A Rat Pack Christmas

Happy December everyone! I hope your holidays have been fabulous so far, I know mine have.

This weekend, my sister and her team participated in a Christmas show at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks called a Rat Pack Christmas. The show payed tribute to Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Ava Gardner.

The creator of this show's daughter dances with my sister, and they thought it was a good idea to maybe throw the dance team in a couple of dances. Something you should know is that the daughter's grandfather on one said was Buddy Hackett and on the other side, the grandparents are Aurora and Ron Miller.

One more reason they chose my sister's class is because they look younger, so they would look cute for the songs they danced to: "Candyman" and "Everyone's a Kid at Christmas Time." Her class had been rehearsing for a week and a half at every opportunity. With and without the cast, with everyone, without everyone, different studios, it didn't matter.

Finally, after all the studio practicing, it was time to practice on the stage. They drove to the Civic Center at 3:30 and rehearsed on the big stage with the on-stage orchestra, piano, and singers until the show began at 8:00. They broke for dinner and an occasional snack, but that was it.

The show was about to begin, and they put on their costume (which was a black leotard with an attached tie, fish-net leggings, black shorts, and a top hat) and makeup.

The show was hilarious, the singing was great, but more importantly, the dancing was awesome. It was a great experience.

The show ended at 11:00 and I didn't get home until almost midnight, so we were all tired. But we had a fun time.

There will be another show this week in Santa Barbara which, unfortunately, I will not be attending because I have to be at school, but I wish them good luck, and know they'll do great.

BAT MITZVAH TIME!

Welcome back readers! So, this week was very exciting for me because it was the week of my BAT MITZVAH! HEY-YO!

For those of you who don't know what a Bat Mitzvah is, it's a Jewish Rite-of-Passage in which a 12/13 year old (for girls it's Bat Mitzvah; for boys it's Bar Mitzvah) reads from the Torah ("[in Judaism] in the law of God as revealed to Moses and recorded in the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures") and celebrate them coming of age, or becoming an adult. It's a HUGE celebration, where friends and family come and commemorate the event.

The week started on Thursday with my sister's ballroom competition (I will talk more about this another time). We got home after the competition at 10:00 and I still had to finish writing my speech for my Bat Mitzvah and studying (also, for your Bat Mitzvah, you read in Hebrew). I had an English, History, Math, and Science test the next day and I was absolutely stressed out. So, my mom and I came to the conclusion that I would take the first two tests and go home after that.
I went to school the next day and took my English quiz.

What my class and I didn't know was that our History test was not going to be the Weekly Notebook quiz, but a Pop Unit Test. My teacher explained how to take the test, and then passed it out. But, by the time he did pass out the test, my mom had sent a summons for me to go home. So, I never got to take my test. Fortunately, nobody else had time to finish them, so at least I won't be taking it all alone.

Our plan didn't quite work out as we had hoped, and I have to take three tests instead of two, but that's okay. At least it's not four.

I got home, and my grandfather, grandmother, aunt and uncle were at my house to finish making decorations for the party. I, on the other hand, was putting the final touches on my speech, studying, and resting.

That night, there was a Friday-night service at the Temple, and it's a tradition for the B'nai Mitzvah (both boy and girl) of that weekend to participate. So, we had to go to that service which, unfortunately for us, was about 2 times longer than the average. But, there were two bright sides. One, I met Dr. Mayim Bialik from one of my favorite TV shows The Big Bang Theory (she plays Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler). Also, my friend was there and we hung out. So, that happened, and I did well.

Saturday brought my Bat Mitzvah. I woke up early, and people came to do me and my sister's hair. I then did my makeup and got ready. We drove to the temple and spent about an hour taking pictures with a professional photographer. It was not my favorite thing in the world to be honest.

It was time for the Bat Mitzvah to start. I said my prayers, and got the honor of becoming a Bat Mitzvah. I read my speech and, along with making other people cry, I made myself cry. My dad had a beautiful speech as well (which also made me cry) and my mom spoke wonderfully too. The Rabbi and the Cantor congratulated me as well as complimenting me on my job well done, the final prayer was sung, and it was time to party!

Various guests of my party took my friends to the location of the party. I don't know about other people, but the five friends who came with me and I had a great time in the car.

When we arrived, we went straight to the ballroom, and it was beautiful. The color scheme was a teal blue (my favorite) and the theme of it was books. The tables were labeled Harry Potter, Rick Riordan (i.e. Percy Jackson, Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, The Kane Chronicles), Franklin, Junie B. Jones, The Maze Runner, and John Green (i.e. The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines, etc.). All of my friends arrived, and the party began! We had a blast! It was one of the best times I've ever had in my life. I'm so happy with the way it turned out. We danced, ate, sang, played games, took amazing pictures, and more! Overall experience: AMAZING! Exhausting, but amazing.

Thank you so much for reading my blog! I will be back next week! Have an awesome week!



    

Music

Hello again! This week, I'm going to talk about one of the best advantages of being a dancer.

There are the obvious advantages, which include fitness and stamina. But there are a few more: balance, awareness of your body, coordination, and my favorite, musicality. Being a dancer, you learn to appreciate music more, the rhythm it has, the work the artist put into it, and how to relate to the music. You learn to really know the music.

For example, if you play me a song from a ballet such as Swan Lake or The Nutcracker, I could most likely tell you what song it is and what's happening at that moment in the ballet.

Also, as a dancer, you get exposed to different genres of music: hip-hop (R&B, alternate, etc.), classical, jazzy, musical, contemporary, modern, and more. But I don't choose to listen to those types of music outside of dance. I listen more to like top 40's music. Just because I listen to one type of music in my free time DEFINITELY doesn't mean that I don't like what I listen to in dance.

When I listen to music in the car or at home, I often find myself choreographing to the music, and coming up with a story to go along with both the song and dance, as do a lot of other people in my dance studio. We make up dances all the time, both silly and serious. 

So, music plays a very important role in both a dancer's life and learning. Music plays a big role in our lives, and without music, what would life be?

"Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing

Thanks for all the joy they're bringing

Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty

What would life be?

Without a song or a dance what are we?

So I say thank you for the music

For giving it to me"

-ABBA

Halloween Movies

Hello! Happy Post-Halloween!I hope you had a frightfully fun Halloween!

Along with dressing up and going to a parade on my block, I spent the 13 days prior watching some of my favorite Halloween movies on ABC Family’s “13 Nights of Halloween. I wanted to share some of my  top 10 favorite movies with you!

Here they are (in no particular order):

1) The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - The movie is about the how the holidays        were created and where they come from. This includes Christmas Town, Halloween Town, Easter Town, etc. Halloween is over, and the citizens of Halloween Town are celebrating another successful holiday. The king of this town, Jack Skellington, is being praised for another fine year, but then slips away, and it is revealed that Jack is bored of the same old holiday; it’s just become to easy. He’s anxious to find something new and exciting to do. While exploring, he comes across Christmas Town, and decides this year, he’s going to run Christmas, and he’s going to do it his way.

2) ParaNorman (2012) – Norman is a misunderstood boy who can see ghosts. When he learns of a curse that was put on his town centuries ago, he also learns that he the only one who can break the curse.

 

3) Hocus Pocus (1993) – After three centuries, three witch sisters come back from the dead, out for revenge and to suck the life out of all the children, and the only people who can stop them are two teenagers and a little girl.

4) Corpse Bride (2005) – When a self-conscious groom wanders into the forest practicing his vows, he accidentally proposes to a dead woman, who then rises from the grave assuming that they are really married.

5) Coraline (2009) – A young, sarcastic girl discovers another world where she finds things exactly the way she wants them. With perfect parents who would do everything and anything for her, and an amazing room, what could go wrong?

6) The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) (I know it’s a television show; leave me alone) – Regular people find themselves in supernatural situations and occurrences.

7) The Addams Family (1991) – An eccentric family is fooled by con artists who try to get the family’s money by portraying their long lost uncle.

8) Addams Family Values (1993) – With a new addition to the Addams Family brings love for Uncle Fester, who is a mysterious woman with a dark past.

9) Edward Scissorhands (1990) – A young man with a gentle heart and scissors for hands enters society and tries to cope with the rules of life

And last, but not least…

10) Mickey’s House of Villains (2001) – This is a childhood favorite of mine. In the House of Mouse, they play old Mickey Mouse shorts from the 1930’ s-2000, and ends with a trick from the Disney villains.

I have A LOT more favorite Halloween movies, but these were just some of my favorites. Obviously, I’m not into the horror genre, but you can still enjoy Halloween!

Well, that’s about it! Thanks for reading! 

The Fall Festival

Welcome back readers! This week, my school participated in another dance performance. But don’t worry; it’s not as long or exciting as the last one.

This past weekend, my sister and some of my dance peers performed at St. Mel’s Fall Festival. As a team, we make the executive decision to take this weekend off and not perform, but my sister’s team was eager to do so, and some of my other friends were signed up as well.

Since the call time was not until 6:45, we had all day to sit and relax (I don’t know about you, but I’ve been watching A LOT of ABC Family’s “13 Nights of Halloween” which is really getting me into the mood for Halloween). So at 5:45, I helped my sister with her makeup and costume and she did her hair.

We arrived at St. Mel’s School at 6:40 and went into their auditorium to get ready. The auditorium is HUGE and finding space for everyone to get ready was easy. The stage just outside the auditorium where our dancers were scheduled to perform on the other hand is rather small. What’s more, it’s not very slippery, so it’s hard to turn on (I know from my own experience dancing there last year) and it is hollow, so whenever you land from a leap, no matter how soft, you hear it.

My sister’s dance went on first. The dance was incredibly energetic this time and was a lot of fun to watch (for song and costume info, check out http://adancersbalance.blogspot.com/2015/10/competition-1dance-moms-at-sheer-talent.html). “Ashley” did her solo next. Something about the way the stage lights were positioned made her look stunning and she danced just as well. Her sister “Isabelle” followed and WOW did she perform well! She worked it and made everyone in the audience smile. The duet was next. Unfortunately, I was back stage helping the other girls get their costumes together, so I didn’t have the chance to watch, but from what I’ve heard, they performed well. “Liz” was the final solo. She looked beautiful (so beautiful, in fact, that a couple of boys in the audience were commenting  on her every move, talking about how pretty and amazing she was).

After the dance, my instructor invited people from the audience to come on stage and dance the “Cha Cha Slide” (to make time for some quick costume changes). Everyone looked as if they were having a great time. The special team went on last. For such a big group and such a small space, they adjusted very well.

Following the last dance, most of the girls and the instructors went on a ride. Unfortunately, my sister was too short to go on “The Star Dancer”. As for me, I’m not one for rides that flip you upside-down or rollercoasters, so I wouldn’t have gone on it anyway. My sister, tired and disappointed, wanted to go home, so that was the end of the night.

Thanks again for reading! Tune in next week for more about my crazy life!

Competition #2: "Dance Moms" at NYDA

You know those days when you wake up, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, everything goes your way, and it's just a great day? Well, yesterday was not one of those days.

It was the season’s second dance competition, and my team’s first, which was definitely more than a little nerve-racking. Our day started at about 7:50, when my dad woke me and my sister up, and we had breakfast, did our makeup, got our costumes on, and left the house at 9:15, still sleepwalking.

We drove to Calabasas High School, where the competition was being held. This competition was called New York Dance Experience (or NYDE). This competition was not like any other competition for two reasons. One, the stars of the show Dance Moms once again attended. Second, after you dance, your team stands in the middle of the stage as you listen to the judges critique you live, in front of the whole audience. That was probably the thing that my team was most worried about.

This competition moved a lot faster and was more organized than the one last week. We only waited in line for about 10 minutes. We had a release form signed (just like last time), took a picture holding our release forms, and then got a stamp proving that we had the release forms signed.

From there, we went to the dressing room…more like area, actually. It was a very small space, with no door, just a curtain. My hair was done, and I touched up my makeup. The Dance Moms made their big entrance, but because this was my THIRD Dance Moms competition, I decided to sit out the screaming and yelling outside; been there, done that.

I walked into the auditorium for the solos. The judges were introduced and it began. “Ashley” went first, dancing very well. Her costume looked stunning on stage with the color of the lights chosen for the competition (for performance information see my previous post. http://adancersbalance.blogspot.com/2015/10/competition-1dance-moms-at-sheer-talent.html). Next was “Emma”, performing one of the best I had ever seen.

The Dance Moms came out while everyone was screaming and yelling. I was on the other side of the auditorium (last time I was lucky and was sitting right next to them), but I had done this before, and let other people have a chance.

Mackenzie’s solo came first. It was called “I Just Wanna Sit on the Couch and Eat Chips” (if you’re a fan of Dance Moms, you see the irony in the title). Her dance was actually very cute. She used a couch as a prop and used it very well. Kendall and Nia also had solos. I can’t remember what they were called, but they danced well. Kendall danced a contemporary/lyrical solo and Nia a jazz solo.

The Dance Moms left, and the real competition resumed. “Liz” danced and looked beautiful. The judges were very blunt in their critiques and no feelings were spared.

Because the competition was running behind, there was no official “lunch break” time, so we made our own time to sit outside and eat. While we were eating, the duet went on and I caught it from the doorway. But from what I saw, they were cute and danced well.

As we were finishing lunch, a woman who works for the competition came up to us and told us that we were on in five numbers. That meant five numbers to stretch, practice, sew in the head-pieces, finish getting ready and get back-stage. It was absolute chaos. No one was prepared for this. After being there for almost six hours, we expected to be ready early, but obviously that was not the case.

 

Hastily, we ran backstage just as my sister’s dance went on. Then, something unexpected happened: a team came backstage. I gave one of the girls a little smile as if to say “hey,” or “good luck” and the girl waved back to me. I looked at her jacket to see what studio she was from. Lo and behold, the girl was Jojo. I absolutely flipped out on the inside, but on the outside I was cool and collected.

We finished up practicing just in time to go on. We began to dance (we dance to the song D.A.N.C.E. by Justice) and it didn’t go as well as hoped. I fell out of one of my turns, one of the dancers forgot a step, and another got hurt… the list of missteps goes on. About halfway through the dance, I thought to myself, “If the ALDC girls are backstage, and they’re going on next, does that mean….AAHHH!!!” We were the only dance that Abby and the moms actually watched. The one time we don’t dance well, they watched. That may have been the scariest thing that happened all day.

After we danced, we stood on stage and awaited the critiques. The judges were not kind to the performance. Okay, maybe that’s not completely fair. They were…thorough. Very thorough. I don’t really want to go into much detail about what they said, but it was hard to listen to.

We walked off stage, disappointed. But not too disappointed. Because the ALDC went right after us, and we were in the changing room, we missed their group dance. From what I heard, we didn’t miss much. All I know is that it was called “Hungry like the Wolf” and they wore wolf heads as part of their costume.

It was awards time. Here are the results (the order from least to greatest is Gold, High Gold, and Elite Gold; don’t read the results after “D.A.N.C.E.” if you want to be surprised during the show):

·         “Dead in the Water” (“Ashley”) – High Gold

·         “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (“Emma”) –Elite Gold – Highest Score in Teen Contemporary – 4^th Place in Teen Solo

·         “This is My Now” (“Liz”) – Elite Gold – Highest Score in Junior Lyrical

·         “You Can’t Stop the Beat” (My Sister’s Dance) – High Gold – Highest Score in Junior Line Musical Theater

·         “D.A.N.C.E.” (My Dance) – Gold L (we did BAD)

 

!!Spoiler Alert!!

Dance Moms: Episode Two, Season Six

 

·         “I Just Wanna Sit on the Couch and Eat Chips” (Mackenzie) – Elite Gold – 4^th Place in Junior Solo

·         Kendall – Elite Gold – 3^rd Place in Junior Solo

·         Nia – Elite Gold – 2^nd Place in Teen Solo

·         “Hungry like the Wolf” – Elite Gold – 1^st Place in Teen Group

We got home around 5:30, and just took the time to relax. We laughed about the competition and prayed we’d do better next time.

That was about it! Thanks for reading!

*If you’re interested in seeing the ALDC dances mentioned or possibly one of mine (no guarantees, but you never know…), watch (Dance Moms) episode two, season six (T.V. air date: TBD... I'll let you know).

 

 

Competition #1:"Dance Moms" at Sheer Talent

Hello! Sorry I'm posting this so late in the week, but I needed to wait for what happened this weekend to happen, so here it is.

This week was our first dance competition. MY dance team wasn't competing, but my sister's was and so were my friends' solos. I went to support them and the rest of my teammates.

This competition was a little bit different though: it was against the cast of the show Dance Moms. That means Abby Lee Miller, Gianna Martello, Ava Cota, Jeanette Cota, Maddie Ziegler, Mackenzie Ziegler, Nia Frazier, Kendall Vertes, Jojo Siwa, the newest member of the team Brynn Rumfallow, and their mothers were there. Unfortunately, for all of you Kalani fans, including me, there was no sign of her or Kira. It could have something to do with the baby or the engagement, but it is unclear at the moment. Anyway, let me take you through the process of the competition.

My sister and I woke up at 7:50 or so. I didn't dance at this competition because so many people on my team couldn't attend (we found out about the competition at the last minute). So I got ready while my sister put on her stage makeup (basically, its regular makeup times five) and her costume. It is a dress (with black shorts underneath) with a black sparkly top and a pink frilly skirt. Since the song is "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray (60's style), her hair was styled in a Bouffant.

We arrived in Glendale around 9:45 after a 30 minute drive. This competition was called Sheer Talent, which we have attended in the past. It was held at the Alex Theater, a beautiful Greek theater with incredible architecture and design. As a Greek mythology and history lover, I was absolutely in awe of the décor.

It was brutally hot and standing in my team jacket and pants was awful. We had to get a release form signed (since there was a chance that we were going to be on TV), had to get our pictures taken holding the release form, and got a stamp to verify that a release form was signed. After about an hour of standing in a hot line, my friend and I (let's call her Veronica), who was on my team and also wasn't competing (both of our younger sisters were competing) told the people standing in front of the door that we were dancers and our team was inside. So yes, we snuck in (OOOOOH!).

We went upstairs to the changing area and helped my sister and the other girls finish getting ready. The competition began, but before the dancing could start, the announcer informed us that the Dance Moms were there. What he didn't tell us was that they were the moms from the Abby Lee Dance Company's (ALDC) new rival studio: JC's Broadway Dance Academy (JCBDA). Everyone ran outside and right past the moms. It was a funny moment. Then, the ALDC girls finally came. I was so close to them. It was very exciting.

Everyone returned inside. My sister's dance was first, so she went on. It was one of the best her group had ever done that dance. It was really energetic and amazing. Next, was my sister's friend's solo (we're going to call her Liz). She danced to "This is My Now" by Jordin Sparks. She danced beautifully. Just so you can look for it if you watch the episode, she was wearing a bright blue two-piece costume.

It was time for the Dance Moms solos. JCBDA came out first and I got a picture with Jeanette Cota. When the ALDC came out, I got a picture with Abby Lee Miller. I can't believe I actually got to meet her. I'm so happy. A boy from JCBDA (Gavin; for the Dance Moms fans out there, he used to dance with the Candy Apple's Dance Center ) performed first (after we waited for an hour for everyone to come out). He was absolutely AMAZING!!! His turns were flawless and his extensions were perfection. After the dance, Jojo came out in her costume and told Abby that her solo was not in the program. Abby told her that she wasn't dancing, and Jojo started to cry. I felt awful. Jojo's mom Jessalynn got mad at Abby and told her to let her dance. Abby agreed, but then got mad at the show producers for not having all the dances signed up. She declared that she was going to do the signing up now, and the show went on. The ALDC had two solos: Brynn and Jojo. Brynn is a very pretty dancer, but her choreography was just okay. Jojo had a jazz solo. She has improved a lot since last season, but her choreography was subpar. The ALDC and JCBDA went back to their dressing room, and the show went on.

One of my friends was next (she's going to be Emma). She danced to "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" as performed by Lorde (it’s in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire). She was amazing. She wore a forest green two piece. Another one of my friends (Ashley) did a solo to "Dead in the Water" by Ellie Goulding (it’s in Divergent), wearing a dark blue costume. Again, it was awesome. Ashley's sister (Isabelle) went on next for a solo to "Supermodel (You Better Work)" by RuPaul. I love her dance so much. She wore a bright pink one piece and her hair was in a crimped ponytail.

It was lunch break time. My mom got my sister and I Chipotle and we ate in the dressing area. My sister hung out with some of her friends while I took the time to relax. The rest of the girls came back from their meals, and it was time to get ready for the next dance. It was the specialty group dance with some of my sister's friends and some of my friends. They danced to a cover of "Imagine" (I'm not quite sure who sings it unfortunately) and wore a pretty silver one piece. They danced very well. The final dance of my team was a duet by two of my sister's friends. They danced to "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronsan ft. Bruno Mars. They are super cute and I love their dance. They wore a pink and black outfit with a short tutu-like skirt.

After another hour and a half or so, the Dance Moms group dance came on. The group dance was called "The Girl in the Plastic Bubble" and had Mackenzie, Brynn, Kendall, and Nia. Jojo was the girl in the bubble. Maddie wasn't in the dance (she probably had a filming or something in the week so she couldn't learn the dance), but she came in and picked up the deflated bubble off of the stage and received a standing ovation from Abby. JCBDA set up the props for their dance: "The Waiting Room”. Apparently, it took more than 2 minutes to set up the props and get the dancers on stage, which is against the rules. Jeanette, the owner of the studio, argued that the dancers start off stage and were waiting for the music to start (which ended up being true). Abby, taking every opportunity for the other studio not to perform said it was too late anyway. The director of the competition agreed with Abby. After a lot of yelling and arguing, it was decided that the group would dance. The dance ended up being absolutely SPECTACULAR. I got chills it was so amazing. Maybe my expectations were a little low, but I loved the dance. Watch out for another controversy. I'm not sure of the details, but it was something about each studio stealing choreography from each other.

It was awards time. Here are the results (the order from least to greatest is Gold, Platinum, Titanium, and Diamond; don’t read the results after “Uptown Funk” if you want to be surprised during the show):

• "You Can't Stop The Beat" (My Sister’s Dance) - Titanium - 1st Place in Junior Group Line Production
• "This is My Now" (“Liz”)  - Titanium - 1st Place in Junior Solo
• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (“Emma”) - Titanium - 3rd Place in Teen Solo
• "Dead in the Water" (“Ashley”) - Platinum - 4th Place in Teen Solo
• "Supermodel" (“Isabelle”) – Platinum in Pre-Teen Solo
• "Imagine" (Special Group) - Platinum - 1st Place in Junior Group
• "Uptown Funk" (Duet) - Titanium - 1st Place in Junior Duet/Trio

     !!Spoiler Alert!!    

 Dance Moms: Episode One, Season Six

 

_____________________________________________________________

• “The Comeback” (Gavin) - Diamond - 2nd Place (I'm pretty sure) in Pre-Teen Solo
• “The Coronation” (Brynn) - Diamond - 1st Place in Pre-Teen Solo
• “Own It” (Jojo) - Titanium in Pre-Teen Solo
• "The Girl in the Plastic Bubble" (ALDC Group) - Diamond - 1st Place in Teen Group
• "The Waiting Room" (JCBDA Group) - Diamond - 2nd Place in Teen Group (completely unfair)

After the awards, my sister ended up getting a picture with Jojo, while others got pictures with Maddie and Kendall.

That was about it. We got home around 7:00. My whole family was exhausted. It was a really long day. But, overall it was a good competition. It ran three hours late and everyone was ready to get home and go to sleep. There is another competition next week (which I am competing in; wish me luck), so I will keep you posted on that. Thanks for reading!

*If you’re interested in seeing the ALDC or JCBDA dances mentioned or possibly one of mine (no guarantees, but you never know…), watch (Dance Moms) episode one, season six (T.V. air date: TBD... I'll let you know).

 

A Dilemma

Hello again! It's Natalie. Unfortunately, last week of dance was not exciting at all. But I have a dilemma and was wondering if you could help me solve the problem.

So, in about two weeks, I am going to a dance competition with the cast of the show Dance Moms. That's very exciting, but I was invited to go to Disneyland the same day. This being Disneyland's 60th anniversary AND Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, I expect that it will be a big celebration. I love Disneyland and have been wanting to go for a long time. I'm pretty positive that I won't be going that day. So, the day after the competition is another day that I could possibly go. The problem is, I have my first rehearsal for my small, special dance group. I'm not sure what I should miss.

Another problem, I'm not even sure whether I want to do the small group. It's just more time that I don't have. With my Bat Mitzvah coming up and homework and friends, I'm don't know whether or not this is the right time. There will be more opportunities, and maybe I should take them instead. But, everybody in my dance group has either a solo, duet, or small group. I don't want to be the only person without something. I don't know whether or not I will feel bad during a competition or when the groups are showing their dances to the class. When I'm at a competition and am sitting in the audience while all of my friends are backstage, getting ready, I may feel horrible. Or I may be relieved that I don't have more to do.

Now, I could always talk to my dance teacher about the group rehearsal time being changed, or talk to my friends' parents about changing the Disneyland date, but assuming that nothing can be changed, what should I do? Please comment your opinions below and let me know what you would do. Thanks!

Until next week...

A Hectic Second Week

     Welcome back! So, the second week of dance. It was an interesting week indeed. A couple things happened, which impacted my week a lot. Holidays, homework, and one more thing that made this week more difficult than it already was going to be.
    
     Monday was no school, no dance. This means that I hadn't had a Monday class yet, at all. That was kind of a bummer. I had really wanted to get started. The studio was open, but seeing as it was a Jewish holiday (and I am Jewish), I didn't attend that day's classes.
   
      Tuesday was when things started to go downhill. I got sick. Fabulous, right? No fever, but the color was still in my face, so I went to both school and dance. I'm still trying to get used to hip-hop, and Ballet Technique was not exciting at all. So it was kind of a lazy day. Class ends at 7:30, and it was my mom's day, so I had to go over to her house after dance, exhausted and my illness was simply getting worse.
    
     Wednesday brought ill tidings, literally. I really got sick that day. Still no fever, but I couldn't breathe out of my nose whatsoever and all the blood had drained from my face. So I didn't go to school (I missed a math quiz which was annoying to have to make up), and also skipped dance. I had a lazy day in which I read all day in bed. It wasn't very exciting and I was anxious to get up and move around.
   
     On Thursday, I was still feeling sick, but well enough to go to school. I made up my math quiz and had a regular day. I have acrobatics on Thursdays, and I figured it may be best not to stand on my head while I was congested. But I still went to my competition class because I didn't want to miss any new choreography. I went in my school clothes and simply sat and watched (except for a little marking at my teacher's request).
   
     The rest of the week was regular. Nothing special, nothing new. But it's just the beginning...

First Week

     Hello readers. My name is Natalie and I am a dedicated dancer, student, friend, reader, and more. I am currently studying for my Bat Mitzvah, which just adds more to the "to-do" list. I dance 4 days a week (sometimes more), 9.5 hours a week (and sometimes more) at the Elite Dance and Performing Arts Center. This doesn't include competitions, which start in February, not to mention special performances and rehearsals. I go to school just like most kids do, 5 days a week, 7 hours a day. And I do the daily homework. It takes a lot of work, but I do my best to get all of my work done. So far I am a straight-A student. But keeping the balance isn't easy, especially when on some nights I have dance from 4:30-9:00. This means I get home around 9:30, have to eat, shower, and then finish my homework (and maybe watch a little Once Upon A Time, Dance Moms, or The Big Bang Theory). Oh, and my parents are divorced and going back and forth adds a bit of time as well. So that's a little bit about me, and now I can get started with the interesting part.

     Besides being able to do what I love, I think the best part of dance is being able to spend time with the girls on my team. Despite the usual "dance girls" stereotypes or cattiness, back-stabbing, and competitiveness, everyone on my team is incredibly supportive and enthusiastic. We are not just friends, we are family. There's no jealousy, cliques, or crazy parents. So you can guess how excited I was to see them again.
   
     Last week was the first week back at dance. And let me tell you, the teachers did NOT go easy on us. It was right back to business. Monday was no dance because of Labor Day. So we didn't get started until Tuesday; we were all in for a rude awakening. The first class was hip-hop which was... interesting to say the least. See, I'm more of a ballet/contemporary dancer and hip-hop is a little bit out of my comfort zone. So we'll see how that goes. Then Ballet Technique III. This class, being the first one was a bit of a refresher so nothing too challenging. This class ends at 7:30, so going home and finishing homework was not that big of a deal. And going to my mom's house afterwards didn't cause any problems either.
     
     Wednesday brought some pain and difficulties. The first class was Turns and Progressions III. The class works on the leaps, the turns, and transitions. The teacher, Chasen, is a professional dancer so there's no going easy. We jumped right into class with all the regular, painful warm-ups and challenging leaps. That was not extremely fun. Then my first tap class since I was five years old. I realized that tap is fun and hard at the same time. Then I had an hour break. I went home, ate, did homework, and then went back to the studio for my Pointe class with a new teacher. My old Pointe shoes were too small, as were everyone else's. So the class turned into a regular ballet class. It's too early to tell whether I like the new teacher or not. That class ends at 9:00, so I had to go home, finish eating, take a shower, finish homework, and go to bed. The next was not going to be that much easier.
   
     Thursday is both of my competition classes. First is Acrobatics. I am not that good at acrobatics. At all. But I got on the team, don't ask me how. My teacher, Steven who I LOVE, is a choreographer for Cirque du Soleil and lives in Las Vegas. He is in Los Angeles three days a week and Las Vegas the other four. I figure he must love us a lot to come all the way into L.A. just three days a week. No going easy with him either. That was very hard and I woke up the next morning with a LOT of "good" pain. Wish me good luck for the rest of the year. I had a two hour break in between this and the next class. Homework and eating, again. I went back for my final class of the week, my Teen Company class. We started a new competition dance and I absolutely love it. (It's "California Dreamin'" version by Sia; go look it up). So I went home, finished homework, studied for my three tests the next day, and went to bed.
   
     The next day was a little bit out of the ordinary. I had no dance, but I went to the studio and watched my sister dance. And then got fit for my new Pointe shoes. They're pretty and pink now but in a couple of months, they will be worn and dirty. All the younger girls who were getting their Pointe shoes for the first time, including my sister, were very excited to look like a Prima Ballerina. I was smiling, remembering being as excited, if not more, then some of them three years ago. It was a nostalgic moment for me and made me look back and reflect a little bit. It was one of those moments in a dancer's life that they remember forever.
   
     That was about it for this week. Not much, but believe me, it was good to be back.