Death by Nutcracker

Well we are in the midst of all of our shows at the moment. Have been at the theatre doing two full runs a day for the last week or so. One performance a day. Today and tomorrow we have two performances a day. We are all pretty tired but running on a lot of adrenaline! And coffee. and tea... Yesterday my flowers part felt like it went really well so I was really happy! We also received a really lovely review in the Vancouver Sun.
    Take a look at it by clicking here

"They were elegant and graceful without being staid and formal. During the Valse Des Fleurs, for example, the 16 dancers comprising Les Fleurs were grouped together in four sets of four. Facing inward to each other, they gracefully waved their arms and rose and up and down like flowers responding to the diurnal cycle of light and dark."

On opening night I was one of these flowers. Our group was one of the groups in the front and we were smiling at each other every time we went up and down(we were smiling sooo much).

Anyways I need to get ready for the theatre and the matinee at 2:00. <3

Nutcracker Marathon

Tomorrow is the start of our Nutcracker marathon. Today we had the day off to prepare for all of the shows... I spent the morning running around buying Christmas things, making tea, cooking, catching up with my grandparents, making Christmas wreaths out of pointe shoes, tutoring, listening to X-mas music, writing Christmas cards, cleaning my room and packing for the theatre! It was a busy day and now I am stretching and doing some body conditioning.

Once tomorrow starts we will have 8 shows and 5 runthroughs of Nutcracker.... 13 Nuts to Crack in total and then we are done for the year! I'm sure this week will go by very, very quickly but I am looking forward to all of our performances. <3

Today

9:30- 11:00 Gym
12:15-1:15 Warm Up class
2:00-9:30 Flowers rehearsal, Snowflakes, Opening, Finale, Runthrough B cast, Runthrough A cast....

Tomorrow class starts at 9:30!

What a day, I wish I was felt more energetic.

So much to do, so little time.

                                     We are back after the trip to Victoria!

The trip sped by because there was so much to do. On the first day we arrived we had to be at the bus terminal at 6:45. It had snowed heavily overnight and it was not easy for everyone to get there on time. We took the bus/ ferry to Victoria and arrived at the hotel just before noon to find out that our rooms were not all ready.
We had to share a couple of the free rooms so that we could unpack and do our hair e.t.c. In an hour we managed to get everything organized and get to the theatre for warm up class, blocking and runthrough (we were very speedy!).
     For me the Victoria show was quite stressful because I was an adult in Act 1, a Snowflake, and a Flowers soloist. The soloist part was my first "big" part in one of the Goh Ballet's shows so I was really excited to perform it but also really nervous..
    Stupidly I have spent the last couple of months freaking out about losing my part and thinking the entire time that they were going to take my out of it for sure. I was so certain of it. I know it sounds stupid, but last year that is what happened to me. Two weeks before the show I was switched from A and B cast snowflake to just B cast. That really upset me last year, and made me extremely neurotic this year. It wasn't until after the runthrough on stage that I realized that I would really be doing the flowers soloist part... That was really exciting and scary at the same time because such a big part of me had been preparing to lose my part. I had been thinking so negatively that I was sure it would shine through.
                              To see highlights of our Nutcracker click here
    The first night I was exhausted but could barely sleep because so many thoughts were going through my head. I had a quick change between Party scene and Snowflakes that involved me taking off my high heels, hair piece, hair pins  earrings, necklace, bracelet, cutting myself out of my dress, and then putting on my toe pads, pointe shoes, two tiaras, one with a veil thing that had to be pinned, and snowflakes tutu as well as rewarming up my feet! I would literally tear off my heels, hike up my skirt and run to the dressing rooms as soon as I got off stage from party scene.

Mara Vinson in PNB's Sleeping Beauty

    The next day everyone was very sore. Being in the theatre all day is very different from in the studio because it is much colder, you do not really use the same, and you also are under a lot of pressure/ have a lot of adrenaline going. That really affects the body! We were in the theatre from 11:00 a.m -10:30 p.m. most days but we did have breaks where we were able to run to get a bite to eat, some tea or coffee. I enjoyed it because really we had nothing else to think about besides ballet, ballet, ballet. Sometimes it is nice not to have all the distractions of life begging for your attention
    The principals for the Nutcracker in Victoria were Mara Vinson and Karel Cruz from PNB. Not only were they kind but they were gorgeous. Just to be able to dance like that would be amazing!!! She had such beautiful feet, strength, turns. I really liked her expression too. It was different than other sugar plums that I have seen, strong and confident. He had amazing legs! Literally they were the longest legs I have ever seen. And then way he jumped! His landings from his double tours were super elastic and so, so, so quiet (Karel Cruz's bio)! They both were amazing performers and all of us enjoyed watching them from backstage.
   All of the performances went relatively smoothly, there were a few slips due to a fog machine that was not working quite properly. It spewed out an oily feeling substance on the ground during dress rehearsal which disrupted the dress rehearsal until they got it cleared off. And although they fixed it a bit before our first performance, the downstage left part of the stage still became slippery. Fortunately it was sorted out after that performance and we did have a problem with the fog after that! The spacing was a little scary because it was much smaller than what we were used to. For snowflakes which meant that our lines were not as perfect as they should have been. That was not good.
   We got very good reviews though and everyone who saw the show was very pleased with it.

I really enjoyed the experience. Going on tour is really stressful but really fun too. We got a very good review after opening night which was a morale booster.
http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/Nutcracker+sparkles/3895973/story.html
I am really glad that I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to experience everything.
Our days were so packed that they disappeared so quickly though and I do wish we had stayed on tour longer. Nevertheless we still have 8 more performances in Vancouver. Please come and watch them! Tickets are through ticket master here.
http://www.ticketmaster.ca/The-Goh-Ballet-tickets/artist/1431959







  

I'm still alive!

I'm sorry I have not been posting much lately! We have been having rehearsals and rehearsals and rehearsals!!! We have been lucky to be rehearsing at the theatre at couple of days a week, and soon we are off to Victoria to tour for Nutcracker! Please come see our performances.
I will probably have a lot of stories once we come back... I'm so excited!

Runthroughs, Dress Rehearsals and More...

    Lately we have been having a lot of runthroughs of Nutcracker. We have rehearsals for Nutcracker 4 times a week. Snowflakes on Wednesday, Flowers on Fridays, Snow Scene/ Opening/ Finale/ and Runthroughs on Saturday, and Party Scene/ More Runthroughs on Sunday...
   Do you think that we would start getting a little tired of Nutcracker? The answer is yes, considering that we have been rehearsing for it since August, and most of us have done Nutcracker, year after year after year.
   However the practise and repetitiveness is what makes it perfect. So we do it again and again and again. If one person is out of line or off the music we do it over. If everyone's arms are not at the same angle we get corrected. If we are not turning at the same time or if our legs are not at the right height we practise to make it perfect. No matter how tired we are or how sore our feet are we do it again and again. It gets to the point where you can sing every song and know the nuances of every piece off by heart. While sometimes the music makes us feel like we should be suicidal, it also is something that as dancers we have been brought up with. Nutcracker is a ritual and  when ever you hear it all the memories attached to it come flooding back.

"Remember that year when so and so did Toy Flutes (Mirlitons)? Remember when the Nutcracker fell over that one time at the end of Act 2? And remember so and so Flowers choreography? It was so beautiful... but so hard. Remember when we did Snow and it snowed during the performance???"

Those are the types of things that we talk about during the ruthroughs when we are not needed inside the studio.  Nutcracker is more than a tradition for dancers... it is almost a way of life. Almost every classical company does a Nutcracker during the Christmas season because it is such a money maker. The classical versions are the most popular compared to the contemporary versions which can range from weird to extremely disturbing! No matter what everywhere you dance the music will come back year after year again.

This year please come see our Nutcracker it is running in Victoria from Nov. 26-28th and in Vancouver from Dec. 16-19th at the Centre for Performing Arts in Vancouver
 Tickets can be purchased through http://www.ticketmaster.ca/.

My life as a whirlwind

I'm back after having not written for a while.
Literally my life has been so hectic, these last two weeks have gone by in a flash.
  We haven't had a day off for a while because we put together the show for the Dance Centre. It was very stressful because we barely had three weeks to put an hours long show together, also two days before the show one my friend's back was too injured (she could barely walk) so we had to take her out and put new people in. On top of which we have been having overbearing Nutcracker rehearsals like crazy. On top of which I had shin splints, a ton of tutoring jobs, no time to go work out or relax really, on top of which my stomach problems started coming back and a million other things.
    On Wednesday we had rehearsal until 9:00 at night, on my way home I fell asleep on the bus and missed my stop (that is how tired I wish). Thursday (yesterday) we had the mini-show, we got to the Dance Centre at 9 to warm up. There was a lot of confusion as to where we were supposed to be and what we were supposed to be doing. The show was SOLD OUT and I had about 6 people coming without tickets! So I had to organize getting them on the waiting list during my warm up time. Blocking/ lighting was a bit of a catastrophe. We didn't have enough time to block all of the dances. By the time we were finished blocking it was only half an hour to the show. I didn't know if any of the people who were coming were able to get tickets. My stomach was a mess. I didn't have my eyelashes/ all my make-up on. Or my costumes sorted out (most of us had 4 quick, complicated changes and not very much space). And I didn't feel warm because I hadn't even had time to put my pointe shoes on to warm my feet up. I hadn't stretched and much as I would have like too. Ahhhh!!!
   Anyways everyone just put their head down and did what they needed done.
The show started and from then on everything went pretty seamlessly. I felt very content with most of my numbers and the best part was that my dad and Grandpa and our family friends managed to get in and see the show. A wave of relief flooded over me when I spotted them in the audience.
   I managed to do the Grand Fouettes in both of the pieces I had to do them in. I was so happy about that because they are a tricky step in general, a couple of months ago I would not have felt comfortable doing them. Especially in the theatre we performed in where it is very difficult to spot because it is all black.
   My turn were good though, I think sometimes I just have to relax into them and they work better.
   In the end I was happy about the show despite all the pre-stress. Actually I was super happy, because it went 1000 times better than how I expected it to go.

After the show we had to rush back to the academy and have our scheduled contemporary class (we had half an hour from the end of the show to get there).

After that I went home. Had 15 minutes to relax before I started tutoring.

Finally when my day ended I had a relaxing time with my family.... and I got to sleep in this morning =).

Rehearsal starts at 5:00, I think I will go swimming before then.

I'm sorry I haven't updated as often as I wish I could have... but as you can see, my life has been a whirlwind!

Eat Sleep Dance

Literally my schedule this week is packed yesterday for example:

10:30-12:00 Technique
1:00-2:00 Tutor
3:00-4:30 Snowflakes
4:30-5:30 Opening
5:30-6:30 Finale
6:30-7:45 Waltz of the Flowers

I went home and went straight to bed with four icepacks.

Today

11:30-12:00 Private !!!!
12:00-1:30 Snowflakes
1:30-3:00 Party Scene
3:00-5:30 Act 1 Runthrough
5:30-6:45 Mospigel (Neoclassical piece)
When I get home my parents are having people over for dinner.

Monday

9:30-11:00 Technique
11:00-12:30 Rehearsal
1:30-2:30 Gym
3:30-4:45 Rehearsal
5:00-6:00 Tutor at library
8:00-9:00 Tutor at home

.... ahhh

Random Things That I Like

One of my favourite websites to look at when I am wasting time on the internet:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ballerina-project/22455674948?v=wall

 http://ballerinaproject.blogspot.com/
They have a facebook page but also a little blog, the pictures are absolutely stunning below is one of the one that turned up on google but there are sooo many to look at. I could literally spend hours just clicking away.

Also I love my leotards my friend got me from China, the brand is Vivgio. I wish I could understand the website so that I could order more =) www.vivgio.com

Also I love my Gaynor Minden pointe shoes. Mainly because they are the only shoe that even fits my feet, but also because they always arrive exactly the same and you don't get random bad pairs of shoes! They are reassuring, that said Gaynors don't look very good on a lot people's feet because they tend to go way to far over  the entire time. I wouldn't really recommend them to most people unless you are like me and have tried almost every brand in the book.

Ok, random post tonight.... must be all of the Waltzing I have been doing lately in Nutcracker rehearsals! <3

All of these rehearsals!

  Well I have been sick with  cold which is why I haven't been posting as much, as well as the fact that ever since google yanked my adsense account. Now I am not making money from my blog,  so I don't have as much of an incentive to write = (. Stupid I know, don't get adsense.... hmmm
    I have been extremely busy as usual, I had one day off yesterday for Thanksgiving which was nice. We have a small show in 16 days that we are getting ready for at the moment as well a Nutcracker rehearsals. The show will be at The Dance Centre downtown on Oct 28th at noon, tickets can be purchased at www.ticketstonight.ca . They are quite cheap only $10 for adults and $8 for students, we will be performing a mixed bill of all kinds of dance including but not limited to ballet, contemporary, chinese dancing, and character.
     I am just stretching my feet right now and have decided that I need to start stretching way more again. My hips, knees, hamstrings, things, calf muscles e.t.c have all become very tight from all the ellipticalling that I have been doing and I am having trouble pulling up through my legs.
    I have to do my theraband exercises now, goodnight <3

Good day!

Today I had another great day although morning class was not one of my finest!
Anyways I'm happy <3

Injury prevention, long days and hard work

   Well the season is coming up in full force now. Class, rehearsal, rehearsal, class, rehearsal (sleep? eat?). It is all ok but I feel like I have barely had much time to write anything... or much energy for that matter. First couple of twinges in my ankles e.t.c. so I am being careful by icing and massaging a lot. I will write a little bit about injury prevention here.

Foam roller,  you can get them from
most physiotherapists

     For me most of my injuries occur because my muscles get too tight. The best things for me is massage therapy but seen as it is quite expensive (and time consuming) I try to do the best I can at home. I use a foam roller for my IT bands when my knees start to hurt and a foot roller if the bottom of my arch starts hurting (plantar fascitis) and my hands when my calf muscles are tight.
   Always warm up well before class or rehearsal, I usually take half an hour (but preferably an hour) before class to get warmed up. I stretch everything (calves, back, turnout, feet, hamstrings, oversplits, hips, neck, shoulders), roll out my IT bands, and do theraband exercises. Skimping on warm up is a really, really, really bad idea. If you ever do not feel warm enough to do something DON'T do it.
     If I do find that I am having problems with something in class I will try to limit painful movement to avoid exacerbating the problem. If something hurts a little that is fine but if something feels like it is going to snap, or is really painful I will cut it out. Because most of my injuries are usually in my lower legs large jumps are usually the first to go.
    After class I will massage the area that is hurting. I find it easier to massage everything in when I use skin cream while I am massaging. Other things I find are really helpful are Traumeel http://www.traumeel.com/, it is a godsend, it is an anti-inflammatory cream/ gel that helps a lot. Or Tigerbalm http://www.tigerbalm.com/, I don't like Tigerbalm as much because it smells very strong and is a little bit more aggressive the way it works but it is also a natural remedy so I use it every now and then.
   Hot baths are good and ICE, lots of ice. Never before rehearsals or exercise, but always after I have stopped dancing. Sometime I sleep with (not too cold) ice-packs on, that works well for me.
    If something is persistent I will help it by getting a brace to help stabilize it. If it is terrible, really swollen, gets worse or doesn't heal that is when I go and see a doctor.
     Those are all of the things I do when I am worried about injury, or injured. Hope some of it helps! These are just my experiences with injuries, every one's body is different. If you are injured please go see a physio, doctor, massage therapist a.s.a.p. A lot of minor sports injuries just take time to heal but there are always exercises and things that you can do to make them heal much faster! So do your research and find out what works for you. <3

Julie Kent in Balanchine's Apollo, another one of my all-time favourite dancers!!!

How many tears make a dancer?

20 Pounds of Dead Pointe Shoes

 Tonight I sorted my way through 20 POUNDS of dead pointe shoes! I probably had about $3000 worth of old pointe shoes in my room. Thank you to all of my friends who have been "donating" their old shoes to me. I am making them into Christmas wreathes to sell at a craft fair this winter to help raise funds for my tuition (yet another thing).  So today I did the first step of grouping the same size shoes together, picking off all of the old ribbons and elastics and making sure they looked okay. What a lot of work!

Sunday Rehearsal

    Today we had a typical Sunday rehearsal day. Optional warm-up, Act 1 for an hour, and Snowflakes for two hours. I had been really tired from Saturday so I slept in which was actually very good for me because I had way more energy for rehearsal today. In fact after rehearsal I practised on my own for quite a bit and then went to the gym.

Lucia Lacarra & Cyrille Pierre photo by Chris Hardy (she has the nicest legs ever)

     I was practising the Grand Pas variation ( just marking it to music with my friend) when our director came in and asked me to dance it there on the spot. I was definitely not ready for that at all!!!!!! My shoes were way too soft (I only wore them for Snow because Snow has a lot of jumping in it and I didn't want to be wearing my super hard shoes), it was different music than usual, and I haven't actually done the entire variation from start to finish for ages... so i did a terrible, terrible rendition of it, which was really embarrassing. I felt terrible! But our director coached me for a little bit which was really, really kind of him and I learnt some new things to work on. I wish I could have done a better job. Hmmm.

    After today I really, really feel like I need to focus on my arabesque a lot. It needs to get way better. So this week that is going to be one of my main goals. Arabesque, arabesque, arabesque. I need to work on so many things sometimes and arabesque is one of the things I hate working on the most. My back by nature just isn't super strong so I hate doing my back exercises every night and although I do them religiously they don't get much easier!

Lucia Lacarra again, you can watch a video of her in the Lady of the Camellias here
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGGnmCObCYQ
It is so beautiful, and the music is lovely too!

    

Want/Need

Today we had ballet classes with Chan, I always feel like I learn something new in that class. I will admit I was a bit distracted today, I was thinking about the enormous invoice I received the other day. I don't have the money to pay it all right away and am super worried. More on that later.

   We also had contemporary which I liked even though I am not good at contemporary. I like the fact that a lot of contemporary is not superficial, whereas corps work in a big ballet rarely addresses what is deep inside. Ballet is beautiful, it doesn't show weakness or pain which is what I love about it. It is that ecstasy of perfection that we strive for daily.

    I took the day off from the gym today to give my body a little bit of a break.  I'm sure I'll regret it tomorrow! I also talked to our Artistic Director for a while and he complimented me on how much I have improved since arriving here so long ago. I always wish I would have said so many different things every time I talk to him. I want to say so much more than I actually ever do. His words always make me so much more determined to work  harder, reach further and achieve more.

  

Patricia Barker in The Firebird

Right now I have all this energy because I have so much desire to get to my goal. Every set back is something that makes me want to fight harder and harder. I can feel it in my heart.  I've spent my last four years training here and I have dedicated everything to it. Sweat, blood and tears (and more tears and more tears). I'm not going to give everything away because I just can't pay a bill. This is art, this is life,  I want it so, so, so much. Last year I might have just become more and more depressed worrying about my finances but this year it just makes me angrier, more fiery and determined...

Monday

   Another Monday, today was not a really good day at dance for me. I was really tired and was having a hard time concentrating. Yesterday night I was doing company research for ages. At midnight I decided to do a lot of sit ups e.t.c. which made me extremely tired this morning (not a good idea)!
   After class I went to the gym surprise surprise, I have been going a lot lately and I have been feeling great.
   As far as company research went I have found about 32 companies so far that I would like to send my resume, photos and DVD to. Most of the companies are in Canada or Germany, I haven't quite got around to the States or other countries in Europe yet.  Tomorrow I am going to have a meeting with a couple of my friend to discuss what companies we have researched and are planning to send things to. Hopefully if we are organized enough we could travel together and cut back on some costs.

Evgenia Obraztsova
One of my new favourite dancers, I love how light on her feet she is. She isn't doesn't show off like other dancers but remains elegant, modest and charming.

Evgenia doing the Flower Festival Variation

  

Quite Tired but Content

    Today was a long day for me!

Firstly I woke up and went to the gym at 6:00 in the morning with my mum. That was fun... actually I was very surprised at how many people were there that early in the morning.

Then I had ballet class for an hour and a half.

After which we had pointe class/ variations for two hours. We did Kitri's Act 3 variation which I quite like but I was not feeling very confident in today. The level of the class this year is quite a bit higher than last year so I don't feel as confident however that makes me have way more drive to succeed. I see my friends doing something well which makes me want to practise it more too. My fouettes have taken a turn for the worse which I was frustrated with but fortunately my teacher was very reassuring and said that they will come back really soon. On a positive note my actual pirrouettes en pointe are getting better. I feel a lot more centred doing them.
p.s If you want to see what fouettes look like click on this link, this is my friend Hiroko just fooling around after class, she is an amazing turner!!!

After that we had character/ mime class with our Russian teacher for two hours. We were in a tiny studio so we couldn't really do much. We learnt an old variation from a Russian ballet that I do not know the name of as well as an acting piece from another Russian thing that we do not know the name of. We don't really know the story line behind the acting/ character dancing/ very confusing piece. It was fun although none of us could do it right because it involved so much co-ordination.

After that I went to the coffee shop with my friends to catch up on the news from the past few days.

So much for now, I have to keep doing my company research <3

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

   Classes have been going well so far. We had Chan's class on Thursday which I really enjoyed. I am been extremely sore since then. My inner thighs and my arms are especially sore. This year we don't have Sundays off any more which is a little disappointing because it is really important to have a rest day.  I am worried about injuries e.t.c. 

    Today I went early to help with all of the costume fittings for the Nutcracker then I tried on costumes and more costumes, had rehearsal, figured out placement things, tried on more costumes. It wasn't tiring, it was boring but necessary. By the end of the day I was pretty grumpy, I don't really like trying on costumes because I always get nervous that they won't fit well. The good news is that my snow costume from last year is now on the tightest hook setting which means that I have lost weight. =)

  
  Yesterday night I went to go see a Barata Natyam Arangetram. My sister's team-mate from soccer also does a lot of Indian dancing and this was her graduation performance. I was really excited to be invited to it and excited to see something very different from what I am used to. I really enjoyed it, I know nothing about Barata Natyam but found it very interesting. Some of the movements were quite similar to things I have done in character dancing/ flamenco. The performance was all barefoot and I was amazed at how loud she could slap the floor with her feet when she wanted to. At first I thought there was something under her feet! It was also very musical, she had bells around her ankles so all of the movements had to be in time with the music. I was impressed by how when she moved her head from side to side she was so in time with the music that almost looked like her earrings had bells in them and that they were making the ringing sound. 
   It was a really lovely performance and her family was so proud of her. It was amazing to see the 500 seat theatre almost full. There were so many people and so much work had gone into the performance. She is really lucky her family was so generous, they had a big dinner with food after the performance for everyone, and just before intermission her a lot of her cousins went on stage to say something about her. It was really, really, really heart-warming. 
   Indian dance I think is something that is done a lot for oneself. At least I really got the feeling that my sister's team-mate enjoyed what she was doing both on the outside and on the inside. Ballet is very aesthetic every movement is about the position, the placement and the look. Whereas this style of dance was really about the quality of movement, the movements them self, the story and the music. I think that keeping that in mind for when I dance will help me become a better performer as I found it fascinating to watch, and would like to engage an audience as well as she did last night.


Alright I have a lot to do before I go to sleep tonight <3

First Official Day Back

   Today was our first official day back at dance.
We had ballet class with one of my favourite teachers who has been sick for a while. I thought that it was going to have an ok time... I hadn't taken a class for about 9 days which is  very long time but I thought that seen as I have been very active during my vacation I would be in pretty good shape. I have been running almost every day, swimming, water skiing, I thought I would be all right!

Royal Ballet School Student  (look at that foot!!!!)

    That was definitely not the case! I was so much weaker than I expected to be. My demi pointe didn't feel very strong and my turnout was awful. It was such a surprise I had to think about my turnout so, so much and it felt at least 10 degrees less than usual. It was terrible. So that really frustrated me the entire class. I felt like the back of my legs and my inner thighs were not co-operating!  It was also really interesting that a lot of my co-ordination deteriorated. Fortunately I don't think it will take long to come back. Doing petit allegro my legs were doing strange things!

Nicole Ciapponi at the Genees 2 years ago, she received silver that year, this year I have two other friends who are going,  I hope they do well!!! (picture is from Dance International Magazine )

   By the end of pointe class I started to feel a little bit better, a little more turned out and co-ordinated so that was good. Pointe class was almost 2 hours long though which was a little tough on the first day. That was it though, we ended at 1:00 which was super early. I stayed by the lockers and hung out with some of my friends for a while catching up with them. After that I went and got some sore throat medicine and went to the gym where I worked out for an hour and a half.
   By the time I finally got back home it was already 6:00,  I was very surprised! I just had soup and salad for dinner and am about to do a lot of stretching tonight!

First Day of School

   Today we had our first day back but we didn't actually have class just a meeting. It was nice to see my friends again, and meet the new people.

  Standing on the train today with all of the people going back to school there was a strong sense of energy. You could feel the fresh start, the ambitions, the new plans. The shiny shoes, clean clothes, outfits picked out specially for the day. It was a comforting feeling, like everything is going to be ok. Optimistic in fact.
     I was thinking about schooling, it seems like people never stop going to school. Like so much time is spent studying and studying, to do what? What I love about what I do is that I get to do my work while I'm studying it. I get to perform in front of thousands, it has a real life application. I guess that is what frustrated me the most about school. While I was stuck indoors studying math, and science. Other people were actually working and doing something with their lives. I was itching to get out there and go. I can't wait until the day that I am actually in a company.  It will be amazing!

 I definitely feel like things are spinning out of control. I really need a meeting with out director to figure out how this year is going to work out. I have been doing research on Canadian ballet/dance companies and my list consists of about 10 different places. It is a start, and today I am going to do my research on German/ European companies. Travel is going to be interesting + I really need to start getting a couple of variations together and coached so that I can get my audition video sorted. I am worried about how I am going to organize that especially seen as I don't have enough money to pay for my tuition.

Our director with us in class. A reporter was watching our class which was very nerve wracking especially seen as he didn't know all the much about ballet. His article can be read here Ballet class

 I paid for my uniform in one and two dollar coins today. 7 pairs of earrings or 48 cookies. Dollar after dollar. The uniforms are ok although I know that the actual price cannot have been very much because the leotards like it that are sold in china cost only $7. It cost us $48 per leotard. They are eggplant purple with mesh sleeves. The only problem is that the sizes are extremely small. The two tiniest girls are a medium which means the small doesn't fit anybody and the medium tall fits the smallish people. Tall people are going to have to wait!... Or we will all just have to starve to death, which might be an option too...

Youtube!!!

Since I haven't been having class this week I definately have gone a little crazy watching youtube videos.
Here are a couple I would like to share.

Alison Kitri Act 1
This is my friend Alison at YAGP a couple of years ago <3

Marika Sato Act 3 Variation

This is another friend doing Kitri's Act 3 Variation. I have yet to see another person do three attitude turns in the echappee part. She is now dancing in Japan but was dancing with "Ballet Ireland" for a while

And these are some amazing videos from professional dancers:

Alina Cojocaru & Johan Kobborg
From the Royal Ballet, she is one of my favourite dancers, they are husband and wife in real life too!

Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev Flames of Paris
Another one of my favourite dancers, I have never seen anyone who can jump like she can!!!

Holiday

I am on holiday now for a week which means that I don't have any scheduled classes which is very strange for me!
    Over the weekend I went to a market and was selling a couple of things I make including earrings, pencil holders made out of old pointe shoes, and cookies. I had printed out a bunch of pictures from the photo-shoot I did with my dad last weekend. So many people were interested in them that I started giving them away at the end of the day.It was quite exhausting because I was waking up early every morning to bake the cookies, spent the entire day at the market talking away and was busy in the evenings too. 
                        

My pointe shoes were all sold out by the end of the weekend!

However I did meet a ton of really great and interesting people at the market. It was really surprising that so many people have a close connection to ballet, and it was really nice to meet so many supportive people it really made me feel like something good will happen and there will be some way that I will be able to pay for my tuition and all of my audition expenses this year.

     It was very tiring and since I've come home it kind of feels like I hit a brick wall. Summer seems to have ended and it has been very rainy. I've stayed inside for most of the day, sleeping and resting up. My energy levels are at an extreme low. Yesterday I barely did anything besides getting my hair cut and going for a brief walk. Today I plan to go to the gym later on and also I am going to alter a couple of leotards that I have been planning to fix up for ages. Hopefully I will feel more energetic soon because I really don't want to spend my entire week off feeling lethargic! <3


Also please watch one of the girls who used to dance with me. She is dancing on So You Think You Can Dance Canada. She danced with the Washington Ballet for a while. Here is a video of her performing at YAGP when she was 17. I had just arrived at Goh when she got top 12 for YAGP that year. It was amazing to watch her perform it in person!

Kirsten Wicklund performing Esmeralda Variation
  

Company Class

    I have had quite an exciting 24 hours.
Yesterday after Act 1 rehearsal for the Nutcracker I went to go see a performance at the Dance Centre with one of my friends. We watched Move the Company's small production. It was a collection of works that ranged from the amazing to the very, very strange.
   Some definite stand outs were Caitlin Griffin's solo that she choreographed that was based on Pandora's box. A piece choreographed by Lara Barclay (my old contemporary teacher) and danced by Cai Glover & Crystal Willis. And a piece by Jackie Lopez. My favorite was the Pandora's box piece. It was so polished, clean and stunning to watch!

Caitlin Griffin

    Back to my 24 hours, after going home and sleeping I woke up early and went to the gym and then at 12:00 I went and took company class with the new company Vancouver City Dance Theatre (http://www.vancouvercitydancetheatre.com/). That was really exciting and new for me!
4 of my friends are in the company so I was quite comfortable taking the class as it is open and it is also free so quite a lot of people take it. I really enjoyed watching the other dancers! There are 6 boys from Italy in the company and they are... technically brilliant. A couple were trained at La Scala and some others come from Napoli. So that was really great and I'm planning on taking class with them for the next week or so to stay in shape.
 I also got to watch the rehearsal for their upcoming performance The Dali Universe. From what I saw (Act 1) and what I've heard it is going to be a spectacular performance so I would really recommend that you buy tickets and support the arts community in Vancouver!!! The performances are going to be at the Playhouse on September 16th , 17th & 18th.

  That's all for now!
<3

Great Weekend!

  This weekend was my first full two day weekend in what seems like eons. It was fantastic!
On Friday we danced and were filmed which was quite nerve wracking but now I am "semi-officially" 2nd cast Flowers Soloist!!! Yay. I was so relieved that I didn't lose my part and that when we filmed it it went quite ok even though I was with a new partner (who was great =)   ).  That afternoon I went up to Bowen Island were my grandparents have a cottage.
    On Saturday morning my dad and I went out and did a photoshoot  in my practise tutu and pointe shoes around Bowen. It was really fun and we got some really good pictures. I definitely got some strange looks and when I was out on one of the docks that we shot on I got some applause and cheers. That was hilarious. I met a man who used to dance at the Royal Ballet way bak when it was still Sadler-Wells. And I also caught a fish (while wearing my ballet attire)!!! My dad wanted me to pose with the fishermen so I did and they let me hold their fishing lines when suddenly I felt a tug. It was the biggest fish I've ever caught off a dock, and right away too. I was so surprised!
      Another dock that we shot on was way out on the water. It was incredibly difficult to stay balanced, I almost took a "swandive" in a couple of times!!! Anyways here is a couple of pictures from the photoshoot.

Btw my dad is an amazing photographer... <3

 

Last Couple of Days

  Last Saturday we had our demonstration day which lasted from 9:30-3:00!!! We were not dancing the entire time, class first, then contemporary then acting then ending with ballet including the Grand Pas variation, Paquita, and the Kingdom of the Shades for me. It was exhausting because we were so on edge. The schedule ran a lot earlier than it was supposed to so it was super stressful because suddenly you were being told this and then suddenly you were being told that. It was kind of crazy! To make things even better we were performing so all of the adrenaline was going through our bodies for a very long time. Most of the time when you are performing it is not for an entire day, you know when you are going to be doing what e.t.c (more or less). Anyways having adrenaline going for so long really wrecks havoc on your boy and most of us were stiff and very sore for the three days after the demonstation. Quite surprising what stress can do to you!
I enjoyed the performance. It was extremely hot inside the studio because of the weather and the fact that so many people were crowed inside. So sometimes I felt like I couldn't get enough breath, but it was ok. Nothing went wrong for me so I was quite happy =)
     For the last few days we have started Nutcracker rehearsals. We are going to be touring to Victoria with a smaller cast this year and Anna-Marie Holmes is not going to be around for the entire time so we have started rehearsing Nutcracker in August. It is very strange to be in the studio listening to Snowflakes while the sun is beating down from the skylights above.

   The good thing is that this year I am doing a soloist part in Waltz of the Flowers which is a lot more challenging than the corps. Still I don't know if I am just understudying it, 2nd cast or even maybe 1st cast. That is quite disconcerting because I really want to do it.... I really, really want to do it! But I know that the other girls are way better than me by far... but they also have significant roles in other parts. It is very confusing to me. I wish I knew what I was doing but I also don't want to know if it is going to be bad news. All I can do is my best so I am going to keep trying as hard as I can and I suppose we'll see what happens.

   Today I also went to the gym for almost 2 hours. I went on the elliptical for an hour and then did stretching and strengthening too. I have been going to the gym almost four times a week and have kept very active outside of dance too this summer. Not working very much has been great for my mind and body too. I think I am getting a lot more toned from all the ellipticalling I have been doing. It is a great machine because it is very low impact and doesn't make your joints hurt!
   <3

Runthrough

  Today we had ballet class, then rehearsal, then runthrough of Grand Pas and Paquita, then a break then a runthrough of La Bayadere which went 45 minutes over time. Oh dear! Tomorrow we have our demonstration day starting at 9:30 and going to 3:30. I am quite excited to perform everything but also quite nervous. Wish I could write in more detail but I really need to go to bed!
<3

Grand Pas Classique!

  During the past two days we have learnt the variation from Grand pas Classique. I really, really, really love it. It is one of those variations which is extremely challenging and is known to be super hard. I was so worried when our teacher said we were going to be learning it. It always has looked so difficult!
 Fortunately for me it is not as bad as I thought it would be.... actually I think I have fallen in love with it. I really want to get it coached so that I could perform the full variation for an show, competition or an audition video e.t.c. I really surprised myself when it was my turn to do the variation in variations class and I managed everything even all the releves on diagonal first time through. I didn't think I was able to do it but it was fairly easy for me =). The variation was for from perfect but I love doing it!!! And I love the music!!! And I just love it!!!
To understand what I'm talking about you should definitely check this video out. It has both Sylvie Guillem and Elisabeth Platel doing the variation. Personally I like Elisabeth Platel doing it better in this video.
                            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXnPVTHtzVI

This is the Pas de Deux before the variations. Dancers are Elena Vostrotina and Dmitri Semionov from the Semperoper in Dresden... she has such beautiful legs and feet!!!

                               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=932QPQDXvw0&feature=related

Paquita

  Another post!
We had class with Jean-Yves Esquerre today, I enjoyed his class and hope to learn a lot from him. He gives really good corrections. However at barre he noticed that my grands battements side are still a bit "hip hoppy" i.e. my hip moves too much... I felt kind of frustrated because  I have been working on it for soooo long. Seriously every time we do grands battements I think "Ok hips stay still, stay still, stay still"... Obviously my hard work in that aspect still hasn't paid off... grr....

 On a more positive note in repertoire class we are doing Paquita which I already know and have already performed. I would have liked to be learning something new, but the last time I did Paquita was so long ago that it almost felt like I was learning a new ballet (almost).

                                                  SFB performing Paquita (Yuan Yuan Tan)

After class I went to the Dancer's Transition Resource Centre. They are helping me figure out what I will do in term of funding my tuition next year. They were extremely helpful and I would recommend that canadian dancers look into becoming a member.
Check out the Dancer's Transition Resource Centre

Summertime!

  Well now it is the summer and so far it has been very exciting!

First I went to Toronto which was an amazing experience. I was there for a week with Ballet Jorgen and really enjoyed the experience. The program was great, it is brand new and was very small. I wish I could have stayed longer & highly recommend it for anyone wanting to clean up their technique. I  felt as though I got to really know the company closely. I will definitely be auditioning for them this year.

Tara Butler and Preston McBain, encouraging, inspiring dancers and teachers http://www.balletjorgen.ca/

Then I came back home, after a busy week going to the gym, swimming, doing chores, and relaxing a bit, summer school at The Goh finally started!
I can't believe it has been 3 weeks already. We have been having class with Che, Ping and repertoire with Chan.  I've really enjoyed our repertoire classes because we have been learning The Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadere. The first ballet DVD I ever received was La Bayadere and The Kindgdom of the Shades is my favourite part... basically I forced all my close friends who came over to watch it... I have watched it over and over again, and always have wished for the day when I would finally be able to learn and perform it.
   So naturally I was overjoyed to learn it (while everyone else was feeling like they wanted to die). The Shades start off with all of us coming down a ramp in a series of extremly slow gruelling arabesques. The first girl especially has to lots of repetitions before we finally do something else. I was 7th in line and I felt tired!!! It is so beautiful to watch when it is done well though and not boring at all somehow!!!
Then it goes into a very slow adagio part, and then it went into a jumping part and then into variations.
I did the Second variation which one of my friends told me to try one time a long time ago, somehow I don't think it was a perfect fit like I had hoped but it was good to learn! All in all after the Coda was over we were all dripping, dripping, dripping... it felt good to perform it on Friday, a dream come true.
Please watch the entrance of the Shades here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4wzCIWHHOc

The same day I managed to achieve two other major goals to do with my back flexibility which made me so happy. It was a great Friday.

Right now I have been watching Raise the Red Lantern by the Central Ballet of China. It is a beautiful, beatiful ballet, the dancers are really amazing and the sets/ drama is incredible. It is truly theatre and I beg you to watch it! When I was in London they were performing it at the Royal Opera House and I really wish I had gone and seen it because it would be so incredible live!

Year End Performance

    Tomorrow we have our year end performance. We actually have three over the course of the weekend but tomorrow night is going to be the professional division's performance so hopefully it will be the best. I am going to be performing in Raymonda, Yellow River and a contemporary piece.
      I am really excited to perform but also really sad because a lot of my friends will be leaving this year and not coming back. It will be our last show together and so... final!.
     That's all I am going to write tonight. After the performances I have a week off before I start dancing again so I will try to write more <3

Demonstration Class

   Today we had a demonstration class which meant that friends and family could come watch. I was quite nervous but it went well. Afterwards we had a whole day of rehearsals and dress rehearsals. It was exhausting but good! At least we get to sleep in tomorrow. Happy Sunday!

Ashley Bouder of NYBC taken by Gene Schiavone

Nutcracker Auditions

   Nutcracker auditions in May! Last Sunday we had auditions of the Nutcracker, half a year in advance! I am sure that a lot of things will change a lot by December, we'll see.
    Everyone was super nervous for the auditions this time around. The auditions last time were extremely difficult, all on pointe starting in the centre in a studio theatre, with the most difficult combinations. I.e. pirouettes en dehors in attitude and an whole adage basically on one leg. So we were scared that the audition would be that hard again. For one thing Nutcracker wasn't all that long ago and no one really felt like they had improved very much.
    This year fortunately the audition started in flat shoes. The exercises were hard but not half as bad as last year. Then after jumps we changed into pointe shoes and did some exercises on pointe.  Suddenly when I was putting my shoes on I realised that I was missing one of my shoes and my toepads!!! I had to run into the studio that we had warmed up in because I had left them there when I had been taping my toes!!! It was lucky I didn't lose them. I am so careful about making sure I have everything before an audition, so it was really scary.
     I felt really bad during the audition. The exercises weren't that bad but I had to keep reminding myself not to tense up as much and to smile!!! After every exercise I was wishing that I could do it again, better. Especially after one exercise en pointe, I felt really confident so stood front and centre. We started off and I was like "this is going to be great", and then the fouettes came and suddenly I travelled to the right and forwards quite a bit. I was just killing myself wishing that I wasn't in the front. I don't travel much anymore when I do fouettes, but I used to and when you are nervous sometimes old habits reappear. Then I did one too many because I was distracted by my thoughts... hmm that wasn't the best combination ever!
     Finally it was over so they had us line up height wise and make us stand in various lines looking at our heights. It was strange being called a number (I always get worried that I will forget my number) by our normal teachers. We stood around for ages and my knee started hurting a little bit. Finally they let us sit down while they looked at the boys.
   Then they called some of the girls up to do pas de deux with the boys. My number included!!! We just had to do grand pas de chats across the floor with them, but we were pretty cold by that time so it wasn't great.
     Afterwards they announced the casting, I was cast in Snow and Flowers (the same as last year) as well as a Flower soloist. Which means that I get to learn the pas de deux part!!! I was sooooo happy. I am very excited to learn the part - and I really hope that I don't get kicked out right away. I hope that I can do a good job.  =) =) =) I am sooo happy, I could hardly sleep at all Sunday night.
    Yesterday we had class and rehearsals all day (from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.) It was exhausting but I had really good classes and felt very happy by then end of the day.
   Well that is my exciting news for now <3

I Survived my Month Without Chocolate!!!

  .... Basically the title says it all! I'm estatic that I accomplished my goal. I almost think that I deserve a medal for this feat! hahaha
      It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be when I first started. I think giving up something all together is much easier than simply allowing yourself some in moderation. Maybe that is just me.
     Ironically yesterday I received my two dance diet books in the mail.

   I have already begun thinking about the possibility of giving up any sweet things for 2 weeks until the Nutcracker auditions (I know, in May). It's not that I eat a lot of them at all, but I felt a lot better about myself since I gave up chocolate entirely. I'm quite optimistic because along with my new diet books I also received a necklace in the mail from my aunt that brings good luck. While I am not a superstitious person I'll take it as a sign!
    Any ways back to reading my books... I need to sew pointe shoes tonight too, but I am the queen of procrastinating any shoe sewing whatsoever, I think I might do it tomorrow, err sometime.

I love Patricia Barker's feet! I'm pretty sure these are hers because she does a lot of the Bloch ads. I had a weeks worth of master classes with her and could hardly concentrate on any of the combination because I would just stare at her feet ... everyone did. They are amazing!

Festival

   Last Saturday we had festival (competition). I am part of a group piece that one of our teachers choreographed. It is neoclassical and I really love it. Actually I always love his choreography, and his choice of music, style e.t.c.  It is always very powerful, and beautiful.
   The competition has been going on for a couple of months. We previously won first place in the ballet category so we went on to the "no borders" category. Which meant that we were up against all types of dancing. Jazz, hip hop, tap, break dancing, contemporary, everything! It is a really fun competition to watch because there are so many different types of dance to see. We got to watch after we had performed and were really impressed by everything!
     Then came the adjudication.
    We were pretty nervous, no one felt like we had performed very well and the other types of dance were so good! 3rd place was a different ballet/modern group, 2nd was a break dancing group that we expected to win. And the our group was announced. 1st place!!! We were very surprised!!!
    We had to perform against 3 other groups later that night for the "Grand Champion Prize". We didn't win although our performance went flawlessly, but most of us did not feel bad about losing because the group that won was amazing. It was a group of 6 young boys... break dancers. You would never guess they were so strong. They were doing back flips, tons of tricks, their timing was perfect, and their attitude was really great.  They were all soooooo enthusiastic on stage. They had everyone cheering and clapping along.  I really thought that they ought to win. I mean it is all taste, how do you judge classical ballet vs. break dancing? + They really deserved to win. Well that's all for now, I hope I didn't bore and confuse you too much! I'm just going to go off and practise my back flips.

    Jk, but I was stretching my feet while writing this. I stretch my feet underneath my chest of drawers almost every night. My feet used to be really, really bad but I stretch them a lot and do a lot of theraband exercise and they are much better now.
    Svetlana Zakharova's feet are amazing! She has such gorgeous feet. And legs, and body, and everything! I wish...
  

Scholarship Auditions

Maria Kochetkova in Raymonda SFB

 Today we had scholarship auditions at our school. This is the first year that they have ever had formal auditions for scholarships... It was quite the nerve-wracking process. A panel of all our teachers was set up in front of the studio and they sat and took notes while we did class.
    The class didn't go very well for me. I was quite nervous,  and I messed up quite badly on some of the combinations. Some things were good but the worst part of all of it was that I still haven't lost any weight. I have been working so hard but to no avail.  I have completely given up chocolate and have been eating so healthily. I've been having a smoothie in the morning, a bean salad for lunch, almonds and fruit as a snack, and my dinner mainly consists of vegetable and some sort of protein.
       You'd think I'd be  skinnier... However my energy has been quite a lot better than it used to be, that is good. I will stick to how I am eating now for at least a couple more weeks to see if my metabolism finally kicks in.
    Any ways I feel really bad about everything because I am trying so hard to lose weight and I really don't want my teachers to think that I don't care, or that I'm lazy, or that I am undedicated. It's very depressing.  Well that's my little rant for now. <3

Too Much Work!

Ahh! Quite stressed to get my BC scholarship awards application in on time. Lots of paperwork!  Videoing on Sunday e.t.c.
Je vais au lit! <3

=( Bad day

... Argh so I'm feeling very grumpy today. Was at dance from 9:00-8:30 yesterday... don't worry I didn't actually dance the whole time. Woke up this morning feeling exhausted. Had a kiwi banana smoothie... note to self NEVER do that again. Apparently kiwis in  the morning make me want to be sick... went to class although the kiwi was crawling up my throat... eww... forwards port de bras.... and I had to leave the room, very quickly.
    Hmmm nice start to the day. Spent the rest of class on the side not dancing... fell asleep and kept waking up confused. Talked with my friends during lunch still felt very tired.

   Then they decided we were going to have a costume fitting for a piece in June which I am not even IN... stuffed me and others into tutus  to fill in for someone else.... to stand around so that the teachers could decided whether they liked the tutus or not. Our class was almost an hour late because of this, which could have been done any other time. Then got shouted at for no reason what so ever while I was standing waiting... no reason what so ever. Made me incredibly angry, no reason... Just "Do you even know what I'm saying!?!?"... Of course I was listening, even though I really wasn't in the piece so I didn't know if the tutu would fit the girl who was supposed to be wearing it because she wasn't there. Had a pretty bad ballet and pointe class.
   Went home, made and ate tofu and broccoli and yellow pepper.
Tutored for 3 consecutive hours. Neck hurts.
   Vacuumed the house.
Now it is ten thirty.
   I really should get to bed.
Night. <3