The Great White Buffalo

"its like the international sex and the city"

In the movie Hot Tub Time Machine, four middle-aged guys go back to the ski resort where they had one of the best trips of their young lives and they continuously mention, in a whisper, the illusive Great White Buffalo. They never really explain what the Great White Buffalo refers to, but you just know that whatever it is, it was totally epic.

Many of my girlfriends and I speak this way of the summer of 2008. "Best Summer Ever" we'll say under our breaths. And it truly was. It's like all the stars aligned that summer, and a truly great group of people crossed paths for a season. The weather was absolutely perfect, we sat on the MCA lawn for Tuesdays on the Terrace every week as our spreads grew more and more elaborate (I'm pretty sure they enacted the "no outside food or drink" rule because of us--sorry), we had a beach volleyball team and our weekends consisted of us "staycationing" on North Avenue Beach. We hit up music festivals, Movies in the Park and First Fridays (we spent a lot of time at the MCA, that was also the summer of the giant Jeff Koons exhibit). Most of us ladies were unattached which led to some funny nicknames and memorable stories. Not to mention we all had Hope behind the campaign of a local candidate for president and for the end of a recession.

What started out as a very rough year for me blossomed into, well, the Best Summer Ever. And then towards the end I met my now fiance. An epic summer indeed.

We tried to recreate this magic the following summer, and summers after that, but we discovered that you just cant make lightening to strike twice.  You can't force the weather to cooperate with your plans, people couple up, move away, and now my girl Fuji is joining them, leaving the city to meet her man in Nebraska. I'm gonna miss you, Fuj!

Hey, none of us are saying we don't love our lives now, but the summer of '08 will always be our Great White Buffalo.

This Guy Can Dance

So, you think you can dance? This guy can dance.

Fabrice Calmels is a guy I've had my eye on for the last few years as I've been covering Joffrey programs for Chicagoist. He's a downright stunning man, standing at 6'6" he's a head above the rest of the dancers on the stage, but he's also one of the best dancers I've ever seen. Once I heard that he was going to be a guest judge on FOX' So You Think You Can Dance, I thought it was a great opportunity to interview him for the site. It's my first piece focusing on a dancer rather than a company or a choreographer, which is something I've wanted to do for quite some time.

It came down to the wire, but we got the interview just one day before the Chicago auditions episode, and somehow got it transcribed and posted with just hours to spare before it aired. So much thanks to Tankboy putting on his editor hat to help me!

The episode aired on Wednesday, but you can still watch it online. Without further ado, here's the link:

Interview: Joffrey Ballet Dancer Fabrice Calmels