movies – Dancing Angel

11/27/2016

The Stuff that Makes Me Happy

Happy belated Thanksgiving, America! At this–the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year–I have ever so many things to be thankful for. I’ve been blessed with a family who loves and supports me, with friends who grow alongside me, with teachers who want to see me improve and with a house that has green gables. I’m able to wake up each morning knowing that I am provided for, cherished and chosen for something that will make the lives of those I touch a little brighter. It is my hope that as the snow starts to fall and this semester ends, those people around me will know how much I support and cherish them.

And now that Thanksgiving Break is coming to a close, I remain grateful, in large part because I can finally play Christmas music without getting mean looks. The lights are up, and we just decorated our first real tree (you know, the kind that makes your house smell like a fir forest) in ten years. Good stuff.

It’s almost December, and that means lots of rehearsals and very little time for shopping. Between Achilles tendonitis for the second year in a row, two viruses and whatever I did to my shins yesterday, it has not been an easy semester. But I’ve learned a lot by watching. I’ve done a lot of praying. I taught myself to accept the FasciaBlaster. It’s frustrating, and painful, and like anyone, I occasionally have to hit the snooze button on my alarm. I made myself new boundaries, even when I wanted to push forward, and I’m glad I did. Knowing how to be kind to myself makes me feel like I’m doing something right.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be performing “Do You See what I See?” (worship), “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” (ballet) and “Carol of the Bells” (modern). On Friday, the Training Division and Advanced Modern will be performing locally, which I’m very excited about.

In other news, I’m finished choreographing my senior solo, “Welcome Home” and have picked a costume. In fact, all of my Recital costumes have been posted. Take a look…!

senior-solo-costume — Welcome Home (with pink ballet flats)

Aren’t they lovely? I’m thrilled. Our Training 3 costume will be black tights, a black leotard and a burgundy skirt with a belt, if I remember correctly.

Almost time for Rudolph. Have a wonderful week, beautiful dancers.

xo Aquinnah

12/18/201502/18/2019

Christmas Dances 2015

I just love Christmas. I love snow, and hot chocolate (massive toss-up between peppermint and caramel right now), and movies (I think I’ve seen Elf three times already….), and pajamas, and bells and music.

I performed my final Christmas piece of the season yesterday, and I’m almost ready for break… because combined Training class, of course! Last week’s Friday lesson ended up being the nursing home outreach and a hot chocolate party, so I’m super excited to see what this final class of 2015 brings.

I’m having a terrible time cutting the video of Christmas Eve in Sarajevo, but if I ever figure it out, I’ll post a part of that right HERE. Before we performed the T3 piece, Miss Sara taught us the Spanish variation from Nutcracker. It was a good day.

Wednesday was rather awesome, too. We drank hot chocolate and created group pieces in jazz, and then I taught both ballet/tap and 1A. I wasn’t sure what to expect from my first tap class as a teacher, but it was such a joy to work with the kiddos! The 1A kids learned half of the Sugar Plum variation, which was a total dream come true for me. By the smiles I was getting, I think the little ballerinas were pretty happy. 🙂 Christmastime is just the best.

Enjoy these hours leading up to the big day and a very happy New Year to you and yours,

Aquinnah

09/29/2015

3 Things You Should Know about Divergent

*This post has several SPOILERS, but not enough to ruin your reading. It is dedicated to anyone and everyone who has ever considered reading the Divergent series and to the hope that they will, against all odds, choose to do so.*

Divergent

Divergent is NOT The Hunger Games

This is the absolute, #1 quote that I hear about the Divergent series. “It’s basically The Hunger Games,” they say. “It’s a spin-off of The Hunger Games. If you’ve read The Hunger Games, you really don’t need to read Divergent. It’s exactly the same.”

All the time.

Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but after the first book alone, it was clear to me that Veronica Roth’s utopian world is a far cry from Suzanne Collins’s dystopian one. It’s all about the vocabulary…

Dystopian – an extremely miserable society

Utopian – a society which strives for perfect life

Wait… what? Doesn’t that mean that Divergent and The Hunger Games are… opposites?!

Not totally. Everyone has their own idea of what “perfect life” would look like. When those ideas get caught in the judgment filter, they go one of two ways. They are (Here we go!)… they are (Yeah, baby!)… they ARE (SO READY!)… Divergent or The Hunger Games (When did I become so predictable, anyway?).

Both Divergent and The Hunger Games blame human nature for society’s issues. “Let us fix your genetics!” becomes a utopian process. “We’ll wipe anyone who disagrees with us off the map!” becomes a dystopian process. But “fixing” people so that they can be “perfect” is bound to irritate someone who believes there’s nothing wrong with their gentetics (*raises hand*). That causes civil war. And being told that you’ll need to sacrifice one to two children per year as a reminder–to you–of–your own–statist government simply can’t be taken with a grain of salt. That causes civil war.

So, maybe the messages are the same. Maybe perfect life can’t be achieved.

But let’s be honest. Katniss and Tris are so utterly different, one huge similarity is essentially drowned by differences big and small. In the end, it comes down to what each of them is willing to sacrifice. And I haven’t even started on that yet…

Tris is an Original

I have never read a character so unique and not for reasons you might think. In her society, Tris is normal. She has her own irritations, but that first chapter doesn’t scream, “Hey! HEY! I’m totally against my perfect society! I’m going against the grain! I want to be different!” Actually, like any 16-year-old, Tris just wants to fit in with anyone who seems to have their life figured out better than she does her own. And that’s what made her special from the first page.

In today’s world, everybody wants this “perfectly flawed” protagonist. I’ve heard Tris win the title many times, and, unlike with Katniss, I can see it. Tris is a mess. She wants to be selfless, and brave, and smart, and kind AND honest, and she’s not allowed. She wants to fit in with everyone, but she can’t. She wants to love people and trust people, but she can’t.

And–let’s be real–Tris is smarter at the end of Allegiant than Katniss was on page one of The Hunger Games. And we all know what happened to Katniss after page one.

Everybody Hates Allegiant… Almost

Are you screaming at me yet?

I did not hate Allegiant!

I did not like it either.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with a more depressing ending note or a cliffhanger that I wanted resolved more. Also, though I eventually understood the necessity, I didn’t need to get all up inside Four’s head. I never expected him to be so whiny, I guess.

But there were good parts. Hopefully, by now, you want to know what they are. If not, convince them or confuse them, right?

I may be opinionated, but I enjoy listening to other people’s opinions! If you have one to share, I’d love to hear it through the comments [below] or the contact form [above].

Aquinnah

Photo Credit: Fear doesn’t shut you down. Emilie. 2015. We Heart It. Web. 29 September 2015. View photo.

08/03/2015

Harry Potter and when He Lived in My Closet

I was born into the Harry Potter generation. J. K. Rowling had published The Prisoner of Azkaban just before I was born, and my parents bought a copy of the renowned series (through the fourth book) in 2000, shortly after The Goblet of Fire was released. It was a gorgeous, completely hardcover set, and it spent several years in the back of my closet before my mom threw the entirety of it in the dumpster. I kid you not.

You see, I was afraid of my closet, and I never went in there alone, so the top shelf was the perfect hiding spot for Harry Potter. Harry Potter contained magic, and magic was dark, and darkness was evil, so Harry eventually had a three-second peek at my bedroom before disappearing down the upstairs hallway and into the trash.

I never forgot the cover of The Goblet of Fire, though, as Harry and I looked at each other for the first time, beneath my mother’s arm. There was a brief exchange, during which I asked her what she was carrying. She told me that they were books– bad, scary books. So I let them go.

Rowling Quote

At this point in my life, my mom is able to call my dog a “muggle.” She doesn’t really know what that means–Can a dog actually be a muggle anyway?–but she knows the word, so I feel partially accomplished. My dad, on another hand, has perfected the nonverbal spell which entails thrusting his wand (fork) upward at the dinner table and looking pointedly at Kaden (who immediately sits up straight).

We didn’t get to this point instantaneously. As a matter of fact, I thought Brody had gone mental when he asked my mom if he could read The Sorcerer’s Stone. I nearly passed out when she told him yes. A year later, I can’t imagine her saying no.

Most of my Harry Potter books are on my e-reader, and I love them so much more than those that spent so long in my closet– mostly because I got to read these ones. But I’ll never forget that moment–that fraction of a second–when I saw 14-year-old Harry for the first time, smiling from the cover of the latest book.

Through this series, I’ve learned one very specific thing: You cannot know a person 100% until they’ve been given two things: money and power. Ginny Weasley taught me that age is not a direct relation to power. All of the Weasleys together taught me the importance of family. Sirius Black taught me that who you are expected to become is not necessarily who you are to be in the future. Remus Lupin taught me never to judge people by what they are but by heart. Luna Lovegood taught me not to take everything so seriously. Neville Longbottom taught me to stay determined. Albus Dumbledore taught me to search for the good in others, even when it is difficult. Hermione Granger taught me that knowledge is beauty. Ron Weasley taught me to laugh whenever possible and for as long as possible. Severus Snape taught me that love goes beyond all magic.

Harry Potter–though he had to wait 15 years–taught me the power of friendship. He taught me to do what’s right instead of finding an easier way.

And J. K. Rowling. She taught me that little details, seemingly insignificant, are what matter most in the end.

The Deathly Hallows ended in an epilogue. I’m glad. It makes me feel that the story isn’t over. In fact, a new chapter has begun.

Always

Aquinnah

Photo one (1) Credit: Magic world…. Anonymous. 2015. We Heart It. Web. 2 August 2015. View photo.

Photo two (2) Credit: the stories we love best. Lisa. 2015. We Heart It. Web. 2 August 2015. View photo.

Photo three (3) Credit: Always. alexis. 2015. We Heart It. Web. 2 August 2015. View photo.

07/31/2015

Something about Summer

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.

Aquinnah

07/28/2015

Pop Culture Day

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. 😉

Much love,

Aquinnah