Author: Aquinnah

So, today was fabulous.

I subbed for Moriah’s 1Bs this afternoon, as she was off, assisting her little twin sisters in their talent show (Go girls!). That stated, I arrived at the studio an hour earlier than usual. I was greeted by Abby’s little sisters, Emily and Anna, who offered to help me clean the bathrooms. What ACTUALLY happened was: I did virtually nothing, while they snatched supplies out of my hands and did the work themselves. All I could do was stand in awe, and thank them over and over and over again. What awesome girls!

When class began, Ms. Tina had everyone do 25 releves at the barre, and then it was prayer time. Afterwards, we moved on to barre, where Ms. Tina gave a lecture on the difference between demi pointe and pointe. During water break, she had me grab my pointe shoes, so that I might act as a visual aid. I passed the shoes around, explained them a bit, and was then begged to put them on. So, while I strapped myself in, Ms. Tina ran their recital dance (So lovely!). Once completed, I began to walk around in my shoes, watching the students’ utterly stunned expressions. Then, Ms. Tina hints, “I have your recital song.”

And they all flipped out.

And THAT, lovely dancers, is how I ended up performing Primavera (almost finished) for the 1Bs. Upon their exiting, the ballet 2As entered. Ms. Tina whispered, “You may have to keep those on.”

And THAT is how I ended up doing Primavera AGAIN. And then I couldn’t breathe. And I had to get water. And my feet were swollen, and I couldn’t fit into my flats.

SO, we ran I Need You, added on to the choreography, and somewhere in there, I got a very nice hug from Ava. Then, her big sister helped me hand out tickets. And then, I traded some tickets for candy and prizes, and then, I was very sad, for class was over.

Almost. Because then, I was given the run-down of the Cinderella ballet by one of the 2As. She totally made my day complete.

Wednesdays are the best.

Miss Bethanny and I really cracked down in ballet/tap this afternoon, working on plies, tendus and the girls’ dance. We are about halfway through Jesus Loves Me at the moment, and we’re hoping to continue choreographing next week.

Modern was fantastic– we had a blast! We practiced plies, tendus, leg swings and prances before jumping into Redeemed. To be honest, it wasn’t so hot, but we caught a group of people up and started on Moriah’s lift, so I feel that we were semi-productive [at least]. We also had a pirouette contest, to see who will be turning later on in the dance. Due to our lack of shoes, the top score was three, being held by several people, including myself. Miss Sara really wants to squeeze a sextuple out of one of us… oh, Lord…

And then there was the one about ballet. We did barre in the center this evening. Needless to say, I’m in a lot of pain. BUT, we got to loosen up by cleaning Love Take Me Over, until we just about passed out. The combined dance is almost completed, our latest bit of choreography taking the form of synchronized clapping. At one point, we were all so off beat, and we all sounded so horrible, we just gave up and laughed. Right then, I was so overcome with love for my studio, I actually thought about plopping down on the floor and continuing to laugh.

But I showed some restraint.

And I laughed harder.

To top that off, kudos to Allison, who survived her car being stolen and a slight electrocution, provided by the positive and negative charges currently attached to her ankle. Also to April, who danced on with a bloody toe (We just love modern!) and serious foot pain. May the dances be ever in your favor.

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Truth be told, I thought it was going to be a while before that title showed up, but I’ve run into a little trouble with the Bloch European Balances…

• First of all, the shoes are beautiful. So shiny and lovely. But style isn’t a real factor in pointe shoes. If it were, they’d change with pop culture. But they don’t. They’re still stiff and painful and totally awesome.
• Thanks to the gel in the box, I was spared the hassle of both toe tape and nylon socks this time around. Due to carpeted performances, however, I watched that pretty, pink satin slowly fall apart. At this point, I have virtually no material left on my platform at all. My work here is done.
• A few months in to fall semester, Miss Sara interrogated my shoes and I. I was disappointed to report that they still felt new. She replied, “Here’s the thing: you don’t weigh anything, and you don’t have super bendy feet, but that’s okay! That just means that your shoes are going to last freaking forever!” And she was right.
• No, my shoes are nowhere near dead. But the fact of the matter is, they never will be. My teacher and I have made the executive decision to go ahead and buy a pair with a softer shank and trash our previous attempts. Sad, but necessary.

Now, let’s just make sure we’re clear: I LOVE my pointe shoes. And I SO wish that they had worked out. But they’re just so stiff. I feel I’d have to have the world’s most flexible arches in order to move them in any significant manner.

So, when am I getting this “soft shank” anyway? Introducing February 23rd, the day on which I will be purchasing my third pair of pointe shoes. <3

Yeah, I had quite a few of those this past week.

I absolutely love recital choreography. I could do it all year long and be totally fine. But sadly, recital only comes once a year, so I’m soaking it all up. <3 I haven’t given an update on the dances in a while, so here are your details, lovely dancers:

Jesus Loves Me: This is the ballet/tap girls’ piece, and it is coming along relatively smoothly. So far, Miss Bethanny and I have worked out entrances, a bit of choreography and the girls’ lines. All in all, not a bad job for our third week back.

Redeemed: This dance is going to be astounding. There is a considerable portion of partnering involved, so choreography is coming on rather slowly, but I– personally– would prefer to see Elizabeth intact after her lift than broken and twisted. Miss Sara has some incredible ideas for the lighting on stage, so we’re hoping for the proper equipment…. Keep your fingers crossed!

Primavera: I absolutely adore this piece. Miss Sara knew weeks beforehand what she wanted from it, and I do believe we are living up to her expectations. Nearly finished with choreography, her most recent addition to the dance is a speed-rap chaines section, in which I lead the pack. It is truly one of the greatest choreography moments ever created, being one of those where you are required to rely on your sixth sense. One wrong step, and everybody goes flailing. Plus, it’s so fast, by the time you’re finished turning, you consider requesting oxygen. So much fun!

I Need You: This is the Ballet 2A girls’ piece. Choreography is coming in small steps, but the entire class is catching on quickly. The dance is graceful, and yet it has a recognizable power and strength to it, too. And with those costumes… ah! It’s going to be great.

Love Take Me Over: We began choreography for our combined piece yesterday, and I am ECSTATIC about it. Oh my word. Everything is crazy fast, and our costumes are so sparkly– it’s going to look like a giant disco ball! Honestly, though, the dance is awfully fun; we end up doing these airless laughs through the entire piece. Now THAT’S a dance.

The Hunger Games trilogy and I, we’ve had quite a month! I’m going to attempt to type this post quickly, as I’m already about to cry, and blurry vision never did make writing easy. Truth be told, I didn’t know what to expect from the series, but I certainly didn’t predict an undeniable love of nearly ever character (bad, bad, BAD idea) or a shocking realization that a trilogy cannot be a trilogy if there is a fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or 39th book. The following are my surface thoughts on the stories, including my loves and dislikes. Because honestly, if I tried to give an in-depth analysis, I would be writing for the rest of my life.

~Spoiler alert! If you have not read The Hunger Games, but plan to do so at some point, I would suggest returning to this post later on, when your life is three books better off.~

With that…

What I love: The characters. The characters, the characters, the CHARACTERS. My love of fictional people put me at a kind of disadvantage when reading this series, but I couldn’t help it. Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Prim, Finnick, Johanna, Effie, Rue, Mags, Madge, Delly, Greasy Sae, Hazelle, Darius, Cinna, Octavia, Venia, Caesar, Boggs, and Annie…. I love Buttercup, for crying out-loud! These characters make the story what it is, from Katniss’s long lists of debts to Annie’s strange habit of blocking out total silence. It’s who they are. It’s what they do. They’re all just so special.

And, of course, what’s a good story without a little romance? Staged or true, Suzanne Collins did a wonderful job creating a love triangle that put me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

So, I’m walking around, subconsciously singing the song above, and Brody yelps, “Peeta DIES‽” So then, of course, my mom walks in, and she’s all, “Peeta DIES‽” So I attempt to explain– actually, no. He only dies for a minute– but no one believes me. Best of all, my mom thinks it was Peeta I was crying over a few nights ago, not poor Prim. Oh, well. She’ll figure it out soon enough.

What I don’t love: Katniss’s utterly traumatized nature at the end of Mockingjay. Peeta’s hijacked state. Gale’s whipping. Haymitch’s reliance on wine. Prim’s explosion. Finnick’s tragic death. Johanna’s fear of love. Effie’s unfair treatment. Rue’s untimely death. Mags’s death. Madge’s disappearance. Delly’s inability to see things as they really are. Greasy Sae’s destroyed business. Hazelle’s traumatized state. Darius’s transformation into an Avox. Cinna’s horrifying death. Octavia and Venia’s mistreatment. Caesar’s Capitol state of mind. Boggs’s death. Annie’s madness. It hurts to watch people whom you love be mistreated. It hurts even more to watch them die. I cried over Primrose for two days before telling myself that she was never alive in the first place. But then again, she lives in us, does she not?

I also don’t love President Snow, Cato, Brutus, Enobaria, Mrs. Mellark, Thread or President Coin. Their flaws are fairly obvious.

All in all, I love the Hunger Games, and I can’t say that I’m particularly sad to be reliving them as my mom dives into the reading. Actually, now that my time with the series is up, I’m heartbroken. But as you know, lovelies, I never was unable to reread a good story…

Me: *Walks up to cash register with an armload of active wear.*

Cashier: Hello! How are you today?

Me: Great! How are you?

Cashier: Good! *Looks at pile of clothes. Looks at me. Looks at pile of clothes. Looks at me.* You’re a dancer, aren’t you?

Me: Yes, yes I am.