Busy weekend!

   Finally the first signs of Spring are truly starting to show. The cherry blossoms are blooming and the weather is mild enough to start wearing lighter jackets with brighter smiles. That said I have had quite the busy weekend!

    On Friday I had morning class, which was nice although I was late.  I arrived just as my teacher arrived at the school and apologized immediately. After class we were packed into a bus to go do a performance for an elementary school. The trip there should really only have taken half an hour but for some reason nobody paid much attention as to where the school was. Armed with the GPS our teacher (who also was the driver) decided that the talking lady was completely wrong and ignored her while we drove up and down the mountain. Sitting in the back I just let the chaos continue, no one was particularly worried so we enjoyed the beautiful views of Vancouver while we roamed around in circles.
45 minutes later we seemed to be no closer to finding the school so we made our first phone call asking for directions.
15 minutes later we realized that they had both a senior and junior school and we had received directions to the wrong campus.
30 minutes later after driving in a giant loop at least four times we finally got to the school with half an hour to unpack and get dressed/ re-warmup.
Then they realized that we had only brought half the tutus that were needed...
... It was turning out to be slightly disastrous. In the end we got by, using the swan tutus for the first piece as well as the Swan's variations. The dances all went quite seamlessly I think.  The performance was well received and the elementary students were adorable.
   After we packed up we headed back to the ballet school. Some girls had a runthrough for competition so I watched that for an hour and then we had rehearsal from 5:00 until 7:30. Then I went out for dinner with my parents... a very long day, but enjoyable too.

     Yesterday was also a day packed with rehearsals... my feet died, they have been having an awful time lately. Then I went out for a birthday party at night.
     Today I went downtown to the Art Gallery and had a nice day walking about. I have a constant cramp at the bottom of my foot from when we sat down for lunch... don't know how that happens. I have been massaging it and hopefully it will go away by tomorrow!
   Any ways that is my news for now. I am feeling very relaxed after this busy, but very fun weekend. Tomorrow I am going to be at dance from 9:00-7:00 again. <3
p.s. I reading the book "The 100 Mile Diet" at the moment and would really recommend it!

Two Great Documentaries

 While procrastinating other things yesterday I stumbled upon two new and really great ballet documentaries. Both are in French but they are so interesting!
   The first one is about Aurelie Dupont, star of the Paris Opera Ballet. The filmmaker followed her life for a period of 3 years to make this short film.  It shows the less glamorous side of the ballet as well as a beautiful staging of Raymonda.

                                             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efyRjY33Low

The second is about Polina Semionova star of the Staatsballet Berlin. It is more uplifting and the dancing is really, really beautiful to watch! She makes EVERYTHING look so easy and enjoyable! She dances Sylvia in this short film and there is also an interview with Malakov and footage of Nureyev in the Sleeping beauty.

                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qWsTGOyQCE&feature=related

I hope you enjoy them <3

Update

   I have been sick for the past week with a stomach problem. It's extremely frustrating but it has given me some time to rest which is good in it's own way I suppose.
   During this time off I've  realised how lucky I am in all sorts of different ways. I am so lucky to be doing what I love.
    When you are dancing we just concentrate on the negatives.
 "I have to improve this, I have to get my leg this much higher, I have to turnout more, I have to lose weight".
   So often we lose sight of the positives and how lucky we truly are. Alright our profession is one of the hardest on your body and on your soul, but we are lucky that we are able to experience it. That we can get the training and the opportunities that so many others could only dream of.
     I had a great time performing at the Olympic venues. How many people are able to say that they danced on all those stages?  Perhaps the conditions were not very nice for dancing, slippery floors, outdoor performances e.t.c. But I danced there... and that feeling is pretty nice!
     When I living my life I get so caught up in the things I have to do that my life just seems like a complete and utter failure. All I focus on is what I have to do next, and after that, and then... I don't get a lot of time to enjoy the positive sides of things. I have to dance, do all my exercises, work and make money to dance, worry about money, worry about what I am going to do next year, do my online course, do errands, get everywhere on time, walk in the pouring rain all the time... it takes a lot out of you. Life suddenly seems like this massive to do list with no end. Even the planned relaxation time seems like a task... must scrapbook... must make earrings... and then it just becomes an added stress.
    Anyways after this week of staying at home I am appreciating my life a little more, which in my opinion is a good thing!

     Frances Chung and Gennadi Nedvigin in Balanchine's "Divertimento No.15.