N. A HELPFUL OPINION; A SHARED BIT OF WISDOM; MUCH-NEEDED GUIDANCE
They're the teachers, services, and experts who turned your baby steps into big kids' leaps.
Eugene Baranok Florida Circus Art School
Baranok trained at the Russian State School of Circus and has more than 35 years experience as a performer. Having worked with acrobats and giant cats around the world, he now teaches tricks like tightrope and trapeze at the Florida Circus Art School. Read more
Send in the Clowns
Florida Circus Art School Classes
Has the state of the economy got you down?
Maybe you should run away and join the circus.
For real: The Florida Circus Art School just launched adult classes.
Taught by Eugene Baranok, a veteran of the celebrated Moscow State School of Circus, the sessions bring back your monkey-bar-swinging youth while toning your very adult ass.
Learn to swing from the trapeze, walk a tightwire, spin in a German wheel, and climb the silks (a la Cirque du Soleil). Our favorite: acrobatics. Hooked to a harness, you can emulate a 14-year-old Chinese gymnast, performing walkovers, handsprings, and full-on flips (with a little help from a waist-lifting pulley).
The school, housed in a warehouse, will happily host parties. Or take a group class (with no more than five people) for just fifteen bucks.
No clowning around.
Florida Circus Art School, 15381 Northeast 21st Avenue, North Miami Beach (305-944-4606 or floridacircusartschool.com).
Sandra Stefani Casa Toscana
Chef Sandra Stefani grew up cooking in Tuscany. She opened Casa Toscana on the Upper East Side in '04 and now teaches authentic Tuscan cooking (and eating) at the intimate trattoria. Read more
The Weekend Guide
What to Do This Weekend
Dive right in.
SEE
Splashion
What: Swim Week starts early with a runway show highlighting looks from Becca by Rebecca Virtue, Green Grass, and more.
Why: Suit up!
When: Sat., 10 p.m.-midnight.
Where: Set, 320 Lincoln Rd. (305-531-2800). R.S.V.P. to 305-341-0231 or rsvpmiami@modernluxury.com.
SHOP
Sundresses & Sandals
What: Spy Rene Ruiz’s first sundress collection, along with new styles from Tuccia di Capri and champers.
Why: Having a Rene drought?
When: Fri. & Sat., 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
Where: Rene Ruiz Couture, 2700 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables (305-445-2352).
TOAST
DailyCandy Book Party
What: Sips and sweets to celebrate our new book of witty expressions, The DailyCandy Lexicon: Words That Don’t Exist but Should.
Why: Beats a nonversation with your hobeau.
When: Fri., 8 p.m.
Where: Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables (305-442-4408).
CHILL
Spa Happy Hour
What: Aquanox launches super-relaxed Fridays with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and a $36 spa menu.
Why: Go for a happy ending (to your week).
When: Fri., 5-8 p.m.
Where: 18001 Collins Ave., Sunny Isles Beach (305-692-5730).
EAT
Cooking Class
What: Chef Sandra Stefani of Casa Toscana teaches wannabes to cook and eat her authentic Tuscan fare.
Why: Just pack your knives and go.
When: Sat., 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Where: 7001 Biscayne Blvd. (305-758-3353).
STRETCH
AntiGravity Yoga Workshop
What: The free workshop lets you swing from the rafters in a fabric hammock, increasing strength and your chances of starring in Cirque du Soleil.
Why: There’s no downside.
When: Sat., 1, 2 & 3 p.m.
Where: Crunch, 1259 Washington Ave. (305-674-8222).
DJ Ross One DJ
DJ Ross One is your go-to for all things musical. Having arrived in SoBe about two and a half years ago, he now plays Favela Chic at Mokai on Tuesdays, Florida Room on Thursdays, and your kick-ass party whatever day. He keeps people on their feet with everything from classic R&B to soul. Read more
Addicted to Love
Spring 2008 Wedding Guide
Planning your wedding is driving you to drink. Fight back with DailyCandy’s twelve-step program.
Step 1
Admit you have a problem. Your future mother-in-law? Nope. Your lack of venue. Luckily, Schnebly Redland’s Winery now hosts weddings in the plantation-style property’s tranquil gardens (complete with waterfalls and passion fruit vineyards). And for party favors: mango wine bottled especially for your guests.
Step 2
Discover the higher power. Flower power, that is. Guerdy Réjouis, the flower architect behind Fisher Island’s Ocean Flowers, pairs her stylized designs with lighting, accents, and draping. Her pick for this season: opulent color, like fuchsia calypso orchids.
Step 3
Turn your will over to the gods (of music). Namely DJ Ross One, the super spinner known for Favela Chic at Mokai. Without a tinge of the macarena, he gets everyone out on the dance floor (even, rumor has it, Bill Clinton).
Step 4
Take an honest look at yourself. Realize you deserve couture invitations. Paper Fetish’s designers don’t work off books. Instead they craft each distinct card from scratch, using everything from watercolors and rose petals to feathers.
Step 5, 6, and 7
Admit the nature of your wrongs (it’s your dancing); prepare to change (light stretching); eliminate your shortcomings. Private lessons from Salsa Mia, the folks who bring you Friday nights at Yuca, should do the trick.
Step 8 and 9
Make a list of those you harmed (your bridesmaids) and make amends. Before the big day, send them Beauty in a Box from Face Time Cosmetics. The darling package arrives bearing the maid’s name and a cache of customized makeup.
Step 10
Keep a personal inventory (of the party). Capture it all, not just posed and sober. Let In Focus Studios’s resident artist, Manolo Doreste, reveal the night in all its natural splendor, including a trash-the-dress shot, in which the bride mars her fated frock in fiery devotion (optional, obv).
Step 11
Contact the higher power. Or get a power contact high by providing guests hand-rolled cigars. Anissa Velazquez of Deco Drive Cigars (305-674-1811) will arrange for a tobacco aficionado to craft stogies using their Dominican and Nicaraguan blends.
Step 12
Have a spiritual awakening (after tasting your cake). Ana Paz uses her grandma’s recipe to create iced art, which she can bling-out Miami-style with Swarovski crystals.
If all else fails, there’s always step 13: rehab (a.k.a. your honeymoon).
Feed your addiction: Check out our spring and fall 2007 wedding guides.
