Welcome Back

So, it's been a while . . . Not too much has changed. I'm still just a studio brat. I still haven't gone to anymore intensives. One thing has changed, or is about to change at least - I'm turning 19 this year and will officially be an adult in the dance world.

I have been trying lately to see if there is anyway I might be able to catch up. But we'll see. My problem now is that I am too old for my parents to be paying for me . . . plus they don't have that kind of money to spare. So, I have to get another job which scares the crap out of me cause I don't like being out of my comfort zone. And this is all just if i still have this desire to try again in a month or so.

Ballet Magnificat Summer Intensive Week #2

So nothing really happened the second week other than lots of annoyances in the variation practice because of annoying teachers. The only thing I really remember is the end of the week like Thursday and Friday cause on Thursday I was just having a horrible day. I felt lazy and classes weren't going well and my knees and ankles hurt and I just wanted to go home. So I ended up calling my mom and talking to her about going home early cause I didn't want to get really hurt but I also didn't want to end up sitting out of a ton of classes cause I was afraid of getting hurt. Mom told me to just calm down and keep thinking about it, ice everything that hurt and wait until the next day when they were going to come see me for the gala and we would talk about it. She also said that everything might just be hurting cause a storm system was passing through.

The next day I definitly felt better I had iced stuff and after the rehersal for the gala I iced one of my ankles that was bothering me. I still kinda wanted to leave but I figured I could make it another two weeks since thinking back the second week went by pretty fast. At the gala I almost ruined my makeup cause as soon as I saw my parents I started crying. After the gala we hung out for a while and made plans for sunday when I was going to hang out with them. Which was also when I was going to get the three more containers of pub mix they brought me cause I got my whole hall addicted to it. My hall stayed up for a while but I got tired and was probably the first one in bed.

The next day was our shopping day out while the new two-weekers signed in, or at least thats what we thought it was. It ended up being an hour and fifteen minute shopping trip after all the two weekers were settled in which was pretty stupid but oh well. I ended up getting mom, dad and Kim each one of those cute sentimental books from Hallmark. We went to a pizza place for dinner called the Mellow Mushroom. It was a really cute restaurant cause it was made to look kinda like a tree stump type of theme. Rachel and I were going to split a pizza and we ended up deciding to get a 16 inch pizza cause we figured we could save whatever we didn't eat cause Maria had a fridge and a microwave . . . fast forward to the end of the meal where Rachel and I had eaten a whole 16 inch pizza by ourselves. I didn't know it at the time but that was the start of a really unhealthy weekend for me. We were a little late getting out of dinner but we were told it was ok cause the buss was picking up the other groups first anyways. We waited outside once we were done . . . and we waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. Finally Maria gont annoyed and called someone only to find out that they forgot us. We waited a little longer and a Ballet Mag van pulled up to get us back to the college where we ran inside to change into some comfy clothes and go to a room where we would watch a movie. They had soda, candy and popgorn for us. I had 2 cans of soda and some candy while we watched I Love Lucy (Cause the husband of the founder of Ballet Mag was little ricky) and then Fireproof which was a really good movie and I ended up getting the soundtrack when I saw it at the concert we went to the last week.

After the movie it was pretty late so we went back to the dorm and got ready for bed. The two-weekers were already asleep cause they had placement classes the next day. Rachel and I got into bed pretty fast and we had the light out for a little bit before we heard this really loud beeping. We both groan thinking its someones alarm. After a while of it going off we both kind of sit up and go "Is that the fire alarm?" I get out of bed and turn on the light and look out the door where I see Maria yelling for everyone to get out to the parking lot. I close the door and tell Rachel and start grabbing stuff, I slipped on some shoes and grabbed my wallet. We ended up sitting out in the parking lot and finding out it was just a false alarm.

Edit 2011: So I found this post in my drafts and I can't actually remember what all I still needed to add so this is where it ends . . . Sorry, even though I'm sure no one actually reads this.

Ballet Magnificat! Summer Dance Intensive Week #1

First day wasn't too bad mostly cause we didn't do anything. My parents helped me unpack and then left so I could have the "Lite Lunch" with my roommate Rachel. (I'll add pictures when i get them uploaded.) We ate and got to know each other a little bit before going back to our dorm, Gillespie. We ended up hanging out with Christina who was Rachel's suite mate last year and Christina's roommate Karson who goes to the school of Ballet Magnificat! and ended up in my level. We were hanging out on the stairs in everyone's way but it was pretty fun. Our dorm only had 4-weekers for the first two weeks plus we had the four guys in our dorm. We had free time all day so we ended up getting really bored and the guys at one point came down and were hanging out with us which was really funny cause they started giving each other foot massages and they were stretching and DEFINITELY not gay. :-) Unfortunately the only cute one was little-boy-cute. He was so funny. His parents are missionaries in Japan and he was born there but he apparently isn't very good at Japanese and he wasn't very good at English either. This kid is Amazingly flexible! He can to a 180 degree ponche! Look that up if you don't know what it is, it's amazing! We had a hall meeting to get to know everyone which was interesting and then we went to sleep.

The next day we had placement classes which weren't too bad but afterwards we found out that we had no hot water. Ugh. We had to wait till dinner to see if you got called back to audition for the pre-professional level which I didn't but I didn't really expect to. Christina that I was talking about before got called back and ended up making it in. We had to wait until the next day to find out our levels. I made level 6 and Rachel made level 8. I was at the Ballet Mag studios almost every day which was not fun cause you had to take the buses and got almost no free time. Only one other person from my hall was in my level. Victoria and i ended up being pretty close cause we spent a whole bunch of time together.

Classes were OK for the first session. Every day you had to meet the bus (if you were going to ballet mag studios) at 9:30 then you had a technique class from 10:00-11:45 then you got back on

the bus to go back to the college for lunch. After lunch we generally had 15 minutes before we had to start heading for the bus again at 1:00 to make sure we were on them when they left at 1:15. You get back to the studios and might have a pointe, conditioning, modern, jazz, or improv class from 1:45-3:00. Then you get a 15 minute break before variations class from 3:15-5:00. For the first two weeks variation was horrible cause we had two really really strict teachers so it was really stressful and not very fun. I ended up with a duet in the beginning of my dance but I didn't actually get to dance very much. That was pretty much my day for the first week.

Friday of the first week was like Christmas for everyone cause it was the first time you got to call home. It was amazing! I scared my mom cause I started crying wen I heard her and I was just thinking that I didn't want to stay for the next 3 weeks. The whole thing was a great experience but being away from home that long was as good as murder.

Ok so that was pretty much my first week. Hopefully in the next few days I will post the other three weeks.

Tech and Dress Rehersals

So tech and dress were yesterday and I must I was pretty impressed by how good we did. Not necessarily in the dances but time frame and organization wise we did really well. I'm not exactly sure when we finished but it was only a little after nine and nine was what we were aiming for. Yay! Of course that would have been so much nicer once I found out of I hadn't been to incredibly exhausted. But it was fun. I love the adrenaline rush. I swear I'm going to be one of those dancers who has to take up skydiving or something cause I'll be addicted to adrenaline.
My kids did really well so I'm just hoping they keep it up for tonight.
I am really too tired to even want to write anything right now so I might post something tomorrow or in a few days. Whichever I feel like.

AHHH!

So, the recital is in two weeks. TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!!! One of my classes has only one more class and the other has two just cause the REALLY need it. But its only twoweeks away! Two weeks then recital stuff (I will probably be posting alot over that weekend.) then we have a week and then VBS, Then SMI, and then we leave for Mississippi. OH MY GOSH! This is so scary so at this moment I'm just focusing on this week which is kinda bad cause I need to start packing for Mississippi. Oh well.

Dress Rehersal

So,



elbow=feeling better



everything else=sore and mad at me.



We had our dress rehearsal for our performance this Saturday and my sister and I are in every other dance so we have all of about 2-3 minutes to change costumes and shoes. All in all it wasn't bad . . . the first time. Then we were going to do it again after a break to we could get the costumes we had just thrown everywhere in some kind of order, get a drink and be somewhat ready for the next round. But, we found out that one of the younger girls had to be out of there earlier so as we come out of changing and sorting costumes as fast as we can so we can relax a little and get a drink, our mom goes, "Hurry, Dani has to get out of here early!" So we skip a drink and go and dance everything over again. And let me tell you, these dances are tiring! Plus every time we finished a dance and were running down the hall to change the younger kids who were 1. being helped by two experienced moms, and 2. should have been starting their dance already, are complaining about how hard this is and how tiring. I wish I could have stopped and said, "You wander around and leisurely change costumes while Kim and I are running out of a dance and rushing to change, Deal with it!" But I didn't, cause I'm nice.

Injury's suck

So today, while I was assisting in the 3-5 class, we were doing their recital dance and at the beginning they put their hands up to their mouths and 'laugh.' (Their song is 'It's a Small World' never do this song, it's extremely annoying.) So I went to do it, cause they just finished learning it so they cant do it alone yet, I bent my elbows and put my hands up to my mouth and went 'Ow!' It turns out, I pulled something in my elbow and I can no longer bend it. Do you know how hard it is to shower, change clothes, brush your teeth, do your hair, pretty much do anything, without bending your arm? Pretty Darn Hard! I had to have my sister put my hair in a pony tail for me cause I'm just that disabled at the moment. It is not fun whatsoever, plus it's my right arm! It is also, I found out, difficult to do a dance without using your arm, or at least without bending your arm.
My grandpa was trying to convince me that not having a thumb would be worse than not being able to bend your arm. To which, I responded, 'I would rather be able to bend my arm and not have a thumb than the other way around cause what use is a thumb if you cant use it most of the time.