Author: Aquinnah

Thus far, it has been quite an eventful week at the studio! Both the combined dance and Breathe have received a solid cleaning, as has Little Ballet Dolls (as of today, of course). Here are the happenings of today’s Cherubs class…:

I arrived fifteen minutes early in order to change and warm myself up (the building was freezing cold!). When Miss Jennifer opened the door, it was a wild rampage of dancers, all crowding around the rainbow mat. We chatted for a while and then moved onto tummy stretches and the Name Game. Afterwards, the girls practiced their forward rolls and lined up on their dottie-spotties. It was time to practice the recital dance!

Before we proceeded to complete a run-through of the piece, Miss Jennifer taught the girls how to “play follow the leader backstage, in the dark, very quietly.” Those little ones were thrilled! However, one cherub was a bit worried; she had forgotten her little, yellow ballet dolls costume! Oh, dear… I had to remind her that Mommy’s closet is the safest place for little, yellow costumes…

After several run-throughs and fix-ups, the head teacher sent me to hand out rhythm sticks to the girls. We used them for a few songs (ignore the fact that poor Hayden was hit in the face… “on accident!”), and then the girls were dismissed.

Certainly an eventful class, finished off with my inability to find the Clorox Wipes…

Yes, lovely dancers, my summer schedule has come together at last! This year’s requirements are considerably different than last year’s, so I have had quite the time deciding what classes to take. The Training Division was given three options; A: take two ballet classes a week, B: take one ballet class and one intensive or C: take two intensives. Being the ballet fanatic that I am, I have decided to take two ballet classes a week, along with pointe (though, technically, pointe counts toward a ballet class this summer). My precise schedule is as follows:

Monday: Training 3/Intermediate Pointe
Thursday: Training 3

(All of my classes will be taught by Miss Sara, as usual.)

Now, above all else, you must be wondering why on earth I will be taking Intermediate Pointe during the summer. Was I not supposed to be in Training 2 pointe? Well, Miss Sara came to the realization that there is no Training 2 Pointe class over the summer; the only scheduled classes are Pre-Pointe, Beginner and Intermediate. Besides this fact, the class was supposed to be labeled “Beginner/Intermediate Pointe.” Therefore, this is the class that I will be attending.

Aside from my own classes, I hope to be assistant teaching at the “Dance Me a Story” mini camp for young girls!

 

Ballerina

Good morning dancers!

Thanks to a “winter storm,” (You’d laugh if you saw the pitiful amount of snow outside my bedroom window.) both English and ballet have been cancelled today. I may or may not have to go to work— the weather is fairly questionable. So, in the meantime, why not post a piece of valuable information for you to read?

Each April, Miss Sara gives out “evaluations” (a.k.a. progress reports) for ballet and pointe. It is very similar to receiving a report card from school. It lists the areas in which a dancer excels and points out the areas which she needs to improve upon. It is also an excellent place to mention behavior, attendance, dress code and summer/fall recommendations. Possible “scores” include (from low to high): Needs Improvement, Showing Improvement, Good, Excellent and Proficient. That said, without further ado, my Ballet Progress Report (recommendations for summer/fall will be given later on in the post):

Body Alignment: Good
Flexibility: Excellent
Strength: Proficient
Artistic Expression: Excellent
Musicality: Excellent
Upper Body/Arms: Proficient
Pirouettes: Proficient
Extensions: Good (use turnout)
Leaps: Excellent
Jumps: Good (get heels down)
Other Turns: Proficient

In what area or with what skills does the dancer excel? Control, presentation, upper body, turns

In what area or with what skills does the dancer need improvement? Turnout

How is the dancer’s attitude and work ethic in class? Fabulous

Is there a problem with attendance or tardiness or dress code? No

To be perfectly honest, I am extremely pleased with my ballet evaluation for 2013! I will be focusing much of my attention on turnout over the next few months (especially as we move into summer). I will also be checking my body alignment frequently and perfecting my jumps. 

My pointe evaluation is as follows:

Body Alignment: Good
Flexibility: Excellent
Strength: Excellent
Artistic Expression: Excellent
Musicality: Excellent
Upper Body/Arms: Proficient
Pirouettes: Good
Extensions: Good
Leaps: Excellent
Jumps: Excellent
Other Turns: Excellent

In what area or with what skills does the dancer excel? Control

In what area or with what skills does the dancer need improvement? Getting arches a bit further forward

How is the dancer’s attitude and work ethic in class? Fabulos

Is there a problem with attendance or tardiness or dress code? No

Likewise, I am so pleased with my pointe report! In this class, I will be focusing– mainly– on getting over my arches; just “a bit further!”

Now… the best part! What are Miss Sara’s summer and fall semester recommendations? Well…

Ballet– Summer/Fall: Training 3
Pointe– Summer/Fall: Training 2 Pointe

A new level of Training has been created! I am able to move up a level in each class! YES!

Congratulations to all of my dance sisters– you have done so beautifully this year!

What IS in my dance bag? Being a dancer of six classes a week, quite a bit! I have decided to describe my wonderful carrier to you in detail, with hopes that you may be inspired to add a few things to your own. So…

My dance-bag itself was constructed by Adidas, a sportswear company. It is a nice light pink, black and white. I really appreciate the storage space. With two large side-pockets and a massive center pocket, what can’t you fit inside?

Let us start with the left-side-pocket. Inside this pouch, I have stuffed…:

•  Toe tape (I have to tape both of my little toes when on pointe.)
• Baby powder (I do not ever use this, but it is better to be safe than sorry when working with pointe shoes.)
• A comb (I carry this in case my bun falls out; I am not stellar when it comes to finger combing.)
• Hairspray (Perfect for after-class fly-aways.)
•  A miniature mirror (Because I am kind of a perfectionist…)
• “Stage make-up” (This is my fun little purse of pink, sparkly things.)
• Purell (For sanitary purposes…)
• An outdoor headband (I bring this along in case it is chilly outside when I leave the studio.)
• Clear leotard straps (Who knows when something is going to snap…?)

As for my right-side-pocket…:

• Ballet shoes (I store these inside of the darling little bag that Emma made for me.)
• Foot paws (For modern of course!)
• An extra ballet shoe (Long story short, I carry this canvas shoe around in case I need to give it to someone…)

Finally, in my center pocket, I store:

• My sweater (Perfect for Tuesdays when the studio is freezing.)
• My black skirt (Because every dancer should carry one…)
• Black, stirrup legwarmers (They look fantastic with pointe shoes!)
• Striped legwarmers (Because they’re cute…)
• Pink legwarmers (Okay, okay, you’ve got me. I LOVE legwarmers…!)
• Extra tights (I’m sure that everyone brings these along…)
• A laundry bag (For quick changes…)
• A notepad and pen (I like to write down my “homework assignments” in here, especially for Cecchetti.)
• Emma’s Cecchetti Grade 3 book (I still haven’t looked this over… ugh…)
• My phone case (Emma made this awesome little purse for me!)
• My pointe shoes (Who could possibly leave without them?)
• My “pointe shoe kit” (Emma made this for me as well! It holds everything from a toothbrush to nail-clippers to extra hair accessories.)

And there, lovely dancers, is the majority of what lies in my dance bag. I do hope that I have given you some worth-while ideas!

Recital 2012

Hello dancers, and welcome to Recital Central! Are you ready for your tour? Let us begin!

Recital 1 Schedule:

Recital 1 will commence at 11:00 A.M. on May 18th. My dances are as follows:

1. Hungarian Dances
Beginning Pointe/Training 1 and 2– Miss Sara
“Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with flute and strings. Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise him with clashing cymbals.” Psalm 150:4-5
Attire: light pink tights, pink ballet shoes
Hair: ballet bun

4. Little Ballet Dolls
Tuesday Cherubs– Miss Jennifer
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Psalm 150:6
Attire: light pink tights (footed), pink ballet shoes

Recital 2 Schedule:

Recital 2 will be presented at 1:30 P.M. on May 18th.

1. Hungarian Dances
Beginning Pointe/Training 1 and 2– Miss Sara
“Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with flute and strings. Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise him with clashing cymbals.” Psalm 150:4-5
Attire: light pink tights, pink ballet shoes
Hair: ballet bun

Recital 3 Schedule:

Recital 3 will begin at 5:30 P.M. on May 18th. 

1. Hungarian Dances
Beginning Pointe/Training 1 and 2– Miss Sara
“Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with flute and strings. Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise him with clashing cymbals.” Psalm 150:4-5
Attire: light pink tights, pink ballet shoes
Hair: ballet bun

4. Archangel
Modern– Miss Sara
“Then Jesus spoke to them again, ‘I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
Attire: black jazz pants, foot paws (optional)
Hair: ponytail

25. Breathe
Training 2– Miss Sara
“The God who made the world and everything in it– He is the Lord of the heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.” Acts 17:24-25
Attire: light pink tights, pink ballet shoes
Hair: ballet bun

And there, lovely dancers, is my schedule for the whole of May 18th. But of course, before a performance, you must have a rehearsal…

Recital 1: I may have to be at the Recital 1 rehearsal to help my little cherubs.

Recital 2: There is a dress rehearsal scheduled on May 17th at 4:30 P.M., but I am not sure that I have to attend….

Recital 3: There are two rehearsals for Recital 3. I will be attending the first rehearsal on May 15th at 4:30 P.M. The second will be held on May 16th which I will be attending as well (if I do, in fact, have all of my calculations correct). 

Now, you know all about hair and costume but as for make-up, Miss Sara prefers brown reds, brown purples and brown pinks. I, like last year, will be wearing brown purples.

Besides recital, the Training Division also has the opportunity to perform on April 26th! Training 2 will be performing our “Breathe” piece at 2:10 P.M.

 

 

My Calendar’s Image this Month

Goodness, gracious; I love costume day!

I pushed through a stuffed-up head (Are you surprised?) to go to modern today, and I am so glad that I did! Today was– officially– “Costume Day,” one of my favorite days of the entire year. First off, Miss Sara gave us her yearly “shpeel.” I have this lecture memorized (but Abby is much better at the facial expressions). Basically, we are not aloud to touch, breathe on or even look at our costumes once we take them home; they have to go in the very back of our closets. After recital, however, my teacher couldn’t care less if we attach our tutus to the bumpers of our cars and drive down the highway at 80 miles per hour…

Anyway, after The Shpeel, we tried on our red, sparkly shirts. Most of us will have to take the straps in a bit but other than that, they are perfect! I love the color, the style, THE SPARKLES… everything!

After a huge dance clean-up, class was over. Miss Sara gave me my ballet costume on my way out, which I tried on when I got home. I LOVE it. It is absolutely beautiful– may-be my favorite costume of all time.

My mom and I have the timely job of costume-fixing this weekend. My tutu must be steamed, my blue leotard must be sewn (it’s falling apart at the seams), my sparkly shirt has to be taken in and some changes must be made to my black pants…!

A Peek into my Spring Break (from left to right: Kaden, Aquinnah, Brody, Sophie and Suzanna)!

Happy Spring to all of you lovely dancers!

I had the most wonderful break. My family took a cross-country-road-trip for the first time in years, and I had a blast! However, I was happy to come home to my glorious state and all of my dancing.

I bounded into the studio early this afternoon to the welcoming smiles of my sisters. Upon asking Emma what I missed out on yesterday, she explained that Miss Sara handed out the combined dance/beginning pointe costumes. JEALOUS! I will be receiving both of my costumes on Thursday (in modern class). My best friend wasn’t stoic in telling me all about the dress– it’s gorgeous! I cannot wait to have my own!

Class was wonderful! We did a ton of barre, stretched until we all felt like spaghetti and practiced our Paquita variation, as is the usual for Tuesdays.

At work this evening (Cherubs), I found myself running around Studio A, collecting skirts and hairpieces as the girls tried on their recital costumes. They looked adorable (although, the tutus are a bit more neon than I expected…)! Those little ones loved their costumes so terribly much, that I had to reassure them that they will be able to keep them forever. The parents then came to watch their dance.

On my way out, I met up with Emma who, once again, described our costume in detail. We have officially decided that a photo shoot (take two) is in order…!