make the difficult look effortless.
I can’t wait to compute the hours I put in this last year to my dancing, to my writing, to my VO work, to theatre, to writing, to my podcast, and for all that goes into what sustains my creativity, my talent, and what I have to share.
I may be exhausted, at times I may appear useless, but I am definitely not lazy!
looking up? looking back? looking forward? last.year.this.year.a.new.year
I have no idea what's to come but I am happy to look back and see where I've been . where I am . and where I am going
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I will never say "don't look back"
So much of what is behind me has formed me . informed me
Where I've been What I've seen What I've done Guides me Helps me Nourishes and Cautions me as I journey forward . With no guarantees
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Looking forward to whatever good the new year will bring
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I will be ok
if it is only me
to see me
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Melissa Adylia Calasanz
⬇️🎙️AUDIO🎙️⬇️ _ ⬇️🎙️AUDIO🎙️⬇️
⬆️🎙️AUDIO🎙️⬆️ _ ⬇️🎙️AUDIO🎙️⬇️
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Who is Melissa Adylia Calasanz SAG/AFTRA
Melissa Adylia Calasanz is a multi-hyphenate compassionate, curious, creative human. She is a SAG/AFTRA Dancer/Actor/VO Artist, as well as a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominated poet. Melissa returned to the stage, screen, and Voiceover booth last year after a decades-long career detour, which took her on many exciting wilderness and professional adventures. She is a lover of cats, plants, dance, poetry and people - all of which, she believes, have the ability to add value to the world beyond any one person's personal or professional identity
IG: @ AllTheChaptersNoONeSees
IG: @ MelissaAdyliaPauseBreatheSmile
Melissa Adylia Calasanz Personal Substack
MY THREE PODCASTS
You Buy The Shoes I Kick You With Them (teasers launched) : You Buy the Shoes I Kick You with Them . a podcast . by Melissa Adylia Calasanz . in association with . ALL THE CHAPTERS NO ONE SEES . Personal Experiences & Observations within Foot Fetish Subculture. Season 1. personal reflections . Season 2. Interviews with men, and women, from within the Foot Fetish and associated subcultures . as well as answering questions from listeners and readers. in conversation . creating beauty from stigmas.
I Want to Read You Out Loud (teaser launched) : What is this? I am : lending my voice : to words : by those who : inspire : something . something wonderful . to me . to you . whether poetry prose cereal boxes academic texts shampoo bottles - anything : that piques my curiosity . stirring memories feelings visions conversations options for exploring seeking reading . tangential auditory explorations of my choosing . reminders of the days of youth playing poetry roulette . moonlit nights on the floor of a Branson, MO condo reading out loud to the ceiling accompanied by wine and music and the freedom that comes with no awareness of literary and academic expectations . we were young . a dancer a musician an aesthete . two of three never meeting . thirty years later . thousands of miles . states and continents and lifetimes between us . each connected with the loves we've chosen who continue to hold us firmly planted allowing us to be creative . lovers of words . readers of dictionaries and conversations with strangers . I am fortunate for those I've known who have no idea their influence nor their importance . . . i share these intimate moments with you . listener . reader . appreciator of things that stir excite and settle . me . I thank you . for joining me . listening . reading . sharing . creating.
All The Chapters No One Sees ( coming soon) : ALL THE CHAPTERS NO ONE SEES . a podcast . by Melissa Adylia Calasanz : Creating Beauty from Stigmas . exploring pages from my history . chapters titled with words to hide . secrets . words for shame . when lists of experience become poetry . prose . prompts for recitation . I invite you to take a peek . my inner workings . as memories become words to string . bound for publishing . I appreciate you for existing . for your interest . and most of all, for listening .
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