writing – Page 2 – Dancing Angel

06/12/201602/18/2019

Five Years of Ceaseless Adventure

I want to go. And I want to be human.

The beauty and eternal wonder of this earth–such a colorful, growing, changing earth–inspire my own creativity as the Creator makes for me a new adventure every single day. My name was written on His heart before I knew it myself, and I wanted to know it. My dreams, desires, fears and idiosyncrasies are always teaching me more and more about the living, breathing Aquinnah, in the midst of space and time. Like the earth, I’m always growing, always changing and adapting. It’s not always easy, not always fun– but it is a part of being human, and I am. I am only human. And I’m proud of that.

It is an overwhelming joy to wake up to a family who loves and cares for me, who is near even when far and who inspires me to continue growing and persevering, even when it’s hard. It is an enormous blessing to have friends who are honest with me, who stand up for me and who put up with my oddities on a daily basis in person, over the phone and through mail. It is an honor to learn from teachers who invest so much into making me stronger, healthier and generally happier. It is mind-boggling to know that you, my readers, from all over the world, have continued to read and support me for the last five years of my journey. I could never, never thank each beautiful person in my life enough for being. Just being. Being themselves, being in my heart and being human with me.

We survived Cecchetti exams, assistant teaching, Nutcracker, master classes and intensives, five pairs of pointe shoes, photo shoots, uncountable rehearsals and performances, sickness and injury, Firebird, an internship, tens of books and four birthdays. We thrived. And we’re not finished.

I live to scream without making a sound, moving out of time and into music. I love it. I wanted to come, and I wanted to dance. I want to inspire people as they inspire me.

So, thank you for five years of scribblings, and excitement, and worry and triumph. Thank you for listening without hearing my voice and following along with me as I continue to grow. This blog is a piece of my world– memories. And I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about them almost as much as I’ve loved living and writing about them.

Happy summer, lovelies! Twenty-three hours until dance. Ceaseless adventure.

This post is dedicated to the 125,000 beautiful babies who said, “I want to go,” and, today, were robbed of their chance and to Miss Bethanny, who told me to put chocolate milk in my cereal.

Much love,

I11.1

02/14/2016

Recital Central 2016

It feels like spring today. I don’t usually like spring (one word: brown), but I do love sunshine, so it’s been good. Plus, three-day weekend. 🙂

This is one of those posts that I write for my own benefit. Because sometimes, dancers and writers alike just have to get themselves organized. While I have you here, though, I recommend this year’s Bible verses. They’re worth smiling about.

***

Beauty in Motion Showcase on May 13th
Dress Rehearsal on May 7th

1. Spanish Dance
Combined Training– Ms. Sara
“You turned my lament into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.” Psalms 30:11
Hair: bun
Attire: pink tights, pink ballet shoes

6. Requiem for a Tower
Advanced Modern– Ms. Sara
“He will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face and remove His people’s disgrace from the whole earth, for the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 25:8
Attire: black leotard

11. God’s Warriors
Intermediate Pointe 2– Ms. Mia
“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.” Deuteronomy 20:1
Hair: bun
Attire: nude pointe shoes

15. I Will Sing of My Redeemer
Leaps and Turns– Miss Bethanny
“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story…” Psalms 107:2a
Hair: half up
Attire: tan tights, tan jazz shoes

19. Daylight
Training 3– Ms. Sara
“Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Psalms 90:12
Hair: bun
Attire: pink tights, pointe shoes

***

Recital 1 on May 14th
Dress Rehearsal on May 4th

1. Spanish Dance

9. Daddy’s Girl
Ballet/Tap– Miss Bethanny
“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” Romans 8:15
Attire: pink tights, pink ballet shoes

***

Recital 2 on May 14th
Dress Rehearsal on May 10th

14. Simple Gifts
Ballet 1A– Miss Bethanny
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:12-13
Hair: low bun
Attire: pink tights, pink ballet shoes

***

Recital 3 on May 14th
Dress Rehearsal on May 9th

10. Spanish Dance

16. Dawn
Pre-Training– Miss Beth
“He is here: the One who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, the One who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name.” Amos 4:13
Hair: bun
Attire: pink tights, pink ballet shoes

***

Aquinnah

12/16/2015

Nine Days until Christmas

The final week of Christmas performances has struck again, and I’ll be teaching two classes today. I’m so ready to be done with Personal Finance for the year. On a more random note, since we don’t perform One Small Child until tomorrow night, Moriah, Emma and I decided to have tea yesterday. Presenting the best three minutes of your day thus far…:

I think it’s safe to say that my writing is better than my camera face. *cheesy smile*

xoxo,

Aquinnah

12/06/2015

Recital Costumes 2016

It’s been a weekend of SATs, Christmas decorations, glitter and a second Thanksgiving spent at home, all preceded by a week of costumes and Christmas dances by the ballet/tap and 1A kiddos. I am happier than I’ve been in weeks. The holiday season usually sees to that.

Pre-Training

Intermediate Pointe 2

Leaps and Turns (with tan tights and tan jazz shoes)

Ballet/Tap

Ballet 1A

Advanced Modern (skirt in black with black leotard)

Training combined (with fans)

Gorgeous, right? This year’s Training 3 piece will be performed in our navy leotards and black wrap skirts. I am so super excited about all of these dances! For now, we’ll be performing Mary, Did You Know tomorrow and Christmas Eve in Sarajevo at a nursing home on Friday. It’s going to be a good week.

But first!– super secret Christmas projects to complete before Monday strikes again.

Happy Sunday,

Girl who Had to Ask for Extra Time to “fill in the corresponding circles” on the SAT because Her Name is So Long

11/09/2015

DDD 2015

Hey, Autumn! AUTUMN! No, move OVER, Winter… WINTER. I’m not TALKING to you! Autumn! SLOW DOWN!

*poof* Brain cells.

I can hardly believe that the first week of November has come and gone, leaving me with six Christmas dances, impending travels and a whole lot to write about.

DDD was this weekend, and though it was significantly different from last year’s fundraiser, I won’t soon forget it. I love Ms. Patrizia’s master classes, and I love the local high school, and I love my artsy community. My studio may stick out in a crowd… but that’s what happens when you pray, “Let us be light”.

Saying goodbye to Arise was hard. I didn’t want it to go. I think I could have performed it at every show for the rest of my life and been okay, but change is a necessary part of life, and A LOT of things are changing… hopefully for the better. While Pre-Training, ballet/tap combo and ballet 1A learn “Charlie Brown Medley” and “Born is the King”, I’m practicing Sugarplum and “Christmas Eve in Sarajevo” in Training 3; “Mary, Did You Know” in pointe; and “One Small Child” in modern. I’m also making college pro-con lists like a true Gilmore and trying to survive Personal Finance. Gotta love Personal Finance.

On the 30th of October (Wow, I’m behind…), we combined the Training Division in one awesome ballet class with Miss Bethanny and Miss Sara, as we’ll be doing each month through May. I hadn’t realized how big Training has become. I loved being able to meet our new family members. They’re awesome.

I’ve been teaching one combination per week in Pre-Training, and I’ll be teaching most of ballet 1A on Wednesday. I’m going to have to learn a whole lot of choreography on Thursday because next Thursday, I’ll be on my way to Clemson University. Fifteen-year-old me is beating up 16-year-old me right now, after being previously pummeled by 12-year-old me last week, but I’m really, really excited to get to South Carolina.

To new adventures,

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.

09/17/2015

How Penguins Run

There used to be a relevant story as far as the title goes, but now I can’t remember the details.

I’ve never been a fan of change (who is, really?), so it’s been a challenging week. It wasn’t always nice, especially when I got my expanders yanked out yesterday, and I cried all over the dentist (They were happy tears to begin with, but then I realized just how much my mouth hurt….). More importantly, I’m adapting. I get up and finish my schoolwork as fast as I can, and one of these days, I’ll be finished with mathematics… forever! And once I reminded myself that 50+ little ballerinas aren’t as intimidating as they seem, I was able to settle into my new intern position. And, of course, it’s always nice to leave life’s various stresses behind and just dance for a few hours. This paragraph is dedicated to Moriah, who so kindly shared her good day with me last Wednesday. 🙂

Our first leaps/turns warm-up of fall semester was done outside in the sunshine. That was a first and, hopefully, not last. Some change is good… especially if you’re getting your vitamin D! I’ve never had 50+ students before, but I’m loving that experience, too. I’m so blessed, lovelies, to be spending my days with these kiddos. I was even able to sub for a 6-9-year-old tap class today, which was difficult, being that I’m not an expert in tap, but really satisfying.

Training and modern are awesome. We’ve welcomed a bunch of new sisters (and brothers too!) and teachers. It’s shaping up to be a wonderful year.

Intermediate Pointe 2 with Ms. Mia started on Monday, and I’ve already learned so much. Thank God for new shoes next month!

After three weeks of rehearsals, Advanced Modern and Training 2, along with a variety of other classes, performed at an annual carnival last weekend. It was an honor to learn and perform Symphony No 8. Looking forward to DDD!

So, it wasn’t the most comfortable week. I guess, a lot of times, uncomfortable is the way to go. That’s how we learn. And today was more comfortable; basic science can explain that. Humans adapt. We’re cool that way.

Love,

Aquinnah