Author: Aquinnah

Firebird premieres in three days. Dress rehearsal is in two days. And–in one manner or another–we all survived tech rehearsal last night. We warmed up in the auditorium (Try planking on a sloped surface sometime– epic challenge.) and then walked through the show. The abnormally rectangular shape of the stage took some getting used to, as well as the three giant trees forming a triangle across the floor, but so long as no one gets lost in the forest that is our backdrop, we should all be prepared for Friday and Saturday.

Over the last several months, I’ve been putting together really long, really random playlists and posting them here. Now that we share an understanding of “my music” (and partially because I somehow managed to wipe my iPod the other day), I’ve put together a slightly more practical playlist. This one will definitely be going backstage at Firebird (which is in eight days, by the way).

• We’ll be the Stars by Sabrina Carpenter
• Whatever You’re Doing (Something Heavenly) by Sanctus Real
• All the Rowboats by Regina Spector
• Meaning (Stripped Version) by Gavin DeGraw
• How It Ends by DevotchKa
• Complicated by Bon Jovi
• More Like Falling In Love by Jason Gray
• Let It Go (Single Version) by Demi Lovato
• The Other Side of the Radio by Chris Rice
• Welcome To Wherever You Are by Bon Jovi
• Talk Of The Town by Jack Johnson
• When We Were Young by Benjamin Dunn & the Animal Orchestra

Found out yesterday that the red, orange and gold makeup that will help in creating Firebird may turn my skin yellow for a day or two. Not that the prospect isn’t thrilling or anything, but I’m open to suggestions on preventative measures. 😉

Firebird, Little Swan, Peacock

This title is dedicated to Moriah, who is now laughing at me.

In all randomness, here are your remaining song titles for Recital 2015:

Training 3: Prelude 2 by Dustin O’Halloran (I knew it was a prelude “to”!)

Combined piece: Multiplied by Needtobreathe

Intermediate pointe 1: J’y Suis Jamais Alle by Yann Tiersen (English: “I’ve Never Been”)

Proud dancer.

Yesterday was very long and very tiring–but most of all–it was really fun. Company class began two hours earlier than usual, followed by a rehearsal and two full runs of the show, one in costume. It entailed French twists and gobs of make-up and bruised feet, but, as Miss Mia would say, “Welcome to the cours de ballet” (all kinds of classy with this foreign language stuff today).

After rehearsals, Bluebird, the peacocks, Swan Queen, the little swans, the robins and I all headed over to a local Chick-fil-a for a promotional event. We performed our variations/pieces, handed out flyers and met a bunch of really excited kiddos– so much fun! Joined by the flowers and dark clouds, everything went smoothly.

Next week is in-studio dress rehearsal.

What?

I think I’d better get some new ballet shoes….

French twist to keep headpiece on

This past week, Bluebird and I were asked to debut our variations for the pre-show of Anne of Green Gables, as performed by the studio’s theater company. She and I were able to dance before two of the three shows, and I’m honored to have been able to participate!

Fiery makeup and costume (feat. my jacket)

One of the longest, best Saturdays of my life began with a short rehearsal at the studio. Bluebird and I ran our variations in costume for the very first time. Everything felt a little wonky, with the headpiece and the heavy tutu and all, but generally speaking, no one fell down, and that’s always a good sign.

After rehearsal, Valerie and I warmed up in company class and then headed over to the high school. Bumping into Josie Pye, Anne Shirley, Jane Andrews, Jimmy Glover, Mini May Barry, Rev. Allan, Gilbert Blithe and the other residents of Avonlea was just one of so many reasons to smile yesterday. Besides that, my first performance was absolutely exhilarating!

Bluebird and I before the show

This week’s “costume party” was in full effect when I arrived back at the studio. Everything is looking great! In the next two hours, we ran the show twice— bam. Accomplished.

And then my parents and I went to Jamba Juice because who could possibly go an entire weekend without that?

Anne of Green Gables and Firebird mashup

By the second show, I was totally exhausted and was loosing feeling in my feet, but performing usually causes me to forget about little things like that. I felt so blessed, not only to be performing again, but because I was able to stay for the final showing of Anne of Green Gables. It was spectacular!– so incredibly well done. Anne Shirley is one of those characters that unfailingly reminds her audience to enjoy every day to the fullest; you only live once.

“There’s such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I’m such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn’t be half so interesting.” – Anne Shirley

Because, basically, I have broken my streak; I do NOT know the titles of all of my Recital songs for 2015. I would wait to post this until I DO know them, but, due to the snow, I haven’t been to dance in three days, and I’m starting to feel a little claustrophobic.

Training 3 piece: is currently nameless. I had it!– and then didn’t write it down. It’s a prelude to something or other, but the important thing is that it’s beautiful. The polar opposite of our Christmas dance, it’s a relatively slow, dramatic piece. It’s going to be great.

Combined piece: Miss Sara choreographed our combined piece this year, so we’ll be learning off of her video in the Monday Training classes. Super excited!

Bible Book Bop: Look!– a name! Let me be honest here: The last time that I was enrolled in a tap class, I was six years old, and the steps that I was doing were not nearly as complex as Miss Bethanny’s. Usually, the girls have it down better than I do. It’s a learning experience for everyone, I guess. Besides, those kiddos invented the word “cute.”

Arise: Another name! This has got to be my favorite modern piece of all time. It involves a ten-foot-long sheet of purple lace, which is destined to be suspended in the air, in one manner or another, for most of the song. Adysen and I have a running joke near the beginning, when the fabric is covering all but a few, that “We know how this ends. We’ve watched enough White Collar to know how this ends.” But please, do ignore us.

Intermediate Pointe 1: Oh, hey. Look at that– nameless French song from old French movie. It’s really fun, and with the costumes that Miss Mimi picked out, it’s going to be adorable.

In other news, I’m thinking about designing a line of dance apparel. You know, with all that free time. 🙂

Whatever happened to September? Heck, what happened to August? I feel as though FYB has only just launched, and obviously (Aren’t the flyers AMAZING?), that isn’t the case.

It has been nearly six months since I became the Firebird, and I’ve learned so much since then, so much that I can’t even begin to write it all out.

On Monday, the following went down in my diary: “…we’re all just people, and we’re all a little awkward, and we’re all a lot weird, and we’re never as cool as we think we are.” It just… showed up on the page. It wasn’t until today that I realized, that’s it! That’s one of the major things that I’ve taken from this experience.

The entry went on to say that we’re all people. Beautiful, talented people, each and every one unique. We all have our quirks, and that’s okay. We’re extraordinary. That’s extra + ordinary which = extra beautiful and talented. And we all have a little bit of Firebird in all of us– a little spunk, confidence and a whole lot of room to learn.

My dad once told me, “You’re never as cool as you think you are.” I haven’t forgotten that, and I’m glad; it keeps my head up, and my ego down. My fellow dancers, though, with all the effort they’ve shown these last five months, are cooler than they know. I appreciate them more and more every single week.

Today, Miss Mia completed the choreography of our finale. The show is complete! I can hardly believe it.

Five weeks and counting. It’s creeping up on me.