Girl You Know It's True - Denver Pride 2012

Pridefest Denver 2012, was an experience that came at just the right time.  A couple weeks ago I was honored, thrilled, and extremely grateful to dance with Denver Dance Performing Troupe behind Fab Morvan, formerly of Milli Vanilli.  The rehearsals started two weeks before the performance and the whole troupe worked so hard.  Marguerite, you are an amazing teacher whose strength and commitment are an inspiration.  Thanks for all your hard work for every show.  You are appreciated. 

As much as we looked forward to Pridefest 2012, it has come and gone.  I am left with great memories of an incredible experience.  Fabrice "Fab" Morvan was discovered in the late 1980's in Munich, Germany and released a Grammy Award winning album, "Girl You Know It's True," in 1990 along with Rob Pilatus.  Fab's Denver Pridefest performance was his first in the U.S. in over 10 years.  When I got the word, we would be dancing with him in late April, I couldn't say no.  Dancing is what I love to do, and to be a part of Fab's 5 song set was just another dream come true. 

Fab flew into Denver Friday June 15th 2012, one day before our scheduled performance.  Our schedules had been a bit hectic with Drag Nation Pride also on 6/15/12.  With rehearsals for both shows in full effect, we made time Friday afternoon to rehearse and review the choreography with Fab as soon as he landed.  All of the nervousness and fears I had before meeting him, were all wiped away when he arrived at Denver Dance Studio.  He is so kind hearted and very personable.  He made me feel like I had worked with him before, and the man can actually sing!  After tweaking some moves and fine tuning our placement we were ready for our two day performance at Denver Pridefest Main Stage.

Saturday June 16th and 17th Denver Dance Performing Troupe had the privilege of dancing with Fab Morvan, who was this year's headliner.  His 30 minute set opened with, "Girl You Know It's True."  An immediate rush of energy and adrenaline took over me as I made my way on stage and begin to make eye contact with the audience and feel their intense vibes.  The crowd cheered, smiled, sang and clapped their hands as I realized this was GO TIME!  

Fab's set  included his three number one songs, "Baby Don't Forget My Number," "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You," and "Blame It On The Rain."  The rush of energy and adrenaline only intensified when I spotted my brother in the audience.  The feeling then became euphoric as I spotted myself on two large LCD screens placed to the left and right of the stage.  While the camera man was focused on Fab, all of Denver could get a close up of the dancers as we danced around him. I was in the zone and ready for my close up.

While on stage dancing and hyping up the crowd, I noticed my brother standing to the left of the stage.  His ear to ear smile and cheers made me give just a little bit more.  The support of my family means the world to me.  Early Sunday over brunch with my dad he told me, "I'm very proud of you hijo."  No better Father's Day gift than making daddy proud.  Thanks to my bro who snapped these images and featured some on his weekly style column for Westword.  I also found some videos on YouTube recorded by The Colors of Light.  All links are below.  Check em out. 

http://youtu.be/BodmaLKus9c          http://youtu.be/fwI0xHwa1l0

http://blogs.westword.com/showandtell/2012/06/whats_in_your_bag_anime_and_sp.php

Reflecting back on Pride 2011, I am proud to say I have made one of my biggest dreams a reality in a year.  Dancing with an artist has always been something I wanted to do since I was a child.  Growing up watching Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul, I imagined what it would be like to dance with them.  This is just the start of other dreams that will one day be realities.  Consistency is key.  Huge thanks to Marguerite from Denver Dance for her continued skill and guidance and to Mr. Fab Morvan for choosing Denver out of all the cities in the United States to perform.  It was an incredible experience.   I am still on a dance high two weeks later and yet there is more in store.  Possible pride performance in another state?  Stay Tuned...

Starting Summer

Memorial Day Weekend is always the unofficial start of Summer for me, along with many. Not only did we get a three day weekend, many took it to the streets of Denver to enjoy the warm weather and cool breezes. This years Memorial Day events consisted of Drag Nation with Denver Dance and the opening of Climax Sundays at Club Vinyl.  Friday 5/25/12, I was thrilled to perform with Denver Dance along side Scarlett Red. Scarlett's debut at Drag Nation was spectacular. "It's All About Sex," was a hot routine complete with a chair dance.  I was also thrilled to dance along with Victoria Sexton for my second routine of the night.  Victoria's "Stilletos," performance left little to the imagination and I got to work the pole! Scarlett, Geoffrey and Miranda are pictured with me in the photo above.  To view Scarlett's and Victoria's performances, click on the links below:

http://youtu.be/PApY39VUu1Q                    http://youtu.be/_pitaKmm1FQ

Since I've been performing with Denver Dance, I have had the pleasure of working with a handful of Sextons. Ginger, Victoria, Kiana, and Jasmine. I have also worked with Janessa BeFierce, Bootzy Edward Collinz, and Scarlett Red. Since the last months show, myself and Korin, pictured above have been counting down the days until Pride Fest 2012. Marguerite Endsley, founder of Denver Dance, has been working non-stop on the choreography for Pride Drag Nation, which will be 6/15/12, as well as PrideFest at Civic Center. Denver Dance will be performing on the mainstage with a recording artist who released their first single in the late 1980's.  I am excited to be dancing with Fab Morvan from Milli Vanilli. Rehearsals for both shows started last week, with more scheduled this weekend.  Check out the DenverDanceNet channel on YouTube for videos of all performances to date.  #GirlYouKnowItsTrue.

While at Drag Nation, I was happy to converse with my long time friend / rapper ASiEL, about our upcoming collaboration for PrideFest. Rocha Apparel will be outfitting ASiEL and his dancers in our newest Summer creations, for his mainstage performance.  The debut of Rocha Apparel Summer 2012 will go down when ASiEL hits the stage for all who gather at Civic Center June 16th and 17th.  ASiEL is seen above in "Her Blood Bath."  Like the look?  Get it at RochaApparel.com. Thank you ASiEL for your continued support. My brothers and I look forward to your performance.

To finish off the weekend my brothers and I decided to head to Club Vinyl. This was the first time in three years that I was NOT scheduled to dance. After opening the past two years at the legendary Climax Sundays, I am glad I had the chance to just hang out with my family and catch up with some old friends. I was asked repeatedly if I was dancing again this Summer, and that is still to be decided. After having some drinks, chatting a bit and waiting in what felt like a Rockies Game line for the restroom, we decided to switch the scene debating on food or more drinks.  As we left Vinyl, we ventured to the nearby clubs and restaurants.  After relocating for a few drinks, we decided it was time to eat.  The below video is the first of four I recorded as we made our way down Broadway.  This is just a glimpse of what mischief we encounter on our outings. Stay tuned for the rest to be posted on our YouTube channel RochaInc3.  Much more to come, as the Summer has just begun.