It's beginning to look a lot like....

Halloween is over, the time has changed and there is definitely a chill in the air.  While Christmas and holiday decorations are already pouring out of stores, I'm not quite ready for it yet, I do like to have my Thanksgiving first and Christmas in due course, but what this month of November really gears me up for is... Nutcracker season!  And, holiday ballets in general.  Living in the Bay Area, we are so lucky to have so many fantastic performance companies and opportunities to see a variety of holiday shows.  So, I thought I'd take today's blog to share a few of my favorites with you and encourage you to see as many of them as you can!  There's something for everyone, if you're looking for a classic Nuctracker that's kid friendly or something a bit more entertaining for the adults, check out the list I've complied as your guide to all the holiday dance options jete-ing towards a Bay Area stage near you.

Let's start with the most traditional of holiday ballets: The Nutcracker.  San Francisco Ballet does a lovely production with grandiose costumes and sets (above is a clip from their Waltz of the Snowflakes). SFB does theirs with a slight twist; the original time frame of the ballet has been moved to the World Fair in 1915 San Francisco (traditionally the ballet is set in the late 1800's in Germany).  This year it hits the stage at the War Memorial Opera House from December 9-27.  Or, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for it to air on PBS, each year around this time they air the 2007 recorded version.  There are of course, many school productions that are nicely done as well, the two that are closest to my heart are Community Youth Center's in Concord and Benicia Ballet Theatre.  Having invested much of my own time and love into both of these productions, it is not only heart warming to see the tale of the Nutcracker played out but to see young dancers invest their own talent and love into a story that is magical and captivating for many different reasons.  Check out their websites for information on performance days, times and tickets!

Benicia Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker

Not all holiday ballets are your usual Nutcracker though, Sonoma Ballet Conservatory brings a different magical tale, The Magic Toy Shop to the Sebastiani Theatre in Sonoma November 19th and 20th.  It's a refreshing plot change from The Nutcracker, but equally magical: a shopkeeper’s beloved toys come to life and perform for prospective customers, until the day when two spoiled girls enter the store with their mothers and decide to purchase and separate a pair of Can-Can Dolls.  The night before the families are to return for their selections, the toys share an evening of farewell performances before the Cossack declares they should rebel and fight to keep the Can-Can Dolls from such a wretched fate as being purchased by spoiled children.  But, I couldn't tell you the ending... you'll have to go see it for yourself!  

Sonoma Ballet Conservatory's The Magic Toy Shop

Additional companies that do a variation upon the usual holiday ballet are Smuin Ballet with its Christmas Ballet, ODC Dance with the Velveteen Rabbit.  I've been a fan of Smuin's Christmas Ballet for many years, it has a wonderful variety that is entertaining to both children, ballet goers, and dance newbies.  From tap dancing Christmas trees to sultry Santa Babies, this ballet will definitely get you in the mood for the holiday season.  Here's the website for more information.  ODC's The Velveteen Rabbit is a classic for many San Franciscans, and although I've never gotten the chance to see it myself, I've heard rave reviews and am hoping to see it this year.  ODC is well known for their ground breaking work, and I'm sure this ballet with choreography by KT Nelson and narrative based on Margery William's classic tale is well worth seeing.  Performances run from November 25-December 11th, click here for more information.

Do you have a favorite holiday dance show that I didn't list?  I'm always searching for new and exciting performances, so please let me know at theballerinabirthday@gmail.com!  I'm sure as the season gets underway I'll find more things to share, and would love it if you would share too!

National Dance Week

To celebrate National Dance Week last month, I had my CYC students decorate their old pairs of ballet shoes to display around the center and to pretty up our lobby space when we performed at Del Valle Theatre for our Spring Showcase.  Their creativity never ceases to amaze me, there were several entries that sparkled and shined and I wanted to share some of them with you!

Jewels and Sparkles and Ribbons, oh my!

My own creation

A few more creations

One of the winning pairs

This is such a cute idea for a craft for a party.  The kids could really go to town with some really basic supplies (puff paint, jewels, ribbons), and guests have a party favor that they can take home and admire for months to come!  If you're wondering where to find a cheap pair of ballet slippers that you can try your own creations out on, Payless has girls pink, white, and black shoes for not too much.  Target also carries a more slipper version (think soft fabric rather than traditional leather).  Happy creating!

The Spoils of Performance

CYC's Spring Showcase was 2 weeks ago, and I think myself and the dancers are pretty much fully recovered.  All the students did a fantastic job, I couldn't be prouder of all of them, and we had some fantastic parent volunteers help decorate the lobby at The Del Valle Theatre in Walnut Creek; they had such cute decorating ideas!  And the fabulous creations from Sweet Tart were a huge hit with our audience!  

There are always ups and downs and a few SNAFUs in a performance (perfection would really just be boring, don't you think)?  Here are some fun/funny/yummy moments of our performance weekend...

One parent volunteer filled her vases with colorful jellybeans and filled them with some beautiful spring flowers.  I didn't get a good picture of her version, which used a pink vase and Gerbera daisies, but this gives you the idea.

Well, during operation load out of the theatre, the vase I was holing completely collapsed, the bottom of the vase literally disintegrated, leaving me with an empty vase and a trunk full of jellybeans.  Not one to miss an opportunity to have some fun with the situation, I snacked on the jellybeans while cleaning out my trunk a little later, still delicious!

I was lucky enough to not only have a trunk full of jellybeans, but to be able to take some yummy cupcakes home from Sweet Tart in Concord.

Check out CYC's facebook page for more information on the center and more pictures!  http://www.facebook.com/CYCFans?ref=ts

Ballerina Jewels

With CYC's Spring Showcase officially put to bed this past weekend, I've had the luxury of taking the past two days off.  Today I was meeting up with my friend Bree in downtown Walnut Creek and on my way I got distracted by the new huge Forever 21 that has gone up across from The Cheesecake Factory.  While perusing the trendy summer clothing flings, I found this cute ballerina necklace.

At $2.50 it was for sure a steal, the shoe itself is a pretty pink and the white pearl-like stone gives the necklace an extra girly touch.  Then I got to wondering about ballet inspired jewelry, and found some fun results.  Etsy has some beautiful Degas inspired brooches that I love.

Juicy Coture has a fun ballerina keychain charm, plenty of bling on this one (which could come in handy should you misplace your keys, just let the blinding-ness of the jewels lead you to them). 

And speaking of bling, check out these Swarovski silver ballerina earrings.  I found them at polyvore.com, and they come in pink and in blue (just in case you have a ballerina on your hands who prefers blue).

So if your tastes run the gamut from Forever 21 to Juicy, to lusting over Swarovski silver, like me, it's good to know that ballerina fashion can be found far and wide, and I have a feeling isn't too likely to go out of fashion anytime soon!

Ballerina Cookies!

There's not a ballerina I've met (big or small) who doesn't like cookies, and usually, if you ask a little ballerina what their favorite kind of cookie is, you'll get a plethora of answers ranging from "pink sprinkles with rainbows and glitter", to "chocolate chip with unicorns and strawberries".  (I took a poll during one of my classes I taught this week).

While I'm not too picky when it comes to flavors, with sprinkles or without, I did want to share these cute cookie cutters I found on etsy.com awhile back.  (Thanks again to my mom, who helped me find them).

If you search 'ballerina cookies' on etsy, you'll find some super cute ready to eat and order cookies, like the ones below.

 I love the pastel tutu and leotard combo cookies!  These would be great for any party, I think I might have to throw one for myself just to get my hands on some cookies like these!  Speaking of parties, CYC's Dance Program is getting ready to kick off National Dance Week with a dance party this Friday.  I'm making tutus for some of the other CYC staff (Kristina's from a few weeks ago was such a hit!) so keep your eyes peeled for some upcoming fun party pics!

Bella Umbrella

My students are preparing for our annual Spring Showcase, and this years theme is seasons.  I've always been a fan of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons (my mom used to play it on tape for me as I was falling asleep), but there are a number of other pieces for piano and orchestra that have a season theme as well, such as Glazunov and Tchaikovsky.

My goal for this year's performance was to incorporate some fun props for the students to use, which is not only visually interesting from a stage perspective, but teaches the students spacial awareness and encourages their creative thinking (which they are already masters at).

So far, I've found some super cute butterfly/bug catchers in the dollar bin at Target, beach balls, and park benches to conjure up images of different seasons. While Janice and I were searching around the web looking for ideas and inspiration, she showed me Bella Umbrellas.  I have a natural affinity towards anything old school, and these umbrellas definitely take me back to a different time. Who knew they came in so many shapes, styles and had such history?!  Pagodas, parasols, and lots of ruffles... oh my!

I did decide to use umbrellas for a piece from our spring dances, and while we didn't rent any from Bella Umbrella this time around, we did find some cute ones at JoAnn's.  These are just the right size for my students, and seeing them peek out from under them is pretty priceless and would make any rain clouds disappear. 

CYC Dance in Concord Patch!

Just a quick note to let you all know about the article on CYC (Community Youth Center) featured on Concord Patch.  Check it out and see if you can find the picture of my cute dancers in our studio!

http://concord-ca.patch.com/articles/youth-center-focuses-on-discipline-dedication

On another note, I'm in Toronto, Ontario this week for a teacher training and will have lots of fun and inspiring things to share soon, stay tuned!