Free Pizza

Over the past few weeks,
our family has realized that
we are spending
more and more time
at the ballet studio.

This should come as no surprise
since we are in the midst
of rehearsals
and preparations
of props and costumes
for the spring performances.

However, this is the first time that
we recall having more rehearsals
after dance and ballet classes.

So, after up to three or four hours
of classes on the weeknights,
we are at the studio
for up to another couple of hours.

The other night,
this was to our benefit,
in that we got free food.

We had left the studio
just before 9:30 pm
and thought that
the pizza place
stopped serving around
that time.

The lights were still on,
but they were starting to clean.

The manager was on the phone
with his bosses
before he was able to talk to us.

He explained that the buffet
was closed for the night,
but we already knew that
we wanted to get some
pizzas to go.

He took our order,
the kitchen staff started baking,
and I started to pay
with my debit card.

Then, the manager realized that
he had already shut the computer
down for the night.

As, I had no cash,
he offered us our pizzas
for free!

He even gave us free drinks
while we waited.

It is so nice to know that
there are still good people
in this world,
especially when one is
near exhaustion
and have two teenagers
to feed after hours
of dancing.

En Pointe

Two years ago,
at the beginning
of the fourth decade of my life,
and having taken ballet
on and off
for about a decade,
I decided that I wanted to attempt
to go en pointe by my next birthday.

Mind you, I struggle with remembering:

1) the French ballet terms;

2) the warm up lessons
after the fourth or fifth exercise;

3) any ballet combinations that
require more than two parts;

4) not letting my other activities
interfere with going to ballet class;

5) and, basic proper alignment
for ballet dancers.

However, I set the challenge for myself
and attempted to attend
more than my usual one class per week.

Also, I was encouraged by
one of my children's ballet teachers,
who is also a parent
of one of their ballet friends,
who is an extraordinary ballet costumer,
and, a great friend.

She gave me specific exercises
to strengthen my feet
and
reminded me to use my core muscles.

Just before the end of the calendar year,
one of my friends that had been taking
ballet classes said that she had gotten
permission to start en pointe
in January, just around my birthday.

So, I went out and purchased pointe shoes
at the beginning of January.

And then, just as it looked like I would be
en pointe by my birthday,
a snow storm hit
and
closed down everything
for almost a week.

So, after sewing on my pointe shoe ribbons,
which I was supposed to have waited to do
after the teacher had approved
the first pointe shoes,
I got to go en pointe at the barre
just a few days after my birthday.

I would love to say that I improved
over the next year,
but I was unable to get in my
pointe shoes on a regular basis
and remained doing barre work.

In order to improve en pointe,
this January, as part of my make-up
classes for all the classes I missed
in the fall due to other activities,
meetings, Nutcracker duties
in the costume room and props,
I decided to take the class
for students (around 11 years)
who were about to start
en pointe for the first time.

Today,
after my fourth pointe class
this year,
I went en pointe
in the middle of the floor.

It wasn't pretty,
but I did manage at least
three times
to go on full pointe.

I only wish my children
had witnessed it
because at least one
of them seems
to be a little doubtful.

Oh, well, I know I put my
fear of falling behind me.

En Pointe!

Ballet Moms vs Dance Moms

After explaining to my daughter,

when she wanted to purchase
a sparkly key chain with
"Dance Mom"
on it for me,

that I am in no way, shape, nor form
a "Dance Mom,"

I still had to have the manager of the
ballet/dance clothing store
back me up on this point.

And, this all occurred months before
the Lifetime show, "Dance Moms."

Now that the show is so popular,
even among the "Ballet Moms,"
there apparently needs to be a
"vs" list in order to distinguish
between the two types of personalities.

Normally, I am not one to generalize,
but these are just some observations-
and I do realize
that there are always exceptions.


Dance Mom vs Ballet Mom


1) Obnoxiously Loud vs Quiet and Observant

While "Quiet and Observant,"
we are willing to stand up for what is right-
we are still "Moms," after all.


2) Fighting vs Discussions

with the Dance and/or Artistic Director

Face it,
at the end of the day,
in ballet,
the Artistic Director,
being artistic
and having many years
of experience
in the ballet world,
is always right,
whether one agrees or disagrees.

One must always remember
that the ballet world
is a very small world;
burning one's bridges
is not a good thing,
especially for the dancers.


3) Fighting vs Discussions
with other "Moms"

Most of my "Mom" friends
encourage each others
dancers with both
words of advice and praise.

If things start to get too personal,
usually at least one will walk away,
if not both parties,
until heads have cooled
and until that happens,
avoidance is a useful tool.


4) Skimpy costumes vs ballet costumes

Realizing that ballet wear for class
is just a leotard and tights,
in order for teachers to see that
proper alignment is occurring,
most ballet studios require
that clothing be worn over the ballet wear
whenever outside the studio.

Another rule about ballet costumes
is that costumes remain backstage
or covered when not on stage.

Costumes are meant to enhance
the character of the dancer and the dance;
they are not to be a character itself.


5) Competitions vs Shows

Although there are a few ballet competitions,
meant to find talent,
most are closed to observers.

Most ballet companies perform
two or three
shows or stories
per year
and
most of the year
is dedicated to rehearsals.


6) Recitals vs School Shows

Although many ballet studios
have other types of dance as well,

the end of the school year
performance is considered
a "school show" and the word
"recital" is very reluctantly used.


7) New vs Traditional

Ballet has a long history and tradition.

Many in ballet are proud of this fact.

Twyla Tharp's "The Princess and the Goblin”

Our family attended this ballet
performed by Atlanta Ballet
on its second night
at the Cobb Center in Atlanta.

The original story
was written in 1872
by George MacDonald.

It is the story of a princess
who realizes that some of the children
of the kingdom have been kidnapped
by a goblin.

Her father refuses to believe her.

She takes off in search of the children
with a male friend
and on the way meets
her great-grandmother.

Her friend is later captured
and she must rescue him too.

The fighting with the goblins
looks more like a ballet dance off
with lots of funny moments.

Eventually the princess
wins the hearts of the goblins.

Some of the goblins help her
in her escape with the children
and away from the
king and queen of the goblins.

Although her male friend
tries to help lead them home,
it is her great-grandmother who helps.

Upon the return home,
everyone rejoices.

The artistry of the ballet
in telling this story
was beautiful and magical.

It was hard to believe that it
was done without interruptions.

The program mentioned that the
princess performed for 70 minutes
of the 75 minute ballet.

I highly recommend taking
the family to this ballet.

10 Years of Nutcracker

Our family just finished our
10th
Nutcracker.

It was the first Nutcracker
that no one was
in Act I.

This was a very odd feeling.

I never even got to watch Act I
from backstage
because either
I was helping with last minute
sewing projects
(mending, buttons, shoe elastics, etc)
or
helping my daughter
with her hair and make-up.

It was really the first year
that I understood
one of the other mother's advice
to trade daughters
during dressing room preparations.

My daughters hair is very thick
and this year it was shorter
because she had donated
some of the length to
Locks of Love
during the summer.

Due to the thickness,
I always braid her hair
into several small braids
in order to make the bun
look flatter.

Just before performance,
we thought that the hair was fine
until we tried putting
the headpiece on her head
and found that the bun was too high.

We tried moving the bun lower,
but it messed up the rest of her hair
and
she could not get the bun to feel secure.

After taking out the braids
and while re-brushing her hair
and trying to find the perfect spot
for the bun after several attempts,
a sudden feeling came over me
that I needed to just pull her hair
off her head and make it a wig
with a permanent bun.

There was no feeling of wanting
to hurt my daughter-
just wanting do something
that would make the whole
bun process easier.

Finally,
the perfect spot for the bun;
and,
I was able to make a great bun
without having to re-braid her hair.

So,
even if one has a good relationship
with family members,
during stressful times backstage,
have a third party help.

A couple of things
that I enjoyed this year:

1) watching my daughter help my son
put on his make-up;

and 2) my son occasionally asking me
to help make sure that
his hair, costume, and make-up
were ready for stage.

(Although he's not thrilled
with the way that I like his hair
to be on stage,
he was good about asking
if it was done to my liking.)

The best part of
10 years of Nutcracker
is that it is
a family activity.

Nutcracker- My Son's Roles

My son began performing
in Nutcracker in 2002.

The requirement for participation
was that one had to be
eight years old.

Sometimes, due to the fact
that there are few boys
in ballet, boys were allowed
to perform at seven years old.

The previous year,
my son had asked if he could perform
since he would be turning seven
during the performance weekend,
but was told that he could understudy.

So, he began as a seven year old
and turned eight
on the last day of performances.

The first year,
he was a
Small Mouse
and got to steal a prop-
the Nutcracker.

One of my favorite memories
of that year
was one of the older boys,
who was playing the Nutcracker,
took my son under his wing
and
I managed to get a picture
from behind
of the Nutcracker
with his arm around
a Small Mouse.

[As soon as the photo
is located and scanned,
it will appear in this post!]

My son played a
Party Boy
from 2003 - 2006.

The first couple of years,
he really loved it.

The next couple of years,
he liked it,
but was ready to move on
to other parts.

In 2006,
he was finally able to get
a part in the Second Act
as a (French) Mirliton
with the Junior Company dancers
and
had the role for two years.

He began partnering
with a couple of the girls
within the piece.

In 2007,
he was a little reluctant to play
Fritz,
due to being tired
of the Party Scene,
but did a great job.

Also in 2007,
he loved his role of
Nutcracker
because he got to
sword fight.

In 2008,
Ms Meg
(who has a feature
in a January post,
but I cannot figure out
how to link)
choreographed
Chinese
and
my son performed
with two girls
with rhythmic ribbons
while he carried
a dragon head that blew smoke
(that Ms Meg created).

Another highlight
of the piece was the
Chinese stage make-up
(that Ms Meg researched
and applied).

From 2008 - 2010,
my son was an
Animated Toy Soldier.

His performance in 2009
earned him a local
performance award.

In 2009,
my son was in
Spanish
with two girls.

This was the year
that I really started
helping with costumes,
especially the details
on the Spanish tops
for both the female
and the male costumes.

Another first in 2009,
my son was asked to perform
as a guest artist
in a town about thirty miles
from us
in the role of
Nutcracker Prince.

This added extra rehearsals,
extra driving,
and
an extended Nutcracker season
by a week.

Still, our family loved it
because
we made more ballet contacts,
got more ideas for Nutcracker
props and costumes,
and
enjoyed the family time together.

In 2010,
my son got his first role as a
Cavalier
(Orchid Cavalier).

He got to partner
and
have a small solo
within the piece
(meaning-
he did not have
the stage to himself,
but was the only one dancing
for a few minutes).

When watching him
in one of the final dress rehearsals,
I realized how far my son had come
in his dancing abilities
and
I had to cry
on Ms Meg's shoulder;
She remembered his first year
of class
and trying to refuse
to rehearse
because he
"knew the dance."

He was also nominated
for a local
performance award
in this role.

In 2011,
my son was
Sugar Plum Cavalier!

One of my favorite things
was hearing the compliments
about how far he had come
as a dancer
and
how professional he looked
in his dance;
especially since he plans
to become a professional
ballet dancer.

[There will be photos posted
as soon as snapshots are
found, scanned, uploaded, etc.
and permission is obtained
from the professional photographer.]

Nutcracker- A Family Tradition

One of the reasons for this blog is to help me preserve our family's ballet memories.

Now, the Nutcracker defines
our winter holiday season
(from Thanksgiving to New Years).

Our family often bases our travel plans
around rehearsals at Thanksgiving;
and then,
visiting plans for December
are based on which
side of the extended families
has been most neglected
due to ballet schedules
throughout the year.

We have not had a Christmas tree in our house since 1999.

Due to weather in 2000,
we managed to buy one
and immediately had to put it on the porch
because ice cycles had begun to form.
(That tree stayed green until February
and was still green when my husband
thought it was time to put it on the street
because it was Valentine's Day).

Due to my husband's overseas travel schedule in 2001,
we managed to get one
in time to put it in the back
of our new pick-up truck
(and used battery powered lights)
before having to travel out-of-town
for family visits.

From 2002 to the present,
we have not had a family Christmas tree
because of Nutcracker.

My children have their own miniature trees,
but at some point,
they decided not to put up
their trees every year.

My children have been able to help decorate
their grandparents' Christmas trees,
but in general,
they don't seem to miss that particular tradition.

To us,
Nutcracker
and
traveling to see relatives
makes for great family traditions.

Non-Ballet Dance Companies

While recognizing the fact
that ballet is not everyone's "cup of tea,"
personally it is very difficult to sit through
non-ballet dance company performances.

Most of the professional dance companies
are based on ballet principals
and show great athleticism.

They are great at showing
control of every muscle in the body,
often in some very, very slow movements.

Sometimes the music is interesting-
and "interesting"
does not necessarily mean
"good" or "bad,"
but sometimes just
"strange."

The biggest problem
is the repetition
of the first five minutes
of the dance
for twenty minutes.

This can be excruciating to the nerves.

And, it proves that sometimes
"less is more."

Ballet Summer Intensives- Changes in the Dancers

Ballet Summer Intensives
are
l-o-n-g hours of daily dance
and
body conditioning
(usually about six (6) hours per day,
six (6) days per week).

One of the first things one notices at the end of the first week are
"duck feet"
(semi-permanent turned out feet).

It is one of those things that ballerinas that go into
modeling or pageants
have to "untrain" the habit.

By about the second week,
there is no having to remind about
water bottles,
as they are almost a part of the
dancer's clothing.

Surprisingly,
food intake also seems to slow
during the day,
but is often ravenous
about eight o'clock at night.

The next thing noticed is
"cat naps"
in the middle of conversations
on the way home.

Of course, muscles become more defined.

And, by the end of summer,
there is definitely a
zombie-like appearance
to the dancers.

However,
it is all worth it when seeing the
enthusiasm
and
improved technique
when the dancers return
to their home dance studio.