Drinking the Whole Bottle is a metaphor for life – and a confession… but mostly a metaphor. It’s about tasting it all, trying everything at least once, and enjoying every last drop of life. I’d say through most of my life I’ve done a good job of living this way and being abroad has made it even easier. Every weekend is a chance to live out loud. Every day a possibility for fun. But there is no time I have seen the DTWB mission statement played out more vibrantly than on this night.

This is the Lip Sync Battle Party.

Hosted on our cherished KV Rooftop, the 2nd Annual Lip Sync Battle Party, inspired by one Jimmy Fallon and the Tonight Show, had its second year this May 2015 and unlike most sequels, it did not disappoint. On this night, every single one of the performers brings it. We kill it. We leave it all on the floor – or rather – the rooftop and then kill it some more.

You would think this was our profession, to lip sync and perform like we were getting paid, when in fact most of us are teachers. A 5th grade teacher pulled off an amazing “I’m Real” J.Lo lip sync with wide-brimmed hat and all… did I mention he is a HE? His wife took on Ja Rule’s part and they blew us away. She did freaking push ups, for Pete’s Jimmy’s sake! A HS math teacher rapped the hell out of Rob Base’s “It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right” and I danced my way back to a time of leg warmers and scrunch shirts to “Flashdance” which surprised the audience with a special guest appearance from a vibrant, little dance queen – who is our middle school OLC teacher. A kindergarten teacher battled another elementary school teacher in the baddest Snow White vs. Elsa Rap Battle that you’d have to see to believe. Speaking of Disney, our 7 month pregnant friend and her husband did a compilation of Disney songs. It was gorgeous and hysterically incredible at the same time!

And the mix of music is wow-ing! A group of us performed as The Bellas from Pitch Perfect. Our ceramics HS teacher rapped every last word of Tupac’s “Holla at Me” – even brought his own microphone – while our 8th grade Social Studies teacher lip sang “Singing’ in the Rain” and had at least 12 different people throw cups of water at him during his performance with his umbrella for more “effect.”  Husband and I busted out a perfect score with some “Good Vibrations” and the winners, a HS teacher and his talented, hot NGO do-good wife wife took home the trophy for “Under Pressure,” although they seemed to be under absolutely NO pressure at all. They were brilliant.

But besides the fun and the laughing and the drinking of whole bottles, there is another piece of the puzzle that makes this night so special, the magic that is happening without understanding it at first. Husband and I love this kind of thing -that’s no secret; this is not the first dance number we’ve done, in fact, we live for this, but having this kind of fun together can only be another notch in our marriage belt, another fun thing to share in, another memory to add. And watching our friends – our everyday friends, friends that are parents, friends that are serious, friends that you’d never expect – come out and do something like this brings friendships to a whole new level and makes me aware, in the funniest of ways, that we all are capable of anything. Some things scare us and we do them anyway. And some things will take us out of our comfort zone and make us look ridiculous  but by looking silly and trusting in your community to accept you, you create something that will stay with you no matter where you live.

It is an extraordinary evening that words could never explain. But lucky for you, videos help…

(To respect people’s privacy, I have only posted my videos. Well, mine and Husband’s. He has no choice but to get dragged into my limelight.)

 

 

AND, as if this event isn’t awesome enough, we added a donation piece. This year we collected money from party-goers to make a donation for the Nepal Earthquake and raised $125. So not only did we get to have the best time of our lives but we also raised money for a cause. I say that’s a sync-sync.

 

Wanna plan a lip sync party? Read ahead.

 A little about the planning:

I send out a Facebook announcement a few weeks prior and then an email about a week before asking participants to sign up. (Incidentally, this somehow became a stealth operation where people sign up but keep their song a secret until their performance on the night of LSB.) 3 judges are chosen, one of which, this year, was our champion from last year. We even have a rubric for judges to use… cause we’re teachers.

The night of:

Lights and DJ are imperative. Crucial. We are lucky enough to have DJ AmazingLee on staff but if you don’t have a DJ AmazingLee, mega-speakers and a computer should work fine. Non-performers’ get a say too. Their votes are averaged with the judges’ totals. The only thing we ask is to arrive on time if you’d like to vote – that way you get to watch all of the performances and make a fair vote.

Performers were chosen one act ahead to add an element of surprise. We chose our first act and the second act to be “on deck.” Before the second act performed the next “on deck” performer was chosen.

I should add this disclosure:

I couldn’t breathe by the time I was done. Between laughing and whipping this 35-year-old body harder than a 50 Shades novel, I was hunched over in exhaustion with my face and cheeks in serious soreness from so much smiling and cheering …. but it was well worth it.

So be careful… there are hazards to this much fun!

Need additional help:

Contact me on my Press & Media page. I’d be glad to help!