Category Archives: Ballet Dancer

Someday.

Posted on by
5

My little ballerina after her class…
 photo2

…gazing longingly at her idol Yvette and the “big girl ballerinas.”

photo

She loves to tell me “only 4 or 5 years til I get to dance in pointe shoes, like Yvette!”  Yes, this is the same girl who sobbed throughout her entire first ballet recital.

First day pro

She is currently prepping for two roles in the much anticipated Peter Pan
at the end of next month and I think ballet has become “her thing.”

Left...right...

I’m glad she’s stuck it out so far. And I may be incredibly biased,
but she makes the most beautiful ballerina.

Idohwannaleave!

Bella, Bella Dancerellas

Posted on by
7

We had a weekend full of ballet, ballet and more ballet. I was lucky (?!) enough to be in charge of one set of ballerinas during the dress rehearsal on Saturday so I was able to get some photos. Which actually was a Godsend since there is no photography or videoing during the recital.

The recital was called “It’s a Small World” and so we began in Germany with our little flowers dancing to one of my all-time favorite songs “Edelweiss.”

DSC_0127.jpg

Yeah, I cried through the whole performance. I used to sing this song to the girls while I was rocking them, so there was that.

DSC_0086.jpg

But also, (if you recall Addie’s last recital, a long, long time ago that was a bit of a disaster with her just sitting up on stage and crying for me!) it was pure joy to see her up on the stage excited to be performing and dancing her little heart out. She knew all of the steps and wait until you see the video – she was beaming and smiling from ear to ear the entire song during the actual recital.

DSC_0070.jpg

She was sweet, yet self assured and confident wrapped into one braid-wearing package. It was breathtaking to watch.

DSC_0120.jpg

And then we traveled to Ireland and found our Irish fairies.

fairies.jpg

Our Em and Audrey are just such old pros…they didn’t seem phased at all by the fact that they were going out to dance in front of a packed house.

DSC_0094.jpg

It continues to astound me how sweet her circle of friends is and how she can have such a good time anywhere with anyone.

DSC_0045.jpg

And it makes me so proud to see her spread her wings and try a bunch of new things.

DSC_0011.jpg

I can’t wait to see where both our ballerinas land.

DSC_0163.jpg

Not-so Crafty Tuesday

Posted on by
8

It is almost not-so Tuesday any more, actually.  And I am here without a crafty thing to show.

I did a lot of “must do’s” this week…helped with 20 gold vests for lovely gold bunnies dancing in their first ballet performance.  But alas, I didn’t get a photo of the bunnies in their costumes. I did, however, get this cute pic of the performers. Can you see the relief on their faces? They were fantastic.

DSC_0127.jpg

Besides ballet, ballet, ballet this weekend – I took the Brownies on an overnight. That really deserves a post all to its’ own – maybe when I get those photos downloaded, and have had a few more cups of coffee, I will bevrecuperated enough and ready to relive that experience.

I have been promising my mom that I would post some photos of our living room re-do that has been in progress for approximately three months now. It started when we stayed in the villa back in November and it was decided (a whole family decision, mind you) that we needed a larger, more “lounge-y” sofa.

So we began a very long search and found one similar in shape and size to the one we fell in love with on Catalina. And then I took the photo to a fantastic place in downtown LA that builds your sofa with your sizes, choice of fabrics – and the added bonus – quite cheaply!  So we got a new sofa. J. was adamant that it should be a very dark color, and I finally gave in on his sofa color choice, but told him that we would need a new rug because it would be far too dark in our already kind of dark room.

So once our sofa was installed, the hunt for the rug began. Three rugs later I think we have found one we all love to walk on and works in the room.

And then…(oh, of course there is always an “and then…”) we needed a new coffee table. After several ottoman and table try-outs, I think we have also found a table that works.

So here is where we are right now…

DSC_0132.jpg

Sofa = Room for all of us to lay completely down at the same time + a nice warm (dark!) color + a fabric the kitty doesn’t seem to “need” to sharpen her claws on (it is a low-pile, almost chenille-like fabric). Plus, it fills out our very large space that we have in the living room.

Rug = Yes, it is a cream color, but so far so good. And yes, it is indeed a “shag.” My mom incredulously asked me, “A shag? Like the ugly shag carpet you used to have in your bedroom?” Um…yes? It is so very nice on the feet, though.

Table = I love the round table, we have a lot of boxy, square shapes in the room, so a little circle is nice. The glass on the top is a bit of a pain, but it is worth it, I think.

One of the things I love is that the chaise opens up so we can enjoy the fireplace, too. And now I need to work on that photo project over the mantle. One thing always seems to lead to another…

DSC_0139.jpg

Crafty Tuesday

Posted on by
Reply

Pink and purple and sparkles…that is what little girls’ ballet bags are made of.

I have been wanting to make a bag for her ballet slippers since Em started dancing, oh…three years ago or so. And now her friend has started dance class as well, and I thought a bag would be a good gift for her.  Finally I was able to find pink, purple, sparkly fabric with toe shoes on it.

So, bags were made yesterday!

Ballet bag

Emma’s face when I handed her bag to her was priceless. “OH, Mama! I really love it,” she squealed. And then Elizabeth and her ballet clothes were put into the bag within the first five minutes and we headed over to the park.

Em's bag

Perhaps, I’ll have to make her a bag/backpack to carry Elizabeth. I can’t even imagine the reaction I would get from that one.

The Nutcracker in 5 minutes

Posted on by
10

Em’s dance teacher usually does one big recital at the end of the year, but before the semester break she lets the parents come in to see the progress the dancers have been making. Last week the class did a version of the Nutcracker – the five minute version.

Em is the very first dancer, the first snow fairy – she had to hold her arabesque the longest, she told me later that it was a good thing I made her eat her protein, so her muscles didn’t get tired.

I asked her if she was nervous having to dance by herself and she said, “Yes. I was nervous in my tummy and then I just looked at you and I didn’t feel nervous anymore – because I knew it was just all the Mamas!”

And Addie giving her favorite ballerina a little hug after it was over.

Hugs

Miss Caroline supplied the hooker-red lipstick, which of course all of the girls loved. It was promptly wiped off as much as possible before her other performance that evening – the school Christmas program.

And yes, I did let Addie go out of the house like that. And no, she was not going to dance class. But I LOVE the boots, and going for the layered look with not one – but two tutus!

Hula Ballerina

Posted on by
Reply

More from our prima ballerina. Yesterday was their summer dance recital and Em did wonderfully, of course. She is a true performer, lost her grass skirt at the end of the piece, but still managed to get it back on and finish up the dance, bows, etc. Miss Claire’s “she is a such a trooper” comment is about Em, so definitely watch til the end! It is cute.

The video:

I’m working on getting some pics up, too. For now, here is my favorite one of the day. She seriously looks like she is twice her age, so tall, perfect form. Looks like a true ballerina.

em_pose.jpg

We stayed to watch the little dancers (ages 2-3), which is the class that Addie will be in this fall. She has Miss Claire right now for a little music and dance class, so she knows and loves Miss Claire already. Anyhow, as the little girls were doing their dance, everything Miss Claire was telling them to do, Addie would do on my lap. She was following directions better than half of the dancers on stage!

I’m so very excited to have two little ballerinas in the house. Yes, I always wanted to be a ballet dancer. I think I might be living a little bit vicariously through the girls in this aspect, but as long as they love it, too, it isn’t really hurting anyone, right?

Wicked-ly Good Time

Posted on by
Reply

My sister just left this morning. That was the reason for my non-existent blogging this week…we have been having too much fun!

It is also the reason for my boo-hoo blues all day. Man, I really, really miss her already. It is amazing how you can know someone so completely, and still never have enough time to talk and tell each other all the things you need to.  We had a great dinner and went to the theater, just Meesh and I, last night. And I got to share her excitement as she watched Wicked for the first time, which was almost as enjoyable as seeing it for the second time. That is one terrific adventure!

So our revolving door of visitors is temporarily suspended, I am working on two projects due by Friday (yikes!), and trying to pack and do all the trivial little things that need to be done so we can leave for our vacation on Saturday.

Aye….in other words, my blogging drought will probably continue for a few more days. But I promise later tonight/tomorrow I’ll post the adorable video and pics of Em in her dance recital yesterday. She was a prima ballerina as always – and pretty darn good with the tap shoes, too! We were very impressed once again that she really seems to have the poise and determination of a dancer. (She was, of course, the most beautiful dancer as well. This coming from a purely unbiased mommy.)

Best Shot (& Video) Monday

Posted on by
Reply

Today is a double treat! I have both a picture for Picture This‘ Best Shot Monday and a video from Emma Gracie’s dance recital this past weekend.

You all are going to think that I only take pictures of the girls in the bathtub, I don’t. However, bathtime is always at the end of the day, and they are all relaxed and looking cute. And if I haven’t taken any pics of them on that particular day, it just seems like a good time to get some shots. This week’s is of Em since I’ve done Addie the past two weeks.

I think I keep getting all hung up on getting a perfect shot for the Best Shot Monday – when really I just want to start making sure I capture as much of our everyday life as I can. In this pic I really love the colors in the shower curtain (that she is peeking out around) and that it is not a posed “smile” picture like so many are when she sees the camera…

em_bath_sm.jpg

And the video is below. The ballerinas were all little Ariels, (the Little Mermaid). She did a terrific job. I was amazed again at how great she listened to Miss Claire and knew the dance. She is quite a bella ballerina!

(Technical note: Mommy made sure the video camera was charged…however it was at the end of the tape. Bah! So J. videoed the whole recital on his little camera. It did a pretty great job, but you can’t zoom in, so…she is the 2nd one from the end on the left, in case you can’t really see her all that well! You can also see up close pics in the flickr account.)