interpreter.

"Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. 

As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination."

— Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Yep. 

I'm leaving on a jet plane for a whirlwind adeventure to teach, emcee, choreogarph and see my friends and family in B.C. I'm over the moon excited. 

Needless to say, I'll be a touch off the grid, but you can stay updated by following me on Twitter and Instagram (@PortiaFavro). Expect behind the scenes photos, tidbits from the studio and more! 

Also, Happy International Dance Day! How appropriate is it that my class falls on this evening? Looking forward to working it out with my dancers before I go! 

top5.

Where did April go? It's hard to believe this time next week will be another new month. 2013 is certainly flying by, but with some incredible opportunities. 

Nevertheless, April wouldn't be complete without a Top 5...here's what I'm loving this month: 

Calendar time. 

First, a little shameless self promotion. 

After many requests and inquiries about where I'll be teaching workshops, performing and emceeing, I thought it would be best to create a Google Calendar here on my blog for y'all to say updated. 

Be sweet and have a peek! 

Beyonce for H&M. 

Seriously, is there anything this woman can't do? I'm also slightly obsessed with that fantastic ocean blue dress she's donning around the 40 second mark...

City maps. 

I love these city maps that have been converted into art by CityFabric Goods. I'm personally loving the Manhattan, Paris and of course, my hometown of San Francisco ones - slightly disappointed there's not a Canadian city on the list yet. 

DivaGirl Fitness. 

I have been working with DivaGirl Fitness as a licensee for over a year performing and teaching with their entertainment division. I'll still be dancing, but I'm making a jump into their marketing team, working as the Social Media Coordinator. Make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and many other feeds for the latest photos and updates. 

Whisky sours. 

While travelling back through the US, I picked up a bottle of Jack Daniels to add to my adult bar collection. With this touch of warm weather, I've been loving squeezing fresh lemon juice, making a simple syrup and mixing up a cockatil. 

Here's my recipe for a simple whisky sour: 

1.5 onces whisky 

1.5 onces lemon juice

1 once simple syrup 

maraschino cherry for garnish 

Speaking of whcih - it's officially the weekend in a short amount of time. I'm looking forward to kicking back and working on some fun projects this weekend. 

Happy Friday! 

suitcase.

Warm weather to do's: 

1. Find the perfect high-waisted bathing suit

2. Make homemade sherbet 

3. Host a few backyard/garden soiree's

4. Travel somewhere I've never been before in the city 

b&w.

I think I'm en route to finding what happiness is. One piece of the puzzle is finding out that something you love to is actually something you do quite well. 

Former Cosmopolitan editor Kate White has put it best - "success is sweetest when you’re able to leverage it to do things in your life that fulfill you." 

What a fabulous afternoon teaching dance and celebrating a birthday - pretty lucky, pleased and thrilled. 

Have a lovely rest of your Saturday and weekend! 

throwback.

It's never too late for a Throwback Thursday memory.

The hashtag #throwbackthursday (or #tbt) has emerged as a huge trend on social media, especially through the photo-sharing network, Instagram.

As a journalist, my natural tendency is to observe from both a distance and in the thick of it all. Like most trends, I thought Throwback Thursday would phase itself out over a few weeks. However, I think time is proving that it will be here to stay for awhile.

Slowly but surely, I have started to post my own photosr aging from a couple months to a couple years prior. As like-minded friends and I have shared funny, old and classic photos of each other, Throwback Thursday has become something I look forward to.

A few weeks ago, I had a major reality check/throwback. When I first moved to Toronto, I was still trying to get my feet on the ground and figure out where I wanted to work, dance, study, eat, et cetera. In the dance department, I tried out more studios and classes than I could shake a stick at.

I remember being in an open jazz class in 2009, watching an absolutely stunning dancer with beautiful technical training perform a combination across the floor. I had this moment (and I kick myself now for thinking this) where I said to myself, "Portia, you'll just never be that good. Let this dream go."

Over the next few years, I dabbled in the dance community, but put all my energy into school. When the dance bug bit me during my fourth year of university, I started taking more classes, choreographing and performing. Slowly, I found my self confidence and technique rising even more than I thought possible.

Now that I'm teaching, dancing and choreographing professionally, I try to take a moment and see how far I've come.

However, sometimes you can't choose those moments, I think they find their way to you. Mine happened in March while I was on stage performing in a sold out show. As I came up to my partner, she put her arm around me, looked me in the eye, and we continued along with the choreography. Front and centre in the piece, I realized my partner was that girl I had compared myself to in the studio only a few years before.

Of course I knew it was the same dancer long before this, but that was my "aha" moment, realizing how much has changed on my end.

I'm an avid believer in the throwback - they show us just how far we've come, and I can't imagine how much further we can go.

I can't wait to post a photo from that performance in a future Throwback Thursday.

Just a thought.

horvath.

“I made a promise such a long time ago that I was going to take in experiences, all of them, so that I could tell other people about them and maybe save them, 

but it get so tiring trying to take in all the experiences for anybody,

 letting anyone say anything to me...I realize I’m not different. 

I want what everybody else wants.

 I want all the things.”

- Hannah Horvath, Girls

boston.

Yesterday afternoon, the sun was shining and I had just picked up a latte before heading into work. It felt like nothing other than a normal Monday. 

However, just before I went into the pool for my shift, I checked my Twitter account, only to find a stream of tweets about two explosions at the Boston Marathon. 

Although I don't have any connections to Boston, the world stopped at that moment. I was frozen. 

I couldn't help but wonder, "how can this happen?"

I have several close friends who participate in marathons regularly, and I have been on the sidelines cheering them on many times. One of my girlfriends and I had actually talked about going to Boston or New York just to see how these supersized marathons worked.  

I had the worst pain in my stomach for the rest of the afternoon...this so easily could have been my friends or family. 

At dance class that evening, I knew I couldn't teach without saying something about what had happened. When you enter the dance studio, it's similar to a yoga or therapy space - you leave your troubles, problems, anger, whatever at the door. But what could I say? 

As 20 women looked at me, eager to start class, I knew this was the time. Incidents like these make us realize how short and precious life is, and I thanked my students to taking the time to come and do something not only good for the body, but also for their hearts. 

We pledged our energy and danced for Boston last night. 

As cheesy as this sounds, I feel like the sun is shining a little differently today. There's been a shift in energy, and the world is feeling the aftershocks.  

This got me thinking - what can I do to help those in times of need, which for any given person could be any day? I'm planning to go donate blood as soon as possible and am on the lookout for other ways to contribute. 

Just a thought as we head into the remainder of the week. The best things we can hang onto is each other. Boston, you and your people in my thoughts and heart today. 

wknd.

Happy weekend my dolls. It's time for a whisky sour, my feet up and time with my friends. 

After a busy week, I'm very pleased with the progress made on many of my projects - updates coming soon. 

In the meantime, soak up the weekend and see y'all on Monday.