I spent the morning talking to my friend Sandy about a workshop in Ashland. She is new to blues; she's mostly a tango dancer, but after attending the workshop I taught at in SF, she really wants to get a little scene going here. From what she tells me, there certainly seems to be potential. There already exist some nice little dance communities and a good bit of local blues. I told her I'd be willing to do a workshop for less than I have offered anyone as yet (soon I think I'll find the rate at which someone will hire me...). Hopefully that will happen in the next months. It is hard to convince people to hire me, when I'm often trying to teach in a small or unformed community. I wonder how much my name (or lack thereof) hinders me from being hired.
It's hard to know how to get these things off the ground. I started by asking for an amount that I thought would work, but that hasn't worked yet. I also wanted to teach with Drew, and that adds to the cost. Together we still have asked less than Brenda would ask for a weekend, but nothing seems to solidify. I figure if I work for almost nothing, the money will eventually come in. So we'll see.
I'm leaving Ashland this morning and will certainly be back this season to catch Hamlet. The plays I saw: Twelfth Night and Henry IV, part one were both impeccable. I think that I'm overdue for a study of Shakespeare.
