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PLEASE NOTE: All new blog posts, free movie ticket promotions and contest giveaways will now be featured exclusively at: www.dconheels.com.

In light of our facelift and new Web address, the DC on Heels blogspot blog will no longer be updated.

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FREE Movie Tix: Vanessa Hudgens "Beastly" flick

High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens and former child actress turned media mogul Mary-Kate Olsen star in a new teenage love story with a BEAST at the center of it... and DC on Heels is giving away 40 FREE tickets for you to go see it!

Scroll Down to get FREE tix to this flick. 

About the Movie:
Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is 17 years old and spoiled, shallow and incredibly popular prince of his high school kingdom.

Entirely captivated and empowered by his own physical appearance, Kyle foolishly chooses Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) as his latest target for humiliation. Kendra, a witch masquerading as a high school student, is unfazed.

Mary-Kate Olsen plays a witch!

Instead of retreating, she decides to teach him a lesson - she transforms Kyle into someone as unattractive on the outside as he is on the inside. Now he has one year to find someone who can see past his surface and love him, or he will remain "Beastly" forever.

His only hope, a quiet classmate he never noticed named Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), may be his best chance to prove that love is never ugly.

In theaters Friday, March 4. But YOU can see a day early by entering the DC on Heels movie code listed below:

For your complimentary tickets to a special advance screening of BEASTLY in the Washington, DC area on Thursday, February 3 log onto www.gofobo.com/rsvp and input the following code: DCHEEL11Q0 to download your tickets.

But Hurry! DC on Heels only has 40 "admit one" tickets (or 20 pairs) to give away. So go download your free flick tix and I'll see you at the movies!

xoxo,

Markette 

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America's Next Top Model Cycle 17--"Wanna Be On Top?"

On Saturday, Feb. 20th  auditions for America's Next Top Model Cylcle 17 was in full force. Yes ANTM is now in it's 17th cycle and it isn't slowing down a bit!  Miss Tyra Banks brought us the "Real World" for models way back in 2003 and it's still as fierce as ever. And once again the line wrapped around the entire top floor of the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City Mall-- as hundreds of hopeful girls waited in line for hours; all vying for the opportunity to audition  to be chosen as the next "Top Model." But don't take my word for it. Check out the photos here and stay tuned for my interviews with all the girls!

The line wrapped all around the top floor. 

The girls this year had IPads, Ipods and Kindles to keep them company. 

This stunning beauty was already chosen as one of Tyra's favorites from Cycle 14.

All the girls were telling me why they thought they should be chosen. 

This candidate told me that confidence is key. 

One of my absolute top picks for this year. Stay tuned for my interview with this gorgeous gal. 

It's all about the hair. Jalissa had the confidence and character for sure! 

Short spikey hair ala Halle Berry just may have been the theme this year. 

Short, sheen and confidant again was the theme. 

Like mother like daughter! Cute duo for sure. (Mom was just there for moral support.)

Sassy stripes. It was all about being bold and beautiful for these girls!

Look out for my interviews with all the girls from this year's tryouts. And stay tuned as Markette and I will narrow it down to who we think should be in the the Top 3 for the DC auditions.

Check out the previous year's competition:

Besos xoxoxo,

Vanessa

Let's Connect!

    

Buff Body of the Week: the Caps Red Rockers

The RED ROCKERS rock! 

The Capitals Red Rockers teach a class at WSC.
(Photos Courtesy: Erin Kelleher) 

The Red Rockers are the official spirit squad of the Washington Capitals (that's code for NHL eye candy), and because these girls know how to do a serious workout, they are our latest Buff Body of Week (well, the collective body, anyways).

And just like their hockey playing counterparts, such as Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, the Caps Red Rockers must be in tip-top shape before each game. 

Soooo.... they've teamed up with Washington Sports Clubs to host an exclusive class to teach all the single ladies (and some married ones, too) the hottest dance moves straight from the ice rink at Kettler Arena. 

DC on Heels recently got EXCLUSIVE access to one of the classes at WSC's North Bethesda location. The 50-minute, fat-burning cardio workout is definitely a calorie burner, but the booty shakin' and hair flippin' make it well worth the sweat. 

The high-impact workout includes choreography
from the Red Rockers dance routine.

A Red Rocker leads the group in a pre-workout stretch.

The class covers strength training, as well as cardio.

That's me, tryin' to get my Beyonce on... NOT!

If you're nice and do all of your push ups, they'll even
sign a few autographs at the end of the class.

The Red Rockers and the brave women who dared to flip
their hair and shake their booties in the name of fitness.

This class will be held once a month throughout the spring at various Washington Sports Clubs locations, including: 

• MARCH: Wednesday, 3/16 @ 7:30-8:30pm, WSC Chevy Chase
• APRIL: Saturday, 4/9 @ 11am-12pm, WSC Fairfax
• MAY: Tuesday, 5/10, 5:30pm-6:30pm, WSC Silver Spring
• JUNE: Saturday, 6/18, 11am-12pm, WSC Gallery Place

xoxo,

Markette 

Let's Connect!

    

P.S. - Check out previous Buff Bodies of the Week:

- Buff Bodies of Super Bowl XLV

- Kris Humphries: Kim Kardashian's MAN CANDY of 2010

- Josh Duhamel: There's more than meets the eye!

- Tennis Champ Anna Kournikova

- Jason Cooper: A D.C. Original

- Fred Davis: Redskins Tight End

- The 'Old Spice' Guy

- Fola Awosika: D.C. Personal Trainer

Gala Hispanic Theatre presents: The Innocent Eréndira and her Heartless Grandmother

OK ladies and gents, if you're looking for something to do in the DC area that includes drama, culture and beauty--then head over to the Gala Hispanic Theatre for an incredible night of entertainment. The Gala continues its 35th Anniversary Season with "La candida Erendira/The Innocent and Her Heartless Grandmother," based on a novel by award-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 

The theatre is located on 3333 14th Street NW

Yes, you know the world famous author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I first fell in love with his literary genius after reading "Cien Anos De Soledad" or in English translated as "100 Hundred Years of Solitude"-- so if you wish to enter a word of literary magical realism and creativity then you haven't lived until you've read the work of Marquez. (The widely acclaimed story, considered to be the author's masterpiece, was first published in Spanish in 1967, and succeeded so well that it has been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold more than 20 million copies.)

I am so thrilled to head on over to the Gala Hispanic Theatre to see "La candida Erendira/The Innocent and Her Heartless Grandmother" up on the stage. 

Photo courtesy of Paulo Andres Montenegro.

Photo courtesy of Paulo Andres Montenegro. 

Photo courtesy of Paulo Andres Montenegro. 

ABOUT THE PLAY: 

In a mysterious and poetic landscape, the young Erendira is forced to sell herself by her grandmother to pay for accidentally burning down the family home. After traveling from town to town, Erendira is wed to a young man who loves her deeply and together they plot an escape. In his innovative adaptation, Triana turns a tragic tale into black comedy revealing possibilities never imagined in the original story. 

La candida Erendira is performed in Spanish with English surtitles, Thursdays through Saturday at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm.Featured in the cast are guest artists Laura Garcia from Colombia as the grandmother, as well as Paola Baldion from New York as the young Erendira. Ms. Garcia is a well-known film and theater actress in Colombia, who appeared as Laurencia in "Fuente Ovejuna" by Lope de Vega and Ursula Iguaran in "La Casa" by Garcia Marquez. She won the ACE Best Actress Award in New York for her role in Garcia Marquez's "Diatriba de amor contra un hombre sentado" and has received acting awards from the Big Apple.  

Jorge Ali Triana (Director, Adaptation) was born in Colombia and is considered one of the most distinguished Latin American film and theatre directors. He studied film and theater at the Superior Arts Academy in Prague, and later founded the Popular Theatre of the Bogota Dramatic Arts and Audiovisual Center. Triana has directed more than 50 productions. 

Single tickets are Thursdays and Sundays, and $36 Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets for students, senior citizens (65+) and military are $20 (Thursdays and Sundays) and $26 (Fridays and Saturdays.) Additional discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For tickets: Call (800) 494-8497, or (202) 234-7174, or just go to the Website at www.galatheatre.org. See you there!!! 

Besos xoxoxo,

Vanessa

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Steps to the Cure: Selena's Survival Story

Breast cancer survivors flank designer
Afua Sam (green) at previous year'sshow.

A girl I used to know from high school used to have this saying: fashion over function.

What she meant is that if an item of clothing looks good, then wear it! No pain, no gain!

I thought of this saying when I recently learned about Steps to the Cure, an amazingly altruistic function with fashion as its center piece.

 Started by Maryland-based plastic surgeon Dr. Larry Lickstein and his wife, Lori, Steps to the Cure is a runway event featuring models who are all breast cancer survivors. They have went through the pain, and now they have everything to gain.

A survivor struts her stuff down the catwalk.

Local fashion designers and fine jewelry merchants also donate their time and couture to help ensure that the models look stunning as they glide down the catwalk.

"This event aims at raising funds to support research towards breast cancer," says Afua Sam of Studio D'Maxsi. She is participating in the event as a designer. 

At a recent visit to Sam's home studio, I caught up with the charming and effervescent 'Cure' model Selena Quintanilla. Diagnosed at just 28 years old, she is now in remission from stage 3 breast cancer after two years of chemotherapy treatment.

Her name may be the same as the legendary Spanish language pop star, but the Selena Quintanilla I met in Silver Spring, Md. has a triumphant ending to her tragic tale.

Selena and Afua strike a pose next to the "BRA" dress.

Off camera, the 30-year-old survivor lifted up her shirt and showed me her scars after having a double mastectomy, followed by full reconstructive surgery.

"I'm fine with it," said Selena. She told me it was actually harder for her to lose her hair (which used to be long), than it was for her to lose her breasts.

I was truly touched after meeting her and hearing her story. I know that she is here do to some great things in this world, and I really feel that it was a gift to have met her.


And this is her gift to you: As stated in the video above, the doctors told Selena that she did not have cancer the first time she went to check a lump in her breast. It was only after she went back a year later with the same lump that she was diagnosed. Now she's sharing her story in hopes that others will get checked and rechecked and checked again, if they feel like something is wrong in their bodies.

If you would like to see Selena walk down the runway at Steps to the Cure, then get mark your calendar for April 16 at Valley Mansion in Baltimore. Click here for more details.

xoxo,

Markette 

Let's Connect!

    

P.S. - Check out this video from the other Selena Quintanilla, dedicated to all of you survivors out there!