No Dance Tonight!

No dance tonight thanks to Hurricane Sandy! Everyone in her path, stay safe!

Second Rehearsal

Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone for a while. This week has been busy, with dance on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, Safe Halloween Night at my high school on Wednesday, and three huge tests to study for on Thursday, I've had barely any free time!

Friday was a short rehearsal for Nutcracker, just 45 minutes, with the mice! Oh my gosh, are they adorable! Our mice are little girls, I would say around 5-7, perhaps a little younger. They are so full of energy, running around and chatting their heads off. While we were warming up, stretching and practicing turns, they watched in awe, it was so cute. We ran through the dance alone, had them run it alone, and then ran through it together. For one part, the soldiers form a circle and one mouse per soldier crawls through their legs. My little mouse was jumping up and down, and when I smiled and said "Hi!" she excitedly said, "I'm turning 6 in three weeks!!". Haha, it was so cute.
The next rehearsal will be sometime next weekend. 

First Nutcracker Rehearsal

Hi guys, first Nutcracker rehearsal this afternoon! I'm so excited! I'll edit later today to tell you all how it went!

Hey everyone! The first rehearsal was great! When I got to the studio there were tons of girls from 11 to 18 hustling about, getting changed, putting on shoes, and grabbing a quick drink. I was about 15 minutes early so I got ready in the dressing room and watched the end of Candy Canes rehearsal. It's our first year doing Candy Canes, so it should be interesting! We started the soldier cheorography. If you followed the blog last year (or look through the posts labeled Nutcracker 2011), you'll know that last year I was just sort of an extra. This year, I do have a dancing part. The other soldiers are from age 11 to age 14, with me being the oldest at 16. However, at 5'3", I'm pretty short so I don't stick out too much. There are some changes this year, which I really like, and some things are the same. It was overall a lot of fun! Tell me about your rehearsals below!

Class Etiquette

Hey guys! Here's a list of some ballet class etiquette rules I've learned over the past few years!

Misty Copeland

• Plan to arrive at least 5-10 minutes early for class. That gives you time to change, warm up, and allows for traffic jams.
• If you are late to class, walk in as quietly and quickly as possible so you don't disturb the class. Pick up with the next combination. After class apologize for being late.
• When going to the barre, leave enough space for the people around you. Leave enough space so the people around you can grand battement to every side without kicking you. 
• Don't chat during class. It's ok to ask someone to move over, but don't chit chat. If you're confused about the combination, it's best to ask the teacher so you don't look disrespectful.
• If you won't be able to go to class or a rehearsal, call or e-mail the studio as soon as possible. Schedule a make-up class if necessary. My old studio especially appreciated this because many of the girls were driving and the teachers worried that they ran into trouble on the roads.
• Turn your cell phones on silent during class. Don't text during breaks unless it's necessary.
• Always be ready for class. There's no point showing up to ballet class without ballet shoes, so try to remember everything!
• Keep your hair up in a tight bun. Use a hairnet if you tend to get loose chunks of hair. It looks cleaner and more respectful when your appearance is neat.
• Don't complain about combinations! I can't stand when girls say something like, "Can we skip frappes? I hate frappes." No, we can not skip frappes! (I actually love frappes anyway. And Starbucks frappes. Yum.)
• Try not to look bored. Crossing your arms, hunching over, yawning, ect. all make you look like you don't want to be there. Stand up straight and cover any yawns.
• Use the bathroom before class. If you absolutely must go during class, go during a water break, and be quick!
• After class thank the teacher. If you have an accompanist, thank them also.
• 
  

Taking a Day Off

I love going to dance. Love it. There's no better feeling then having stress melt away during barre. However, sometimes you just can't dance. Monday was one of those days. I was feeling lightheaded and dizzy from low blood pressure and had cramps so bad it felt like an angry cat was trying to claw it's way out of my stomach (too vivid? Sorry!). I wanted to go to dance, but the thought of walking downstairs to get my dance stuff was bad enough, let alone an hour and a half dance class. So, I took a day off. I e-mailed the studio (always call or e-mail!) and set up a makeup class for Wednesday. The make up class was already my level, so I didn't have to worry too much about it.

I have a few new post ideas coming, including one on class etiquitte. I'm sorry for my lack of posts recently, I'm taking a bunch of honors classes and AP Bio (ugh, it's the hardest thing ever) so I'm averaging about three hours of homework plus dance! 

Nutcracker Castlist

Hey guys, I know you I already made a post about Nutcracker and my thoughts on it and everything, but here's another quick post. I got to see the official cast list on Tuesday and was indeed casted as a soldier. I am happy I get the opportunity  especially when I consider that I've only been dancing for two years, and have only been taking real ballet technique classes for a year.

I'm still a bit disappointed I wasn't able to do the company because it was so darn expensive. Honestly, I'm a bit resentful that all of the young 12 year olds in my class get to take 4 ballet classes and a modern class every week, and all I can afford is two ballet classes. It makes me a little sad that people can want something so badly, but they can't really achieve it every single time.

Anyway, back to Nutcracker...As I was checking out the castlist I noticed a few differences. For one, Mother Ginger and her children was replaced with Candy Canes! I have no idea why, but I'm excited to see some new choreography  Along the same lines, we now have a Mouse Queen as well. I am curious as to whether the Mouse Queen is replacing the Mouse King (who we hired last year as a guest dancer) or if she will dance with him. I really liked working in the same scene with the Mouse King, he was very talented and it was nice to work with a professional dancer up close like that.

My first rehearsal will be within the next 2-3 weeks. I'll keep you all updated!