No Impact Woman: Broadside Talks to Director Colin Beavan’s Wife September 14, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentJosh Hylton, Staff Writer
No Impact Man is a new documentary that portrays the life of a family in New York City who attempt to live for one year without having any negative impact on the environment. Recently, Broadside had a chance to speak with Michelle Beavan on her experiences.
Broadside: What was the idea behind this year-long project?
My husband, Colin Beavan, he writes books for a living, and in 2006 he really wanted to write about global warming.
He wanted to change his focus, and so he came up with this idea about trying to live in New York City for a year without making any environmental impact, any negative environmental impact.
He asked me if I would join him because he wanted to write a book about it, and so that was the genesis of the whole thing. It began with the book basically.
Considering how much impact each human being does have on the environment, what was the breaking point for you? What was it that made you and Colin decide that doing this was a good idea?
Colin came up with the idea in late 2006, and I had recently seen An Inconvenient Truth. It was sort of the era for that movie.
I remember very vividly—I saw it in this movie theater and the theater was blasting air conditioning and I was the only person in the movie theater. I had this moment where I was just like, you know, my God, my lifestyle was very wasteful.
So that kind of laid the groundwork and it was right after that that Colin had this idea and I was, just like everybody, worried about global warming.
I was also a new mother, so that made me worried on another level. When he asked me to do it, it just seemed like the right thing to do.
It just seemed like a good idea, just to see what would happen if we dropped out of the culture and dropped off the grid, just to see what would emerge and see if there was a way that we could live in a more sustainable way.
You had to give up a lot of things for this experiment. What was the toughest thing to adjust to?
The coffee was the hardest for me. The withdrawal was ugly and brutal.
I know in the movie there wasn’t a lot of footage of the holidays. Was one of those tough things not being able to go visit your family and friends during those times?
We definitely had to give that up, but after the project ended, I did go see my family. I got [on] a plane and went and saw them.
Yeah, that was one of the difficult things. I think that we’ve resolved that it’s better to take trips that are longer and fly less.
Now, for example, as opposed to jumping on a plane for tiny little trips, we try to go for longer chunks of time so that we fly less frequently.
How dramatically has your lifestyle changed since the experiment’s end? Are you more aware of how you are affecting the environment or is it more or less back to the way it was?
It had a very dramatic and profound effect on our life and it continues to.
We still have our community garden that we love where we grow vegetables and we still eat local food as much as possible.
We still bike everywhere. We still don’t have a TV. We still don’t have air conditioning. We just try to do our best and we do what makes sense for us.
Do you think the movie effectively condensed a year’s worth of material into a potent 90 minute film?
I think that the movie and the book are very complimentary, and I think that when you take the two together, the movie and the book, it gives you a rounded perspective of what we were trying to do. They are good together.
So you think that both of those will work as effective catalysts for your message that you can live happily while still protecting the environment?
You know, I hope so. That was our hope and that was why we did it. Our hope is that it can encourage people to think more about living sustainably and also becoming more engaged citizens to promote that in the country and all over the world.
The film was just as much a documentary about your relationship with your family as it was about the environment. How did the experiment affect your family?
I think it made me a better mother because by removing all the distractions, TV and all that, our family got really close and we just entertained one another.
There was something just totally lovely about the intimacy and closeness that we had and I think it put me more in the moment with my daughter so I think that it made me a better mom. I hope that it did and I think that it did.
What advice would you give people who similarly want to cut back on their negative impact on the environment?
The number one piece of advice I would give would be to do something in their community, to join some environmental organization, whether it be to fight smog in their community or promote recycling or what have you, to just join a community environmental group and that will start anybody on the way towards getting more and more engaged in this issue.
Leave it to Beavans: Family Goes Green in No Impact Man September 14, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentJosh Hylton, Staff Writer
“Is it possible to have a good life without wasting too much?” This is the question filmmaker Colin Beavan poses in his new documentary No Impact Man.
The film probes the neglectfulness of America and the ignorance to the harm caused through the millions of carbon footprints produced each day.
For the film, Beavan, his wife Michelle and daughter Isabella, set out on an environmental experiment.
Their goal is to see if it is possible to live a sustainable life in New York City without causing any negative impact on the environment.
Though very few of us could survive without television, computers or video games, the Beavans went a year without toilet paper, incandescent light bulbs, magazines, newspapers, elevators, plastic bags or any form of motorized transportation.
Is it all a tad extreme? Absolutely. Is it a little naïve to think their actions could influence an entire city, or the world, into significantly cutting back their carbon emissions? Perhaps.
But it is also brave and noble, shunning the things they have become accustomed to and trying to lessen their impact on the environment while also providing a habitable home for themselves.
What No Impact Man does so successfully is condense a year’s worth of character growth into a short 90 minutes, showing the progression of Colin and Michelle’s personal thoughts and beliefs in that time.
Initially, and understandably, Michelle is reluctant to undertake this venture.
She quickly finds herself missing the jolts from her coffee and going through fast food withdrawals, while Colin finds the whole affair easy.
But as time goes on, their roles flip. After getting numerous letters from other environmentalists, heartlessly declaring that crazy people like him give them a bad name, Colin begins to doubt his actions.
He begins questioning if what he is doing is relevant. Ultimately, it is Michelle who puts life back into perspective for him.
Though the film doesn’t explain what positive effects, if any, the experiment had on the environment, the film successfully shows the more conventional benefits of living this way.
After a scathing New York Times article titled “The Year Without Toilet Paper” is published, undermining the point of the project, Colin confides in the camera, “Why not call it ‘The Year We Didn’t Watch TV and We Became Much Better Parents as a Result’ or ‘The Year We Ate Locally and Seasonally and It Ended Up Reversing My Wife’s Pre-Diabetic Condition’?”
Colin admits his experiment is, “not meant to be scientific,” as it is far from it, but the end results say more than any scientific data.
Over the course of the year, Colin and Michelle appeared to become better parents to young Isabella. They found they could spend more time with her and partake in activities outside.
They all become healthier, quitting their bad dietary habits and getting more exercise, using bicycles as their means of transportation.
They save more money by buying only food and necessary equipment. The impact on the environment may be strangely absent in the film, but the impact in the home is ever-present.
In the end, Colin realizes that being a good environmentalist is not about reducing carbon footprints to zero, but rather managing them in sustainable ways.
This revelation is a test for the viewer, challenging us to look at the negative effects we are having on the environment through things that are not vital to our well being.
Is No Impact Man really going to change how we live? No, of course not. But it will make you think twice the next time you step on that elevator..
In Bed With Billy September 14, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentBilly Curtis, Sex Columnist
If you went around and asked people what they thought the hardest thing about a relationship was, odds are the most prevalent answer would probably be trust.
We trust our doctors with our lives, our bankers with our money, and we trust our families to be there when need be, but why is it so difficult for us to trust other people with our hearts?
Letting someone into your circle of trust can be an extremely difficult task, especially after a person has been hurt so many times. Despite the overwhelming possibility these days that someone may abuse your trust, it seems that the benefits could still outweigh the drawbacks.
For hundreds of years now, all American currency has had printed on it the words, “In God We Trust,” but I am pretty sure that some Americans do not trust in God, especially in times of great strife such as our current economic situation.
Yet, the words are still printed on every dollar and coin we come in connect with; a constant reminder that trust is needed to preserve any kind of relationship, whether it is with our government or the person we fall asleep next to every night.
With the constantly wavering belief systems we have, giving someone our trust can be an incredibly difficult task to accomplish. Prime example: a close friend of mine, Ashley had been dating John for about three years.
Now three years of dating someone—in my eyes—is certainly enough time to be able to trust someone completely while in a relationship.
They were both very happy together. John had told her that he was going to be receiving a lot of money from a trust fund in the near future, and they began to make plans, plans for the future that they would be building together.
Unfortunately though, last January, I received a phone call from Ashley saying she needed to talk. Now, I know that when Ashley calls me to talk, its always something important. So I picked up a bottle of wine and headed to her beautiful apartment—that I had always been jealous of—in Tyson’s Corner.
Now, my thinking was that maybe Ashley had broken up with John, but when I got there, my mind was completely blown away.
It turned out that John had been stealing people’s credit cards and using them to pay for the luxuries that they had both come so accustomed to living with.
Ashley was heartbroken, her car was repossessed, and they were evicted from their fabulous apartment. Talk about a situation that will give you a trust issue!
Now, I don’t care what anyone ever tells you about what they have and what they are willing to give you, make damn sure that you have a back up plan to retain your independence.
Ending a relationship is hard enough by itself, and having to deal with a financial situation like this seems less appealing than having herpes for the rest of your life—OK, maybe that was a little extreme, but you get my point.
Ashley had put all her eggs in John’s one basket, and now she was left with nothing but the regrettable mistake she made in trusting John.
Since then she has recovered from that devastating relationship, and has moved on with her life.
But the most important lesson she learned was that she couldn’t just lock herself away and never trust someone again.
She now has been dating someone for quite some time now, and I hear they are very happy together, for what it’s worth.
It’s a sad truth, but despite how many times we may be the jilted party in any relationship, it’s always best to keep an open mind for the future.
Because not everyone is out there to take advantage, cheat, or con us in some way or another.
Some people really are as genuine as they appear to be. That’s why the option of trusting someone is something that you need to keep for yourself!
After all, odds are if you don’t, you’ll most likely become that old creepy person who lives at the corner of everyone’s street when they were younger, living alone with their 37 cats and everyone thinks is a witch. No one wants to become that person, or at least I don’t think anyone wants that.
Maybe trust isn’t the easiest thing to give out, nor should it be handed out as easily as a piece of gum or a cigarette, or in some people’s cases—their virginity.
But instincts should always be listened to, because your heart and mind are the only receptors that can really tell you what you think and feel will be write or wrong.
After all, trust is a mental state, one that cannot be measured directly; its not as simple as putting your hand on a heated iron and knowing not to touch it gain or you’ll get burned.
If it was, I am pretty sure that there would be a lot less people in the world.
So keep an open mind with whomever you meet in the future, because while there is a slim chance they could be one of the con artists.
Odds are their just as normal and trusting as you are, and you never know, they could be the person whose trust in you, is the only thing the both of you will ever need!
Art Gallery Impresses: Sam Gilliam Presents Otherwordly Art September 14, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentMarian McLaughlin, Staff Writer
“I have no idea how he made these,” students said as they walked out of the Fine Art Gallery at George Mason University’s new School of Art building. “How did he do it?” All the commotion was caused by Sam Gilliam’s works from his show, Color/More.
The artist unveiled around 10 pieces at last Wednesday’s opening. Stunned viewers stared at the canvases, blown away by Gilliam’s artistic technique.
Each canvas contained lush colors and amorphous shapes which took on the swirled and polished qualities of a marble design.
Were his paintings really paintings, though? Paint is obviously Gilliam’s medium of choice, even if there was some secret formula involved to give such viscous form to the pieces.
However, his canvases were more like collages. Gilliam created his pieces by combining multiple panels. This style blends painting with sculpture, delivering a three-dimensional effect through the layering of paint and panels.
Each panel relates to the others with vibrating shapes and swirls of color, but they play with each other, as well as the viewer’s perception, when paired together. The result is art with a definite organic feel.
Some students compared the shapes, colors and textures of the exhibit to elements found in nature.
“They seem completely natural and earth-formed,” said painting graduate student Clarita Herce. “There is no presence of the artist’s hand except when he cuts the canvas.”
For instance, it is difficult to know where to start looking in “Needing Starlight.” The panels rotate directions between vertical and horizontal, and the work becomes even more segmented by two thin horizontal strips.
New themes pop up with long continuous streaks of color; whether it is the thin, silver line that cuts across the whole canvas, or the rectangular chunk of mulberry sitting on top of a nebula of colors.
Some panels have textures that seem like a cross between colorful carpet padding and Jackson Pollock’s drips.
In “Lullaby,” this effect does not have much of an impact, since most of the panels run vertically and in the two main panels, the shapes and colors echo each other.
There is a dominant presence of midnight blue in the background and the focal points on these two canvases are like bright yellow, runny egg yolks.
During the reception, students debated whether these works were spontaneous or guided. Chris Rackley, a graduate art student explained that “things don’t just happen someone has to be behind these creations.”
He mentioned how Jackson Pollock always had control over the brush, no matter how sporadic and chaotic his canvases appeared.
Herce, who overheard this comment, chimed in, “No one directs the ocean, so why can’t Gilliam’s works be spontaneous in nature, too?” People awaited answers from the artist himself, who was present at the reception. Gilliam, however, did not speak publicly about the exhibit.
Perhaps it is up to the viewer’s imagination and perception to absorb the colors in his canvases and to see more from them.
Changing Seasons: Fall TV Offers Something for Everyone September 14, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentRoss Bonaime, Staff Writer
While televison viewers will have to wait a few extra months to get their next seasons of Lost, 24 and American Idol, this month kicks off the new seasons of some old favorites and premiere episodes of quite a few new series.
Maybe the most highly anticipated show of the season is ABC’s FlashForward. Based on the Robert J. Sawyer novel of the same name, the show unfolds after the entire world experiences an event causing them to see six months into the future.
The show features a great ensemble cast including Joseph Fiennes, John Cho and Gabrielle Union. ABC hopes this show will replace the void left in many viewers’ hearts after Lost concludes next season.
On the CW, the new iteration of Melrose Place will hope to ride on the success of the 90210 reboot, The Vampire Diaries. This seems like great timing, thanks to the success of the Twilight franchise.
The network is also premiering The Beautiful Life, a show about teenage models starring former OC resident Mischa Barton.
Now that ER is off the air after 15 seasons, three new doctor shows try to fill the gap. NBC is hoping both Trauma (based on, you guessed it, a trauma team,) and Mercy, a doctor show told from the side of the nurses, will replace their old standby.
Meanwhile, CBS plans to premiere Three Rivers, about three doctors at a transplant hospital. Finally, CBS’ The Good Wife finds former ER nurse Julianna Marguiles returning to her job as a lawyer after her politician husband admits to an affair. This unique courtroom drama looks to be one of this season’s best.
For those looking to tickle their funny bone, this season looks to be ripe with new comedies. The Soup star Joel McHale finally gets his shot at primetime stardom with Community. McHale plays Jeff, a former lawyer who has his license taken away when it turns out he has lied about his college career.
To get his license back, Jeff enrolls in community college, where he meets a girl who he attempts to tutor in Spanish to get closer to her.
Community is looking like one of the better comedies of this fall, and should be a perfect fit with other great NBC comedies The Office and 30 Rock.
Not to be outdone, Fox’s comedy lineup is bringing its A-game. A few months ago, Fox premiered their new show Glee, about a teacher who takes over the glee club at his school and tries to invigorate it with the addition of popular songs such as “Gold Digger” and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”
The show went over well with both critics and audiences, and is expected to be one to watch.
Thanks to his Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show, Seth MacFarlane will now be taking up an hour and a half each Sunday, instead of the usual hour. The show follows Peter Griffins’ least eccentric friend’s move to Virginia with his new family.
ABC might have one of the biggest comedy surprises of the season with Modern Family. The show follows three very different families and their relationships with each other.
The show feels like a combination of Arrested Development and The Office and has some of the best laugh-out-loud moments of any pilot this season.
With so many great established shows returning and some intriguing new ones premiering, no one should be stuck saying there is nothing to watch this fall.
Decor for the Poor: Poster Sale Helps Students Personalize Their Rooms September 14, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentLauren Cafferky, Broadside Correspondent
In the mad rush to collect everything necessary to survive for the next nine months: tee shirts, sweatpants, ramen noodles, all five seasons of The Office, and your parent’s credit card number, it’s easy to overlook the four colorless walls that stare down at you, cold and barren, until May. No need to panic—George Mason University’s annual poster sale has you covered.
Beyond the Wall, a poster company that visits campuses across the country, is responsible for organizing the event. But Beyond the Wall does more than cross the nation, bringing posters to poor college students. They also run six retail stores located in popular cities such as Chicago, New York and Philadelphia. Beyond the Wall also runs a website allowing users to browse and order hundreds of posters, journals, bookmarks, signs and more.
The sale also boasts a wide selection of artwork from the classic to the modern, movies to music and Albert Einstein to hugging giraffes.
Why not make your walls reflect your excellent sense of musical taste? The sale has options ranging from the Beatles to the Jonas Brothers.
“There are so many posters, I couldn’t even see them all,” said sophomore sports management major Kurt Bugden, who rifled through table after table filled with books of posters with his older brother, senior history major, Drew Bugden.
The sale also comes with a reasonable price tag, displaying few items costing more than $10, perfect on a college budget. Students willing to spend a little more, however, can have their posters framed before leaving.
Before going crazy due to a lack of wall décor, stop by the poster sale to give your room some personality.
With a wide selection and good prices, you would be hard-pressed not to find something that fits your style.
“This poster sale is legit,” Drew Budgen claimed, “It’s the real deal.”
The sale runs from Sept. 8 through 12 at the Johnson Center’s East Plaza, and from Sept. 14 through 17 at Patriot’s Corner in the JC. The store is open from 10:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. each day.
Local Musician Steps into the Limelight: Rob Rider Finds his Voice on An Ounce of Dreams and Guitar Strings September 14, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentHayley Roder, Staff Writer
In pure singer-songwriter fashion, Rob Rider offers a heartfelt mix of lyrics and melodies on his debut solo album An Ounce of Dreams and Guitar Strings.
Hailing from Woodbridge, Va., Rider has performed in local bands like Ground Zero and Nebula while perfecting his songwriting. His experience, coupled with years of both formal and informal music training has resulted in a solo album that fits perfectly into the alternative rock genre.
Rider’s lyrics feel genuine and seem to be inspired by real-life events, a quality often overlooked by songwriters.
This makes his songs both catchy and easy to identify with. “Fall On Me” is full of such lyrics: “There’s nothing I can say or do/These long miles lead me back to you” and “Life’s a puzzle, it’s a game/Put the pieces in their place, and then we’ll see/Let your love fall down on me.”
Though a few lines are cliché, such as those found in “Rain,” others extend fantastic similes and metaphors such as the lines of “Breathe” that read, “Shoots like lightning through my veins/Every time I hear your name” and “Sounds of thunder, they roll through my head/Every time I hear words that you’ve said.”
The composition of the album feels carefully constructed, with smooth transitions between the songs. In particular, “Fall on Me” fades perfectly into “Thyme.”
Rider combines both upbeat songs and rock-style ballads to tell his stories and to engage his listeners.
His vocals and guitar melodies are comparable to artists like Duncan Sheik and Mike Doughty.
Both his sound and his lyrics are wonderfully reminiscent of ’90s alternative rock bands such as Counting Crows and Gin Blossoms.
In the thank-you section of the booklet, Rider writes, “It is within the smiles, sweat, and tears which gives me inspiration. I hope these songs will find a home in everyone’s heart . . . I welcome you and thank you for lending an ear.”
After spending the past week immersed in the album, it is without hesitation that I recommend it to anyone looking for an artist who offers songs that are well-written, expressive and most importantly, completely authentic.
For more information on Rider, including information on his new record and tour dates, visit http://www.robrider.net.
Writers Play Games with Hollywood: Marriage of Movies and Video Games Creates Intrigue September 14, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , add a comment
Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer
Video game movies have come a long way. Movies from yesteryear like Super Mario Bros. still seem laughable today. With the release of films like Gamer and the new Bruce Willis project Surrogates, it’s hard to argue that with films like these, video games are bombarding the film industry. The bridge between interactive media and movies are starting to take some interesting cues from each other.
In 1993, Super Mario Bros. became the first movie based on a video game, starting a long line of terrible adaptations including Double Dragon, Max Payne, and Doom. Meanwhile, recent video games have gone for a more cinematic style, putting emphasis on strong storytelling.
Take, for instance, this summer’s surprise hit District 9. Director Neill Blomkamp originally signed on to direct Halo, but when that fell through, he was allowed to direct whatever he wanted. He wisely chose District 9, which opened eyes this summer. Many felt like the film was Blomkamp trying to prove he was capable of directing Halo, and his film felt like a combination of famous games like Halo, Half-Life 2 and Resident Evil 5.
Several large-scale directors have also adapted video games for their next projects. Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy director Gore Verbinski was originally slated to direct the adaptation of the critically-acclaimed Bioshock, but has since passed the project to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, director of 28 Weeks Later.
Next summer, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell will release Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman is lined up to direct the Gears of War movie, and Spider-Man trilogy director Sam Raimi is in talks to direct Warcraft, adapted from the hugely successful PC game.
Interestingly enough, Hollywood appears to understand the importance of video games in media. Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Peter Jackson have all worked on their own video games, and actors are getting involved: Vin Diesel has created his own successful video game company, Tigon Studios.
In recent years, video games have become more cinematic. The upcoming Heavy Rain, a beautifully realistic Playstation 3 game, will attempt to tell a story with all the subtlety and mature themes of a normal movie, slowly closing the gap between movies and games.
The game’s creator David Cage said in an interview for Chief Magazine that his game is “not a game about saving a princess or the world. It’s purely about a father’s love.” Instead of making choices like who to shoot, the player makes everyday choices like whether to spend time with the character’s son or where to go for dinner, in addition to more action-oriented choices.
Even Jimmy Fallon is trying to make video game creators and the games themselves as big as the celebrities he interviews. On Late Night, he recently interviewed Brutal Legend creator Tim Schafer and had an exclusive demo of Microsoft’s newest X-Box technology, Project Natal, helping make audiences more aware of the booming video game medium.
It seems like the synergy between movies and video games is becoming more powerful. Hopefully, this will lead fans to discover the merits of a different type of entertainment then they are used to.
A Graveyard Smash: Halloween II music review September 14, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentHeather Gioia, Broadside Correspondent
When you think Halloween, you think horror. Along with his hit remakes, Rob Zombie has put a new spin on the horror sounds of the holiday.
The remake of Halloween II hit in theaters in late August, accompanied by the soundtrack, which features a compilation of unique sounds and movie clips. Pop in the 25-track album and be prepared for a complete listening expierence.
The album opens with a clip from the movie entitled “He’s F***ing Dead,” a short clip that sets the Halloween mood. After all, we all thought Mike Myers was dead.
The first song on the album is “Nights in White Satin” by The Moody Blues, a calm and relaxing track.
With a slow beat and a groovy tempo the hook, “because I love you, yes I love you,” is destined be on your lips by the end of the track, creating a mesmerizing sound.
After another movie clip, an upbeat ’80s track blasts from the boom box. Who remembers the 10cc’s “The Things We Do For Love?” The song is yet another mesmerizing track that, after the first few beats, has you swaying and singing along.
Track six, “Amerarockers” by Scream, opens with a fun funk beat that resembles the free sounds of Sublime.
Movie clips such as “Ass Good” are comical fun, while others are moments from the movie. These clips are a great compliment to tracks by well known artists such as Rod Stewart and Motorhead.
After the cast announces they want to party, get ready for an old fashion country rush.
Captain Clegg and The Night Creatures put the country into Halloween in two tracks, “Transylvania Terror Train” and “Honky Tonk Halloween.”
The latter song is a good ol’ honky tonk time. With a classic honky tonk rhythm, fun and up lifting beats, get ready for piano solos you may thought were lost as well as rocking guitars capturing the true twang of country.
Since the country may have taken over your system or overwhelmed you ears, Foghat brings out groovy sounds exclaiming how they “just want to make love to you.”
The bluntness of the lyrics and the popping bass, wailing guitars and unusual drums combined to create a comical track.
The Halloween II soundtrack is, simply put, a great time. From the fun sounds of the ‘80s to country and rock, not to mention movie clip after movie clip, Halloween II captures the ears and sends them on an eventful genre-spanning journey.
Whether your genre is country, rock, hip hop or funk, the soundtrack is a pleasant mix of genres straight from the film that can be appreciated and enjoyed by all.
Get ready to rock. Halloween II is a strange compilation of tracks that are captivating, fun and relaxing.
Mason Alumna’s Got Moves: Yana Blinova Makes Her Mark on Primetime September 14, 2009
Posted by style in : Style , add a commentKatie Miller, Broadside Correspondent
Since its inception, So You Think You Can Dance has proven that America really can dance. And this past season, one of Mason’s own was pulled into the spotlight.
George Mason University alum Yana Blinova, a competitive dancer and teacher, was invited to help choreograph a rumba and a cha-cha for two SYTYCD couples.
Already a nationally-acclaimed competitive ballroom dancer, choreographing for SYTYCD proved to be another achievement for Blinova.
“There are two accomplishments I am proud of,” said Bilnova, “one was winning the World Championships in 2006 as a Pro/am. Second, I was proud of appearing on So You Think You Can Dance twice to help choreograph. That is pretty great for me because there are so many good dancers in Los Angeles, but I was the one that was asked.”
Although the Latin rumba with Tony Meridith was not broadcasted, Blinova’s cha-cha coaching session with Meridith did broadcast on July 12, Season 5 Episode 18.
While Blinova did not major in dance at Mason, she was already actively competing while attending. In fact, dancing has been always been a part of her life.
“My parents are professional ballroom dancers. They opened up a dance studio for Ballroom Dancing in Alexandria, Virginia (Dance Studio Lioudmila) where I was first introduced to ballroom.” said Bilnova. “I don’t think I would’ve taken dancing so seriously or live the life I live now if not for that studio.”
Even though choreographing for SYTYCD was a humbling experience, it was also a new challenge for Blinova.
“The couples were very inspiring. Very devoted, committed, extremely talented and they knew how to have fun. And being on stage gave me an adrenaline rush.” said Blinova. “There was so much I wanted to teach them in four days, I had to be careful not to overwhelm the dancers. It was a fantastic experience.”
As a competitor and teacher, Blinova understands the difficulties of such a physically taxing activity, but she feels that the experiences and benefits make up for it all.
“Teaching and then practicing can have its toll on your body. However I love my job and I will never regret my choices. I get to travel and compete, meet new people, keep in shape and wear beautiful costumes and jewelry; my job can move with me wherever I plan to move,” said Blinova.
Considering that Blinova teaches dance for a living, the art form is not just a recreational activity, but a way of life. If she weren’t a dancer, she knows to be happy she would have to be in an environment full of movement and creativity.
“If I didn’t dance, I’d either work in the health industry or compete professionally in another sport. I cannot sit still in an office. I’ve tried. I’m not crazy about working in clinics either, I’ve tried that too. Physical, competitive, artistic work is best for me,” said Blinova.
Blinova currently teaches and competes with her husband and partner, Krasi, at their Orange County Ballroom in Orange County, Calif.