Jordan and Tatiana's Last Routine

Taking their "Final Bow:
Jordan and Tatiana at the 2015 US Open

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. -Thomas Jefferson

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Before you read the article I wrote today, I want to clear away some cobwebs first so that you can see it clearly.

Look. Talking about Jordan and Tatiana is a very difficult thing to do.

It's like talking about gun control. People lose their minds and talk nonsense no matter what side of the matter they fall on.

But here I am, trying to voice my feelings and an opinion about - basically - Tom Cruise to a crowd that either defected from or most decidedly belongs to Scientology.

Well. As a writer that means I have a small chance of actually being heard, but I'm going to write about it anyway...

Parris Goebel: Brilliant Choreographer Sets World on Fire

Parris & her crew in the record-breaking "Sorry" video

Over the weekend, Billboard 200 announced that history was written last week. Adele's new Hello video broke YouTube viewing records, nearly doubling the number of views Taylor Swift snatched when she broke YouTube viewing records earlier this year with her ridiculously amazing Bad Blood video.

And as much as I love Adele, the video I was replaying all week, both online and in my head, was not her Hello video, but the other video Billboard wrote about in their announcement: Justin Beiber's Sorry video.

That's right. I said Justin Bieber. I'm kind of mad about that. I can't stand the guy. Ever since he wrote those awful things in the Anne Frank Museum guestbook, I've crossed him off as worse than a Nissy. Something much worse. But he's not in the video. Nope.

So how did it break records anyway?

A Tear Like No Other: Dancer's Knee Surgery Journey P4

MRI of the Knee

I've been shot!

And though it finally happened, though they finally stuck a massive needle into my right knee for an injection, it was not their idea this time: it was mine. And after the last journal entry, you might think you know exactly what an injection meant for me... but you'd be wrong.

Everything has changed. Again.

It turns out that all seven medical professionals who viewed my knee MRI, from the radiologist who took the images to the top rated orthopedic surgeon I wrote about last week... it turns out that they all read my MRI incorrectly. 

Big time.

Shock and Repair: This Dancer's Knee Surgery Journey 3

I am still in shock. This journey to knee surgery has not been a roller coaster. It has been a cyclone. 

I'm barely holding my bearings right now, standing right between two huge and important appointments, and am snatching both my breath and the moment to write a brazen update so you don't get lost without me.

Here's what's happened since Part 2:

• I had an MRI taken on the right knee, which is damaged the most of the two.
• I met with my primary doctor who had ordered the MRI, who then, upon reviewing the results, referred me to an orthopedic surgeon.
• I met with my "top 10 in the field" orthoscopic surgeon.

And then my world fell apart.

Freestyle Footwork 3: Lil' Mama - Sausage

A New Footwork Video is Here:
The Story Behind It

If you were like the rest of the nation - scratch that - world, you were rockin' out to Lil' Mama's summer breakout hit "Sausage." Not only was it incredibly tight, catchy and well done, but the music video she released it with blew the last few years of MTV video awards out of the water.

She was, in short, hot this summer. And I was so, so glad to have her back.

Unlike most artists that top the charts these days, she doesn't rely on explicit lyrics to send a message. Not only that, but her message is always a positive one. It builds community rather than breaks it down. Bullying has become so rampant we become hostile when someone doesn't do it in their music, and Lil' Mama took some of that heat this summer.

New Video Series! Freestyle Footwork

Introducing a new series of
free footwork videos.

Lately I've begun recording a new series of videos for you to check out on my YouTube Channel (GetSwingIN). Now that I am able to dance again, albeit in a very limited capacity, I've been looking for ways to share it with you once more.

The new series, called Freestyle Footwork, is very much what the title implies. I pick a song I feel like dancing to, hit record on the camera and then I try to forget about it. I love the motto "dance like no one's watching." And that's the motto I keep in my head while I boogie on down.

I never dance to a song twice. I never choreograph beforehand. I just let my feet carry me where they will. Just like I used to.

This Dancer's Knee Journey, P2

My Knee Surgery Blog, Part 2

Tomorrow I head into the MRI for my right knee. I'm so ready.

I've had a lot of time to reflect since hearing the news that yes, it's time to operate on my knees. More importantly, I've had a lot of time to take notice of that one single knee that's being imaged tomorrow. 

That's new for me. My attention, for almost five years now, has been on some mysterious disease that's attacking every system in my body. As a result, I'm used to looking at my body as a whole, attaching everything wrong with the disease.

But now that the spotlight has been shifted to my right knee, my attention to it as an individual problem has unearthed startling results.

Video of the Week: Boogie by the Bay Podcast, P2

Part 2 of my Boogie by the Bay
Insider Podcast is here!

Boogie by the Bay is right around the corner, so it's time to check out the last half of my BBB Audio Expose Podcast! 

Confession time. Though I spill a lot of info in this podcast series, its not reflective of my other work. This is a much more personal podcast, because I personally worked with this team and it didn't end well. At all. 

If I recorded it today, it would sound very different. I know about the cult now. And in that light, all of the drama I experienced goes right out the window. All of these crazy stories you will hear will suddenly make sense. They don't sound so crazy anymore. They sound like textbook cult behavior.