music – Page 3 – Dancing Angel

09/27/2015

My Newly Discovered, Jumping Up and Down in a Hot and Sweaty Crowd Life

Title credits to Moriah… 🙂

I never expected to attend a school dance. I started homeschooling full-time in my freshman year of high school, and I never looked back. If I want to, I can graduate this year, and I do want to. I’m ready to move on, and my previous opinions on college have changed drastically. I might even consider going.

Last year, between eating spoonfuls of ketchup (which I can’t recommend) and making prank calls (“Hey, this is Alex…”), I signed a piece of paper and promised that I would attend Homecoming 2015 with Moriah. Adysen agreed, too. I was pretty sure it was a joke.

Needless to say, it wasn’t.

One flat iron and two curling irons later, my hair was ready, along with my makeup and even my nails, which I never bother to paint because PERFORMANCES, of course. I put jewelry on, including my great-grandmother’s pearls, and bought new shoes. And, after hours and hours and hours and HOURS of shopping… my parents found this beautiful dress. I could never express how thankful I am for those two who know me so well.

Ask Adysen, Moriah, Sarah or Olivia– I take on school dances like a ballerina. My whip and nae nae looks like second position preparation and croise, and I had to take off my heels before I could do any kind of jumping…. But it was fun! I got advice like, “Harness your inner monkey.” We had a big studio group, and we jumped, and danced and sang as a group. We laughed as a group. We ran around looking for people and water bottles. We watched glow sticks (and various people) fly across the gym. We also came up with seemingly random things like Cookie Butter and Icee and took this college-worthy picture:

So, thank you, Moriah, for making us go to homecoming. I won’t forget it, and neither will Adysen, since they decided to play Turn Down For What. #onpoint Thank you both for a winner of a shopping trip and an even better dance. You never know how strong you are until you dance in heels… or something like that.

Here’s to hot pink and sparkly butterflies, hot and sweaty crowds and our first and last homecoming as the three musketeers. I love you guys!

Aquinnah

09/03/2015

Pumpkin Pie Playlist

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.

xoxo,

Aquinnah

08/17/2015

Photo Shoot ’15

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).

xoxo

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

07/14/2015

I Can Playlist

This afternoon, the “I Can” playlist was born. My mom had asked me, yesterday evening, to purchase a few songs that we’d been YouTubing for drives around town. It’s not often that someone hands you money and says, “Here, buy some upbeat music,” so I went ahead and mixed the new songs with some old ones and– viola! It’s been some time since I posted a playlist, and this one is too fun not to share.

I Can

Shut Up and Dance by WALK THE MOON
All the Rowboats by Regina Spektor
Get Back Up by tobyMac
Every Move I Make by David Crowder Band
God Made Girls by RaeLynn
Eye On It by tobyMac
Firework Katy Perry Piano Cover by Nazareno Aversa
I’m Letting Go by Francesca Battistelli
Eyes Wide Open by Sabrina Carpenter
Happy Day by Kim Walker
Immortals by Fall Out Boy
Life Is a Highway by Rascal Flatts
Ready or Not by Britt Nicole
Something In the Water by Brooke Fraser
Your Love’s Like by Sabrina Carpenter

This list was inspired by Brandon Cormier’s message at Desperation 2015: Say I Won’t. I can dance. I can rise to the occasion– maybe in heels. I can make goals. I can shine. I can let go. I can be happy. I can live life to the fullest. I can love people. I can, and I will.

Enjoy your week, lovelies,

Aquinnah

Photo Credit: WATCH ME. summerbliss_oceanbreeze. 2015. We Heart It. Web. 13 July 2015. View photo.

07/11/2015

Epic Modern

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+!

Aquinnah