Author: Aquinnah

That’s right, dancers– the first Nutcracker Rehearsal has come and gone with such speed! Here is how it all played out:

The dance studio that the rehearsals take place at is actually connected to my church building, so I feel right at home! I went in with my mom, signed in, and walked back to the dressing area (Phew! So many details!). Emma was already there, eating a quick lunch. Caroline showed up a few minutes later with Anna not too far behind. Emma, Emma (my dance sister’s friend who is Clara in two of the four performances) and I all did some warming up and were soon called into the studio. Miss Kiara, the coordinator of the show, was looking over some papers and Miss Patty, teacher of the Party Scene, was there to welcome us. She “laid down the law” and sent us right to work! We were separated by height and did many chasses across the floor. We were then separated into groups and were told what kind of Party Girls we were to be; I am a Party Girl (partnered with a boy named Max) in Dance 1, Cast A along with Anna. Caroline is my Cast B. Emma is a Garland Girl in Dance 2 and is in all four performances! I am so happy for her.

Dance 2 was dismissed 15 minutes early. Dance 1 (Anna, Caroline and I) stayed to practice more chasses along with curtsies and ballet runs. It was so much fun!

Next week (Sunday) is pointe shoe day! Sadly, the fitting cuts in with my Nutcracker Rehearsal and I have already filed an excused absence. I hate to miss practice, but there are many rehearsals and only one scheduled pointe shoe fitting. I know I will be able to catch up. 

Unless something unexpected happens this week (and it certainly could) watch out for “Pointe Shoes!”

Creative Pointe Dancer

Eight days until en pointe! Whoo-hoo!

Well, I guess you could say that “the out of the ordinary” happened between Monday and yesterday. The best happened yesterday, but of course, Tuesday and Thursday come before Friday…:

Well, ballet class was pretty normal on Tuesday. It was in Cherubs that the unusual happened. Many more girls showed up for the second class– they are all even more adorable than last week! I got out a notepad and managed to list the names of a few girls and match the name to the appearance. I have not gotten them all listed yet, but I think of a new little girl to match every once in a while. Anyway, walking out, one of the moms (of a girl I have not managed to remember the name of yet) thanked me for helping her daughter stay on track in class; that really made my day…!

Modern was fantastic on Thursday! We did some tricky combinations (that were certainly not perfect in class), so I practiced them when I got home. They are much easier and SUPER fun now!

Alright… drum roll please… FRIDAY! In ballet, we worked on Grade 2 and a few other things we have been doing since last year. I was hungry in beginner pointe; I ate an entire yogurt parfait (minus the granola– I gave that to Anna) while warming up my feet. Miss Sara had to talk to one of the moms outside for a lot of Cecchetti Grade 1, so we taught ourselves! We have figured out how to use Miss Sara’s iPad, so we put on some music and got all the way through barre and three combinations into center. It was quite fun yelling at each other– “Point  your feet! Incline your head! Carve the pumpkin!” It was hilarious.

I believe it was in Grade 2 (class) that I randomly decided I was going to do a pirouette. I was going to do a perfect double and that was that. I went around once– twice– what? three times! YES! I did a PERFECT triple! Miss Sara flipped! She reiterated “That was GORGEOUS!” a million times and wished that she had chocolate to give me…! It was awesome.

There is my out of the ordinary news to share! Watch out for the Nutcracker post that is coming soon! Also, a surprise post is on its way… hmm…

Pointe Dancer

Twelve days until pointe shoes…!

I decided that now (as I wait for the clock to show 3:30 p.m. so I may leave for the cherubs class) would be the perfect point in time to describe my Monday evening. Here we go…!

Monday was really quite fun! I went to ballet class (highest level only) and danced until I thought I would fall over for working so hard (as I was walking out the door)! It is another large class; I am so thankful for the larger size of the new studio! During class, we worked hard at barre and Miss Sara gave us some extra stretching time. We did some Grade 2 in center– yay! I feel like I am getting much better at Cecchetti now that we are working on it more and more.

My goodness… short post! That seems to be it, though… oh, well! My next post will most likely (unless something out of the ordinary happens in class this week) be a Nutcracker post; my first rehearsal is on Sunday.

Green Pointe Shoes

I guess it is a little late in the rainbow for green pointe shoes (Have you figured me out yet?)…. Whatever.

Good afternoon! 

Friday classes were amazing! Three and a half hours later– still amazing! Yes, it was a long evening, but so much fun. The only thing better than sleepovers is dancing into all-hours. I knew when the pet groomers’ (next door) closed up shop that I still had a long way to go, but class goes by way too fast. By the time I left the studio, the entire street was quiet– everything was closed (or being closed).

First, I had ballet class. I believe it is the largest class I have ever been in; when full, we have 21 girls. Crazy! Good thing we are using our newest addition to the studio– Studio C! It is a separate building but much larger than studios A and B. It is so new, you can still smell fresh, pink paint! It truly is gorgeous.

After that, I had beginning pointe. We did a lot of stretching in our feet. They are very sore today– yay! Miss Sara says that is always a good sign (of working hard that is). Anyway, we went over who is riding in who’s car on the way to get pointe shoes and such. Just 15 days left until iPointe (Oh, yes, I did make that up myself)!

Lastly, I had Cecchetti Grade 1 and Grade 2. The exams are almost here; I will be ready. I have been practicing a little something everyday– now it is time to practice EVERYTHING everyday.

Pointe Shoes

Modern ended several hours ago, leaving me in much pain. Now I am laughing at myself; who knew modern would work muscles that I did not even know I had? I thought ballet was as painful as it gets– I was wrong. Modern certainly taught me something today: there is still much to learn and improve on. My dance journey has only just begun— I cannot wait to buy my next ticket to ride (show up at my next class) and see what else I can learn!

Anyway, back to the main update. Modern class was AMAZING. Miss Sara, being a professional modern dancer, is phenomenal! Modern, I learned, has a lot in common with ballet. You must still hold your center to keep balance, focus on the movement of your feet and other such things, but it is much more… free. I love it! Many things are in parallel (rather than turned-out). The biggest thing I need to work on is not being a ballerina for an hour…! SO HARD! My arms really need to loosen up; I will get there before long. Emma said it could take about three weeks to start shaking the ballet off (only for that class of course). I plan on making that time shorter…!

Hot Pink Pointe Shoes

Phew! The first day of fall classes is officially over! It would have been slightly less draining if I was not fighting off a cold, but working hard has never taken the fun out of dance class (and never will).

First off, I had ballet. I wanted to hug Miss Sara, but that wouldn’t be very considerate, keeping in mind that I am not feeling too perfect. So, I hugged Emma instead (who happens to be sick as well). Haha! Anyway, class was great! It is a fairly small, combined, ballet class (the highest division of ballet with the second highest division); four girls from the highest and one from the second highest are attending. I fall into the “highest” section of the group– so exciting! Anyway, we worked on a lot of stretching and other such things to get our bodies back in shape after our break.

After class, I went home a took a much-needed rest. Once I had regained my energy, it was back to the studio with me! I was out to help Miss Jennifer with the cherubs class. It was so fun! We have around twelve girls in the class (I forgot to make an exact count.) and they are all ADORABLE. We were missing one little girl whom I can’t wait to meet next week. Changing the topic slightly: I guess you can say I have been dreaming about assistant teaching; there are certain parts of the class I am looking forward to the most. Right now, I can barely contain my excitement about seeing their recital costumes (which should happen by the end of this month)! I hope it’s pink…! I will be sure to describe the whole thing or possibly post a picture after I see it.

That’s all for now! Next up: “Fall Classes– Thursday.” Look out for the post about my very first modern class!

Black and White Pointe Shoes

1.  Stores are for dancing (Yes, even at the stores that don’t sell dance attire…)
2. Popping hips are normal everywhere (Pop! Pop! Pop!)
3. Catchy tunes on the radio are for barre combinations (And the boring tunes too!)
4. If you find a good place to stretch, you must stretch right away (Even on the kitchen counter while your mom is making salad…)
5. If you need to pop something, everything else must stop (“WAIT!” Pop. “Okay. Resume.”)
6. Lucky legwarmers are used for much more than class (“Why are you wearing legwarmers to school…?”)
7. Buns are boring (This is so true.)
8. Doing echappes in flip-flops is normal (Not good for you, but we do it anyway.)
9. Working on arabesque arms while reading is a given (And we still finish our reading assignments… oh, yes.)
10. Doing releves in church is normal (As it is anywhere.)
11. Holding a releve in in church is normal (Yes, people stare constantly.)
12. You are always pointing your feet and looking at your arch (Pointe shoes soon…!)
13. Band-aids for marley-burns from modern and contemporary are a must (I haven’t experienced this one yet…)
14. Changing from clothes to a leotard in the car is easy (This takes one minute– tops.)
15. Changing hair and costumes in three minutes is normal (Not as easy as number 14., but normal!)
16. You automatically count to eight and then start over (And one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. And one…)
17. When someone asks you to do the splits, you go through plies and tendus first (A must.)
18. You can tell people what a variation of a cat, horse, glide, big, little fast and slow means in French (Of course!)
19.  People ask you if you’re a “ballerina” (All the time…)
20. The word “ballerina” is not athletic enough for you (And it never will be…!)
21. Holding a retire isn’t that easy (Haha…!)
22. Your favorite water bottle goes many places with you (Like… everywhere. It’ll see Paris someday, I’m sure.)
23.  You can dance while doing anything, i.e. sweeping the floor, loading the dishwasher (etc…)