The Chronicles of Thea finally continues...

Thea's the only kid whose gymnastics career I've been charting since her first backhandspring. There's a big year-long gap between this and her last video. I plan to fill in that gap someday (there's one project that's just been gathering dust, but might one day see completion). The problem I ran into, is too much footage to sift through (most of which I should just delete, as I capture a lot of "worthless" stuff, rather than stellar milestones) for one; and lack of creative juices, for another.

I've wanted to keep a constant theme and continuity with her videos, using dramatic music- even though she's actually got a rather goofy personality, much of the time. After the Conan music ran out in her videos, so too did her progress in developing the kind of strength that I think makes her stand apart from the average gymnast. Being able to do 10-20 handstand presses in a row or a V-seat and planche just aren't emphasized.

She's capable of demonstrating good posture and form in her gymnastics; but seems to seldom display it. And with inadequate dance training, she still often looks rather sloppy, with messy legs and posture. Which isn't to say she isn't making progress. To me, it's just a bit weird and uneven; but it could just be me.



The title of the video (like many of my videos) is silly, as my original idea when I first started making videos is to parody movies. Thea and I both like the Narnia books and the music to the movies. What I love in this particular video, is the transition from SMGC to LASG. If I remember Prince Caspian correctly, a subway train rushes by the kids, transitioning them to Narnia. As luck would have it, when I was out filming in front of the SMGC building, one of the vehicles that went by was a FedEx truck. Just by luck and without the intention to do so (I only had the germ of an idea, not yet fully developed), when I filmed in front of LASG, I also happened to capture a FedEx truck going by. When going through the footage, I put 2 and 2 together, and had my transition.

There really isn't much gymnastics in the video; I think if you remove the opening and closing credits, it amounts to about a 2 minute video. But it's the drama of the music that creates a story to tell.

I think the quote at the beginning is perfect for the gym transition we went through this past year (carrying on a "tradition" in the Thea series of videos), from mourning the closing of SMGC to celebrating the excitement of change provided by LASG, just around the bend.

Oh, and lest I forget: Today is Thea's Day Thursday. It's Thea's birthday. Happy 11th to someone who, each day, never fails to make me feel cherished and appreciated. I hope I never fail to reciprocate the sentiment.

Happy Birthday, Thea!