Monday, May 16, 2011

Weekend Report: Trey McIntyre Project and a trip to Rehoboth Beach


Saturday night, LLC and I saw the Trey McIntyre Project, an impressive modern dance group. They’re based in Boise, but the choreography is inspired by New Orleans culture. A-freaking-mazing. These dancers can move! The performance was in three separate pieces.

The first, “Ma Maison,” featured dancers in skeleton costumes (not in a creepy way) and was inspired by traditional New Orleans funerals (imagine a combination of Day of the Dead and Mardi Gras, all set to jazz music). According to the Post, the performance “unleashes the raucous celebration of the jazz funeral, the Cajun acceptance of ghosts, the fearlessness of a population that has experienced hurricanes and hardship since its very beginnings — and all of this unspools to very hot music.”

Part 2, “The Sweeter End,” was grittier with more acrobatic moves.

My favorite was Part 3, “In Dreams.” It’s about Tennessee, “a work of intense vulnerability and pain made visible.”

The music is awesome, the dancers are amazing – if you ever have a chance to see anything by the Trey McIntyre Project do it! (Go here for a tour schedule.)





Then early Sunday morning my co-volunteer and I rented a car, made a picnic, and took our refugees to Rehoboth Beach. (In case you're confused, I do refugee assistance volunteering.)


It was quite the day. We picked them up at 8:30am, crammed all 8 of us into a minivan, and started driving. Rehoboth Beach, DE is a little over 2 hours from their apartment in Maryland. Unlike the redneck beach Ex-Co-Worker Megan and I ventured to last summer, this was the for-serious real thing! Ocean, waves, sand, and boardwalk. Picnic sandwiches, ice cold salt water, sand in your hair, sea-smelling air in your face.


I was a little concerned as we planned the trip…I didn’t know if the family (who are originally from the Congo) would take to the whole beach concept. Well, it turns out I had nothing to worry about – they loved it. They are from Great Lakes region of East Africa, so the beach made them feel like home.

On the drive they saw their first cows, and were in awe of the Maryland Bay Bridge (I was too - did you know there’s a huge bridge in the middle of the state???). Once we arrived they learned that the ocean is salty, and that Merry-Go-Rounds are fun.



Despite the partly cloudy weather, the kids splashed in the ocean and built sand castles. And of course took enough super-model-on-the-beach photos to stock an album (they love taking pictures of themselves).


We left the beach completely exhausted and happy. It sounded daunting, but Rehoboth is a totally do-able day trip from DC. And definitely worth it!