I wrote about
Sasja Lee, aka Sassy, over two years ago. We bonded over In-N-Out on Facebook and we have been FB buddies ever since. Last weekend, Sasja came to San Francisco to dance at
Volare Variety and teach some workshops, so we got to hang out a little bit.
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| Cast of Volare |
Sasja has been tearing up the competition circuit this past year. I watched her win
California Pole Dance Championship last year and she has been pretty much winning every competition since. I really don't know what she can't do. I understand she won CPDC just days after being in a horrible car accident! Beast mode. Seriously.
Anyway, after Volare, Sasja and SeanMichael rode back on BART with Rita and me, where they gave BART riders a thrilling public trans shoulder mount experience. It was so funny! I got photos but I guess video would have been better -- maybe next time! It turned out that Sasja was eager to ride BART after reading on Facebook about some of my "awesome" experiences.
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| shoulder mount on BART |
The next morning, Sasja did two workshops at
Twirly Girls. I pretty much judge my workshop experience based on how an instructor treats me after the class has advanced beyond my skills (which will happen in most workshops and I am okay with it). We were learning a little routine. After she taught each piece, Sasja would come around and watch each of us do the move. We finally got to a point where you would invert, pike, then go into superman. I giggled. Time for me to check out! So she gets to my pole and she says, your turn! I said, yeah right. She goes, no seriously, try it! So I went to get my
woody band seat belt and I got myself upside down. She says, now let go and grab above your leg. I said, you're crazy. She said she's heard that before. HA! Look, once I'm upside down, I need all my arms and legs to hold on for dear life. I'm not ready to let go yet. I really, really appreciated her continuing to include me in the class, and I feel like I learned so much even once the routine was more advanced than I could do. I really do appreciate those instructors who continue to include me even though I can't do all the moves. It is a small effort and makes a dancer who struggles with moves like I do feel like I am still part of class. I still got some pretty awesome bruises that I've been proudly showing off to anyone who will look.
That being said, for the last 20 minutes, I did just go to the back room and start stretching. Perhaps a brutal yoga class right before a 90 minute Sasja Lee workshop wasn't my best choice that day!
I really wish I had been able to spend more time with Sasja during her trip. I swear, I'm going to win the lottery someday and just start hanging out with these cool people who have such interesting lives!
Have you ever taken a workshop with Sasja? Tell me about it in the comments section!
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| Covering up Sasja's amazing arms |
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| Getting ready for the BART shoulder mount |
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| Our class |
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| My tiny sister |
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| That's me!!! This bruise is the most fantastic! |
