Well, I've been gone for 3 months. I actually thought I'd posted last month! Anyways, a lot has happened with ballet since January so I'll try to summarize.
First, let's cover the show. Last week was performance week. We had two videotapings on Monday and Tuesday, then our four live performances on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was actually really hard. We would leave our school classes and go straight to a ballet class (on Friday we were also dismissed from our last period class for opening night) and then we'd be there until around 9pm. By Thursday morning's show, I was already super tired and ready for it to be over. I'm also kinda upset that I missed a whole week of lacrosse practice and a game, but I did manage to make it to one practice and a game. And we all have a ton of schoolwork to make up, since there was basically no time to study.
So before each show we had an hour warm up class taught by a senior, then dinner in the cafeteria, and then an hour to get our make up and costumes on. Since I'm only in Act II, we also had the entire Act I (about 30min + 10min intermission) to get ready. I ended up helping a lot of people with their buns; not counting my own, I did about five or six every show, before starting my make up. So usually, I barely made it on stage on time. Life is hard when you're the best in the bun game ;)
Friday night was our opening night, so before we had dinner, our teachers read us some emails from the alumni. It's a tradition every year during the ballet, I've learned; dancers that have graduated write encouraging letters to the cast. Everyone was crying and hugging and we all just felt like a family. Then all the seniors in the ballet gave their speeches, since this was their last ballet with the school. I didn't cry until one of the guys that was volunteering gave his speech, the last speech, and it was exactly what I needed to hear. After the letters and speeches, we were all ready to dance. The rest of the shows went great and even though I'm really glad this week is over, I can't wait for next year's show.
Oh, and tutus are a pain.
Now besides the show...we were selecting our courses for next year, and I chose to take Intermediate Ballet again. I didn't ask my teacher if I could take Advanced because I'm not sure if I want to. I can always change later, of course. Here are the pros and cons of Advanced vs. the pros and cons of Beg/Int.
Advanced
Pros:
Honors credit
Kinesiology and dance history
New things to learn
Cons:
Actual tests (like with paper and a pencil)
Double period every other day
Much larger class
Choreography
Different (more strict) teacher
Beg/Int
Pros:
Same teacher
Class everyday
Familiarity with course (easier during a tough junior year)
Very small class
Only dancing/terms (no tests)
Won't get in trouble on days I don't feel like dancing
Cons:
Learning same things
Regular credit
Opinions?
Sometime last year, I posted about starting pointe next fall right? Okay, let's just assume I did. So I was talking to one of my friends who's planning to start pointe next fall too and she mentioned that she's going to start over the summer at her dance intensive. I'm probably going to go to the same dance camp I went to last year, so I'm thinking I can probably start pointe there! We talked about getting pointe shoes together and I'm super excited for summer!
So this is about it, the end of this never-ending post. I hope my readers are still there; comment below if you've had a ballet performance recently, or about your pointe plans! Or just say hi!
Oh, and funny story...I missed bows during the first recording. Oops. Keep dancing guys!
