Author: Aquinnah

I have been on vacation for a long, LONG time.

And the studio endured A LOT of snow days while I was away.

Needless to say, Christmas dances are looking pretty… I need a good word… sketchy?

Well… then again… we [almost] finished our dances today. And in that case, they look pretty darn good.

It was so good to see Miss Bethanny again, after nearly a month apart. We were able to round up our tap kiddos in record time, setting to work on their dance. God spare me if I forget it.

In modern, we conducted a like-scenario, warming up and then jumping into all things Christmas. Our dance is about this close– *holds fingers two centimeters apart*– to being finished. Thankfully, we’ll have a bit of time to clean next week, just before our parents arrive to view our… um… art.

I thought that I was going to be fairly well-off in terms of our Training 3 dance, but as it turns out–surprise!– we are performing it at two different nursing homes on Friday afternoon. Therefore, Miss Sara felt it necessary to finish choreographing this past Friday, rather than trying to cram everything in today. That stated, I had a lot to catch up on, but I do believe we are going to be a success.

Prayers are greatly appreciated.

On a lighter note, recital costumes have been released! They are completely different from last year’s, but oh-so fabulous, all the same. For your own, personal record, we will be wearing our navy leotards and high-low skirts for our Training 3 piece. Enjoy, lovely dancers… <3

HOW did Disney do it? How does anyone create something so perfectly artful? Rhythmic? Lively? Magical?

It’s true– the music from Disney’s latest film has me frozen in my tracks. Choreography is literally oozing out of my fingers and toes. It’s just too perfect.

If I didn’t have wifi right now, I could swear that I’d died and gone to Heaven! Considering, however, that I am still perfectly alive (and will be for a long, long time), I suppose I shall have to tell you of this evening… 🙂

After various practices and rehearsals, the Training Division made its way to an extremely welcoming church, where we were to perform with Ballet Emmanuel. We did a quick warm-up, dressed from head to toe in our high-low skirts and flowers and ran our dances several times. I was pretty jittery and definitely cold, but I knew that once the show was on the road, I would feel that much better.

Just before the performance began, I joined Ms. Tina, Miss Sara, Ms. Erin Benson and the rest of the Training Division in prayer. How that devotional made my entire day! After her unforgettable prayer, Ms. Erin Benson, out of the blue, gave me a hug. It was in that moment that I realized a whole lot of things. Fast.

It can be very easy to take my life for granted. Four times a week, I am attending a dance school that is constantly occupied by Ballet Emmanuel. I’m used to running into Ms. Erin and her crew, greeting a pack of professional dancers and giving hugs all around. While many dancers dream of an opportunity such as this, it is my every-day reality. And THAT, lovelies, makes me feel just about as blessed as I can possibly be.

The performance was absolutely terrific! Most certainly better than recital, and most certainly unforgettable. I’m still blown away at the energy which I could feel surging through the Training 2 girls during our piece. It was as if we were one body, and nothing could tear us apart. The Training 1s blew my mind too– so much emotion! So much love! Ballet Emmanuel was, of course, spectacular. The choreography was unlike any that I have ever laid eyes upon, and the animation was astounding. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Tears.

Jesus, thank You for YOUR love. And thank You for showing it to us, so that we might give it back to You. <3

After the show, the Training Division gathered up with Ballet Emmanuel for a group shot. I couldn’t help posting it here. <3

On my way out, Moriah’s little sister ran up to me and cried, “Aquinnah! Can I have your autograph?”

Stunned, I replied, “Of course, beautiful.”

Yes, yes, I did include that picture too.

For the past week-or-so, in-between make-up classes (I’ll be traveling between November 23rd and December 9th) and “All Things New” rehearsals, the Training Division planned a surprise birthday party for our dear teacher, Miss Sara. Though her birthday is not for a couple of weeks yet, we all agreed that a party is too exciting to be put off, and we didn’t want Thanksgiving Break to interfere with anything. So, the 15th it was!

We all came to the conclusion that a winter-themed birthday celebration would be lovely, as Miss Sara just adores snow. We collected a variety of winter-themed decorations, treats and gifts and hid everything in crates in the lobby of the Training Center, disguised as Lost & Found. After ballet class, Miss Mimi agreed to stall our teacher with some VERY important questions. We bustled around the studio, hanging streamers and snowflakes and loading in the “Lost & Found” goodies. With a surprise visit from Emma, our whirlwind was complete, and we waited expectantly for Miss Sara to return from the main studio. When she entered the room, we screamed, “Happy birthday, Miss Sara!” and just about gave her a heart attack. She had NO idea what we were up to, which made everyone pretty darn proud.

We finished rehearsal and then dug into the gifts. It took Miss Sara 45 minutes to open bag after bag of tea, coffee, chocolate, lotion and all things fuzzy (“I know what I’m wearing next week!”). Abby and Elizabeth even managed to find her an iPad remote for her music! We laughed until we just about cried (“Who’s your ballet teacher?” – “Oh, just look for the one in the penguin hat.”) and made some truly wonderful memories. Here are some pictures, so that you can share in our fun… (credit to Moriah)!

After the party, Moriah and I stayed to help with clean-up, loading all of the left-overs into Abby and Elizabeth’s truck and dragging Miss Sara’s children (a.k.a. gifts) into her car. We waved good-bye and headed back to my house, where I sit now.

Happy birthday, Miss Sara! You are SUCH a huge blessing to me and all of the students at our studio! We love you! Elizabeth, thank you SO much for bringing all of this together! You’re amazing! I don’t know what we’d do without you!

Ah, dance. The only reason that I push myself to finish schoolwork early.

Today’s ballet/tap class was quite an experience indeed! Miss Bethanny was required to measure the little princesses for costumes (I can’t believe it’s already that time!), and I was placed in the position to entertain. So, for half an hour, I read to the girls a collection of ballerina stories, attempting to be as dramatic as possible. I just love reading.

Afterwards, the girls began their Christmas dance– yay! It will be performed in tap shoes this go-round. Super, super cute.

In modern, I myself had to be measured for costumes; I am absolutely ecstatic to see what we’ll be wearing this coming May! While Miss Sara did the measuring, a group of my sisters taught class, including plies (Thank you, Abby!), tendus (Thank you, Alex!), ronds de jambes (Thank you, Moriah!), leg swings (Thank you, Caroline!) and body swings (Thank you, April!). After that, it was on to our Christmas dance, which is looking mighty fine for something so new.

Ballet followed up, and I am proud to say that we got a considerable portion of work done! We completed barre, across-the-floor and then slid on our pointe shoes for dances. We refreshed “Breathe” for Ballet Emmanuel’s upcoming “All Things New” performance (Suprise, surprise– it actually looks better than recital!) and ran our Christmas dance. Fun stuff!

And here you have it, lovely dancers…:

Modern: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day by Casting Crowns

Training 3: Silent Night by Priscilla Ahn

My dad sent me the link to this video over two years ago, and I thought that it was absolutely incredible. I re-found it in my e-mail inbox this morning and just had to share it…