Dance on Pinterest

Ok, I know I'm a little late on the bandwagon here, but I just joined Pinterest, and of course, I love it!  I never thought I wouldn't, and my tardiness isn't due to lack of interest or realization that this is a fun, fun thing, more that I'm the type of girl who likes to watch and observe trends from the wings for a bit.  It might be silly, but I guess that's just how I roll when it comes to things like this.

For months now I've observed and enjoyed seeing what my friends have been Pinning.  I've ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the beautiful photography and pretty fashions, giggled at the funny parodies and jokes and pondered the more serious and contemplative quotes and allegories.  And now, I've joined the masses!

Any of you who are dance lovers and have a Pinterest know there is a ton of dance stuff out there, and while I'm still exploring, I wanted to share some of my immediate favorites!

This totally reminds me of me!  Love the interaction going on here!

Also reminds me of teaching and working with my students.  I wonder
if she's a butterfly or a fairy?

Taptastic!  Crazy respect for the artist who had the patience to do this!

Totally wanting to show up to ballet class with this 'do!

I'm so excited to have a new project to work on! (And a little worried actually... taking bets on how many hours per week I can kill on Pinterest.  3...5... do I hear a 7?)  I'm still setting up my profile and getting the lay of Pinterest Land, but follow me!  http://www.pinterest.com/whirlsntwirls is where you can find me, looking forward to sharing all things dance!

An Angelina Ballerina Birthday Party!

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to help host a Ballerina Birthday for Lovelle, an aspiring and precocious turning 5 year old, who's love for Angelina Ballerina shaped the theme and setting for her birthday.  

Angelina was everywhere to be found in Lovelle's house, and the pink and white colors gave everything from the cake to the decorations to the table setting a fantastic balletic feel.  Guests gathered around as we read the first and most classic Angelina Ballerina book by Kathrine Holabird.  We skipped through pansies, leapt through flower beds, and practiced our curtsies as Angelina does.  Lovelle and her guests were adorable in their tutus (some brought their own dress up items and others were borrowed from The Ballerina Birthday's Tutu Tower).  They were all lovely twirling and galloping around the room.

Guests gather around the crown craft!

Our craft for the day was a princess crown, colored, bejeweled and sticker-ed to perfection, and we closed up the afternoon with performances by The Ballerina Birthday staff.

Jr. Ballerina Birthday staff members dressed and ready to go!

Deep in concentration...

I hope Lovelle had a wonderful birthday and the year ahead of her is filled with dance and magic.  Angelina Ballerina is one of my favorite stories to do at parties; she's a wonderful character with lots of spunk.  I'm teaching a few Angelina Ballerina summer dance camps in Sonoma next month (check out more info here) and am getting excited to dive into a summer of dance with Angelina and friends!

En Pointe

This is a great video that gives good insight into pointe shoes and pointe work.  While many can appreciate the strength and grace dancers on pointe have (and little ones love to imitate ballerinas dancing on their toes), few realize the process that the shoes and the dancers go through to produce the performances we see.  This is also a great video for dancers hoping to one day be promoted to pointe work, as well as parents to give them a heads up as to what's involved!  This video features a few lovely dancers from the Australian Ballet.  Hope you enjoy!  

Here are some links to pointe related blog posts from the past as well:
http://www.theballerinabirthday.com/2011/03/pretty-pointes.html
http://www.theballerinabirthday.com/2012/01/so-this-girl-walks-up-to-barre.html

Audrey's Ballerina Birthday

Audrey is a student of mine at Sonoma Ballet Conservatory, and I was thrilled to be able to celebrate her 5th birthday with her and her adorable friends a few weeks ago.  It was a beautiful day in Sonoma, and the Women's Center off the Sonoma Plaza provided a charming and quaint venue with a great little stage; it was the perfect setting for our Swan Lake themed Ballerina Birthday.

After reading the story of Odette and Prince Sigfried, the tutu clad cuties practiced stretching their swan wings, cast their own magic spells with ribbons and wands and lept over blue scarves (instead of swan lakes, swan puddles?).  With two advanced dancers from Sonoma Ballet Conservatory assisting me and performing themselves (variations from Swan Lake and The Tales of Beatrix Potter to name a few) we made for a lovely group!  

Audrey chose crowns as her craft and all the guests did a beautiful job with their creations, placing stickers and sequins just so.  And it wouldn't be a Ballerina Birthday without cupcakes!  Delicious and with pretty pink frosting, they were the perfect close to a fantastic party.  Happy Birthday to Audrey and a big thanks to her family for including me in the celebrations!

Sonoma Ballet Conservatory's The Snow Maiden

I've been working with Sonoma Ballet Conservatory for almost four months now, and have been impressed with their lovely dancers and fellow staff members and Artistic Director and Owner Patricia O'Reilly.  This weekend the school will perform The Snow Maiden, a traditional Russian folk tale with all the makings of a fantastic ballet: romance, magic, some humor, and good music.  In addition to being a ballet, The Snow Maiden has also been performed as a play and opera, first appearing in 1873 and underwent several revisions and there are still slight differences in plot and characters between the opera, play, and ballet.  Here is the version that Sonoma Ballet Conservatory will be performing this weekend:

There is a legend that says if you build a beautiful snow girl and wish hard enough,

 the Snow Queen will bring her to life.

In a little village in long ago Russia, a childless Old Woman and her spirit, The Domovoi, build a beautiful snow girl every year in the hopes that it will come to life as a Snow Maiden.  One year, during a skating party, a Gypsy Fortune-Teller comes to the village and reads in the Old Woman’s palm that her daughter will meet her future husband that night.  Everyone is upset that the Gypsy is so cruel, and they chase her out of town.  The Domovoi uses its magic to call upon the Snow Queen, who transforms the snow girl into a Snow Maiden.  The  Snow Maiden is warned that if the warmth of love should touch her heart, she will melt and return to the Land Of Snow forever.  The Snow Maiden’s eyes briefly meet those of Lel, the handsome shepherd, as the Old Woman guides her into the hut.

By Spring, the Snow Maiden has made many friends.  The 4 naughty older daughters of the Boyaress entice Lel and the Snow Maiden into dancing together.  He professes his love for the Snow Maiden, and she returns his affection.  But, as warned, the Snow Maiden melts and sadly returns to the Land Of Snow.  The village is despondent, but The Domovoi calls upon the 4 Winds to help Lel rescue the Snow Maiden.  The brassy West Wind appears first and gives Lel a magic axe that will defeat all enemies.  The elegant South Wind brings wine that will warm the coldest heart.  The playful East Wind brings a feather from the Firebird.  The remote North Wind brings a necklace of pearls that will keep the Snow Maiden cool forever and takes Lel to the Land Of Snow.

The Snow Maiden is presented to the court of the Snow Queen.  She is welcomed by the Frost Fairy, the Ice Princess, the Snow Flakes, the Snow Balls, the Icicles, the Ice Crystals and Mama Winter with her Snow Drops.  But even the antics of the Snow Man and Little Jack Frost can’t bring a smile to her face.  When Lel appears, he defeats the Snow Guards with the magic axe and warms the Snow Queen’s heart with the magic wine.  He puts the magic necklace around the Snow Maiden’s neck and uses the feather to call the Firebird.  The Firebird takes them back to the village where the Old Woman and The Domovoi are overjoyed to see them.  Everyone celebrates the love of Lel for his Snow Maiden.

The performances are Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th at 1:00 p.m. at the historic Sebastiani Theatre in downtown Sonoma.  Tickets are $22 for adults and $17 for children and seniors.  Here is the theatre's website,  buy tickets online or at the door!  Check out Sonoma Ballet Conservatory's website here, or their Facebook page here.  

So this girl walks up to the barre...

As previously documented, one of my New Year's goals is to 'Move More'.  So, I signed up for a ballet class at the local Jr. College.  I like the JC option because #1 I'm taking a few other classes so I'm already on campus, and #2 I know that if it's something I'll get a grade in, I'm more likely to really show up everyday than if the class was on a drop in basis.  So, this week is the first week back to school... everyone has their new bags and (overpriced) textbooks all shiny and new, and all the teachers are going over syllabi while the students digest it all and gear up for the semester.  In my ballet class I find out, ballet terminology will be tested (which as an instructor myself I'm glad to see), and my instructor makes a comment about students needing to at least try to learn the proper spelling for the French ballet vocabulary words.  As she tells us this I have a little inward chuckle, because I can imagine a beginners face as he/she tries to pronounce, understand, and spell ballet words.

So today I'm offering up a mini lesson in ballet vocab, hopefully to shed some light on what those words actually mean, and why they're called what they're called.

First off, the ballet barre is not the same as a bar.  I know, it's pronounced the same and its an easy mistake to make, but the ballet barre is the long handrail that runs down the sides of a ballet studio where dancers take their warm up.  It's a tool to test their placement, balance and should really act as a partner (as in pas de deux), not as a crutch.

Which brings me to the next word: pas de deux - dance for two.  Usually a man and woman (a la the pas of the Sugar Plum and her Cavallier in The Nutcracker), but can be for two women as well, or for two men.  Pas de tois = dance for three, pas de quatre = dance for four, and so on.

Plie (or as my friend Kristina likes to say: pee-lay) - means to bend.  If I had a penny for every plie I did in my life I'd be a rich rich woman.  Plies are one of the first exercises dancers do at the barre for warm up, demis (little) bends of the knee, or grands (bigger) bends.

Releve - lifted, or raised.  When a dancer rises on to the balls of the feet.

Reitere - to withdraw.  Also known as passe in some ballet vocab methods.  When one toe is placed at the knee of the standing leg.

Pirouette - to whirl about.  Priouettes are turns on one leg though, one leg is doing the turning on releve, while the other foot is placed in retiere, with the toe underneath the knee of the turning leg.

Pointe - the type of shoes women wear to stand on their toes, and the epiotme of what most people picture when they hear 'ballerina'.  Good to know though, that pointe shoes weren't worn by dancers until about much later into its history.

So there you have it, a few French words and your ballet vernacular is on its way; if nothing else now you can hold a conversation with any balletomane and know for certain that a bar is really not a barre at all.  : )

A Backyard Ballerina Birthday

It was a beautifully sunny day for little Georgia's ballerina birthday this past Sunday in San Mateo.  The birthday girl greeted me in her leotard and tutu, with pink bows in her hair, ready to turn 4 and to celebrate... ballerina style!  So that's exactly what we did!  Heather, Georgia's mother had a beautiful set up in their backyard, and Georgia's guests' eyes grew wide as I wheeled in my tutu tower (the tutu tower deserves its own blog post...to be attended to at a later date), stacked high with over 20 tutus for Georgia and her guests to choose from.

But, first things first!  We had to set the mood of our dance lesson by sitting down to read Angelina Ballerina.  After our reading, we warmed up by trying out some of Angelina's moves, including our arabesques, which were beautiful, but had the unfortunate effect of knocking over Mrs. Mouslings cheddar cheese pies (insert silly miming by the dancers and an explosion of giggles).  Being nice and warmed up, it was time to choose tutus, then we paraded around in butterfly wings and perched on flowers, skipped in partners across the patio and finished things up with a game of freeze dance using our fairy wands. 

Once our curtsies finished up the dancing portion of the day, it was time to make our own fairy wands, and there were some beautiful creations, these were some crafty ballerinas.

It was such a fun afternoon, Georgia was the perfect hostess and all her guests were charming as was the setting of the party.  Thank you to Georgia and her family for letting me celebrate with them!

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

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. 

San Francisco Ballet's Coppelia

This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking 22 of my students to see San Francisco Ballet's production of Coppelia.  Despite the few bathroom trips that proved to be the logistical equivalent to herding cats, I was one proud teacher parading my well dressed, adorable, and well behaved students through the San Francisco Opera House.  Their excitement and awe was gratifying, watching them literally hang on to the edges of their seats in order to get a better view was a very heartwarming thing to see.

Photo by: Eric Tommason

The story of Coppelia is a fun one, if you don't know the story, click here.  I'm not a huge fan of the Romantic brooding ballets such as Giselle and Swan Lake, I prefer more light hearted pieces, and Coppelia definitely fits the bill.

On Sunday's matinee Maria Kochetkova played Swanhilda (who is actually the main character of the ballet, despite the title of the ballet).  She was a lovely and playful Swanhilda, bringing vibrant jumps onstage, and a series of jumps en pointe in Act III that made me clap with appreciation halfway through her variation (one of my students whispered to me "You're not supposed to clap yet Miss Katrena".  I couldn't help myself, it was great!  Swanhilda's lover Franz was played by Gennadi Nedvigin, who was also playful in his demeanor, and played a perfect flirt.  He as well brought some soaring leaps, tours, and clean double and triple turns to the stage.  Together, they were a cute pair, their onstage chemistry was flirty and fun.  Dr. Coppelius was played by a grumpy but charming Damian Smith.  Smith did a great job of playing an old man obsessed by his habits and hobbies, yet still found a way into the audiences heart as a rather silly, but tender old man.  I always have a special admiration for dancers who can really inhabit their character and bring its personality to the stage.

Act I opened to gorgeous sets of Swanhilda's village.  The sets (and gorgeous costumes) were designed by Roberta Guidi di Bagno were richly colored and vibrant; a happy setting to match the plot of this ballet.  My favorite part of Act I was the character dancing.  (Think traditional folk dancing from areas such as Hungary, Poland and Russia).  Coincidentally enough, the RAD teacher training program I'm doing teaches character dances such as what was performed in Act I in its syllabus; 2 weeks ago when I was in Toronto for a training I studied these forms in great detail.  I'm happy to report that I was thoroughly impressed with the dancers representation of the style of dance.  If done properly, it's exciting, elegant and gives the entire ballet dimension.

Act II finds Swanhilda and her friends exploring Dr. Coppelius' house and all his dolls and toys.  Swanhilda's friends (made up mostly of dancers from the corps) were quite charming, again I was impressed with the characters each of them inhibited and brought to the stage.  There was a nice variety of the spunky and outgoing friends, to the shy and timid ones.  This individuality can often be lost in a group of dancers in the corps, it was refreshing to see it done so well.  As Act II closes the audience becomes aware that Coppelia is not a person at all, but a doll of Dr. Coppelius' making and imagination.

Act III is the wedding scene where Franz and Swanhilda come together with villagers to celebrate their union.  Again there was some fantastic character dancing, but I was a bit disappointed in the story telling (or lack thereof) in this final act.  Traditionally, Dr. Coppelius demands to be repaid for the damage that Swanhilda and her friends caused in his house and is devastated at loosing his favorite doll Coppelia.  Franz and Swanhilda give Dr. Coppelius their dowery money and Dr. Coppelius joins in the festivities and flirtations with Swanhilda's widowed mother.  This element of the story was not clear at all, Dr. Coppelius seemed to just rush onstage and shake hands with a few people before exiting for the rest of the Act.  That's my only one complaint about the third act, otherwise it featured some beautiful variations by soloists and a wonderful group piece by students of the San Francisco Ballet School, not to mention an impressive pas de deux beteween Franz and Swanhilda.

I highly recommend Coppelia, especially for kids.  It's one of the best children's ballets I think, and I can assure you that my students were thrilled to watch it and be a part of it, and I was so glad that I was able to experience it with them!  Want another opinion?  Here's a great review by Geri Jeter http://calitreview.com/14985

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!

Tricky Turn-Out (and one tenacious tot)!

When I saw this video, I had to share; this little one is just too cute!  I've seen many of my students struggle with mastering first position as well.  Turn-out (an outward rotation of the legs from the hips) is one of the most iconic images people recognize in dancers, and trying to figure out how turn-out works is not easy, which is why we start learning it at such an early age!  

Many people wonder why ballet dancers use turn-out in the first place, it's not a natural movement of the body, can put stress on ankles and knees, and is just so difficult!  Turn-out actually not only helps dancers move faster in quicker steps such as petit and grand allegro, but it gives them a greater range of movement and motion.  In the court of Louis the XIV, not only did men's fashions (in that day, men did the majority of theatre dancing) demand them to use turn out (their wide topped boots forced them to turn their legs out when they moved), but theaters in that day sat audiences only on one side, and dancers could really only move side to side, and were not allowed to turn their backs to the members of the audience.

I admire this little ballerinas tenacity... my favorite tactic is when kids literally try to place their own feet in first position, usually resulting in them falling over, but hey, if at first you don't succeed....!