Blogger / Birthday Girl / Bartender / Dancer

Pictured: Renée Martini, Devin Simpson, Ashley Clausnitzer, Crishon Jerome, Rachel Mlinarchik


This Friday is my birthday, and I'd love for you to stop by SOHO DC on Wednesday, July 24 between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. to have a celebratory birthday drink with me. I'll be guest bartending with a few other women from my dance company and 10% of proceeds from the bar that night will go to Capitol Movement!

The photos above are part of a shoot we did with Jason Hornick this summer. We stayed eco-friendly by using old costumes and our own clothes, with the exception of the ones we borrowed from Teeki (you can see the results of that project HERE).

We loved working with Jason-- he's the bees knees :)

Hope to see you this Wednesday night!




If you can't make it out on Wednesday night, I hope you'll consider supporting my fundraiser for Capitol Movement. In honor of our upcoming military appreciation tour, we aim to raise $10,000 by the end of the summer to ensure we can keep our programs going, and every single gift will get us one step closer to our goal. I'd love it if you could contribute $10, $25 or $100 towards our goal :)

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Come Dance With Me

Jason Hornick


Michael Andrade for The 2Fs


Jason Hornick


Jason Hornick


Jason Hornick


Studio Diana


Studio Diana


I'm psyched to share a few of the amazing shots taken by the talented photographers that attended the Capitol Movement show a few weeks ago at the Lincoln Theater.

You've seen Jason Hornick's work before here on My Fair Vanity, but I also wanted to share a few shots from Studio Diana and Michael Andrade/ the2Fs. 

Dancing has been a part of my life since I could walk, so seeing it captured this way makes me so happy! Dance influences my style, my friends, my personality, and to my husband's frequent dismay, my taste in music. Once I've danced to a song, I LOVE it, even if it's the cheesiest pop or the craziest rap.

Fortunately, this particular show was filled with good music that I felt very lucky to be dancing to, and I've compiled a few of the songs you would have heard that evening below:

• They Don't Really Care About Us by Michael Jackson
• Sleeping at Last by Turning Page
• I Need a Dollar by Aloe Blacc
• I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons
• The Letting Go by Melissa Ethridge
• Cinema by Skrillex 
• Lusty by LAMB

I'm so grateful to be a part of this incredible company. Without Capitol Movement, I would never have had the opportunity to dance all over the world (and to blog from the Great Pyramids!). There are endless ways that being a part of Capitol Movement feeds my soul, and I want my CMI family to know how much I love them and feel thankful for them every day.

To see more awesome dance photos and keep up with our latest dance adventures, come follow @CapitolMovement on Instagram!


xo

Rachel

Rock the Ballet {Fairly}

Photography by Victoria Corkhill

I don't know about you, but I see people doing contemporary ballet and dancing around ALL the time in Dupont Circle, so I thought, why not join in?  ;)

I also thought it would be a neat way to share with you that I will be performing this Saturday, March 23, at the Lincoln Theater. I will be joined by dozens of amazingly talented dancers that I am lucky to call fellow company members.

Tickets here!

I would love to have you join us for what will surely be an evening of high energy, incredibly diverse dance. Capitol Movement's repertoire includes contemporary, hip-hop, jazz and various ethnic styles, because we commission both locally- and nationally-renowned choreographers to set pieces for us each year. If none of those words mean anything to you, google So You Think You Can Dance and it will all start to make sense, I promise. Or, you can check out our Instagram for a behind the scenes look at our rehearsals.

If you'd like to rock your own studded ballet flats to our show, there is a wonderful DIY post over on Orange Juice. If you'd rather just buy a handmade pair, you can buy here or here.

To get the full look fairly, I strongly recommend purchasing your work-out t-shirts and leggings from Alternative Apparel, who have strict sustainability and labor standards, or American Apparel, who manufacture their clothes in the USA. Both retailers offer organic cotton items and are my go-to when it comes to workout and dance gear. 

Tickets available now at $20-$25

If you've read this far, I'd like to tell you a little bit about our dance company, which is definitely kind to people and to the earth. In addition to our recent tour through the Mediterranean and Africa (here is me in Egypt!) to perform for the men and women of our armed services in partnership with Armed Forces Entertainment, we also offer

• free classes and performances for DC public school students,
• scholarships to our youth training programs and to prestigious college dance programs across the country, and
• classes here in DC that anyone can pay to take. 

Since it is Women's History Month, it's important to note that Capitol Movement is co-founded and directed by two local DC women who give their hearts and souls to our company each and every day. Amber Yancey and Stephanie Jojokian are two of the hardest working women in DC, managing children, day jobs and a non-profit dance company with a smile and some serious sweat. They are amazing, our show is amazing, and as if you needed one more reason to come, remember that your ticket purchase supports badly needed arts education for young people in the DMV area.

:)

xo

Rachel

  

Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world.  ~Voltaire

With Thanks

There are sooooo many things I have to be thankful for this year that it's hard to narrow it down, but I'm going to limit it to just three.

1

I'm incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to show my appreciation for the men and women of our armed services by performing for them across the Mediterranean and North Africa (more pix soon!) with Capitol Movement, a local DC dance company that I'm proud to say I've danced with for four years. We traveled through Germany, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Egypt and saw incredible places and spaces, but my favorite part of the trip by far was the people.



I found a new family in my fellow company members and our director, and I will never forget the soldiers and local folks that I met at each base. We all saw firsthand that dance can cross almost any boundary, whether cultural or political or linguistic, but I had one experience in which-- believe it or not-- fashion was the bridge that led to a new friendship.

I met a beautiful Libyan woman on a dinner cruise down the Nile. She was honeymooning with her new husband and I was struck by her beauty and impeccable style. Her headscarf was black woven with gold and she was carrying a black clutch with Alexander McQueen-esque skull detailing, and I couldn't help but compliment her style. Almost immediately we after began chatting, she GAVE ME HER BAG.





I tried to refuse, I really did, but there comes a point when you realize that someone genuinely wants you to have something, and it feels right to say "thank you" and really mean it from the bottom of your heart. And then maybe cry a little in public. Thank you, my new friend.

2

The second thing I am thankful for is CapFABB (and yes, you may recall me saying as much on Refinery29 yesterday, but it bears repeating a bajillion million times). I started this here blog at the end of June, and even though I was brand spanking new at my first meetup, I was welcomed with open arms by these gracious, warm women. Liz and Lacey have built a network of ladies in DC who are incredibly supportive of one another, and is a beautiful thing. The fact that I have a huge group of new friends who also love fashion is just icing on the cake! Thank you, women of CapFABB, for rocking my socks off.

3

And last but most certainly not least, I am so so so sososososo grateful for YOU, my fair readers! I am overcome with disbelief and gratitude every time I hear someone say "oh hey, I read your blog!"

Thank you so much for continuing to come back to see what I've cooked up for you, and for helping me to find new designers and retailers who are kind to the earth and the people on it. I love you lots and lots, and I promise I have lots more in store for you as the holiday shopping season gets in gear.

Until then, happy thanksgiving!

xo

Rachel

Get the Look {fairly}: Capitol Movement Freedom Tour

One more of those stylin' Capitol Movement boys (this one is from Munich)

It's been really neat to see how everyone has interpreted our "all black all the time" uniform for travel during #freedomtour. Everyone has their own style, but the one consistent feature is a great leather jacket, which works for several climates and always looks pulled together, whether dressed up or down.

I love this vintage one from Etsy so much that I am hesitant to share, but I love you more, dear readers, and it is my gift to you.

Clockwise from right to left:

• Leggings are made in the USA from American Apparel.
• Earrings are handcrafted from locally sourced leather by marginalized women in Northern India. Proceeds from this collection go to fund literacy programs for the women artisans and their children in the community.
• T-shirt dress is made from modal, a sustainable fibre. The materials are biodegradable, free from chemicals, and on sale now!
• Jacket is vintage 70s era black leather, available on Etsy
• Three-quarters sleeve shirt is made of 100% recycled materials by Alternative Apparel
• Black and white patterned bag is made and dyed by community groups in Nepal, giving them a fair trade income
• Zipper bracelet made in Los Angeles from Reclaimed Brass & Fabric Cord
• Backpack is 100% recycled nylon, 100% vegan. I wish I bought this one for tour. It has a laptop pocket and everything.
• Vegan boots are and made in a factory which complies to eco standards in recycling and non-use of toxic chemicals, by Neuaura

Photography of Rachel is by Crishon Landers

A note on Capitol Movement: we are a non-profit dance company with a focus on making dance affordable and accessible to low-income youth in the DC area. Capitol Movement provides scholarship and outreach programming in partnership with DC Public Schools, while also maintaining both a pre-professional youth company and an adult company (some, like moi, are touring internationally right now!).  Though you can't see us on tour, you CAN support our youth programming by coming to see Movement of the People, an AMAZING show put on by our under-18 company. There will be hip-hop, contemporary, jazz, tap...something for everyone, and extremely talented dancers.

Lastly, to everyone on the East Coast at home-- our thoughts are with you and your loved ones. I hope you have found high ground, power, and water. Here is one resource for emergency information that can still be used even if you have no power: http://blog.twitter.com/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-resources-on-twitter.html

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Ciao, Baby…or….What’s up with all the #freedomtour on instagram?

Those of you who follow me on instagram or twitter may have noticed a few mentions of #freedomtour and some strange pictures of women in tights and men who are inexplicably vogue-ing in sync. If you don’t follow me in either of those mediums, stay with me here, I can explain.

Over the next three weeks, I’m joining 11 other Capitol Movement dancers on our brand new Freedom Tour in honor of Veteran’s Day. As I write, I am on a plane headed to Munich en route to the first stop on our tour.

We are all incredibly honored to be traveling throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa in order to entertain our troops and their families overseas, and we can’t wait to dance our little hearts out for them.

And never you fear, I’ve got plenty to share with you all while I’m gone, and maybe even a few surprises along the way. In the meantime, follow me at  @FairVanityDC on Instagram or Twitter to join us on our adventures!

And now, without further ado, I am pleased to formally introduce you some dancers that I feel incredibly lucky to know, let alone be performing with. Ladies and gents, please meet the talented—and stylin’—members of the Capitol Movement Freedom Tour…

The full cast and our company co-founder.


The Gents


The ladies

I will be posting a "get the look" as soon as I can, but in the meantime, for fair #allblackeverything, I recommend Black Leather Motorcycle Club.

Follow @CapitolMovement on Twitter and Instagram to receive instant updates on our progress.

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