As I move on to my next “victim” in this interview series, I
must admit to having a very difficult time pinning her down for an interview
(which is why this interview is so far behind my last one). She is such a busy lady and, in my opinion,
doesn’t really care to be “Spotlighted”, so to speak. But I knew I MUST interview this woman. She has
always been near the top of my list, but has been ever busy with work and just
being her awesome self. I’ve known her
for many years and count her as a well-loved and dear friend. But, again, I do not know nearly enough about
this fellow dancer and seamstress. And so,
after many a persistent text and using my charms of persuasion, I endeavored to
interview this Siren of Swords, this Feline of Fire, this Temptress of Tribal,
this Maven of Mischief – “Hot Donna”!
This time the interview takes place in the upstairs room of
my home – my sewing/craft/spare room.
She’s been eager to see the room where I tell her that Joann Fabrics has
exploded. J
She arrives at my home looking very comfy and non-bellydancer-like. Just a regular lady, lovely as always. And so, on this Saturday morning, we head
upstairs, sit down and I turn the “Spotlight” on Donna Savage.
Now that I finally
have you, let’s learn a little about “Donna ”.
Where did you grow up? I
grew up everywhere! My dad was actually
in the Air Force (he’s retired Air Force), so I was a military brat, and we
traveled a LOT. I was born in
France. I was in Hawaii for 5, Texas,
Oklahoma, California, all over. And then
he retired in Georgia, actually, in Toomsboro, about 2 ½ hrs from here. (So, do
you have a dual-citizenship in France?)
No, I could have. When I was 18 I
just had to decide, but it’s like, eh.
So I don’t and I’ve never been back.
But I actually went to Germany, when I was in the military, but I just didn’t have the chance to
get back there.
Tell me about when
YOU went into the military. You went
into the Air Force? Nope! You know, I was a child of the Air Force so I had to be
different. (laughs) Couldn’t be like my dad. I went Army.
I did. I knew I didn’t want to
stay in Georgia, because we had traveled so much and it was like my feet were
just itching. When I graduated high
school, I was, BOOM, out of the house immediately, and, um, I moved to
Milledgeville, GA for about a year or two and I was thinking, (sigh) I gotta
go, I gotta go. So I said, “You know
what, I’m just gonna travel some more!” So I decided to join the Army. (And
what did you do in the Army?)
(laughs) Most people will be like, What??, when I tell them. I was actually in Transportation. And the reason I made that decision is I was
18/19 years old and the guy at the M.E.P.S station was like, “Well, you have
these 5 choices.” But I didn’t want to sit behind a desk, so then he said what
I could do was, I think it was 64 Charlie then, but I think it’s 88 Mike
now. But he said, “Well, you could do
this and you could get a $4000 sign on bonus.”
(clap) There! I want that
one! Believe it or not, it was fun,
though. I really enjoyed it because I
had no direction. I had no clue what I
wanted to do or be. But it was fun, I
totally enjoyed myself. (Cool!
How long were you in?) 7
years. (Enlisted or Officer?)
Enlisted.
Now, you said your
dad was in the Air Force so tell me a bit about the rest your family. I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers. I’m the middle sister, next to the
youngest. Actually, my sister was Air
Force, my brother was Army, my son is Navy, so we have military all
around. Just the 5 of us. My dad being in the Air Force, my mom, she
didn’t drive, so we would just get in all kinds of trouble. Back then, you know how it was, you would go
outside and play all day and not come back home and be OK. And we would just go out together and enjoy
and get into all kinds of trouble.
(laughter) (I think I want to know
about that.) Yeah, but we played
together a lot. Now my oldest sister is
in Washington state, my older brother is in Toomsboro still, my brother that’s
a year older than me is still in Toomsboro and my youngest sister’s in
Dublin. So, they’re all kind of close
except for my oldest sister. (Toomsboro?
Where’s that?) It’s like,
between Milledgeville and Dublin. It
kind of sits in between there. It’s
actually for sale. (The TOWN is for sale??) The
TOWN is for sale! (laughter) Yeah, it used to be booming back in the day,
Swampland Opera House, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. Yeah, it’s just like tour buses and
craziness. It’s a beautiful little
town.
So you have two
boys, tell me about them. One is 24 and one is 23. One’s in the Navy and one just graduated
college. He’s actually got a job at EZ
Go as an Electrical Engineer! Yeah, I’m
very proud of both of them. It’s weird
thinking that they’re that age, it’s like, when did that happen?? I just don’t remember when that happened, it
just did. (So, were you married before?)
Yep, I met their dad in the military when we were stationed at Ft.
McClellan, Alabama. My rule was, I never
dated anybody in the barracks, I just didn’t do that, and then HE showed
up. It was one of those things and 4
months later, we were married. We were
married for about 10 years. It just
didn’t work out. Stuff happens. Yea.
He’s no longer with us. He died
about 5 years ago. (Oh, dear! I’m so sorry.)
Yea, well.
What do you do in the “muggle” world? I, actually, as a vet, take care of
vets. I work at the VA Medical
Center. I’ve been there about 16/17
years. I started out 6A, which is a
medical floor, anything and everything. (As a Nurse?) Yea.
Yep, and I did that for about 10 years and then I got the job that I
have now, which is primary care. It’s
like a doctor’s office, kinda sorta. At
first, it was like, “What did I do, I don’t want to do this, I need to go back!” This is a whole different world for me,
because it’s like preventive medicine and not the other, so. But now that I’ve done it, I’ve been there
about 8 or 9 years and I love it. I like
taking care of our vets. It’s like, I
kind of understand it, you know, I know their world a little bit. (That’s
an incredible job!) Yeah, I mean, it
has its days, all jobs do, your patients really try your patience sometimes but
it really is rewarding. I like it.
Well, how did you meet Mr. JT? It’s so crazy! It was just meant to be, because if one
little thing had not happened, we would have never met. I was actually working at the VA Medical
Center on 6A and I was getting off, my shift was ending, he was supposed to be
off that day, and they called him in.
They brought this patient in to Augusta, to the VA Medical Center, and
they NEVER bring patients straight to the ward, EVER. But they did this day. (laughs) (He’s
a Paramedic?) Yea, he’s a Paramedic. (But
he’s also in the military?) No,
everyone thinks that because he’s all tactical and everything but he’s
not. So they bring him to the floor and
I’m walking and I’m looking and I’m, WOW!
And my friend was walking with me and I’m like, “Man, I’d love to get
his digits!” (laughs) And, of course, my friend turns around and
was like, “Hey, she wants your digits!”
And Jason just turns around and says, “Well, tell her to come get ‘em!” (laughter)
So, they took, the patient in the room and Jason was doing whatever he
was doing and I could see him and I was standing there with my little notepad
and pen. Then he turns around and he was
like “OH!” I said, “Yea, I’m getting you
digits!” So I start writing them down
and I was like “This isn’t your phone number!” And he says, “Do you want it or
not?!” I was like, “O, I guess I
do.” (laughs) It was just a crazy day and I called him
almost immediately, as soon as I got in my car.
We talked and we talked. We
probably talked about a month on the phone before we ever went out. Our first date was actually a motorcycle
ride. Yea, it was fun. And that was it, it went from there. (Kismet!) 10 years later! But if anything hadn’t happened that day, if
I had got off a little earlier, if my friend hadn’t been there, or if he didn’t
come to work, so it was just meant to be.
I almost hung up when I found out how old he was! He told me he was 25, I was like, “Um, o,
ok..” (So, he’s younger than you, by how much?) 14 years. He’s an old soul, though. Jason’s a very old soul. I tell him there’s an old man hiding in
there. He likes stuff like apple crisp
and rice pudding and, what is that – not the grits – but, oh, yea, Cream of
Wheat. (laughs) I’m like, “You are so old!” So much older than me, on the inside. We have our good days and bad days but, you
know, everyone does.
What was your
first experience in Bellydancing and when? Believe it or not, it was my birthday and
Jason told me to put on some yoga pants and a tank top. I thought I was getting surprised with a
massage or something, so when we pull up at Warren Community Center, I was
like, “What are we doing here?” He’s
like, “Surprise, I got you bellydance lessons like you wanted.” Because I’d mentioned it to him, just out of
the blue, you know. I’d always wanted to
do it and I had, like, NO dance background, NOTHING. And at first I was like, “I’m not getting
out! I’m not doing it!” He told me, “You’re getting out!” And that’s when I met Mari, Mari
Edwards. She was my first bellydance
instructor. After that first class, that
was it for me, I was hooked. She created
a monster in me. (A good monster. A very HAPPY
monster.) Yes! Bellydance has done
so much for me and opened so many doors and made me see the world so
differently. Because I have a lot of
stuff in my background and it’s just help me deal with it all. I’ve met so many wonderful people,
friends. I just love it. (That’s
a common theme that runs through is the fact that it helps people through so
many things.)
How long have you
been bellydancing? Um, oh geez,
um. 8 years? 7 years?
Something like that.
How did you feel
during your first performance or when you were first able to make sense of the
dance? Um, I remember my first
performance. It was with Mari. You know, she made all her students do
“Wadi”, which I think was a good idea, because then you get to watch if first
before you perform it. I remember, she
came outside and it was me and Jason’s sister and she was like, “Well, we want
you to perform.” And I looked at her and
said, “Absolutely NOT!” (laughs) “No,
I’m not doing that, no!” But,
eventually, I did decide to do that. I
remember on the way down, I think it was for the 4th of July
celebration, they still do it but they don’t call it “Riverblast” anymore, they
just call it “4th of July Celebration”. I think it was for that and it was me,
Jason’s sister, and I think Kristin, was on the stage as well. I think I have that video somewhere. It’s crazy!
I remember going downtown and me and Jason’s sister were in the back of
the car going, “Oh my God! We’re gonna
do this! It’s gonna happen!” Got through it, my nerves were like wracks,
but got through it. And when I got off
the stage, I was like, “I wanna do that again!”
(laughs) “I wanna do that
again!” I still get so nervous when I
perform, with fire, with bellydance, with anything! I still get so nervous. The butterflies start. (I
would think if you don’t, then you’ve lost something.) Yea, that’s why I think it’s a good thing I
still feel that way. As a matter of fact,
Fierce Fusion has a thing they go through, especially before a big performance,
we just crank up the radio with the crunkest music and we just get crunk. We just crunk it out. And it really helps, you know, with
nerves. I mean, dancing with a sword, and
your nervous? Not a good combination at
all!
Costuming. I know you make some but do you buy some and
where? Um, I’m trying to
remember the last thing I bought. I
still love to buy the Desert Dancer pants.
They’re really good. I love her
stuff. But, for the most part, I think I
make most of my stuff now. Just because
it’s my style and what I like. And being
able to create it, I think I make most of my stuff now.
How scary is a
serger?? It was terrifying! It was like, “Oh my gosh!” Of course, my wonderful Boo bought that for
me for my birthday. Had no clue it was
going to happen. But we went to Jeff’s
Sewing and the ladies there are just phenomenal. They’re so awesome. And they do classes. The lady who helped me learn how to thread it,
which once you get the hang of it is ok, but you have to do it once a month or
you forget. I’m still learning so
much. Rachel Morris just got a serger. She’s taking classes and she’s learning
things so we’re going to start learning stuff together. She’s got a ruffle foot. I totally want one of those things! But as for my serger, I’m still learning
things about it, it still pisses me off.
It’s like, “Uh uh, I’ve got to leave this for a moment.” (But,
yet, you make some of the most fantastic things.) Yay!
What music
inspires you? I don’t know. I think it’s just the feel of the song, when
I hear it. I mean, I’ve danced to songs
that I just didn’t feel at all but we did it anyway cause it was “badass” or
“cool”. But as far as music goes, I
think it’s the melody of the song and the feel of the song when it comes on –
do I feel it? I think, does it make me
want to do something to it? Either it
does or it doesn’t. Like my first
solo. I did my first solo with my fans
and it was just something out of the ordinary and when I first presented it,
they were like…. It was “Hello” by
Evanescense. It was slow and dark. I love that song and I love doing it to
fans. Because when it came on, I was
like, “I want to do something to this.”
That’s just how it works with me.
It might be something totally out of the norm. Totally nothing to do with my type of
style. But it makes me want to do something
to it.
So what’s on your
iPod? Anything and
everything. You name it, it’s on
there. I don’t have one type of music
style, it’s just off the charts crazy.
From screaming, yelling, hard-core rock to sappy love song, you
know? (laughs) It’s on there!
When you’re in the
car, what radio station do you listen to? 95 Rock is usually the one that I have on. But most of the time I have a CD in. I will make CD’s and just pop it in. Just different ones, one is rock, the next
one is slow, the next one is just randomness.
That’s what I like. I don’t like
the same all the way through.
For choreographies
that you have created, where do you find your inspiration? I have, especially for my class, my students,
I do stuff for them. We created “The
Garden”. Fierce Fusion did it first, and
then I redid it for my students. Just
going out there, putting the music on and just dancing! Finding different movements with whatever
comes up, that’s where I find it. Me and
Kristin have just stood in the mirror for hours just trying to get the last 8
counts. And then, one day, it’s like,
“Oh my gosh, this would look so good here!”
It’s craziness. Sometimes it easy
and sometimes it like, “Man! This is not
working!”
What types of
movement are you drawn to and why?
Because you were talking about the music will kind of inspire a
movement. Well, I like dancing
with my sword so I the long, slow and the sharp and pop and just drastic
movements that you don’t expect. I came
up with a move for Fierce Fusion that we use a lot and I got it out of a
breakdancing class at the Y. I was just
in there checking it out and watching them do it and I was like, “We could
totally use that!” And it looks so
cool! And that’s where I got it
from. I actually put it in my students’
choreography for “The Garden”. All it is
is that you cross your leg over and you pop up with a spin. And it looks so cool, very unexpected, and I
love that! Because people think, “Well,
she’s going to cross her leg and get up slowly”, but no, you’re going to bolt
up really quick! That’s what I like, the
unexpected!
What do you
absolutely HATE about the dance world?
(sigh) Let’s see. Not a lot.
There’s not a lot I hate about the dance world. It’s just got so much goodness that it
overrides the badness. You know, I try
to ignore the stuff that I don’t like. (Which is?) You know, someone saying things which are
just rude. I just kind of ignore
it. It’s just not worth it. I just kind of tune it out.
What do you
absolutely LOVE about the dance world?
Pretty much the togetherness, the bringing everyone together, the
openmindedness. The stuff that it
brought into my life that I never thought in a million years it would be this
way. Bellydance not only brought me
dance but also fire! It brought me fire
and then the fire spinning and the flow.
It just kept on and on and on and it just keeps on and on and on. That’s one of the things I love about this
world – the two can connect. You can
just keep going, as much as you want or as little as you want. It doesn’t matter. You take it and run with it or you can take
it and just enjoy the little bit parts. And I love how it brings people out of
their shell. I get some people who are
just wanting to learn a little bit it and the next thing you know, they’re
dancing and they have their own troupes and I just love watching them come out
of their shell and showing their creativity.
Something they never thought they’d be able to do. I love watching it because that was me. I know how they feel and I understand
it. And as a teacher, I’m very careful
to not make them dance like me, to bring my style to class. I keep it very basic, let’s just do
basics. You find your passion, what
moves you.
Where do you teach? At the Y, the Wilson Y off Wheeler. I’ve been there for about 5 years now. I teach Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 pm. (**Note: Since this interview, Donna has begun
teaching Tribal Foundations at Hip2Hip Studios Mondays at 6 pm.) I love it!
But the only thing I don’t care for is that it’s hard to, like if I have
someone in my class that’s been there a while and they know what’s going on,
especially on Tuesday, which is a beginner’s class. I have to go over everything, every time, so
it’s not like sessions, it’s everyday there’s someone new. Which is ok, but, it’s like with the students
that have been there for a while, if we’re shimmying, then start layering. Get your chest circle in on top if that
shimmy while we’re just shimmying. But,
it’s hard. (Yea, I have the same challenges both places where I teach as well so I
understand.) I’m trying to make
Thursday the dance day, you know, where you come in and we’re all ready to
dance. But it’s just not possible
because you can’t just tell someone you can’t take this class today, and I just
can’t turn anyone away. I’m like, “Come
on, let’s do this!” But we still have
fun, we actually do linedancing. We do
drills as well.
Other than
bellydancing, what types of dance do you like? Crunkin’ it out at the club! (laughs)
Other than that, I really haven’t done anything else. I mean, I like modern dance. My niece is a modern dancer. She started about 5 or 6 years ago. She’s getting really good. Other than that, just bellydance. That’s all that under my “belt”. (Your
hip belt?) (laughter)
What first
“sparked” your interest in fire (if you’ll pardon the pun)? I want to say that me and Jason were downtown
after we had danced, because we were dancing (Fierce Fusion) every First
Friday, and I want to say it was downtown and that’s where we first say it and
Jason was like, “That’s pretty cool!”
And I said, “Yea, that is cool!”
But I was terrified when I first saw the fire, people playing with the
fire and the fans and poi and stuff. (Ok, so there was already a group of people
doing it?) Yes, they were Pyroteque,
but not the same group. It’s a whole
different group now, but it’s still Pyroteque.
They left the name when they left.
They moved. But I think that’s
the first place we saw it. A friend of
mine, Olivia, she was doing it and she just mentioned that she was going over
to someone’s house and they were allowing people to come over and practice and
I was like, “I wanna go! I wanna do
that!” And that’s where it started. We started practicing and the next thing you
know, I’m part of Pyroteque. But, you
know, I’m still scared of the fire. I
always will have respect for it. I will
never, ever lose respect for the fire, because as soon as you do, you get too
comfortable, and accidents happen. But I
just fell in love with it. I love the
smell of fuel and burping fuel. And I
just love it, the sound it makes. The
first time I lit up was with poi, I think?
It was either poi or staff. And
it’s just, the noise that it makes, it’s just hypnotizing. It’s like bellydance, either you love it or
you don’t. It just grabbed me in and I
was like, “Well, here we go again.” But
we incorporate fire into our bellydance in Fierce Fusion.
Tell me about
Fierce Fusion. The beginnings of
Fierce Fusion was CRAZY! (laughs) We just went all out. It was me and Kristin and Alex joined up with
us. And we had no idea. I mean, I remember when I first found my
passion for sword with Romka. Just
watching them I was like, “Oh, I wanna
do that so bad!” (Romka?) Yea, they’re no longer a group, it’s Belladonna and
Mavi. Yea, we just picked the sword up
and creating and practicing. I think we
practiced 2-3 times a week for forever.
We practiced A LOT! Our first
performance was at Spirit (of the Tribes).
We just went crazy! We cut off
our pants and we put on fishnets and garters because that’s what we want,
that’s the look, our metals bras. It was
just what we wanted to do. And that
performance, I still go back on YouTube and check it out every now and then,
because it’s like, “Wow, we really did that!”
To create in such a small amount of time, and, you know, it just went
from there! But, you know, life
happens. I think Alex quit for a little
while and then Kristin had some life things happen and she started school, so
that took a lot of her time away. But we
started meeting again probably a couple weeks ago. We’re starting to create again, get back into
it, now that she’s got her Masters!
Whoop Whoop!! She’s got it! Finally!
No more school! Yay! But we are starting to get back into it,
we’re starting to do it. So that’s where
Fierce Fusion is now, years later. I
don’t know how many years, maybe 5? 4 or
5 years.
What “style” of
bellydance do you most associate yourself with – Cabaret (obviously not, lol),
Tribal, Folkloric, Fusion, Orientale, etc?
I think I know the answer to that, but I will ask anyway. Lol.
(laughs) Um, I would say, Tribal Fusion
with a tendency to the darker side?
Because I still do your basic Tribal pieces, you know, but, more or
less, our stuff is on the harder side.
But, we’ve done a softer side, a little bit. We’ve done that one at Spirit, “The Pillow”? And don’t ask me who does it, because I don’t
remember. We did that softer side and we
actually wore, um, beige or cream. (I remember that! Wasn’t that 2010 or something like that?) Yea.
That was very different for us, but you know, we came up with that in,
like, two weeks. It was crazy. But it’s one of our most favorite
pieces. We’ve done it again but we’ve
kind of changed it a little bit. And
when we say we’re going to wear cream, we kind of look at each other and say,
“We are?” (laughs) Because black just
didn’t go with the music. But it totally
worked out and that’s one of our favorite pieces that we love to do. It’s a beautiful song, gorgeous, and I just
love what we did with it, especially the spin and the drop. It’s like, “What?!”
Given the
opportunity, if time, money, and distance were not an issue, who would be your
“dream” instructor? With whom would you
LOVE to study bellydance? I
think with bellydance (or sword), if they were still together, I would love,
love, love to study with Romka. So
either Mavi would be awesome to work with for a while. Just the way that they move, it’s totally my
style and I love it. I have taken
classes with the both of them and they are just awesome instructors so either
of them. As far as fire goes, I’ve never
gotten a chance to, but I love Linda Farkas.
She does hoop and staff but I think staff is her specialty. It’s just beautiful the way she moves with
it, because she dances with it as well.
It’s AMAZING what she does with that staff. Aileen is really good too. I’ve actually gotten to take classes with
her, she’s really good. If I could spend
about a year with either one of those, that would be awesome! (laughs)
We are always
faced with challenges in life. If you
were suddenly unable to dance, would you continue in the dance world, somehow,
or would you just walk away? Oh,
I would definitely continue. I couldn’t
leave this world. It’d be like losing
part of me, you know. I’d have to stay
and definitely be in costuming. I LOVE
creating and I know you totally understand.
(Oh, I do.) Yea, this room is, I just want to get a bed
and sleep here! (**referring to my sewing room) (Well, (pointing to the sofa
sleeper) this is a bed!) I would be so comfortable here and I
understand these piles, they make sense!
I understand, I have those piles.
And, Jason, finally he’s just agreed to accept it. But, yea, creating is definitely one of the
ways I would stay. Just watching someone
dance in something I’ve created, it’s the most awesome thing ever. It’s like watching hang your art on the
wall. I know that’s cheesy and stupid,
but that’s how I see it. People tell me
I should open and Etsy store, but I don’t ever want it to go there. Because this is more creating for me. I don’t want it to ever become work. I want it to continue to stay creating and
fun. I also love deconstructing. I love getting a piece of clothing where I love
the fabric and making it something completely different. It’s like plastic surgery for clothing. It’s awesomeness, it’s recycling, it’s all of
the above! (Goodwill is good for that.) I love Goodwill and yard sales.
What is something
fascinating about you that no one, or very few, knows? Well, military people are a totally different
breed, it’s a totally different world.
It’s like the bellydance world, you live a totally different life. You do some really crazy sh--, um
stuff. You get your free time and you
just do crazy stuff, and it happens just because. Nobody plans it, it just happens. Like, there’s a place, I think I was in
Alabama at the time, it was before the boys’ dad had gotten there. We went to the state park and we were just
going to go and hang out and chill. We
were just like, “Oh, there’s a big rock.
Let’s go up it and climb down and stuff.” So we were climbing down this big rock and I
was next and I looked down and I thought, “You know, I don’t know if I want to
do this.” As soon as I thought that, one
of our friends fell. (gasp. What happened?!) Stupid stuff. He broke his leg. (Oh my goodness!) Yeah, stupid stuff like that,
continuously. Yea, we were free
climbing. (How high was that rock?) It
was pretty high, high enough to break his leg when he fell. Crazy stuff, stupid stuff. We would go out in the middle of nowhere to
camp. We had no idea where we were at. (Did
you have some random tent or something?) (shakes head) Nope, we just lay on
the ground out in the open. Here we
are! (laughs) You know, whatever we wanted to do. Hook up with people we don’t even know, you
know? Just party. Just crazy stuff. Stuff you do when you’re young. In the military, when you’re all together
with so many different backgrounds, you put all that in one pot and stir it a
little bit, you’re gonna get crazy!
(laughs) Yeah, there was just so
much stuff that we did that was just nuts.
I’m surprised I’m alive.
(laughs)
What is your
biggest fear either in life or in dance? Or Both? I have a lot of fears. Of course, as a mother I have a lot of fears
for my children. I’m just very protective
of them anyway. Learning to let go is
very hard, you know, when they got about 19 or 20. And I still, you know, will call and be like,
“You need to do dah, dadah, dadah.” You
know? It’s like, “Stop it, Donna, stop
it. They’re grown.” But I don’t think that’ll ever leave. (Did
you ever have an issue with, knowing what you did when you were young and
crazy, did you ever have an issue with them and what they’re going to do when
they’re young and crazy?) Yea, and I
worried about it, because I knew they were doing it. (laughs)
They’re a lot like me. They’re
like their dad. I mean, poor guys, they just
didn’t have a chance. (laughs) I knew that they did. But, it’s like even now, my oldest is home
from college and he’s starting to save his money, working at EZ GO. I’m still telling him to this day that if
he’s going to go out, you know, call me.
I’ll come get you. I keep that
open, letting them know that I’m here.
They probably do worse things than I did. Both my children smoke and I was a smoker. And when they were little, they were like,
“Mommy, I want you to quit because I don’t want you to die of Brown Lung”
because they teach you that in school.
So I quit and then they both started smoking. It’s so crazy. But what can I say. All I say is, “You know, I hate that you
started. I can’t say anything to you
because I totally get it, but I really feel for you when you have to quit. That’s gonna really suck.” But, that’s one of my biggest fears. But I have a lot of fears. I have a fear of speaking in public, because
it’s the way my brain works sometimes.
Sometimes it’s hard to get stuff out.
It’s almost like it’s when I’m thinking of stuff sometimes the wrong word
will come out or I just can’t get it out, you know? When I read something, I have to read it
again because it’s exactly not what I read.
Me and Jason make fun of it now.
We’ll be riding along and I’ll be like, “Did that say, ‘Blah, blah,
blah?’” He’ll start laughing and tell me to just read it again. (laughs)
So, I’ve learned to make fun of it.
Back when I was in middle school in Texas, I was actually in Special Ed.
Because they thought I was stupid.
(laughs) But you know, it’s just
the way my brain works. I can’t sit and
read, because it’s too hard. I can’t do
it, it’s just too much. The way I got
through school is I had to record the class.
Speaking in public is a big fear of mine. I’m just afraid I’ll get up there and it
won’t come out. I’ll get up there and
I’ll just get stuck and what comes out will be completely not what I was
supposed to say. (laughs) So that’s a big fear of mine. It’s probably the worst fear. (How
about in dance?) Fear in dance? I still get nervous before a
performance. But I think my biggest fear
in dance is that, um, you know you’re gonna mess up. I think my sword slid off my head for the
first time a couple months ago at Joannie’s.
I got really pissed at her. I
wouldn’t even let Jason get her out of the car and bring her in the house. I was like, “You just stay in the f---in car!” But we made up. But I think just falling, or I have bad knees
and they’ll just pop out. In the middle
of something, they’ll just pop out. I
think that’s a big fear of mine. Just
falling or that happening. Some drastic
thing happening. Running into the
audience or my sword falls into the audience.
I do worry about that. (Well, I knew for a while it took you a long
time to do a solo.) Yea, it took me
a while to actually do it by myself.
Because I’m so used to Kristin being to my right or to my left and you
get used to dancing with somebody, especially as long as we’ve been dancing
together. It’s kind of like, “It’s
lonely out there. Something ain’t right.” You don’t know HOW to do this by
yourself. Especially when that’s all you
know and you didn’t start out as a soloist.
And that’s all you’ve ever done, with the same person. It’s scary.
It’s almost like you don’t know how or you don’t know what or how to do
it. It’s very weird. (So,
how do you feel about it now?)
Better! I feel a lot better about
it, because, like you said, (when dancing a solo) you do have that freedom when
you mess up, well, I guess I’ll do this then.
Or if you forget, well, I’ll put it in there later. You know, you can just kind of wing it. You know?
Whereas when you’re dancing with somebody, they KNOW when you mess
up. They can see it.
What is something
that holds you back? Um, I don’t
know. I don’t think so. I think if I want to do it now, whereas
before I was like, “I can’t do that”. I
think now, being in this world or community, one thing it taught me is if I
want to do something, you have to work for it and work hard for it. But I really don’t have a fear when it comes
to dance now, because I know if I do something, it will be accepted. If I bring it out on this stage, it will be
ok.
What are your dreams for the future – where do you see yourself in
the dance in 3, 5, 10, 20 years?
I guess just to be doing what I’m doing now. Just being happy with it, moving forward and
changing up. (What about goals. Do you have any goals?) Keep getting stronger and learning different
stuff. I mean, Cabaret, you know, I love
to watch it but I feel so retarded doing it.
I don’t know why, I just… (This is
what I would love to see – I would LOVE, I would LOVE, I would pay money to see
you do a Cabaret-style routine in a full-on Cabaret costume in makeup and
everything.) You don’t want to see
that, Karen. (Oh, I do! I DO! I would pay money to see that and I bet a lot
of other people would pay money to see that!) (laughter)
You don’t want to see that!! (I would love to see that! I’m going to make it my personal goal to try
to see that happen!) Uh, Oh, Karen’s
got a goal! (laughter) (I have
decided that that is my new personal goal.
Along with me trying to do a dark gothic tribal piece.) But I could see you doing that. You could totally pull that off! (whispering I could not do that…) Yes! I
could totally see you doing that. (I would be smiling too much.) (laughter)
(You can’t smile in Tribal! There’s no smiling in Tribal!)
(laughter) Maybe that’s why I feel so
crazy doing Cabaret, because when I dance, I’m so used to not smiling in our
pieces. Maybe, I don’t know, it’s
weird. I just can’t put my finger on
it. (I
am going to do this. You be careful, I’m
going to do this.) Ok! I’m warning you! Oh, I’m gonna die… (No, you’re not.)
This is the
question that I should have asked earlier but if you were to do something
completely shocking or out of character with absolutely no consequences, what
would it be? To dance Cabaret,
in sparkles. (Yes! You and Jana, in pink
sparkles! Oh, my GOSH! I want that! I want that!) NO! Not PINK!
(laughter) I can’t do pink, I
cannot do pink. I like sparkles. Sparkles are ok. I like glitter, glitter’s ok.
OK, so if you were
stranded on a desert island, whom would you like to be with and what one thing? Of course, my Boo, Jason. And I would say my boys, but they would be
like, “Hell, no.” You know, you just don’t
want to be around your mom at that age.
(laughs) Especially on a desert island.
Um, so definitely Jason and the boys.
(What one thing would you need to
have, assuming that food and water and shelter and clothing were taken care
of?) I would need my air mattress,
my blankie, and my pillow. (laughs) My blankie doesn’t have a name but it just has
skulls on it and it’s nice and comfy and just rrrr. (If all
those things were there, what’s the other one thing?) Hmm. I
would say music. I would have to music
there, my music, my iPod.
What is in your
dancers’ bag? What has to be in there? Oh, my bag I take to the Y every week. It has my notebook and pens and knee pads,
for sure, gotta have those. Some bobby
pins, my headband, water, water’s always in there. Business cards and cards I get from different
places. (When you’re performing, what’s
in your dancers’ bag?) Um, of course
my makeup and bobby pins, for sure, safety pins, for sure, gotta have those,
DEODERANT, you never know, body spray, glitter spray, eyelash glue – which Oollee’s
has the best eyelash glue EVER, it’s latex free! It comes in a bottle and it’s a little wand
so you just rake it across. It’s latex
free and it lasts forever! I love
it! I was like, “Man, how did I live
without this stuff?” But, yea,
definitely eyelash glue, because the stuff will come off. Um, jewelry, of all types, lashes, definitely
the lashes, they’ve got to be there.
Lighters! I have lighters in my
bag. Especially if I’m going to do fire because
it’s very embarrassing to start a fire show and have to ask somebody for a
lighter. Very embarrassing. (laughs)
And it’s happened, believe me. I
keep lighters in my dance bag, in my poi bag.
So, that’s about it, nothing too major.
Maybe some kind of munchies, just in case. iPod, for sure! Yea, gotta get crunk!
(Well, those are the
end of my questions.) Yay!! I hope I didn’t sound like a DORK!
No, Donna, you did not sound like a dork. J On the contrary, it was a delight to spend some one-on-one time with you. As you can tell from the many remarks of laughter and laughing during the interview, she has such a bubbly personality, something that you may not realize if you just know her from her dance. Yes, she has a dark side, don’t we all, but I love the light, sweet side that is the real “Donna”. As we close our interview, we hug goodbye at my door and I feel as though I’ve just scratched the surface of this lovely and talented lady. I look forward to seeing her again, soon. And maybe, just maybe, will see her someday in a pink sparkly Cabaret costume…smiling. One can dream… J
