Hours at the Ballet Studio

When asking my teenagers
the other day
what my next topic should be,
they said,
"The hours we spend
at the ballet studio."

My last blog started out
with this topic in mind
and ended up being about
free pizza!

The original intent of the post
was to talk about the number
of hours our family spends
at the ballet studio each week
and
what we do during that time.

So, here goes.

Mondays:

Usually it is just my daughter and I
that travel to the studio.

She has two and a half hours
of classes and
I help out in the office;
this means we are there
for about four hours.

Occasionally, my son skips his
weekly Boy Scout meeting
in order to attend special
partnering classes
and/or
rehearsals.

Tuesdays:

Three of us have dance classes
and we are there for about
four to five hours,
more if there are rehearsals.

Sometimes, my son
has a morning rehearsal
(which he is able to attend
because he homeschools);
on those days,
we either spend the hours
between returning to the studio
on school errands
or
stay at the studio
and work on school work.

Wednesday:

Usually it is just my son and I
that travel to the studio.

Between the two of us,
we are there for about five hours.

Occasionally, my daughter comes
for make-up classes or rehearsals.

Thursdays:

A very busy day of the week.

Three of us have classes
and I also help in the office.

At least two nights per month,
I have to skip my classes
in order to attend meetings-
one for Girl Scout planning
(which my daughter
usually attends too)
and
one for my GFWC local club.

Total hours at the studio
are around four or so.

Fridays:

We like to say that
we have Fridays off.

However, more often than not,
this is not true.

If the Friday afternoon class
is not canceled, then
my son and often my daughter
attend the class.

Often, there is a rehearsal afterwards.

Recently, about every other Friday,
our family has traveled
about two hours away for ballet classes
from a former Soviet ballet dancer.

So, Fridays, too,
are often up to four hours
at the studio.

Saturdays:

Our whole family, my husband included,
spends about eight hours at the studio.

My son and daughter have company class
and rehearsals that last all day;
though they do have breaks,
they are rarely long enough to leave.

My husband and I run errands
for food and props and costumes
and/or
stay at the studio and work
on props and costumes.

Sundays:

Rehearsals last up to six hours,
especially the closer it gets
to performances.

Of course, the whole family
is usually there
(see Saturdays).

Week in Review:

If I counted correctly,
our family spends just under
40 hours per week
at the ballet studio.

Is that a full time job-
minus the pay and benefits?

Seasons of Ballet Details- Summer

"Summer
Summer Intensives"

Summer activities for our family use to include finishing up baseball season, swim team, and visiting grandparents.

Then it was a day/week/two weeks of Ballet Summer Intensive, Scout summer camps, swim team, and visiting grandparents.

Two years ago, my son received a scholarship for a two week Summer Intensive; we spent two weeks driving just over two hours one way between the grandparents' house and the Summer Intensive.

As a result of the Summer Intensive's Performance date change, my annual summer meeting for my state women's club board was missed.

However, we did drive another hour and a half out of our way to say that we got an hour before sunset beach trip and a very nice Japanese dinner.

Last year, my son had three scholarships and one partial scholarship for Summer Intensives.

This meant nine weeks of six hours of ballet, dance, and stretching/fitness classes.

We started in our hometown for two weeks; followed by four weeks driving twenty minutes one way from his grandparents' home; dropping him off with strangers (now friends) for a week two hours away; and then hometown again for two more weeks.

Improvement was definitely noticed after both summers, but most noticeable after this last one.

My son now has friends all over the world, in this country, as well as, professional dance contacts for his future as a ballet professional.

A favorite part of my summer was meeting a former Soviet ballet dancer who studied under Pushkin at the Kirov Ballet.

He told stories of traveling between the former East and West Germany before they put up the Berlin Wall. (The history buff in me loved the stories.)

Best of all, he was able to point out small things to change in one's body that makes ballet easier; my son was able to comprehend about two weeks later (his learning curve for permanent changes) and I also use the techniques in both ballet and life.

So, nine weeks of traveling for Ballet Intensives and back and forth to my daughter's Girl Scout camp, did not leave any vacation time for the family.

[Pictures will be included at a later date]