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I bet you lovelies weren’t expecting THAT one…!

Surprise!

On March 15th, last years Training 1s and 2s will be bringing our Hungarian dance to a local mall for a classics festival. I say “dance,” rather than “dances,” as the beginning pointe piece will not be making a reappearance.

I, too, was shocked, when I found out we would be having three weeks of rehearsals to bring the dance up to speed. Our first session was yesterday, during class-time. The first run-through was a total train-wreck, but based on the fact that we hadn’t thought about it in a year, it could have been much worse. Our biggest problem right now is the amount of people who are either off to college or simply cannot make it to the performance. There are a lot of gaps to fill in, but now that the dance itself isn’t looking too horrific, I know we’ll be alright.

Beyond that, I’m kind of super excited about pointe shoes tomorrow…!

 

… take over me!

Guess what got finished today, folks?

Love take me, love take me over. Love take me o-ver.

And now, I will do my happy dance. Oh, wait. This IS my happy dance.

SO, this is all going to come out like a boatload of randomness, so if you’ve been having a semi-normal day, turn back now.

I really need to get my toenails fixed up, considering I’m getting new pointe shoes on Sunday… hmmm…

I just started reading The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan. WHAT am I getting myself into?

Starting a new series made me think, “If someone asked me–right now– what book they should read, what would I say?”

So, I made a list of all of my favorite books. They were in something of an order, but now they’re just kind of messed up. The Hunger Games trilogy should be up WAY, WAY higher on the list. But–as I said earlier– I really need to cut my toenails.

1. Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale – I could read this book seven million times and still love it. If YOU are going to read it, however, I would suggest reading its prequel first (even I had the sense to do that).
2. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale – Prequel to Palace of Stone, this is the book that changed the way that I will think of reading forever. It’s an incredible story for those of us who just want to go somewhere else.
3. River Secrets by Shannon Hale – For those of us who just need to laugh until we cry, whilst solving a mystery. My favorite of The Books of Bayern, though I would suggest reading The Goose Girl and [possibly] Enna Burning first.
4. Forest Born by Shannon Hale – The last of The Books of Bayern, this book wrapped up the story in such a way that I felt it was complete. I could–of course– stand to read another…
5. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale – The one that started it all. Fall in love with Isi and her crew.
6. Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock – Oh, Ben! This one’s a romantic comedy with action, adventure AND mystery thrown in. And dragons. There’s that, too.
7. Wish You Were Eyre by Heather Vogel Fredrick – The sixth and final book in the The Mother-Daughter Book Club series was my absolute favorite. You may want to read the rest of the box first, though…
8. Home for the Holidays by Heather Vogel Fredrick – The fifth book in MDBC. Priceless. I’ll end up rereading it this December, no doubt.
9. Pies and Prejudice by Heather Vogel Fredrick – The fourth book in MDBC. Darcy strikes again!
10. The Mother Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Fredrick – The one you should definitely read FIRST. I recommend to all sixth-graders and those of us who actually want to have a serious case of deja vu.
11. Much Ado about Anne by Heather Vogel Fredrick – Combining Anne of Green Gables with a bunch of characters that I came to know and love? The perfect second story in the MDBC series.
12. Dear Pen Pal by Heather Vogel Fredrick – For any eighth-grader who needs somewhere to go.
13. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – Well… you know my thoughts on this one (and if not, see “Breaking News: Aquinnah Finishes Mockingjay“).
14. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins – …
15. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins – …
16. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen – And don’t forget to see the movie! This one’s adorable, adorable, adorable, but I feel that the ending should have been much different…
17. Phronsie Pepper by Margaret Sidney – You may want to read the other three Pepper Books first, but this one’s the best. I cried my eyes out.
18. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild – For all of you lovely dancers and actors. <3
19. My most recent read is A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I would definitely recommend that one, too. 🙂

And that’s what I did with my morning.

Also, you may have noted that I switched up my page font a bit. This isn’t because I disliked the other one– actually, I loved it– but it was terribly hard to read, and I wouldn’t have blamed anyone who decided to quit. Hopefully, this one makes all of our lives easier.

So, today was fabulous.

I subbed for Moriah’s 1Bs this afternoon, as she was off, assisting her little twin sisters in their talent show (Go girls!). That stated, I arrived at the studio an hour earlier than usual. I was greeted by Abby’s little sisters, Emily and Anna, who offered to help me clean the bathrooms. What ACTUALLY happened was: I did virtually nothing, while they snatched supplies out of my hands and did the work themselves. All I could do was stand in awe, and thank them over and over and over again. What awesome girls!

When class began, Ms. Tina had everyone do 25 releves at the barre, and then it was prayer time. Afterwards, we moved on to barre, where Ms. Tina gave a lecture on the difference between demi pointe and pointe. During water break, she had me grab my pointe shoes, so that I might act as a visual aid. I passed the shoes around, explained them a bit, and was then begged to put them on. So, while I strapped myself in, Ms. Tina ran their recital dance (So lovely!). Once completed, I began to walk around in my shoes, watching the students’ utterly stunned expressions. Then, Ms. Tina hints, “I have your recital song.”

And they all flipped out.

And THAT, lovely dancers, is how I ended up performing Primavera (almost finished) for the 1Bs. Upon their exiting, the ballet 2As entered. Ms. Tina whispered, “You may have to keep those on.”

And THAT is how I ended up doing Primavera AGAIN. And then I couldn’t breathe. And I had to get water. And my feet were swollen, and I couldn’t fit into my flats.

SO, we ran I Need You, added on to the choreography, and somewhere in there, I got a very nice hug from Ava. Then, her big sister helped me hand out tickets. And then, I traded some tickets for candy and prizes, and then, I was very sad, for class was over.

Almost. Because then, I was given the run-down of the Cinderella ballet by one of the 2As. She totally made my day complete.

Wednesdays are the best.

Miss Bethanny and I really cracked down in ballet/tap this afternoon, working on plies, tendus and the girls’ dance. We are about halfway through Jesus Loves Me at the moment, and we’re hoping to continue choreographing next week.

Modern was fantastic– we had a blast! We practiced plies, tendus, leg swings and prances before jumping into Redeemed. To be honest, it wasn’t so hot, but we caught a group of people up and started on Moriah’s lift, so I feel that we were semi-productive [at least]. We also had a pirouette contest, to see who will be turning later on in the dance. Due to our lack of shoes, the top score was three, being held by several people, including myself. Miss Sara really wants to squeeze a sextuple out of one of us… oh, Lord…

And then there was the one about ballet. We did barre in the center this evening. Needless to say, I’m in a lot of pain. BUT, we got to loosen up by cleaning Love Take Me Over, until we just about passed out. The combined dance is almost completed, our latest bit of choreography taking the form of synchronized clapping. At one point, we were all so off beat, and we all sounded so horrible, we just gave up and laughed. Right then, I was so overcome with love for my studio, I actually thought about plopping down on the floor and continuing to laugh.

But I showed some restraint.

And I laughed harder.

To top that off, kudos to Allison, who survived her car being stolen and a slight electrocution, provided by the positive and negative charges currently attached to her ankle. Also to April, who danced on with a bloody toe (We just love modern!) and serious foot pain. May the dances be ever in your favor.

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Truth be told, I thought it was going to be a while before that title showed up, but I’ve run into a little trouble with the Bloch European Balances…

• First of all, the shoes are beautiful. So shiny and lovely. But style isn’t a real factor in pointe shoes. If it were, they’d change with pop culture. But they don’t. They’re still stiff and painful and totally awesome.
• Thanks to the gel in the box, I was spared the hassle of both toe tape and nylon socks this time around. Due to carpeted performances, however, I watched that pretty, pink satin slowly fall apart. At this point, I have virtually no material left on my platform at all. My work here is done.
• A few months in to fall semester, Miss Sara interrogated my shoes and I. I was disappointed to report that they still felt new. She replied, “Here’s the thing: you don’t weigh anything, and you don’t have super bendy feet, but that’s okay! That just means that your shoes are going to last freaking forever!” And she was right.
• No, my shoes are nowhere near dead. But the fact of the matter is, they never will be. My teacher and I have made the executive decision to go ahead and buy a pair with a softer shank and trash our previous attempts. Sad, but necessary.

Now, let’s just make sure we’re clear: I LOVE my pointe shoes. And I SO wish that they had worked out. But they’re just so stiff. I feel I’d have to have the world’s most flexible arches in order to move them in any significant manner.

So, when am I getting this “soft shank” anyway? Introducing February 23rd, the day on which I will be purchasing my third pair of pointe shoes. <3

Yeah, I had quite a few of those this past week.

I absolutely love recital choreography. I could do it all year long and be totally fine. But sadly, recital only comes once a year, so I’m soaking it all up. <3 I haven’t given an update on the dances in a while, so here are your details, lovely dancers:

Jesus Loves Me: This is the ballet/tap girls’ piece, and it is coming along relatively smoothly. So far, Miss Bethanny and I have worked out entrances, a bit of choreography and the girls’ lines. All in all, not a bad job for our third week back.

Redeemed: This dance is going to be astounding. There is a considerable portion of partnering involved, so choreography is coming on rather slowly, but I– personally– would prefer to see Elizabeth intact after her lift than broken and twisted. Miss Sara has some incredible ideas for the lighting on stage, so we’re hoping for the proper equipment…. Keep your fingers crossed!

Primavera: I absolutely adore this piece. Miss Sara knew weeks beforehand what she wanted from it, and I do believe we are living up to her expectations. Nearly finished with choreography, her most recent addition to the dance is a speed-rap chaines section, in which I lead the pack. It is truly one of the greatest choreography moments ever created, being one of those where you are required to rely on your sixth sense. One wrong step, and everybody goes flailing. Plus, it’s so fast, by the time you’re finished turning, you consider requesting oxygen. So much fun!

I Need You: This is the Ballet 2A girls’ piece. Choreography is coming in small steps, but the entire class is catching on quickly. The dance is graceful, and yet it has a recognizable power and strength to it, too. And with those costumes… ah! It’s going to be great.

Love Take Me Over: We began choreography for our combined piece yesterday, and I am ECSTATIC about it. Oh my word. Everything is crazy fast, and our costumes are so sparkly– it’s going to look like a giant disco ball! Honestly, though, the dance is awfully fun; we end up doing these airless laughs through the entire piece. Now THAT’S a dance.