I have this thing about autumn. Generally speaking, it’s a lot of tea, and sweaters and wool socks. It makes me think of apples and pumpkins and lots and lots of pie. It also means school. And even though it’s not technically fall yet, I need a playlist just for trigonometry.
For whatever odd reason, most quiet songs sound melancholy to me. But autumn is also quiet, in my mind, unlike spring (which is refreshing), summer (which is upbeat) or winter (which was made for Christmas sing-alongs). This playlist would make good background noise.
Pumpkin Pie Playlist
The Broken Beautiful by Ellie Holcomb
A Little Longer by Bethel Music & Jenn Johnson
For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield
Blind Love by Bon Jovi
Breathe You In by Thousand Foot Krutch
Fight Song/Amazing Grace by The Piano Guys
God Made Girls by RaeLynn
The Hanging Tree by James Newton Howard
Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning by Bon Jovi
Here I Am To Worship by Hillsong
Seamless by Sabrina Carpenter
La Seine and I Cabaret by Vanessa Paradis
What Do I Know of Holy by Addison Road
Home by Phillip Phillips
On Burning Bridges: I like it. End random I-had-better-point-out….
Dance starts in less than a week with leaps and turns… AH! I’m so ready for this new year.
Tomorrow, I turn 16. It’s kind of strange to think about. I always thought that when I turned 16, I would feel instantaneously different, but today, I’ve been thinking about all the great stuff that happened while I was 15. It wasn’t such a bad year itself– crazy, yes, but not bad.
I’ve been meaning to post these pictures for awhile, having finished this year’s photo shoot at last, and I’m glad to be doing it now. Though I’ve since gotten braces and performed in the summer showcase, these costumes represent some of my favorite moments from my 15th year, and these pictures are dear to my heart. I do hope you enjoy.
I loved the costume – Garden of the Gods scenery combination.
Brody: Quinnah, why don’t you look at the camera?!
Just hoping that the mountain bikers wouldn’t run me over…
Catching fire
“Be multiplied”
Brody: Seriously, Quinnah!– LOOK AT THE CAMERA!
Please, don’t rain.
Desert breeze…
… blow me away
This one was Brody’s idea. 😉
Colorado clouds on point
Little brothers are the special little boys in your life who pick you flowers and take pictures of you with the flowers.
Road trip to Rangeley– this is right after I fell in the swamp. The Blochs live on, and Dad and I had a good laugh.
Dad: Stay right there! Don’t move! I have an idea.
Can you see the fairies?
What dancers actually look like when they’re tying pointe shoes in the freezing cold after falling into a swamp.
What dancers wish they looked like when they’re tying pointe shoes in the freezing cold after falling into a swamp.
Possibly the greatest picture of me ever taken. It wasn’t planned. It just happened. I guess falling in a swamp does that to you (obviously, it was a terribly traumatic experience).
There’s something about summer that makes me look forward to it every year. Maybe it’s the sunshine or the way the grass smells in the morning. Maybe it’s the birds that insist on waking me up so that I can fall back to sleep. Maybe it’s having the time to sit in bed and disappear into a good book. Maybe it’s the present possibility to do anything, everything and nothing as I see fit.
My thought process this morning, around 5am: I have a lot of stuff to do today. I wonder what everyone posted on Instagram last night. I should probably write today. What if that update messed with iTunes? Or Rosetta Stone? Can I reopen Rosetta Stone? How’ll I ever get back into Rosetta Stone?! And I was getting pretty good at French, too. If I go on Pinterest right now, I’ll never get off. Oooh, but Big Hero 6— that’s where my Big Hero 6 board is. Does the dog whine this loudly EVERY MORNING? I’m gonna read Harry– nope. Everyone died. Why do all the good characters die? Next week is going to be crazy. Stop trying to get me to read, Harry Potter; I only have two chapters left in Deathly Hallows. I’m so hungry. But it’s only 5am. There’s so much laundry to be done. Why did I wake up in the first place? My calves are so tight. Oooh, Pinterest.
And therein, folks, is why I’m awake at this ungodly hour, watching the innumerable rabbits hop around in the backyard. I’m not quite up to Lorelai Gilmore’s random string of thoughts standard, but I think I’m getting better…. Summer was meant for sleeping late!
I’ve been denying it for awhile, but July is coming to a close. I could do without the giant cardboard pencils hanging from the ceiling in every shopping center around the city, but yes, July is ending. I can hardly believe that summer semester is over; I’ve learned so much. On Wednesday, in pointe, we taught ourselves the first Odalisque variation.Yesterday, in choreography/improv, we analyzed the cinematography, choreography and costume in the above video, PAINTED. While we each had a different perspective on the piece, we all agreed that our analysis was far more objective than it would have been seven weeks ago. It’s bittersweet– seeing choreography in parts rather than as a whole. “It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart,” said Finnick Odair. I think the same goes for dance: It takes ten times as long to put a piece back together as it does to mentally take it apart. Once I could see the little details and quirks in this video, it was impossible to un-see them. Visualizing the over-all meaning of the dance became difficult until we watched it a second time, and the puzzle rebuilt itself. My one empty brain cell–bam!–fried. Leaps and Turns was a phenomenal experience, too, teaching me how to get out of my head and just dance. I can’t wait for it to start up again in the fall.
With fall comes Training 3 with Miss Mia, Miss Sara and Miss Bethanny; intermediate pointe 2 with Miss Mia; leaps/turns with Miss Bethanny; and advanced modern with Miss Sara. I’m also SUPER excited to be interning with Miss Beth in Pre-Training and Bethanny in ballet/tap and ballet 1A.
For now, I’m hanging on to summer and the wonderful people in it. To my dear Caroline:As the original Training 1s break up yet again, I pray every blessing over you and your family. God has such wonderful plans for this next adventure, and although I am going to miss you terribly, I’m so excited to see where those plans take you. Love you and miss you already, girl.
Pop culture is one of many defining factors in any nation’s scene. It’s the movies we watch, the music we hear, the dances we perform, the books we read and the celebrities that we look up to for inspiration in fashion and even food. Currently, in the USA, we’re pretty into Teen Beach Movie and its sequel, Teen Beach Movie 2 (Original? No. Adorably cheesy? For sure!). We love the media that’s branched off of those two films, and that’s why Moriah, Adysen and I decided to teach a group of foreign exchange students the last section of “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin”.
If choreographing an entire modern dance in two hours seems impossible, I can tell you firsthand that it is not. I had a blast putting together a show with two of my favorite people yesterday evening. Performing it for the exchange students felt like the culmination of my last six weeks in choreography/improv class and assisting with the Frozen camp last week. It was awesome. We determined to call the dance, “Release” because we’ve all done things that we aren’t proud of, but there comes a time when we have to let those things go and move on with life. It is our hope that the audience grabbed tightly to the free gift which God has given to all of us and that they run with it.
We did not teach Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’ alone (however, I am proud to say that Team Cool won the dance competition) but learned things ourselves. The Chinese teens and tweens were so fun to work with, and I couldn’t help but be impressed by how quickly they picked things up during class (especially having learned Teen Beach myself at 11pm last night).
HUGE SHOUT-OUT to my other two musketeers. I don’t know what I’d do without you girls. Had so much fun with you. Can’t wait to choreograph the Pan soundtrack together. 😉
When I say the word “boat,” what is it that you picture in your mind’s eye? Do you see a little dinghy or sailboat? Or maybe a fishing boat? A cruise ship, perhaps? Personally, I see a black-and-white photograph of the Titanic, and there’s a chance that you do too, but nobody pictures any one thing in exactly the same way. When I say “sky,” you might picture a sunrise, a sunset or even snow. I see the color blue, and while I’m sure that someone else sees it as well, her shade is not my shade, and her clouds are not placed precisely where mine are, and her sunbeams aren’t stretching at my angle exactly. Our imaginations play a massive role in the way we see the world around us. Epic.
Modern intensive was mind-boggling. I learned so many new techniques for warm ups and choreography. We had the privilege of being instructed by guests Judy Bejarano and Laura Hymers, as well as Miss Kim, Miss Rochelle and Miss Sara. Monday through Thursday, we worked on our repertoire, a short dance to “Guardians at the Gate” by Audiomachine, which we’ll be performing at a showcase in August. The piece was choreographed by four of our five instructors, and each has a totally different style, which resulted in the greatest mashup ever to hit our modern dance classes. Although each choreographer agreed that Audiomachine’s song is “epic,” each had a different take on what said epic-ness looks like.
Miss Kim taught me to be a strong dancer. Miss Rochelle taught me to be a fluid dancer. Ms. Judy taught me to be a modern dancer in love with the art. Ms. Laura, although she choreographed a separate combination, taught me to be a calm dancer. Miss Sara taught me to be a well-rounded dancer. Together, they taught creative, stellar, EPIC modern. And I hope that shined through our eyes.
In other news, we have begun this summer’s variation practice: the third variation of the pas de trois from Le Corsaire. Besides intensive and weekly classes, I attended the annual Desperation Conference with Adysen, and I can honestly say that it was one of the best weeks of my life. It was crazy, absolutely exhausting and painful (the number of burns and bruises that I have right now…), but I feel so blessed to have been able to participate in it all. For pictures, videos and quotes from the conference, check out my Instagram and Google+!
Going into summer semester at the studio can be exhilarating and exhausting all at once, so gear up for three ways to smile, be challenged and get into shape!
Three Ways to Make a Dancer Smile
Put her in modern class. Even though my modern-dancer pas de chats make me feel like I’m part of a western hoedown, I got to ditch the awkward Cecchetti arms for a class.
Tell her that she’s getting new pointe shoes in September. Russian pointes, I love you dearly, but oy with the poodles already. Every time I break you in, you come back stronger!
Drive her to the studio after three weeks. It’s like being home again. Coffee dates with sisters and sneaking up on baby bunnies– yep.
Three Ways to Challenge a Dancer
Put her in improv class. I left totally uncomfortable and racking my brain, so…. I think it was good. And I think it will get easier. For now, I’ll be shuffling up my iPod and thinking about dynamics.
Give her The Deathly Hallows and tell her to read a chapter without crying. Then, give her a blueberry muffin because that’ll help with the tears.
Tell her to do 56 releves on pointe. And then remind her to put her feet in a bucket of ice because otherwise, she’ll be in a lot of pain.
Three Ways to Get into Shape after Break
Stretch. And don’t forget. It’s important. I should know. I barely made it down the stairs this morning.
Learn how to do a jazz-style hitch kick. They’re ridiculously fun, even if I look ridiculous doing them.
Take class with teachers who really care about you and how you perform– teachers who know your best and want to see you excel. The best teachers make class challenging and instill passion; they’re truly one of God’s great gifts to humanity, and I’m blessed to be surrounded by them.
When I’m not dancing, I’m reading. When I’m not reading, I’m writing. But what about when I’m not dancing, reading or writing?
Well… then I’m adventuring.
I love traveling, and so does the rest of my family. I have a whole list of places that I plan to visit before leaving this earth, and I’m confident that as a team, the six of us (counting the dog here) can make a pretty good dent in that list. I don’t often detail our road trips on this blog, which is why I am super excited to introduce to you (drum roll please)… The Swell.
Our all-new family blog has been in the works for weeks, and I, for one, am very proud of it. On the new webpage, you can read about my family’s adventures, both at home and far beyond. You’ll find “Whoopie Cookies” and “Making Forever Memories”, two pieces of mine on Summer Tour, already posted, and you’ll get to read some of my parent’s stuff, too.
PLUS! just for subscribing, we’ll mail you a free vinyl sticker (and–let’s be honest–our logo is freaking amazing). You get an email every time we post. You get a sticker at no cost to you whatsoever. We’re just handing out presents all over the place.
Life is one big, joyous adventure! Read more about mine and my family’s at The Swell. We hope to see you there!
