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Just the other day, it occurred to me, Wow– I have a dead pair of pointe shoes… that’s awesome! and as today is the most beautiful autumn day, I decided that an outdoor photo shoot would be just the thing…! Thank you to my amazing little brother, who took these incredible shots (with his iPod, none the less)!

I believe that everyone has a favorite author, whether or not they choose to acknowledge it. One of the only things that keeps me going when I’m not dancing is reading, and for that reason, the following message is brought to my lovely dancers around the world:

Three years ago, I was on a car-trip (surprise, surprise!). To be perfectly honest, I do not even recall what my family’s destination was. I only remember that I was bored out of my mind. So bored, I started to beg my parents to stop at the nearest Target so that I could buy the newest American Girl book. How my taste in literature has changed since then…!

Much to my delight, we did stop at Target, but to my immense disappointment, there were no American Girl books to be found on its shelves. Aggravated, I searched for something else to read. It was on that momentous day that I located Shannon Hale’s, Princess Academy.

I devoured the book in four days flat, pausing only to eat and sleep. I forced myself to save the last two chapters for the fourth day, or I would have eaten it up much sooner than I did. WHAT was so special about this book? WHY was it so much better than anything that I had ever read before? Development. The fact that Miri is a person that I can grab onto, not just a character behind pages and pages of words. Because I love Peder, Britta and Steffan. Because the story has more than a little backbone.

For my 12th birthday, my grandmother, after reading Princess Academy, bought me Shannon Hale’s first Book of Bayern, The Goose Girl. Within the first few chapters, my mom realized that the plot of this book was way over my head, but it was too enthralling to put down. I gobbled it up, fell in love with every character and was ready for more.

For whatever reason, I was having a terribly hard time getting my hands on the second Book of Bayern, so I settled on reading Ms. Hale’s stand-alone, Book of a Thousand Days. I read it from front cover to back in less than a week, so glad to add it to my collection of Shannon novels.

 
At length, I was able to purchase Enna Burning. To sum up my thoughts on the book in less words than I usually do: I love Shannon Hale, and I love Enna. But I should have waited until I was slightly older to read the book, and even then, I feel that I will never be able to reread it.

My mom was irritated, to say the least, at having to pre-read the last few chapters of Enna for me. She, too, knew that this book was far above my level, but I felt so much better off having her preview it for me.

For Christmas that year, my mom bought me River Secrets, the third Book of Bayern, despite my underlying fear that she would not. This is my favorite of the Bayern series, and I can hereby guarantee that it has not seen the last of me. What incredible characters! What an enthralling story over-all! What to do with myself until…

Forest Born. How different this book was than the rest of the series! The new characters and the every-reigning mystery– eek! Incredible.

And that was it. Shannon Hale had a series of “adult novels” that I didn’t dare read until I “grew up,” so I was left bartering for something to pass time while I waited anxiously for the publication of Palace of Stone, Princess Academy’s sequel.

I received Palace of Stone for my 13th birthday, and I couldn’t have asked for more. Shannon, all I can say is: Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, for writing this book. It is my very favorite. <3

If you haven’t already guessed, my mom never was (“was” because it is quite impossible to un-read a book) a huge fan of my reading over-my-level books, so when I mentioned the surprisingly “rotten” reviews on Ms. Hale’s new movie, Austenland (based on one of her adult novels), I was ecstatic to hear her say, “That’s really too bad… I’ll watch it.”

Later, as I read through the NYT reviews (how mean!), my mom proclaimed, “I think I’ll read the book.”

No joke: I slapped my head on the back of the rocking chair and dropped the iPad in my lap.

Guess what, lovelies? My mom’s going to read a Shannon Hale novel…! And if she enjoys it, her daughter whom she loves very, VERY much, gets to read it as well. 🙂

Let the records show that Miss Bethanny is absolutely amazing and, that I love her.

Upon arriving at the studio today, I very nearly beat Moriah to the door, though she would argue otherwise. She and I talked about the importance of baseball bats in relationship to math class for several minutes, and then class began!

Well… kind of.

I was surprised to see Miss Sara walking out the door as her contemporary class ended– wait! I was just as surprised to see Bethanny walk in with all of her gear. “Yeah,” she started, “I wasn’t expecting this either. So, I actually do not have a lesson plan today.”

That stated, our class consisted of off-the-top-of-Miss-Bethanny’s-head combinations (including an upbeat plie scenario with The Beetles) along with abs. And yes, it was extremely awesome.

Our abs workout in particular made me very happy, as Bethanny used our curtain call song from recital 2012-2013 (To listen to this song, see “Recital Songs 2013” on the right-hand side of your computer screen). It took me right back to May, where I had no desire to leave.

At  the end of class, my sisters and I lined up in order to give Miss Bethanny “hugs of appreciation.”

“I love [Name of Studio] so much!” she exclaimed.

Yeah, I love it too. <3

Laugh. It’ll make you feel better. <3

It has been a lovely day, beautiful dancers! (And I’m feeling quite random, so I apologize in advance….)

In Miss Bethanny’s Student Led Performance Ministries class, we (now including Abby!) continued to plan our Christmas performance (temporarily entitled, The Notcracker). As of right now, we have the basic scenes planned out as well as our playlist for the occasion. …More to come…!

Ballet 2A was fantastic– I absolutely adore the students! Each girls’ turn-out muscles have improved immensely since last week, as well as their spotting skills. Ms. Tina introduced them to “opposition” and began choreographing a dance to Britt Nicole’s, “All This Time.”

Fantasy is only fantasy if you think of it that way. <3 (Something that I came up with today, after finishing Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s, Princess Ben.)

Well, lovely dancers, the Tuesday Training 3 class has officially closed, and today was my first Training 1 and 2 lesson with Miss Sara for 2013— what an experience!

It was great to meet Jenna and Channing, two incoming Training 1s. I was also able to see Lily, Emma’s little sister, in class. And, of course, seeing Adysen was the highlight of my entire day…! <3 Good luck girls!

First off, my hip (?) was giving me a boatload of issues. Throughout the extent of three combinations, Miss Sara and I tried to put a finger on exactly what was causing the trouble, but to no avail. Oh, well… I have a good excuse to take a hot bath tonight…*tries to look sad*

An even greater challenge arose with the slow, tedious combinations which my teacher dealt out to the class; I had completely forgotten how much effort it takes to move slowly. It was a fabulous experience, however, for I was able to correct the essentials (my head, arms, turn-out, toes, etc.) which seem to slip when faster, more complex combinations arise. I do believe that this class is going to give my technique a new-found quality and clarity, and that makes me very happy… 🙂

In a word, lovely, beautiful, amazing dancers, today was a blessing. <3

Miss Sara’s Training 2 and 3 class was a challenge, to say the least. It entailed barre work, center and some extensive across-the-floor. It was definitely a learning experience, but as always, I feel that we are the better for it (I’m sure that my beloved sisters would agree!).

Our hardship– though not so hard as to be considered not enjoyable– was brightened in several aspects. For starters, Emma showed up for barre today– ah! <3 It was so good to see her and to dance with her once again. Come back soon, Emmy…!

Secondly, Ms. Tina kindly visited our class, bringing Bethanny and her Training 1s along. We all sat down and had a ten-minute “Training Meeting,” during which Ms. Tina expressed her care for us and prayed over us. “If you ever need to talk about anything, whether it be about dance or something else, Miss Sara, Miss Bethanny, Miss Mimi… we’re all here for you,” she said sincerely.

I can’t even begin to describe how much that comment means to me. That I have a group of teachers who are willing to work through ANYTHING with me… that’s special. So thank you, all of you. I have the best teachers in the whole, wide world. <3

After our meeting, Miss Bethanny slid an envelope across the floor toward me. “That’s for you,” she said.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed a massive candy bar attached to the outside…! Kaden and Brody… Mine. 🙂

Inside the envelope, my teacher wrote the most heartfelt letter, one which will have a place in my keepsake box for all of eternity. Yes, Miss Bethanny, it’s going to be an incredible year. <3

So many hearts! Goodness, it sounds like I love my studio or something… <3

Oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh.

Nobody pinch me.

I do apologize, but today was simply the best day… ever.

First off, truth be told, Miss Bethanny’s choreography class consists of only two students: Elizabeth and myself. And, truth be told, I didn’t mind. Nothing could have made that class more enjoyable.

Today’s lesson was pretty simple. We worked on handwriting. Kind of.

“Choreography ages 13+” has encountered a name-change. It is now entitled, “Student-Led Performance Ministries ages 11+,” making the title pretty self-explanatory. During the fall semester, our group (including students from a few of Miss Bethanny’s other classes who “don’t have a choice”) will be performing the Biblical Christmas story. For the spring semester, we’ll shift gears and tell the tale of Easter through dance— ah! So exciting!

So, our object today was to brainstorm. We started off by writing down everything that we could possibly think of that a [short, dance] performance could need. Afterwards, Bethanny gave us some input on our lists and read to us the story of Christmas from the books of Luke and Matthew. Elizabeth and I took notes, recording our thoughts on certain characters, areas and events. We then shared our lists and ideas with the class. From there, our teacher explained that the only thing that she has planned for our first performance is the opening music piece. Other than that…well.. it’s up to us!

I will give more details on our performance layout later on, but for now, I will tell you this: It’s going to be INCREDIBLE. From our “thesis statement,” to our candle-light service, to our specially choreographed pieces… oh, my. Prepare to be wowed.

If you attend classes at “the studio,” WE NEED YOUR SKILLS. Smiles.

As for assistant teaching with Ms. Tina, things were perfect! <3 The girls are very well-behaved and mature. We worked on barre, center, across-the-floor, worship and “tickets” (the end-of-class reward for this age group)— all in an hour’s time! I felt like Miss Sara as I went around and corrected girls’ turn-out and arms. It was glorious…!