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After a full day of linear equations, driver’s ED and dental impressions, recital costumes were exactly what my heart [and my brain] needed to make me smile. I hope that these pictures put a smile on your face, too, despite the glare from the overhead lights and my mediocre cropping skills.

Training 3 (If we adore it, we’ll be wearing this dress in place of our navy leotards and black skirts.)

Ballet/Tap combo

Advanced Modern (with black tights and black shorts)

Combined Dance (Training 1, 2 and 3)

Intermediate Pointe 1 (with black leotard and black romantic tutu, to be borrowed from the studio)

Happy dancer.

In other news, Miss Mia completed choreography for Snow Scene last week, and after a lot of cleaning in yesterday’s Training 3 class, it’s nearly ready for performances. The ballet/tap kiddos dance for their parents in the Training Center tomorrow afternoon, which will be adorable, as always.

It’s turning out to be a pretty fantastic week.

I was going for “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” not “Welcome to Mockingjay, Part 1.” You know. For the record.

I hate being sick. I hate, hate, hate it.

And you lovelies know that I never use the word hate.

This week has been a whirlwind of suck it ups and rise to the occasions.

On Sunday, I realized that I had strained my ankle when I rolled over my pointe shoe the day before. Simple fix– a little ice, a little heat, a little rest. But I ended up marking most of Miss Mia’s Training 3 class on Monday. (Note to self: Remembering Christmas choreography is a whole lot easier when you’re actually dancing.)

By Wednesday, my ankle was practically good as new, but I was too nauseous to stand for more than a few seconds. I texted Miss Bethanny an “I have germs” message, which was just about the most awful thing, for I knew that I couldn’t assist with the ballet/tap kiddos. I did, however, bundle up and watch my other classes. The modern Christmas piece is looking great, and I learned a lot about tendus, degages, ronds de jambes and turns by watching April (she basically had a private class with Miss Sara; it was a hectic day for everybody).

On Friday, I was feeling significantly better and was able to take both my ballet and pointe classes full-out. Miss Mimi began our Intermediate Pointe 1 dance to “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Michael Buble. It is going to be so beautiful (even if we end up wearing ugly sweaters for the parent performance…!).

To my immense irritation, my nausea returned on Saturday morning. I was forced to perform Miss Mimi’s company class petite allegro with my hands and fudge her double pirouettes. I hate fudging things, too.

During break, Peter (Prince of Darkness) brought me a steamed orange juice, which I honestly believe got me through the first round of rehearsals (Thank you!). The entire cast (minus Caroline, who is currently traveling to see Dancing with the Stars in person. We miss you!) convened to run the performance. I was able to dance full-out on the opening piece, but I had to mark through the Firebird variation. Valerie (Bluebird) and I had quite a time figuring out the timing for our duet, but that got settled. Act II was sad, since half of us were feeling sick. Partnering would not have been pretty.

And then I took a nap.

Two hours later, Moriah came to watch my rehearsal with Bluebird and Prince of Darkness. At that point, Bluebird was the only cast member/teacher who was remotely feeling well, but that didn’t stop Miss Mimi from beginning choreography on my duet with Prince of Darkness. I am so grateful for Miss Mimi.

Things I learned:

• I consistently have my right splits.
• Dance provides an excellent distraction from sickness.
• Lifts are called lifts because your feet don’t touch the ground.

I finished that book.

It was Rick Riordan’s, The Blood of Olympus. And it was incredible.

As you lovely dancers know, I have been obsessing over the Percy Jackson books since February of this year. Originally, my little brother had to talk me into reading them, and now, I can’t even begin to picture my life without the cast of characters that make up the heroes of our generation. I feel like I’ve spent my entire life watching them become more than they ever thought possible, and yet it’s only November.

If I don’t write this out, it will be a very long time before I accept the fact that my reading is over, so the following is my formal goodbye to Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Annabeth Chase, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano and Nico di Angelo.

~Spoiler alert! If you have not yet read The Heroes of Olympus, but plan to do so at some point, I would suggest returning to this post later on, when your life is five books better off.~

Jason – Meeting you: “Top of the World” by Greek Fire

I spent the entire series calling you, “The ever-perfect Jason Grace” because your morals impressed me so much. You came into The Lost Hero as an amnesic and left with little more than a vague sense of your past. You knew that you were on top, a child of Zeus, and you knew that it was hard. The most important thing, though, is that you left with friends, and by The Mark of Athena and The House of Hades, those friends had you questioning where you truly belonged. You were born a Roman, but–or so you realized–you’re a Greek at heart.

Saying goodbye: “Jason grinned. He loved the Greeks. They had no organization whatsoever, but they made up for it with enthusiasm.” – The Blood of Olympus

Piper – Meeting you: “Complicated” by Bon Jovi

Aquinnah’s Dictionary definition of “complicated” in The Lost Hero: Piper McLean. You were beautiful, and you tried not to be. You radiated, and you tried to hide. You had a voice, and you didn’t speak. So, you changed the Aphrodite cabin’s definition of beauty. When it mattered most, you stepped out. And when you spoke, everyone listened. Congratulations, Pipes. All those times that you asked, “What would Annabeth do?” I learned that the better question was, “What would Piper do?”

Saying goodbye: “Without the agony of the last few months, Piper never would have… discovered her own courage.” – The Blood of Olympus

Leo – Meeting you: “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics

I couldn’t believe it when you swore to return to Ogygia for Calypso, even though I should have; you pulled stunts like that the entire series. I hope you’re happy that I now use words like, “sucktastic” and “peeps,” and that I couldn’t stand to read for two days straight because I thought that you were dead. And everyone is now confused as to why “Sweet Dreams” is my theme song for you. Honestly, it took ME a while to find you in that song, but you’re there. You’re everywhere, I guess– living, dead, on an invisible island. Thank you for saving the camps. Now, please go let everyone know that you’re alright.

Saying goodbye: “I’m all about doing the impossible.” – The Blood of Olympus

Percy – Meeting you [again]: “What’s Left of Me” by Bon Jovi

The first few chapters of The Son of Neptune were murder! The entire world screamed, “Wrong place!” when you ran into Camp Jupiter. We screamed again when the hippie turned out to be Hera. We basically lost our voices when Nico di Angelo acted as if he didn’t know you. And when you finally overcame your amnesia, you were given exactly one book to crack jokes, and then you fell into Tartarus with Annabeth! And when you got back, we stopped screaming and started crying for joy because we all knew how this was going to end.

Saying goodbye: “College in New Rome…. Four years with no monsters to fight, no battles, no stupid prophecies. Just me and Annabeth, getting our degrees, hanging out at cafes, enjoying California…” – The Blood of Olympus

Hazel – Meeting you: “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)” by U2

I feel as though your story shouldn’t have surprised me at all. But it did. A child of Pluto, back from the dead, having stirred up the infamous giant war 70 years prior. All you wanted was a little respect, a friend, but with a story like that, you figured you’d never have anyone (except Nico, of course). When Frank and Percy challenged your expectations, though, you became a warrior– claiming Arion, controlling the Mist, looking forward. You brought honor to the Fifth Cohort. You are seriously miraculous.

Saying goodbye: “Getting a second life is one thing. Making it a better life, that’s the trick.” – The Blood of Olympus

Frank – Meeting you: “Have a Nice Day” by Bon Jovi

You make me laugh. When you marched up to Nico at the beginning of Son of Neptune without a care in the world– priceless. And yet you saw yourself as such a klutz. Archery being your “only” skill, you didn’t expect to amount to much of anything. But when you finally accepted yourself as a child of Mars… well, I’m glad that the others were on your side, or they may have ended up just like those katobleps in Italy. When Jason made you Praetor, I couldn’t help thinking, “No one deserves it more than him.”

Saying goodbye: “… Reyna and Frank were called to the front. They got a thunderous round of applause from both the Greeks and the Romans.” – The Blood of Olympus

Annabeth – Meeting you [again]: “31 Days” by Zee Avi

I’m going to cry. For once, I have no words.

Saying goodbye: “… Reyna and Frank said we could live in New Rome as long as we like.” – The Blood of Olympus

Reyna – Meeting you: “Raised by Wolves” by U2

My song choice seems really shallow, seeing as you actually WERE raised by wolves, and seeing how drastically my perception of you has changed since The Son of Neptune. Reyna, you wowed me. I never expected to get over my utter dislike of you, trying to steal Percy and whatnot, but I did. Your story, along with the care you showed to Nico… I was blown away. Living with ghosts looked pretty good a couple of times, shadow-traveling across the world with their king, but you never stopped believing in the team. Thank you.

Saying goodbye: “We had one home…. Now we have two.” – The Blood of Olympus

Nico – Meeting you [again]: “All Alone” by Kutless

I could draft this a billion times and not get it quite right. You surprised me. Over and over and over again. Sometimes, I was happy for you, and other times, I flat-out wanted to slug you. Like Reyna and Coach Hedge, I felt your pain, but I also saw you let it go. I was proud of you for letting go.

Saying goodbye: “… I think I should clear the air.” – The Blood of Olympus

This ended up being longer than I had anticipated, so if you’ve made it to the end, I applaud you. Summing up 2,500+ pages of outstanding literature was a lot more difficult than I expected it to be.

But they won. <3

Our studio’s picture in The Gazette last week, taken at DDD

I’ve seen a firestorm before– the kind that breaks off into tornadoes of flame and barrels down mountains and has people driving across the median in fear.

It’s scary.

And that’s exactly the image Miss Mia required of the dark clouds, Prince of Darkness, Lightning and I yesterday.

We are now solidly engrossed in Act II of The Firebird, in which Firebird is lost, confused and afraid. And one thing is for certain: terror has been the easiest emotion to pull off thus far.

An image for you: Storm clouds are closing in, and lightning is crashing angrily through the blackness. You wander aimlessly through the rain until spotting your home, where you believe you will be safe.

But darkness finds you.

It carries you away until you are so far beyond scared, you either have to submit or fight.

Welcome to Act II, brave dancers.

HEROES OF OLYMPUS SPOILERS, DEAD AHEAD: I can’t help thinking about Annabeth and her underground quest in The Mark of Athena. She pushes, and pushes, and pushes, and when at last Arachne appears, Annabeth is so broken, she figures things can only get better from here. She beats her arch enemy on crutches.

So I ask myself: What would Annabeth do?

And God replies: She would fight.

And I say: I can’t argue with the God of the universe, so I had better bird up and fight.

So far, Firebird hasn’t found the sunlight, but the thing about the sun?– it’s always right there, beyond the clouds.

For most people, the holiday season ensues on the week of Thanksgiving.

Is that even a thing?

I mean, if dancers started working on holiday pieces only six weeks before Christmas, we would never get anything done!– no outreaches, no major performances, not even a parental show! Devastating.

The holiday season is definitely chaotic, but honestly, I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t constantly running dances in my mind (and sometimes in the kitchen. Okay, usually in the kitchen.)! I think I might get… gasp!… bored. Or sad. Or both.

So, let’s not think about Christmas without the dances.

Snow Scene: This is our Training 3 piece, orchestrated by Patrick Hawes. It’s a beautiful song and a beautiful dance, choreographed by Miss Mia. Like Training 2 2012, the dance has a kind of Swan Lake feel, and yet, it is so utterly different from anything we’ve ever performed. I’m so excited, not only to perform it for our parents, but also to bring it to the nursing home and three different shows, all scheduled in December. It’s going to be truly memorable.

Marshmallow World: is the cutest song, sung by Brenda Lee (if I’m not mistaken). Miss Bethanny is choreographing this piece for the ballet/tap kiddos. They and their tap shoes are about the most adorable things in the history of ever.

Little Drummer Boy: The modern dance is coming along beautifully– so fun! I was able to catch up on choreography this week, which was great, since, I’ll admit, I’ve been pretty worried about it. I’m really loving the dance, and now that Ms. Tina has chosen several other pieces for the nursing home, we’ve spread out to fill the Training Center.

As for pointe, Miss Mimi is planning to decide on a song by next week. So far, we know that it will be a Michael Buble, which made everyone happy! I’m sure it will be a beautiful piece, too.

One of these days, I’m going to put up a random post, but I need someone to convince me to finish a certain book first… ah! Not going to cry.

This weekend, my home studio made its first appearance at DDD, a local fundraiser whose mission is to bring totally different dancers and styles together, in one performance, for the community to enjoy. The show took place yesterday, but in my mind, the event began on Friday evening.

Half of Miss Mimi’s intermediate pointe girls were late to class (myself included) because we were in the Training Center, going over choreography and talking and praying over the days ahead.

Miss Sara wanted to know why we were nervous. In a nutshell, it was due to the time frame in which we cleaned up our dances. It was short. It was a little rough. But they did clean up.

That left the pressure of being first-timers. Ours is a Christian-based studio, I suppose to value-based or competitive. Spending an entire weekend with 100+ other dancers (ten other studios) was a lot to take in– overwhelming even– so we lifted it up to the Lord.

Let us be light. Let us shine for You. Let us be light. Let us radiate You. Let us be light.

Let us be light.

Prayer works, lovely dancers.

Saturday began with a master class, taught by professional modern dancer, Patrizia Herminjard. She was awesome. Her style, Graham-based, was significantly different from Miss Sara’s, but I had a blast! And face-to-face with so many local dancers, I realized what an honor it is to be a part of such a wonderful community. There was so much talent in that school gymnasium, so much love for dance. There were so many smiles and 110% efforts to go above and beyond.

I would be lying if I told you that everyone was on the same page in life, but honestly, I stopped caring. Life would be so boring if every person were exactly alike. All you can do is your best. Be that person who smiles, even when the tech is having trouble transferring music from a Mac to a PC. Be that person who laughs when you totally fail a combination; there’s always next time. Be that light that people so need during the day. Be true to yourself and to the God who created you.

After class, we learned and rehearsed the finale. Split up into nine groups, we practiced the jazz piece to the best of our ability, which increased as the rehearsal wore on.

Next, it was on to dress rehearsal. Redeemed went surprisingly well, especially since we had been expecting a slightly larger stage. Besides the fact that I managed to pull my right hip muscles and the few spacing issues that could be resolved, it was a good run, which is more than I can say for the finale…. We laughed, though.

On Sunday, Ms. Tina started us off with a prayer, and then we made our way to the hallway for a studio-wide finale rehearsal. We resolved Saturday’s timing issues and chanted, “One, two, three, TP!” just as a photographer from The Gazette came into view. I’m pretty sure he laughed when we started questioning whether or not “TP” was the best thing to yell in a school hallway. #supportingthestudio

Just before the show began, we rehearsed Redeemed in the gym a final time, and Anna closed with a prayer.

And then Miss Sara prayed over us because really, you can’t pray too much. 🙂

The show itself was kind of a blur, as most performances are. Redeemed went really smoothly, and we totally rocked the finale. The best part, though, was the emotion surging across that stage. I felt it, and I know that the audience did, too.

In other news, I made it to the last part of Faith rehearsals on Saturday, and Big Hero 6 comes out of Friday!