Monday, April 20, 2009

Encore?

I made it through the weekend in one piece! Dance competition was fun, stressful, exciting...all the things it usually is for me. Gosh I miss it...I guess it means I miss being young. All the opportunity there was! To be 17 again and competing for reals - not as an adult! 

I wish I would've started dancing earlier...I feel like I missed out on a lot of opportunities because of that. But I know you need to work with what you have. I can still learn. It's not like I'm that old...plus, no one is too old to learn anything (I'm sure there are some exceptions). I think at this time I need to brush up on my ballet and jazz technique. I love choreography and feel more inspired than ever, however I'm finding I'm forgetting the names of certain steps, and as for ballet...all I remember well is the feet positions, turns, a little bit of a barre work, that's it! Eek. That's terrible. Does anyone know of an adult ballet class that would be appropriate for my age and level? I never did take much ballet, but I do have solid understanding of body placement and technique...and there is A LOT of room for improvement.

Anyway, back to competition. We were at Candance, which is huge. Five crammed days of dance...it started at 8 am most mornings and finished at 11 pm. That's a little ridiculous, for kids especially! On Saturday night I didn't get out until midnight. It annoys me that adjudication only happens three times a day...it means you have to wait around for hours just to hear what medal you got as the judges don't give comments. I got a platinum for both my solo and group. I was fairly pleased. Diamond is best - if you score 95 or higher. The judges certainly gave that to only those who were deserving... Some dancers were amazing, other were amazing too but were just so practiced - so, I don't know, blah? TRICK TRICK TRICK...oh there's an arm movement...TRICK TRICK. Ugh. It's expected and rehearsed so much that it feels almost robotic, they do it without thinking or feeling. And that's what bothers me, because that's what dance isn't. That's exactly why it will never  be considered a sport. Growing up I may have lacked the superb technique and quad pirouettes, but I sure had passion. I think I still do...why else would I be 24 and still doing it? Haha.

My soloist I taught this year, 16 year old Jena, did awesome! I'm amazed by the passion she has brought to the stage in her lyrical solo. She was more of a technical dancer, but I'm really seeing the true emotion come through after working with her for awhile. And she got a high gold at her first comp this Sunday! I was so proud...she was in a tough category (with a really good guy to boot) and she came out right on top. She dances again this Friday at Shy-Ann, a competition I looked forward to every year growing up. I'm looking forward to going back!

As for myself, I'm itching to start a jazz solo...I just want to choreograph more! I still hope to have my own studio though, despite knowing that it won't make me money and will cause headaches and frustration. But I still think I'd love it. Maybe one day.

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Awesome new blog alert!

After the wedding Travis and I will need some inspiration to get some much-needed house projects done. I've been wanting to retile the kitchen SO BAD. Just check out my 100 in 1001...there's much to do! So I'll be visiting thisyounghouse.com. It's fab - a young couple shows exactly how they turned their old, modest house into a comfortable, stylish dream home. They've become mini-celebrities in the home reno world...and have been able to dedicate themselves to that full-time now. (And they both used to work in advertising!) I love it. They also blog about saving money, their wedding, and other random things that I can totally relate to right now. Check it out if you have a sec.


2 comments:

Sly said...

Try Marr Mac Dance, its right by the University. Thats where I danced at the begining of the year. The instructor is great, and it was an advanced adult ballet class. I brushed up on my technique, and like you said got to know all of the terms again.

Sly said...

I actually took the jazz class as well. It was ok, just did some combo's, its not overly advanced, more of just a fun class then a learning class