Find of the Week

Here's the featured dance supply item for this week:

Body Wrappers® Pointe Shoe Ruffer

I absolutely LOVE mine! I use it almost every day and it really comes in handy for shows. The purpose of this nifty little tool is too roughen up the soles of your pointe shoes to make them less slippery. It's utterly amazing! You can use it with any brand of pointe shoes (with the exception of Gaynor Mindens). I wear Russian Pointes and it works fabulously. You can find the Pointe Shoe Ruffer on Discount Dance Supply(http://www.discountdance.com/frame_set.php3?mf=/search.php) and be sure to look for it at your local dance store.

I'm serious, this thing is awesome! :)

Pics From Western Roundup! Weekend #1

Yeah we're silly and stupid, but we're best friends! And we're teenagers which explains a lot! :P

Some sweet photobombing going on here ^ :D

I'm on pointe here fyi! I'm not really that tall. :)

LOVE!

These girls and guys are some of the closest people to me. We're definitely weird and can pull the oddest crap but it is SO much fun! I love you Hannah, Sara, Emily, Sara, Lindsay, Michael, Nathaniel and Maiki!

Getting Into the Nutcracker Mood

Around this time, the time when Nutcracker is beginning to start up and that tiny hint of holiday festiveness is in the air, we have all just begun school and for some have recently resumed ballet classes. It can be tough to feel "into" the awesomeness that is Nutcracker when you're so busy. Here are some things that I do just to remind myself why this is the most wonderful time of the year:

• Listen to the music! How can you hear the Waltz of the Flowers or the Sugarplum variation and not get a little excited? It works like a charm every year and it has never once failed to give me butterflies!
• Watch the movies. A lot of you probably have the classic Nutcrackers on DVD or video. I have the New York City Ballet version and watched it a few days ago. It just pulls you back into the sweet little story and makes you feel like a fascinated little kid again. If you don't already have it... GET IT! You can find it on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Nutcracker-Macaulay-Culkin/dp/B001CW802A/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1285691968&sr=1-1
• Look at the pictures. Whenever I'm feeling down I just look back to the times that I was happiest. Which is usually around Nutcracker time. :) Here are some pics from 09's Nutcracker:

^Let's just not go there... :P ^

Guys, it is really hard for me to concentrate right now when I'm so excited! This year is gonna be so awesome and I'm planning to make a video of my adventures so be sure to stick around! :)

I absolutely love Nutcracker! There's nothing else like it because it's a definite holiday tradition and I grew up performing it from the time I was a little page (A role for to7-9 year olds) to now when I'm dancing in the corps de ballet and am going to be performing Lead Spanish! Everything just feels awesome.

I hope everyone is having a great start to fall! :D

Thanks for all of you who have continued to check in and all of you who are awesome enough to check in for the first time! :)

Ballerinablogger~

Nutcracker Casting!!!

It's finally here! The waiting is OVER! So *drum roll* here it is:

I am a full time Snowflake, a full time flower in Waltz of the Flowers, understudy Marzapan and full time as the lead Spanish dancer!!! I'm so excited!

Lead Spanish is done with a boy so I'll be partnering! SO EXCITED! I could not have asked for anything more! :D
Everything is turning out better than I could have ever imagined!
Thanks for reading but it's a school night and I gotta get some work done!
Bye everybody!

Ballerinablogger~

Waiting...

By now everyone has gone to their Nutcracker auditions and we're all waiting to hear the exciting, or disappointing news. The anticipation is thriving in all of us and we wrestle it with every passing second. You want to know more than anything else exactly what role you'll be learning and performing.

Well, I can tell you with complete honesty that I understand. As we speak I feel butterflies in my stomach, waiting for something that seems a lifetime away. Dealing with that apprehension and anticipation is much more difficult than it seems, believe me, I know. First off, let me just tell you that you are completely normal! Everyone (or at least everyone I know) feels this way too. The second thing I can tell you, is that waiting is the only solution. I feel like I'm suppose to be writing an article about how to deal with the anticipation of casting... But there's really not a whole lot of advice I can give!

^ Make like this moose and walk it off! ^

Waiting sucks. There's no doubt about it. So I'm sorry to not have some great advice to offer you about reeling in that anxiousness, but instead we can exchange our mutual feelings of excitedness/anticipation.

Thanks for reading!

Ballerinablogger~

Happy Birthday to ME!

It's my birthday! Yay!

I've finally turned 15, coincidentally on the first day of ballet classes. :)

When I was born I had a very rare heart condition. It was more frequently found in the elderly but was known for infants in only 50 cases. A doctor who studied that particular illness for a big assignment in finishing school, happened to be near by. I was rushed to that hospital and my parents were told I'd never be able to do anything physical for fear of raising my heart beat. I would be on a medication that would make me overweight and have to constantly monitor my heart. Well... Thank goodness that didn't happen!

I guess I kinda beat the odds and now am doing one of the most physically demanding activities... Ever. I've never had a problem with my heart since.

So I'm gonna take this day as a day to just be thankful for the amazing life I have and the amazing things that are later to come my way... And also to shop... :D

So thank you to everyone who is reading, has read or will eventually read! You guys are superdee duperdee awesome!

Ballerinablogger~

Emotional Dances

I cannot stress how important it is in a performance to emotionally connect with your partner and/or yourself on a very high level. Here are some of my favorite, highly emotional, dance numbers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCF0zvfZJYQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnguqsMQmg4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XCIy2Zkkz8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsU6wq8BKtg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhrxfHCtMJA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-meJHF5QeY&feature=related

Quote of the Week

I knew my way around a stage and was strong, so I could lift my partners up and put them down softly. And the other thing that I understood was the importance of eye contact. It’s essential when you’re performing to remain connected with the person you’re dancing with. I see it on the stage all the time when the dancers drop out of character and for the “look at me thing.” They break that famous fourth wall and let the audience in on the dancer’s private thinking, not the character’s thinking. That will destroy a performance. -James Mitchell- The Dancer Within

Pics

Update - 9/3/2010

School has started back up again for most of us. :( I know you're just as excited as I am! (Meaning not at all) Without having dancing going again I don't have a ton to write about but I figured I'd give a quick little update.



I've been having do exercises for physical therapy. In case you're wondering why I'm going to PT, it's because my hips are completely messed up. I believe the PT guy said that my left external flexor is weak and my right internal flexor is weak... Or something like that... So I'm a little off balance! :/

The exercises don't look like they'll help at all, but when I actually do them it is excruciating! I've also noticed that my turnout has improved a lot so talk to your doctor about loosening your hips if you have problems like me. ;)

Alright, that's pretty much anything that's interesting going on right now! (I know, sad isn't it? That was practically nothing!)
Thanks for reading, my peeps! :P

Ballerinablogger~