Month: October 2012

My goodness, how time flies! The fifth Nutcracker Rehearsal has already come and gone. Two hours never seemed so short as they did today! Here are the details:

I arrived at the studio 15 minutes early, as usual. Emma popped out from behind me; I might have jumped…! We hung around with Caroline and Anna, humming Cecchetti music and watching girls put on their pointe shoes until two-thirty. We rushed into Studio 2 (we later transferred to Studio 1) and the rehearsal began.

Of course, missing the fourth rehearsal, I had much to catch up on; however, just as Miss Patty explained, the work was mime. Today was also the first All Party rehearsal which the nutcracker participated in. He is an extremely good dancer (although, most of what he does is “robot”)! It was much easier to practice while the nutcracker danced, rather than pretending he was around.

Basically, we danced with the nutcracker and learned our exits today. I had a great time! Can’t wait for next week (after Cecchetti Exams)…!

Pointe Dancer at the Beach

Officially back from my vacation, I attended my dance classes yesterday. It was so great to see everyone again!

After ballet and pointe, it was time for Cecchetti. While vacationing, Emma called to let me know that we would  be having Mock Cecchetti Exams during the Friday Cecchetti classes. Miss Mimi, Emma’s worship teacher, kindly agreed to be our examiner (as she is Cecchetti trained). She was very sweet during the whole of the examinations and gave us helpful advice.

To go into more detail, we took the Grade 1 mock exam (along with Grade 2) just as the real exams will be taken (in a week!), minus the part where Emma sprawled out on the floor and burst into laughter while Caroline and I jumped and clapped our hands in excitement. We entered the studio when called and lined up in number order— I am number two. From there, the exams flowed pretty smoothly. Miss Mimi was impressed with my vocabulary skills— there was only one word that I really had to think about before answering. My answer was not wrong, but it also wasn’t worded correctly. That said, I know just how to answer the vocab question now. Our main problem was turn-out. Miss Sara, sitting in the corner, was itching to correct us on this particular part of the exams, but couldn’t speak. Apparently, we did a little bit better during Grade 2– phew!

Overall, I believe the mock exams went pretty well. It is the tiny details in each combination that need to be perfected. Miss Mimi is not the type to tell us precisely how she would have graded us, but assured us that we did not fail. Yes, I do have a goal (“I will not get less than a…”) to be revealed at a later date.

“Into the Sunset”

“Mossy Rock Attitude”

“While at the Lake”

“Machine Gun Dancer”

Hello from my far-off vacationing spot! Life here has been hectic; visiting relatives, cooking and cleaning, hunting, shooting and trapping, knitting and just relaxing in the woods. So fun! Despite all of this, I have found time in my days to practice Cecchetti and to dance everywhere possible! Picture one (far left) was taken by one of my brothers just before this beautiful place was covered in a blanket of darkness. Picture two (near left) was taken in the middle of the woods by my mother. Picture three (far right) was taken by my dad after a family walk to the lake. Lastly, picture four (near right) was taken at the shooting range this afternoon by, once again, my dad. Thank you all! (P.S. Even dancers like machine guns…!)

I have missed Nutcracker rehearsal and two ballet classes on my trip so far. At the moment, I am missing the cherubs. Thankfully, Emma is covering for me.

In my division, I have to make up for any ballet classes that I miss. I took care of my making-up before I left home by attending the Thursday ballet class before modern. I took two classes– this makes up for everything. I will be back for classes on Friday. While I can take extra classes at my home studio, that is impossible with The Nutcracker. However, I was able to read Emma’s blog to find out what we learned and how everything played out! If you would like a peek into Emma’s dance life, visit her blog! You can find the address by clicking “View my complete profile” (under “DANCING ME” on the right-hand side of your computer screen or the bottom of your mobile device) and looking under “Links.” Click “Emma’s Blog.” Don’t forget to check out my other favorite websites!

Esmerelda

“En Pointe”

“Dramatic Lighting”

Thank God for internet connection…! <3

As of Friday, I have accumulated much “dance homework.” There are certain Cecchetti combinations and Cecchetti vocabulary, but we were also given a very enjoyable assignment– parallel  releves in our pointe shoes! Since moving, I haven’t had much time to accomplish this task, but last night, because I was wearing dance attire anyway, I decided it would be the perfect time to use them!

Just before I “pointed,” Emma called me to let me know that Miss Sara told her we could walk around a bit in our shoes (preferably holding onto something). Of course, I added that to my list of things to do…!

The pictures above can be labeled, “Pre-Photo-Shoot Images!” My dad took them for me last night as I walked around the house. Thanks, Daddy!

As I am in the process of moving a mile away from my previous home, life has been pretty hectic around here! The most troublesome part has been not having any internet connection. As of now, I am sitting in my old home (on the floor with my back against the hard wall) using its connection. And THIS, lovely dancers, is why this post was not up yesterday.