As the Super Moon rose through swaying palm trees, I perched on the love-seat in our kitchen – breathing in new opportunities and breathing out dissuaded anxieties with every beat of my heart. Silence ebbed and flowed through the room, engulfing it one minute – then a cackling laughter would chase it away.  My mind raced in circles as my fingers traced a path on the top of my phone. There are exactly 1,000 miles from my doorstep to Red Rocks Amphitheater out in Morrison, Colorado; 1,000 miles between my bedroom and my first music festival outside of California.  And it couldn’t come at a better time.  For the majority of this calendar year, I’ve been at a mental and emotional crossroads; I’ve been made incredibly aware of my aptitudes as well as my downfalls, and through hard work and dedication – I’ve built an incredibly succinct vision of what I’d like to do with my life.  Between my craft (writing) and my crafts (and arts), I need a jumping point to get me to the next level and attending the 16th anniversary of Global Dance is just that.

Zion National Park, Utah

For all the festivals franchises I’ve been to – HARD Presents, Insomniac Events, Go Ventures – I’m still a novice as far as the Global Dance events are concerned; and to cover the event on top of it? If there was a word that summarized – honored, thrilled, anxious, flabbergasted, stressed – the whole kit and kaboodle.

What’s more, is that my best friend – boyfriend – Danny – my partner in crime – photographer – whatever you want to call him, he’s coming with me and we’re making a huge road trip of the event.  Last weekend we celebrated one year of loving each other and what better way to celebrate than gallivanting through Zion and Red Rocks!  Back when I was in college, I spent a little bit of time in Breckenridge – but that was during the winter and under starkly different conditions!  Instead of flying in between two monstrously large blizzards, we’ll be driving from LA through St.George, Utah where we’ll be able to rest our bones for a bit before we bounce to Zion National Park! I’ve heard so many fantastic things about it but to be able to see it physically with my own eyes, I can’t properly express how monumental this is for me – for us, really.

Then – it’s off to Morrison for Global Dance! Thanks to some quick thinking and good luck with Air BnB – I found an exceptionally fantastic place within close proximity – and for only $40 it’s a certifiable steal (Like, seriously – if you’re ever going to Red Rocks let me know and I’ll give you this guy’s information!)  For all the research I’d done on GDE, I don’t know how it escaped me that there’d be more than one stage (I mean, duh; how many festivals are just one stage anymore….) – but I was truly hoping that with Red Rocks as a backdrop that it would more or less work out that way.  Anyhow, now I have to navigate through time conflicts and hold DJ death matches in my head to plot the best plan of attack.

This is the reason I’m so willing to put up with my normal 8-5; this is why I’m so dedicated to working day in and day out on my craft.  It’s big moments like these that pave the way for monumental events to happen – and I’m so excited to share my journeys!  Now, before I get back to being a glorified excel monkey – let me leave you with some of my favorite songs from the GDE: Red Rocks arsenal – enjoy!