Bound to Disappoint

My sister, Isabell, got her Snow Queen costume recently. She hated it. 

When she saw this costume in the catalog, she fell in love with it. Isabell wouldn't stop talking about it. She would go on and on about how perfect it would be and how beautiful she would look in it. And I agreed, that costume was so her. The tutu would fit her perfectly, and the whole thing would be stunning on stage. We couldn't wait for it to come in. 

My sister's Snow Queen costume,
from the Art Stone dance costume catalog.

Weeks went by, and her tutu came in (the tutu and the actual costume came separately). It was a petite platter tutu rather than a full sized one, but it fit her frame magnificently. Isabell couldn't have been more excited. Her anticipation grew until, at last, the rest of her costume arrived. And then all hell broke loose.

Definitely doesn't look like it was supposed to.
Taken 10/27

It didn't fit right. I don't mean that it was too small or too big, it just fit weird. It was as if that torso of the costume was too short, but it was also too wide. The costume wouldn't lay flat on the tut like it was supposed to. It would ride up high enough that I could see her stomach when I shouldn't be able to. It just didn't fit like the picture, and that infuriated Isabell. She had been looking forward to having the perfect costume, but the moment something wasn't what she had been expecting, her whole view on it changed. She didn't like it anymore. 

The torso is wrinkly and doesn't look right.
Taken 10/27

Isabell was miserable for a while. She would get upset when watching other girls get their costumes and have them fit perfectly. She wasn't as motivated to do well as Snow Queen, and nothing could cheer her up. This went on for a couple weeks, until we found a solution to her problems. It turns out that there are elastic loops underneath skirt part of the costume. There were also clear buttons in the accessory bag for the costume. Apparently, we are supposed to sew these buttons to the waistband of the tutu. The loops go around the buttons so the costume stays down and fits better. When we found this out, my sister couldn't have been happier. 

It seems that when people set high expectations, it can lead to disappointment. They want so badly for something to be what they want it to be. One small thing that isn't what they want, and they could be really disappointed. It's important to release these expectations and view life from an exploritory perspective (Christian). In order to not be constantly disappointed, it's important not to try to control every aspect of one's life. They just need to take a step back and enjoy what they have. 

Most people seem to have this idea, this expectation of perfection in some part of their lives. But some people also say that nothing can go perfectly as planned. Is this them speaking from disappointment of their perfect dream not coming true? Or are these people that claim nothing can be perfect the ones free of expectation, and the seemingly inevitable disappointment that follows like a black cloud? Who's to say, but I do know that it's better to be pleasantly surprised than utterly disappointed. 

Work Cited

Christian, Amanda. "Are Your Expectations Setting You Up for Disappointment?" Tiny Buddha. N.p. n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.

A Look Behind the Scenes

What does the word ballerina mean to you? Does it elicit images of elegant arms, graceful leaps and turns in beautiful tutus? Does it seem effortless, as if they are floating around the stage in a beautiful, captivating dance? As dancers, that is our goal. We aim to tell a story that other people can relate to. We want it to seem easy so you can enjoy it. We want you to feel. 

Does it ever come to mind the hours of practice, blisters, and sore muscles that went into producing those feelings? Endless hours are spent perfecting every step, making it look effortless. We work on technique, pushing and pushing to improve ourselves until we are too tired to continue. Dancing ourselves into the ground to achieve the look and ease that these dances require. We run dances over and over, examining each other to spot any flaws. Working so much that we end up battered and bruised, with broken toenails, extremely sore muscles, and popped blisters that ended up bleeding through our tights.

I broke my toenail. This is the third time on this toe specifically.
Taken 10/29

Many people may think that this is too much work. They many ask why do something if it takes that much time and effort. And yes, for some people, that amount of work is just unimaginable. But for dancers, it is our life. We don't care that we spent countless hours on one dance. All that matters is that the audience felt something, that they enjoyed watching us dance. 

This video talks about what it is like to be a professional ballerina. So much work is put in to the productions that ballet companies put on. With all the work that they do, there is also a lot of pressure out on them. They pressure themselves in that they feel the need to have the dance perfect the first time that they do it. In the video, she says, "One difficulty is the mental aspect of getting up in front of many people...A lot of the time when things don't work, it's more the head that prevents you from doing it." A lot of the time, dancers, and even artists in general, tend to get in their own heads to the point of over-criticizing their own work.

I know that I have done this many times, as I just want to get it, and for it to look the way I want it to. I have come to learn that it can't always be that way. There are just some things that are out of our control, that we just have to deal with. I have tried to remember this as we have been continuing work on the Nutcracker. As much as I wish I was perfect, I'm not. I'm not at the professional level, and don't have the technique or skills of those who are. I constantly compare myself to others and knit-pick my dancing, trying to find everything that's even slightly imperfect. I get into my own head, and that ends up being a hindrance, preventing me from dancing to my full potential. 

To some ballet may just be a hobby to pass the time. To others it is something to watch, that will make them feel. But ballet is a craft, an art. It is a way of life.

Work Cited

"A Day in the Life of a Ballerina." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Mar. 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Halftime Show of the Season

The dance season has started heating up as the weather cools down this season. At four o'clock today, we had the Halloween Show. There was about fifteen dances that performed, most of them young children. It was so adorable! I mean, how many times have you seen Elsa, a skeleton, a butterfly, a pirate, and the Queen of Hearts all dance to the Ghostbusters theme song?

We didn't have an actual stage to perform on, since it was at the pumpkin patch. We only had a patch of hay to dance on. I don't know how many people have tried to dance on hay, but let me tell you, it's super hard. Not only does it move around (because hello, loose hay,) but it's also very slippery. The dancers were slipping all over the place. Now take that, and mix it with parents crowding around you. That makes for a very hard time dancing completely full-out.

I understand that parents are excited to see their children dance, especially if they are younger. But why do they feel the need to shuffle closer and closer to the "stage" after every single dance? By the time I danced, the other girls and I felt like we were going to hit not only the audience, but each other as well. But as dancers, we need to be prepared for any situation that may occur during this show. Luckily, we have performed at this pumpkin patch before, so we had an idea of what to expect.

Preparation is key to being able to adapt to varying stage dimensions. Often times, tape is used to map out how big a stage will be for performance. But even then, things might happen that could change the size of a stage. Due to this, dancers need to know the choreography well enough to where the dance is almost second nature for them (Manning). When most people have been dancing for a while, they are aware of their surroundings enough to know how to adapt to it. If they are turning and see that they are close to the edge of the stage, they will modify the choreography so they don't fall off.

Overall, I think the show went really well. The younger girls were adorable, as they always are. The older dancers, myself included, pretty much rocked it! (Can I say that?) The dances we did looked really cool. We were rolling around on the ground a lot, and the hay was flying all over the place. It made the dances look awesome. I think (and hope) that everyone was really impressed with it.

Although I had a lot of fun, I'm just excited that it's over and now we can focus solely of the Nutcracker. With that performance getting closer, it's important that we work on the dances for it so we can finish them. I just want this Nutcracker performance to be one of the best we have ever had. If we work hard from here on out, I believe that the performance will be great, but there is that inkling of fear that it'll flop. But I have to ignore that part of me, and focus on the positives. The following weeks will need it. They'll show what we've got left to do, and now it's crunch time.

Work Cited

Manning, Christie. "Adapting to Your Space." Industry Dance Magazine. N.p. 14 Dec. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

Caring

Tensions are running high right now. There is a lot of pressure to finish the Halloween dances and start working of the Nutcracker dances. Looking at the calendar, I'm shocked to find that we only have six weeks until the show, six lessons per class until the show. That honestly freaks me out. Putting it into perspective, I'm scared we aren't going to be ready for the Nutcracker performance.

Looking at the dancers, I can see some of them realize how little time we have, while others don't have a care in the world. Coincidentally, these people who don't realize the short amount of time we have are the same people who miss class constantly and never try their hardest. They just expect to go into class, learn choreography, and leave. They don't think they have to put any extra time into it, don't seem willing to try to help at all. If they don't seem to want it, why are they even in dance?

I, on the other hand, am one of the people who can feel the seemingly physical weight of the looming recital on my shoulders. It's like a train hurtling toward me at top speed, threatening to run me over if I'm not aboard. It seems like one day all of the dancers are nervous about which special parts they are going to get, and the next we are getting costumes, working on dances, with just over a month until the show. It's nerve-wracking for the people who want the show to be perfect.

Now I understand that for some people dance is just a hobby, an afterschool activity that they don't expect to amount to anything. I wish that it wasn't that way, but I've learned that you can't make people care about something that's not a priority to them. For those of us who are actually passionate about dance, this show is important to us. We thrive on performing on stage, on creating happiness in the hearts of the people who watch these dance performances. That is what makes us happy. "But we have to learn that not everyone cares as much as us, which is disappointing but true." Field-notes, 10/13 

I'm nervous that the other dancers who don't care are going to bring the dances down. Almost always, one of two things happen. One: We go into class and they don't remember choreography, so we have to take even more time to reteach things that they should have known and remembered. Or two: They weren't in class the previous week, and we have to take time to teach things that they would have known if they actually went to class. I get it, things happen and sometimes people can't come to class, but when it happens to each person almost every other week, I can't help but get irritated.

This upcoming Sunday, October 26th, is the Halloween show. Almost all of the dances I'm in for that show at done, except for hip hop. Half of that class has been gone for two weeks, so they have no idea what they are doing. One girl hasn't been in class for a month, when we first started working on the dance. The teacher has had to make numerous changes because of all the girls absent, considering this upcoming Wednesday is the last class before the show. I can't help but expect that dance to fall apart at the seams, which is sad because it is such a great dance.

Six weeks. Six weeks until the show is upon us. I have high hopes that everyone will realize the importance of it, and finally try their hardest, but at the same time I don't want to get my hopes up just to be disappointed in the end. All I can do is try my hardest in class, and hope that maybe it'll rub off on everyone else. I mean, what other option do I have?

Dancing Through Time

People have always had an innate ability to move to music, to listen to a beat and move their bodies and souls in what we call dance. Dance has been around for thousands of years. It was used as a means of healing, as a part of rituals, as entertainment, and much more.

Dance is particularly hard to trace back as it doesn't always leave physical artifacts behind, but archeologists found traces of dance from prehistoric times, such as the Bhimbetka rock shelters paintings in India from 9,000 years ago, and the Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures that date back to 3300 BCE. In Egypt, priests and priestesses performed dances resembling stories of the gods. They expressed themselves in a way that maybe speaking couldn't, much like the way dancers do now. (http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ab82)

Hieroglyphics of dancing
http://www.bencourtney.com/ebooks/dance/

Since then, dance has become more well-known and important to society. More genres and types of dance were invented, such as tap, ballet, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and ballroom. Some of these types of dance are still newish today, while others are older, more respected, like ballet.

Ballet originated in the 15th century, in the Renaissance courts of France and Italy. In any celebratory occasion, like the birth of an heir or an important marriage, called for a court dance. Everyone would be taught these dances growing up because they were a large part of society. The dances became more detailed, with many variations of them popping up, because choreographers started changing them slightly, making them apt to different occasions. (http://www.dancetutors.co.uk/TheHistoryBallet.html)

The first ballet school, called Academie Royale de Danse (Royal Academy of Dance), was founded by King Louis XIV in 1661. In this ballet school, the five positions of the feet were created, which is still very relevant to ballet today. Jean‐Baptiste Lully, another prominent dancer of that school, can be credited with opening the Paris Opera Ballet. He also started including women in ballet, which is a large advancement as before that, ballet was primarily performed by men.(http://www.balletaustin.org/education/documents/HistoryofBalletHandoutsforStudents.pdf)

Ballet kept advancing and changing after that. One of the most prominent changes was the invention of pointe shoes. Pointe shoes are special shoes made for dancing on the toes, mostly worn by women. This made dancing ballet more equal between men and women, as before that ballet was dominated by men. Marie Taglioni is known as the first ballerina to dance en pointe. (You go, Marie Taglioni, you go!) (http://www.dance-enthusiast.com/features/view/Marie-Taglioni-The-Instant-Ballerina-2010-03-23)

Marie Taglioni
http://www.balletaustin.org/education/documents/HistoryofBalletHandoutsforStudents.pdf

Later, in the 1800s, classic Russian ballet took off with choreographer Marius Petipa. This was the time of more challenging, full length-ballets with women usually the leads. This also included a pas de deux, which is a dance between the male and female leads. The women started wearing tutus, giving them more freedom compared to the long skirts they previously had to wear. Some of the ballets created during this time are still being performed, including The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and the ballet my studio and I are performing soon, The Nutcracker. (http://www.russianballethistory.com/diaghilevchoreographers.htm)

Dance has been a huge part of the lives of many people, all throughout time. It has helped people express themselves in ways that they couldn't without dance. Dance is a respected form of art that is beautiful to those watching, and invokes a variety of emotions. As dancers we hope that we can help you relate to the emotions that the dances  aim to create. (Observation Oct 9)

Dance for Dummies

So I've decided that you guys might want to actually know what I'm talking about in this blog. Here's a list compiled of lingo that I believe will be important to understanding this blog:

• Attitude-A position where a dancer stands on the supporting leg and the working leg is lifted, turned out with the knee bent and in line with the ankle, as if it could be resting on a table. An attitude can be presented to the front, the side, or the back (the front and back being the most common.) 
  
• Chainés- A type of turn in which the feet stay in first position and each step creates half of a circle. These turns alternate feet and can be presented along a straight line or even in a circle.
• Chassé-The French translation is literally "chased or hunted." This dance move is often compared to when children gallop, pretending to ride horses. It is a slide in the forward, backward, or sideways direction, with both knees bent, followed by a spring into the air where the legs straighten and meet, and when landed, the step is usually repeated.
• En Pointe-This usually describes dancing on the tips of the toes, using pointe shoes, special shoes made for this type of dance. This could also describe far the heel is raised when in relevé: quarter, which is slightly off the floor; demi, which is halfway between quarter and three quarter; three quarter, which creates a straight line from the knee to the ball of the foot; and sur les points, which is on the tips of the toes.
  
• Fouetté Turn-This literally means "whipped." This dance move is a turn with a quick change in the direction of the working leg as it passes in front of the supporting leg.
• Grand Battement-The French translation is literally "large beating." The is a movement where the dancer kicks the leg as high a possible, while the supporting leg stays straight.
  
• Grand Jeté-This is a leap that is commonly executed after a chasse, followed by the front leg brushing straight into the air with the back leg coming up to create a split in the air.
  
• Pas de Bourrée-This literally means "Step of the Drunken Lady." It's a three-step movement, which includes one foot stepping behind the other as the first step, the foot now in front stepping to the side being the second, and the foot that moved in the first step now moving in front of the other foot to rest in either third or fifth position.
• Piqué Turn- This term literally translates to "pricked." This turn is performed by transferring weight from one leg to the other, and turning, bring the first leg into retiré (the foot meets the other leg's knee, turned out.)
• Pirouette- This is a controlled turn starting with both legs in plié, then pushing onto the supporting leg and executing a turn. The working leg can be in retiré, attitude, arabesque (the working leg straight behind the dancer), or straight to the side.
• Plié- The French translation is literally "bending of the knees." This is just a smooth bending of the knees.
• Port de Bras-This literally means "carriage of the arms." This is the movement of the arms, gracefully, from one position to another.
• Positions of feet and arms-These are the positions of the arms and feet commonly held by dancers. These positions include First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Position.
• Relevé-This means "lifted." This move is executed by rising from plié to balance on either one of two feet in at least demi pointe. 
  
• Sickled-This term refers to the reverse of a turn out. This is a big no-no in the dance world.
• Supporting Leg-This is the leg that is supporting the rest of the body as the working leg works.
• Sur le cu de pied-This term refers to the working leg bending and having the foot pointed and resting on the ankle of the supporting leg.
• Tour Jeté-This is a jump where the dancer starts with a grand battement and while jumping, turns their body and lands with the other leg in arabesque.
• Turn-Out-This is the rotation of the leg from the hips, causing the whole leg to turn outward.
• Working Leg-This is the leg that does all the work: kicking, lifting, moving, etc.

These are only a few of the many terms relating to ballet, and dance in general. Hopefully this has helped you gain a bit more insight to this beautiful art that has been around for thousands of years

The Season of Hard Work

In dance, especially ballet, dancers must learn to focus on themselves, and how they can get better. They look at their feet, and wonder what they can do to make their turn out better. Seeing their arms, they try their hardest to make them looks soft and elegant. They watch their grand jetes, and contemplate how to make them more of a split.

I admit that I have done this numerous times. I usually only really care about how I am doing and how I can become more advanced. That is why it's so interesting to just observe other dancers. These are people who care a lot about dance and to them, it's an important part of their life. Watching them, I can see them lose themselves, forget about all of their worries, and focus solely on dance. It's really a beautiful thing.

Winter is rapidly approaching, and that means that the Nutcracker Ballet is coming too. Now I don't know how many of you have heard the story of the Nutcracker, but I'll give you the run down:

A girl named Clara is putting on a Christmas party and her Uncle (or Aunt, in our case) Drosselmeyer comes to give out gifts. He pulls out a couple dolls for some kids, a couple clowns for other kids, and a nutcracker for Clara. Then he makes all of the toys come to life to dance for the party. When the Nutcracker is dancing, one child is so jealous of Clara's beautiful toy that they run up and break the Nutcracker, but Drosselmeyer fixes it.

The party continues, but soon, the children grow tired and go home. Clara also goes to bed, but wakes up at midnight to find a group of giant mice that try to attack her. Before they can get to her, the mice are met by an army of life-sized toy soldiers, led by her Nutcracker. The Mouse Queen and the Nutcracker fight, and the Nutcracker ends up killing the Mouse Queen. As a reward, Drosselmeyer takes Clara and her Nutcracker to the Land of Snow to watch the Snow Queen and her snowflakes dance.

The Snow Queen takes them to the Land of Sweets where they meet the Dew Fairy and the Sugar Plum Fairy. After the Nutcracker recounts the fight, they arrange for the people of the land to dance for them as they eat: chocolate, a Spanish dance; coffee, an Arabian dance; and tea, a Chinese dance. They are also welcomed to dances by the Russians, the Merlitons, the court jesters, Mother Ginger and her children, the Dew Fairy and her corps, and the Sugar Plum Fairy and her corps. They then join the whole land in a final waltz. At the very end, Clara learns that she is asleep and has to wake up. She is bid farewell by the whole land, and wakes up to find her Nutcracker beside her, once again a small toy.

Every other year, my dance studio puts on the Nutcracker Ballet as our Christmas performance. It's one of the most hectic times of the year at my studio because not only do we have the Nutcracker to perform, but we also do a small Halloween performance at a pumpkin patch, as well. So overall, this season is quite a busy one for Jenny's Studio of Dance.

Although we might be very busy with the Halloween show and the Nutcracker performance, it's still important to work on technique. It's interesting to see how before special parts are cast, people work really hard to show how advanced they are, and how perfect they would be for one of these coveted roles. But after lead roles are announced, people stop trying. They don't feel the need to try their hardest because either they got the part they wanted or the didn't. (Observation: Sept 22) The reason I say this is because I noticed Sarah, one of the girls in some of my dance classes. When the teachers were still thinking about roles, Sarah would always try her best. She may not have been the best, but she would always try. When she was cast as the Head Court Jester, instead of a "Queen" or a "Fairy", I could see a difference in how she worked. She didn't try anymore, got more and more corrections, had bent knees, sickled toes, just didn't seem to work as hard anymore. It's just sad to me, that people only seem to try in order to get huge benefits, instead of working hard because they want to.