Rehearsals begin for Sanspointe's 10th anniversary outdoor performance

This Saturday Sanspointe began more rehearsals for it's special 10th anniversary outdoor performance located at Railroad park.  One of the dancers asked our artistic director Rhea, for a really difficult dance and so Rhea delivered!  We began working in the studio with a fast paced dance including turns, flips and jumps.  We all started sweating in the heat of the studio but I was having a great time.  


My pump has an alarm on it to check 1 hour after I bolus.  I like to see how I peak after meals so I have some information for my endo.  So my alarm went off to me to check and surprise surprise, my blood sugar had sharply dropped to 58.  I felt so confused.  I felt fine.  I was picking up complicated choreography and my balance was great.  Rhea asked me if I needed water and I told her I needed a glucose gel.  I was in good spirits so she decided to pull out the line "Juice is better" from Steel Magnolias.  The whole company chuckled and I laughed myself.  We are in the south after all.  

An action shot of me flipping over my shoulder!

I downed my glucose gel (which is made by my friend Ethan.  Check out his website here!) and knew that it contained the right amount of glucose to keep me safe.  Since I was feeling fine I decided to keep going with rehearsal and within a few minutes everything was back to normal.  I quickly transitioned back from a diabetic having a low back to a dancer in rehearsal.  Another dancer in the company is also a nurse and asked me what my number was.  When I told her she made a face and went "oh dear". It's nice to know that when I'm low I have a nurse and an understanding, compassionate director.  


Later on, we went outside the studio to practice the new piece of work on the stage that we would be performing it on.  Railroad park is a large, gorgeous park located in downtown Birmingham.  Our stage is a massive raked stage on the grass.  The grass made the turns difficult but it made doing flips and jumps much more fun.  I tried out new and risky movements that I had never done before.  Nothing like a little fear to make you feel alive.  


More rehearsals and photos will be coming up!  If you are planning in being in the Birmingham area in October I would love to see you in the audience.  For performance information check out our Website!

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The Students with Diabetes Conference

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Students with Diabetes Conference.  It was a whirlwind of late night talks sharing our personal diabetes struggles, inspirational speakers and hilarious experiences.  Nicole Johnson, former Miss America (with type 1 diabetes!) was our fearless leader and took us down the road to validation, strength and connections.  

Since a picture is worth a thousand words and I need to stretch my sore dancer legs I leave you with a slideshow of our adventures!

Click the link to be taken to the video!

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Gold Plated Dance

Accidentally ripping the crotch of my suit!

For the past two weeks Sanspointe Dance has been touring all over Birmingham giving showings of "The Golden Record"  While we dance on stage often, we decided to dance in libraries to help bring dance to the people.  I had the pleasure of dancing with them.  It was my first modern dance performance and I loved it.  Here are some photos as well as a review from the Birmingham News.  I did my usual tummitote belt hide my pump thing and besides ripping the crotch out of my paper hazmat suit there weren't any mishaps!  Enjoy!

You can see my pump!

If extraterrestrial dancers could respond to music from a distant blue planet, it might look something like Sanspointe Dance Company’s interpretation of “The Golden Record.”

A far-fetched notion? Of course. But Rhea Speights and Lynn Andrews’ choreography, as danced Tuesday at Avondale Library, had enough earthbound whimsy, physicality and poignancy to ignite the imagination.

The gold-plated copper phonograph record known as "The Golden Record" was sent into space in 1977 aboard two Voyager spacecrafts. A broad range of images and messages, greetings in dozens of languages, sounds of nature and music from around the planet are included. Its instigator, Carl Sagan, likened it to launching a bottle into a cosmic ocean.

Heading off into space!

SANSPOINTE DANCE COMPANY:

THE GOLDEN RECORD


Birmingham Public Library

Avondale Branch
Tuesday

Four stars out of five

For the 30-minute dance, Sanspointe settled on an eclectic selection of J.S. Bach, Blind Willie Johnson, and music from Peru, Senegal and elsewhere. Four white-clad dancers sent out “signals,” their arms searching like antennas in symmetrical motion to an ambient sonic hum.

**For the full review click here

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My recipe for egg muffins!

A reader asked me to post my paleo recipe for egg muffins!  They are too delicious not to share so here it is.  Enjoy!


Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 c ground meat or bacon bits (I used the bacon bits!)
• 1/2 c diced green bell peppers
• 1/8 c mayonaise
• 1/8 c water
• salt and pepper to taste

Prep:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F
2. Grease 6 muffin tins with cooking spray, or coconut oil
3. Beat the eggs and add the ground meat, bell peppers, water, mayonnaise and season with salt and or pepper.  Combine well.
4. Scoop equal portions into the 6 muffin tins 
5. Bake for about 18 minutes or until a knife inserted into the muffins comes out clean
6. Remove from the oven, let cool and dive in!

How to be a great patient

Right after acing my anatomy lab final exam!

As you know, I live a double life!  I'm half dancer half pre-med student and balancing my time can be a little crazy but very rewarding.  Stay posted for photos from my most recent modern dance performance next week!  


I really cannot wait to begin med school and start becoming a doctor.  Being a doctor has been my dream for as long as dance has been my dream.  With a medical degree I can return to my patients the inspiring healing that I experienced as a patient with diabetes.  Since a ballet career is time sensitive I tackled that first and am two years away from sleepless nights of studying and stress...oh wait, I do that now!  


So, for the month of May, when I'm not rehearsing for Sanspointe's newest show "The Golden Record", I have been donning my shiny doctor shoes, lab coat and curious mind and shadowing several doctors all over Alabama.  I absolutely loved it and what I experienced didn't scare me away from medicine!  I guess you could say that I'm an "embryonic" doctor.  I just listened, asked questions and learned a lot.  


Having type 1 diabetes myself I was hip to how the patients were feeling, mostly because I'm usually in their shoes.  I took mental notes as to how each doctor communicated with each patient as well as how the patient communicated with the doctor.  Since I'm not a doctor yet, but I am a professional patient, I thought I would share a few things I learned this month to help us be more effective patients!  Hooray!

Ballet bun+Lab Coat=Awesome!

1. Medicine is a service industry.  You're paying the doctor to help heal you.  If you don't like the service you're getting then look for another doctor.
2. Insurance is just as annoying for doctors as it is for us patients *groan*
3. Be clear with how you're feeling.  If something doesn't feel right, talk about it
4. Your life story may reveal a diagnosis, or be entertaining.  No harm in sharing!
5. Always ask your doctor to wash their hands
6. Write down every question you have before you head to the doctors
7. If your doctor doesn't let you talk, or interrupts you, it's time for a new doctor
8. Inform yourself!  50% of doctors I shadowed believe their patients should inform themselves.  The other 50% think Webmd.com is the root of all evil.  
9. Doctors are running from patient to patient, one right after the other.  It feels like we're waiting forever in the office but they really are working at lightning speed
10. Drug reps bring Starbucks.  This doesn't really help the patients, but it's sure darn tasty!      

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Snappy Comebacks!

Don't you ever lie awake and think of all the snappy comebacks that you wish you told someone after they said something irritating about diabetes?  I did, then I made a Vlog about it.  Get ready to laugh!

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Dancing Diabetes in the Park

My first performance with Sanspointe Dance Company was out in the park at the Magic City Art Connection.  It was a beautiful warm sunny day.  The crowd was enthusiastic and all encompassing and my diabetes was quietly dancing with me.

I took a pair of pants that had a zippered pocket and cut a hole to feed the tubing for my pump.  It worked like a charm!  I ate one of my favorite Think Thin Protein Bar containing 23 grams of carbs and 20 grams of protein one hour prior to the performance.  

Can you spot 
the pump?  I give you permission to look at my butt!             

My nerves kept my blood sugar from going low so I didn't even give myself a temp basal.  I tried to appear fearless but right before we went on stage I leaned over to one of my colleagues and said "Gee, I'm actually kind of nervous for this!"  I'm glad she agreed with me!

For once, diabetes stayed quiet during the performance.  All I could hear was the live music carrying my movement and the applause of the audience. 

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