Hansel & Gretel

HRH performed in CBA's production of Hansel and Gretel this evening at the Covey Center.  She's been dancing the role of Gretel as an understudy--I only wish she would have the opportunity to perform it for an audience!  These dancers have put in an unbelievable amount of time preparing for this show.  I can't wait to see it!

HRH did a beautiful job in the rolls of Friend and Dew Drop Fairy.  She will be dancing the role of Candy Cane for one of the next performances.  It's always fun to watch an additional performance to see the changes that result simply from the cast variations.  

In the photo at left, HRH is the girl in front.  Isn't she beautiful?!  I think she was the most amazing dancer on the stage...  I love to watch her dance--I can't believe how talented she it!

Now, it's off to bed, I have to have her back at the theater for an early call for tomorrow's matinee.  If you have a spare hour or two, come watch the show!

If it can go wrong, it will...

Ours was an interesting weekend.  After months of training and rehearsing, this weekend was the long-awaited Youth America Grand Prix Ballet Competition.  We packed our bags and set out for the regional competition in Denver.  The flight was on time.  Our seats were fine.  None of our luggage got lost...  That was the end of the smooth ride...

YAGP is a well respected international competition with regional events in the USA as well as in Italy, Mexico, Japan, and Brazil. I knew that The Princess had her work cut out for her.  After all, most of the other dancers have probably been studying ballet for years.  With only about five months of real training, she was certainly at a disadvantage. 

Of course, I thought her disadvantage would be limited to her lack of proper training.  As it turned out, that was the least of our problems!  During each of her solo classical variations her music quit.  Other dancers had musical malfunctions as well, but having problems with both pieces was very trying.  HRH handled it like a pro, but it really shook her confidence.

Later, on the evening before we were checking out, the power went out in our hotel.  We slept through several hours of power-free quiet, only to awaken to a dark hotel.  I made the mistake of jumping in the shower and washing my hair...  Big mistake!  No blow dryer!  I got to spend the cold, windy, Colorado winter morning with wet hair.  Joy.  And if the frozen ears weren't discomfort enough, I got to endure the hideous hair for the remainder of the afternoon.

I do have to admit, however, that it was a bit of a novel experience.  We opened our room door to find glow sticks carefully placed in the hallway outside each room door.  The stairwells were similarly lit, with glow sticks on every other stair tread.  Breakfast was tasty and (surprisingly) warm.  A buffet (undoubtedly cooked on a gas stove) was kept warm with assorted chaffing dishes heated by Sterno cans.  Each dish was illuminated by additional glow sticks and the tables were all candlelit.  It did make us smile!

After our morning and early afternoon in the cold, we were lucky enough to catch a break.  To our good fortune, the kind woman at the Denver Double Tree North took pity on us.  Feeling bad that we had checked out, despite having nowhere to go, with wet hair and make-up that was applied in the dark, she offered us a room for the remainder of our wait. 

The room was a suite, complete with kitchenette and king sized bed.  We snacked on hot, Double Tree chocolate chip cookies, and popped popcorn in the provided microwave, and sipped steaming mugs of hot chocolate.  The best part is that our kind hostess provided the room to us free of charge.

So, for the rocky weekend, we had a satisfactory ending.  HRH took second in the Contemporary category, and first in the Ensemble category.  Our studio took the Best School award, and our choreographer won the Best Choreographer award.  We got to fix our hair and makeup, and lounge in a comfortable suite...  I guess it wasn't so bad after all...

A Herd of Elephants

Each morning the elephant herd marches down my hallway.  It's always too early, and too loud, and it makes me grouchy. 

The reality of the marching elephants may seem shocking to some, mostly because I do not currently live on the African savanna.  But the marching herd has become an expected ritual at our house.

I first became aware of the marching elephants when my daughter enrolled in a semi-private tumbling class with another dance friend.  As the inexplicably petite girls ran laps around the gym, the coach began to snicker.  She then confided in me that she can always tell the dancers from the tumblers during warm-ups.  When I raised my eyebrows, she told me to listen to the way they run...

The gymnasts and tumblers ran quickly around the mats, with nary a sound to be heard...  My little dancer and her friend clomped around like, you guessed it, a herd of elephants...

What is it about those lithe, little bodies that create such a ruckus?  It really seems inconceivable that such little people can make such loud noises.  I think it must have something to do with the way they are programmed to be so deliberate in their movement.  Each move they make is choreographed to hit a certain position or angle.  They are taught to be aware of placement, and to move with intention.  Maybe that precision of movement is what makes them place their feet so firmly on the floor.

Or, maybe they just don't know how to run quietly...  Regardless, I think I need to look into elephant training.  Do you think elephants can learn to be light on their feet?  I certainly hope so...

Nutcracker

I've always thought that Nutcracker was a great tradition to open the holiday season.  This year I was excited to watch my daughter perform in the Classical Ballet Academy production.

*HRH and Friend (the Jester)*

She danced the part of (the cutest ever) Doll, the Spanish soloist, Sugar Plum courtier demi soloist, and a member of the Candy Cane court.  What a fun way to kick off the season!

Dance out Loud

After three years of dancing with TDC, The Princess left the studio and is now studying classical ballet.  The move was a hard one, and we hoped we were making the right decision.  I worried that HRH would get bored with all the focus being on ballet.  I was sure she'd miss the other forms of dance, especially contemporary.

While the ballet is going very well, we recently had the opportunity to work on a contemporary group number with Nicki Loud.  It was a diversion from the ballet technique and a fun change of pace.  I think we made the right decision moving to a ballet studio, but it was nice to have a temporary respite.  What an awesome experience to work with such a great choreographer and with such an amazing group of dancers. 

HRH loved working with Nicki so much that we had her do a solo piece as well.  She'd such a great person to work with.  And the girls loved the evening we spent with her at Los Hermanos.

Darby, Jenny, Tiare, Nicki Loud, Courtney, Jorgen, The Princess

The girls competed their "Nicki Loud Number" aka Shirk at NYCDA.  They were nominated for Critics' Choice and other top honors.  Congratulations!

Everybody say, "Jump!"

Jr Gala Results

The Results are in... The Princess made it into the Top 10 of over 100 girls for National Outstanding Dancer! She did awesome! I'm so proud of her for her hard work and dedication.

Sinking Feeling didn't win Critics' Choice--but we're pleased with the end results anyway.

I'll edit photos and post them from home in a few days.

A Little Bragging...

The Princess is competing for National Outstanding Dancer.

Her solo entry was Queenie was a Blonde.

She was fabulous!

The following photos are SOOC. I will edit and repost when I get home.

This number will comprise 50% of her overall score.

Ballet auditions and jazz auditions will start tomorrow.

They will make up the remaining points.

New York, NY

I realize that I'm a little behind in my 30 in 30 posts... But give me a break, I'm in the city that never sleeps, and there is just so much to do! I can't seem to find time to sit down and blog when Canal Street is calling... Or when the New York cheesecake is tempting... Or when Saks is having a sale... Or...

But, I do realize that this little excursion is really all about dance. The dance stuff is going well. Competition will really heat up for us tomorrow. The Princess will be competing against all the other dance divas for top honor in the solo competition. We never come expecting to win anything, but sometimes even we get surprised! She's been working really hard and now we'll see if the many (many, many) hours have paid off for her this year.

I'll try to post photos tomorrow--if the computer will cooperate... I'm using a new netbook and I'm not sure it will play nice with my camera... Wait and see!

One more time...

I just dragged the luggage out of the closet. I'm pretty sure that we just got it all put away from the last trip. This summer, that beat up set of luggage has spent more time out of the closet than usual!

And now we're prepping for our annual dance trip to New York City. Oh, the joy!

We've bought new pointe shoes (bummer, they won't be broken in very well for auditions), new tights, new leos, and all the other necessary accouterments. The "break-a-leg" gifts are made for all of the members of The Princess' team. ...oh, and the tears have already started... (mine and hers!).

Seriously, cross your fingers that I survive this trip. It will be 10 days of little sleep, meals on the run, performance hair and make-up, costume disasters, high emotions, big drama, and more tears. I'm already exhausted!

Dance Sucks

The dance world is a fickle place in which to live.

Some judges may have their impartiality tainted by the interference of others.

If studio policies exist, they should be shared with those they involve. Those policies should apply equally to everyone, without exception.

No dancer should be given preferential treatment. Not because she is a favorite. Not because her mom complained.

Preferential treatment is not to be confused with earned opportunities.

Dancers should earn special opportunities through dedication and hard work. No single dancer should be "given" an opportunity that she did not earn. Especially at the expense of another dancer who actually did earn the opportunity.

All dancers should be encouraged to compete for any scholarship or opportunity for which they are qualified. Dancers should not be asked to step aside and give up an opportunity for another dancer's sake.

Dance directors and studio owners should never do anything to handicap any of their own dancers to benefit someone else, even if that someone else is another one of their own dancers.

Dancers and parents put their faith and trust in studio directors and owners and expect that their dancers will be promoted and encouraged.

Studio directors and owners should never intimidate their dancers into submission.

Studio directors and owners should never do anything to thwart the advancement or opportunities of one of their dancers.

Studio directors and owners should remember that without tuition-paying parents they would be out of business.

And now I'm done.

Life of a Dance Mom

I've been a slacker about blogging this week--but with good reason! At least I'm sure I have a good reason... I'll have to get back to you on that.

Anyway! I'm going to be a slacker for the weekend, too. I'm off with the Princess on yet another dance adventure. We're hopping an early flight tomorrow for a weekend away. She and her team are going to compete a few numbers to qualify them for nationals.

The life of a dance mom sure is a rough life--ordering room service, lounging in my jammies, lunching with the girls, reading, shopping... Oh, I mean, I'll be really busy walking her to the convention center early in the morning, being responsible for delivering healthy meals, making sure she is well supplied with energizing snacks, adequate fluids, and lots of Advil. Yeah, that's what I meant!

So, have a great end-of-February weekend. I'll be back in March!

Dance Diaries - Photos

I've been editing photos from the weekend competition.

The choreography for this piece was done by Travis Wall.

The jury is still out on this next one.

Cute, but is it really dancing if they wear roller skates for half the performance?
(HRH is seated on the right)

HRH hates this next photo because her knee isn't straight.
I think I just caught her a little late.

I promise not to bore you with ongoing photos.
But thanks for indulging me this time!

Pointe Shoes and Frozen Toes

I've just spent the better part of 48 hours freezing to death at an area convention center. The corridor of an unheated convention center is not exactly the location for a relaxing weekend in January. But weekend corridor sitting is one of my responsibilities as a dance mom. I typically spend my weekends sitting in the corridor of a convention center or a hotel (it costs an additional fee to actually watch the classes--no, thank you!). Believe me, it makes for some really long days... But the benefits for my daughter are usually worth it.

The Princess and her dance company were competing at a regional event for individual scholarships and team awards. While I don't really enjoy the actual conventions, I do enjoy the competition and closing shows. Today was no exception--the performances were truly amazing. In fact, one of the numbers brought several of the audience members to tears--seriously, they're that good!

So, in honor of my frozen toes, and my days of boredom interspersed with fleeting moments of amazingness, I'd like to share a favorite photo of the weekend.

Anyway--Congratulations on your scholarship, cutie! You deserve it! And yay! I won't have to pay tuition next time! That's two in a row! That almost makes the frostbite tolerable... Almost.

Art With Heart

Tonight I went to watch my daughter's performance in Art with Heart which is a fundraiser for Shriner's Hospital. Three studios collaborate each year on this amazing show, The Dance Club, Dance Impressions, and Winner School. I attended along with my mom, The Eldest, and our friend. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and I think everyone else did, too.

It's amazing how talented these dancers are, and I'm always impressed at the caliber of their performances. Several of the pieces were choreographed by Travis Wall (So You Think You Can Dance) and there were pieces by Jacki Ford and Joey Dowling (In The Heights, Assoc. Choreographer), as well. How lucky these girls are to have such impressive instructors!

Anyway! It's always nice to know that you are taking part in something that will benefit someone in need. This fundraiser for Shriner's Hospital is such a great opportunity for our girls to use their talents to benefit others.

Things To Do - Kid Version

The Princess is dancing in a benefit for Shriner's Hospital next weekend. Her studio joins with two other local studios every year to put on this fund raiser. If anyone is interested in attending, let me know!

Anyway, while I was online buying tickets, I found this: Kid Time at the Covey Center. I think I might try this when the weather gets bad and we all have cabin fever. The only downside I can see is that a parent has to attend with the kids. I wish I could drop everyone off and get some holiday shopping done!