Month: January 2013

That it is (see title).

And this is a random post! Enjoy!

Emma e-mailed me this weekend to let me know that an image of one of my Christmas leotards (pictured in “My Unintended Vacation”) has been spotted in Pointe Magazine! I feel like a “fashionista” each and every time I wear it!

Friday classes went well; I am all caught up on the pointe recital dance. Phew–! It is a little tricky, but I’m sure we’ll all catch on. Besides, the Stop Game is perfect for any kind of performance!

I used the Training 1 class before Training 2 as a make-up yesterday. One down; two to go! Miss Sara said that I can make up my pointe class as well, which I might just accomplish…! My plan, at the moment (it is ever-changing!), is to make up another class on Thursday, another on Monday and possibly pointe next Thursday. Anyhow, the Training 1 and 2 dance was extremely easy to catch on to (Thank the Lord!) and we were able to add a bunch to the choreography.

Today, Miss Sara gave me a huge challenge in ballet; the combinations were extra difficult! However, it was a good difficulty and I highly enjoyed myself! One of my teacher’s challenges for me was to “spiral” (turn out) my legs more than ever before.To give me a feel for it, Miss Sara wrapped a thera-band around my leg and helped me through our ronds de jambe en l’air combination. She then let me try on my own. My face exploded with delight as my teacher screamed, “Yes… yes… YES!”

Miss Jennifer caught me up on the Cherubs’ recital dance today as well– so cute!

A random bonus: My balancing is getting SO much better– yay!

Additionally, today is my great-grandmother’s 98th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREAT-GRAMMY! I love you so much!

Hello lovely dancers– I have returned to you! Yesterday was my first day back in class– what a blessing, to be with all of my sisters once again! Now, without further ado, your details…:

I arrived fifteen minutes early and chatted with Emma and April on the topic of “American Idol.” April’s older sister auditioned this year, and we are all extremely excited to see her on television! Good luck to her!

Finally, it was class-time! I rushed into the room, threw down my back, sipped a bit of water and went to work! I got a lot of “Aquinnah, where were you last week?” questions from the girls, as I disappeared rather suddenly. Miss Sara inquired upon my travels and I could say nothing but, “It was interesting.”

One of the more interesting moments during my travel-time was the plane ride home; I caught a head cold from one of the strangers sitting near me… ugh! That said, I avoided flipping upside-down for the majority of modern. I suppose that I will have to do the same this afternoon….

Anyway, we worked a lot on “rebounding” during class. Miss Sara compared the term to a rubber ball bouncing on the floor— what a great relation! We also worked on the recital dance, which would have been much easier had Moriah been there (a group of us have to contort her body at one point), but I am glad to be caught up!

I have gotten a lot of compliments on my Christmas leotard!

Hello from… well… “my far-off vacationing spot!” My grandmother is very ill at the time, so I’ll be camping out here until Wednesday. So far, I have missed modern class but will also not be around for three ballet classes, pointe or cherubs. Thanks to my best friend, who is filling in for me once again! Love you girl! <3 Speaking of Emma, be sure to check out her blog to get all the details on what is happening back home. Also, don’t forget to take a look at my profile page to snatch the link for her new blog: Call Me Healthy!

What of Monday and Tuesday (when I was still at the studio)? Well, the Training 1 and 2 recital dance is coming along splendidly! I am adoring everything about it. My little cherubs performed their first barre combination during their darling class– so cute!

Emma called this morning and told me all about modern– I missed some recital choreography. Thankfully, Valerie will be able to teach me my part when I return, as she is in my group. I was also informed that Miss Tina was not able to order our recital costumes (the modern ones), as the company was sold out, so red, sparkly shirts are our alternative. 

Enjoy! (Purchasing pointe shoes is a long process! Everyone’s foot is different, so some of the shoes that wouldn’t fit me or Emma could totally fit you! All of the shoe types are so special– dance itself is so special! <3)

On January 4th, 2013, I set off on my world tour. I flew out at the [name of “airport”] in [location].

First, I enjoyed a trip to Russia to try on their Grishko pointe shoes. I could barely get them on. I don’t remember the order after that, but I’ll still tell about the places I visited and list photos in that order! I went to Australia to try on their Blochs. They didn’t have enough support. I took a brief stop in Italy to check out the Capezios, but they didn’t work either. I took a second trip to Russia and tried on the Russian Pointes. I also went to France and tried on the Merlets. Then I took two stops in England: first for the Freeds and second for the Suffolks. After much deliberation and consideration, I got the Suffolk Solos!

Russia’s Grishkos

Australia’s Blochs

Italy’s Capezios

Russia’s Russian Pointes

France’s Merlets

England’s Freeds

Emma’s New Pointe Shoes!

Yesterday was yet another eventful time (I’ve had a lot of those lately…)! Here are your precious details:

 As it is now the month of January, my sisters and I are dancing, once again, with Bethany. I enjoy her classes more and more every week– “performing” is so much fun! It makes me feel like a true dancer.

We began the ballet class with prayer, during which certain girls volunteered to pray for certain things. Seeing that fifteen minutes of class was taken up, we skipped abs and dove right into barre! Bethany commented that every girl sunk down into her standing hip as we completed tendus, so we had a second try. My teacher complimented me several times for “lifting up” this time around! She was also quite pleased with my stretching and across-the-floor work… wow!

When ballet was over, I rushed into some cover-ups as fast as I could, grabbed my things and sprinted over to Studio C! I was so glad to put my pointe shoes on… I’ve missed them!

After releves, we completed our usual across-the-barre combination, though I was having some difficulty springing onto the tops of my shoes. Miss Sara told me that those types of things come with having a two-week-long break– no need to freak out!

As I finished out my barre work (I missed chaines turns), my left foot started to bother me. I ignored the pain and jumped excitedly as Miss Sara proclaimed the start of our RECITAL DANCE! I made it through the first run and was then ready to burst into tears; I had a major blister on my toe. From that point forward, I had to avoid going up on pointe. Next week I’m definitely using tape (You see, I thought maybe my toes had toughened up…)…

At the end of class, Miss Sara called everyone around for the Dancer of the Month Award. Anna declared that it belonged to her for “Most Missed Classes,” though it was actually given to me for improved foot placement! Yay!

Today’s modern class was quite eventful, beginning with Emma handing to me a sheet of paper, on which she had written a story. It is composed on the topic of her new pointe shoes– so fun! I have decided to post a copy of the tale this weekend– look out, Dancers!

Miss Sara began the class with our regular warm-up, starting on the floor. From there, we did plies and releves. My teacher walked by as I rose to the releve position, exclaiming happily, “Huh…! You have monkey feet!” To be perfectly honest, I have no idea as to what that means, but she seemed to be pretty pleased with me. As Miss Sara walked away, Emma turned to me and commented that my releve was considerably higher than usual– YES! Now, to find that “happy place” in my ballet shoes…

After some tricky across-the-floor combinations, we began our… RECITAL DANCE, just as I predicted! It will be done to a song titled, “Arc Angel (Angels?),” though I do not know who the artist is. It is a very dramatic song; it will be a great dancing experience, I do believe.

For your own personal record, Miss Sara is still not positive about the starting time for the Training 2 recital dance, but she’s getting there. Miss Jennifer said something about starting the Cherubs dance within the next few weeks…! Pointe tomorrow…?

Ballet Dancer

Wow, I sure had a wake-up call on this lovely Tuesday! 

I rushed home from school this morning, jumped into one of my new leotards and headed off to class! Once there, we began our plies, wherein I realized that I am extremely sore! Everything hurt at that moment in time– my arms, legs… even my neck! That’s what I get for only stretching a little over break…. However, Miss Sara did comment, as Emma and I found that our bodies feel like “Jello” today, that it is good to have a nice break once in a while. According to the physical therapist, it gives ourselves a chance to get everything lined up where it should be.

Now, being me, I have two bits of randomness for you. I know you won’t mind.

Walking into the cherubs’ class today, one of the little girls screamed, “My daddy took me to ‘Starberry!'”

I laughed as Miss Jennifer replied, “Oh, he took you to Starbucks?”

“Yes!” she cried. “And I ‘drinked’ the whole thing!”

As for my other news, Emma just purchased her second pair of pointe shoes and has posted a picture of them on her blog! Be sure to check it out!