store closing

I got this leotard in purple. Picture doesn't do it justice, it's very pretty.
So the day after our show i found out that our local Danskin store was closing and having a HUGE sale on all their stuff. After i got my after-show massage (which was awesome!! and totally needed) I bought $378 worth of dance stuff for $52. Yes, $52. It was amazing and i am stocked now on dance wear for a LONG time. Here's what i got for only $52:
-2 new leotards
-4pairs of tights
-2pairs of black stretch pants (for teaching/warm-ups)
-2 new shirts one tank one long sleeve

As many dancers know, a new leotard ranges from $30-40. I got mine for $6.99. I was very excited about my bargin finds!

The last show went SO well. Our best show yet. Our dancing was spot on because the last show gave us an extra push to do our best and give all our energy. The stage was amazing as well as the theater. I'm pretty sure that it was a converted church because the theater had stain glass windows and was in the round. I have pictures, but i will post them in the next post when i have more time. ( and feel less lazy )

For my time off i plan on staying in shape as much as possible. I will still be teaching so i won't be complete couch potatoe. I also decided to start running (ok, most likely jogging) with my booba every once in a while now that it's getting nicer out. I also will continue my search to see if there are any last min. auditions out there. It's been a rough season for auditioners. Not a lot of places hiring and lots laying off. Booba took some video of our studio show as well as company class so i will be putting together a video to send out with my resume. Maybe i will post that as well when i get it together.

To be honest, the next couple of days i plan on being pretty lazy. It's been a long season. This time off is good for us all to heal old injuries, catch up on lost sleep, and refresh our bodies and minds for the next season.

I can smell spring and feel it. It makes me excited to know that warm weather is just around the corner. I want to get out and take it all in. Good bye hybernation, hello sun.

Love love love
~Sara~

last call!

We have our final Sleeping Beauty show tonight!!! I can't believe all this time spent in the studio rehearsing and performing and the season will be over in a matter of hours. I'll try to take some pictures since i keep forgetting. I look forward to some time off, but will continue to take class and stay in shape.

Yay to the weekend!
Hope you all have a good one.
~Sara~



i will be like sleeping beauty after these shows. i can't wait to sleep in !!

this video still gives me chills. it hits a cord with me for some reason. i can connect to its emotion.

So, the shows this past weekend went very well. The audience really responded well to having an in studio showing. They enjoyed how upclose and personal the show was. They were able to see every expression on our faces and felt more apart of the story being told. It was def. hard to get through two shows with only an hr. in between each one, but i think we all pulled it off very professionaly.

The show the following day was just pieces from sleeping beauty followed by a question and answer session. That was successful as well. And can i just tell you , i LOVE those red hat ladies. They were so excited to be there and asked very good questions. I'm glad they all had a good time because we all certainly enjoyed performing for them. PLUS, they barely drank any wine so the company enjoyed a glass or two in celebration when we were done. It was the perfect ending to a long weekend!

One more show to go this coming Friday! I can't believe there's only one more!! This show will be a good one. We have a beautiful backdrop and scenery for this show that is provided by the venue. We have also sold a lot of tickets already. I'm very excited as well because my mom will be coming out to see me. :) I always like performing when i know someone is in the audience for me. It gives me that extra push to perform the best i can.

After the show the company is going to have a little party to celebrate a wonderful but LONG season coming to an end. Lots of people are leaving to go home and see their families that some haven't seen in a year! Our season is over for now excecpt for our wine tasting and silent auction fundraiser in May that I may be performing at. It will be a lot of down time till we pick up our season mid August. We will still have classes for those who want to attend and i'm teaching at our summer camp starting in June. So, the break won't be completely boring for me. There are tons of things i want to do and places to go before we start back up.
On a positive note we had our evaluations with our director today that went well. (she lets us know our progress and what we will be doing next yr- if we are staying or not) She mentioned how i have improved and things to work on for next season. I always find these chats helpful because we never really to one-on-one time with her. It lets you know what she thinks of you as a dancer and ways to better ourselves. Although i might not always agree with their opinions I take what they say seriously and apply it to the best of my ability to my dancing. Everyday a little bit stronger a little bit wiser!
I'll be talking to you soon.
~Sara~

While driving to class/rehearsal ive decided that if my life had a soundtrack it would be to enya. What would be yours?
~*sara*~

long weekend

picture from class by craig www.craigbillow.com
pic. from class by Craig www.craigbillow.com (booba)
happy spring everyone. (finally)

I have a long weekend ahead of me with shows so i'll be most likely relaxing tonight. During rehearsal today i felt very strong. My variation went well and my director even commented on how much stronger it had gotten when i was finished. It felt good to hear that because i have been working on bettering my technique for the past few weeks. I've been arriving early before class and stretching a lot along with my pilates exercises. I think the results are slowly starting to show. It feels good to have someone notice.

I feel like i haven't gotten to see many of my friends due to my schedule. I hate that and i really hope they aren't taking it personally. On top of teaching and rehearsals i barely have time for myself let alone others. I need a lot of "me" time, so days that i will have free i sometimes need to just recharge myself and spend some time alone. I've always been like that since i can remember. I will try to make some dates with friends as soon as these shows are over in a week or so. Booba has been very patient with our limited time as well. He even came out to class the other day just to spend time with me. I love dancing for him. He's the one critic that never notices my "off" days and supports me through my hardest moments.

Well, i hope spring warms up a little bit more. I hope all of you are doing well. Have a wonderful weekend. I'll update about shows later!

~Sara~

Another elementary school performance! We just finished and i get to go home early and take a nap before teaching tonight.
~*sara*~

Spring season

Today was just beautiful out! I only wish it would just stay this temperature now. Todays performance at the middle school went well. It was a very active crowd and they all asked very intelligent questions. These school shows are really starting to grow on me! We have another one tommorow at 10am (early ick). I like being able to perform in front of kids who may other wise never get to see a ballet. I hope that we can reach at least one of them to pursue dance as a career or go see a ballet.

Our show this past weekend went....fairly well. We got a really late start on our tech rehearsal due to poorly organized timing with the stage crew. When we got there the floor was JUST being put down so we had a long wait for the rest of the scenery to be assembled and tested. We all spent a lot of time just sitting around waiting and i got a few games of sudduko in.


Once the tech actually DID start it was a little rough since we had to practice filling in with the students and little kids dances. We only got through 2 1/2 acts. (3act ballet) before we were at 20min. call for the show!! Things were really rushed and a few of us were trying to put on makeup while we weren't on stage during the tech.

The show had a pretty decent turnout. (having students in the show helps to bring audiences-moms,dads,ect) We had a few scenery 'whoops' moments, some actually really comical. During the opening scene there is a peasant dance and once they are done they sit on benches to watch the next scene. Well, as this one couple goes to sit down there is a loud cracking noise and the one end of the bench they just sat on just breaks. The legs just gave out at one end and they went sliding on top of each other. They covered it well by simply standing up gesturing at the broken bench and shaking their heads and walking over to another couple to talk as if it were staged. A few of us in the wings were laughing so hard we were on the ground covering our hands over our mouths. In another act part of the castle fell down. It was just a small piece, but of course that small piece fell during a silence and made a large noise.

Dancing wise i feel like everyone was pretty much on. Of course a few nerves took over and there were little mistakes here and there, but nothing dramatic for being our opening show. (and mind you, all learned and rehearsed in a little less than three weeks)

In other news, sadly our upcoming saturday performance had to be cancelled. I guess the venue ended up charging us more than we expected and due to low ticket sales we had to pull out. We WILL however due an in house performance of the show at our studio locations. Instead of one show we will have two (because of audience space) and the tickets will be discounted. I'm a little bummed about it because there is something about the stage and lights that truely makes performing exciting. I feel like we will be missing that element when doing it in the studios. It will be the full ballet with costumes and all, but it just lack that magical feel and the element of surprise. Times are tough and this just shows it!

Sunday will be a wine tasting and showing at the studio. I love these because they are very personal and intimate shows. We will just be doing parts from sleeping beauty and there will be food and wine. I also enjoy the after show wine tasting by the company. aka- we drink what's left over. :) I heard the red hat ladies will be joining us for this performance. I love those ladies and think it's such a cute idea.

Well, it's my night off during the week (no teaching) and i have to sew some pointe shoes and get some stuff together for our shows this weekend so i'm ready early. Best to you all!! :)
and happy early (only by a few days) spring!!!

Love, ~Sara~

Elementary showing #3 and one more tommorow. We are busy busy so ill update later!
~*sara*~

In the van on our way to margate we had company class at 1 and tech starts at 4pm. Here we go...
~*sara*~

if tinkerbell had a dance...

it would prob. look like this...she's so damn moody

beauty sleep

first off, this is just beautiful :



Secondly, we open tommorow with sleeping beauty in Margate! :) I'm excited to be on the stage again. (It's been since the end of Dec. with nutcracker.) I feel ready for the most part. It helped that we had two elementary school showings of pieces from the ballet. I got to run my fairy variation for both of those shows so at least i know that piece is ready. I also decided with those shows that i am kidnaping the little kids and bringing them with the company to these performances. Their clapping and cheering was just so refreshing. I live for audiences like them. But, as many performers know, you don't always get the best reactions. It really does help motivate you when you feel people watching are connecting with you on stage. It's a powerful thing really.
Well, my brain is elsewhere right now with packing my stuff up for tommorow. Merde to us all!
I'm very excited and feeling positive. I'll be txting via my cell phone as the day goes on :)

~Sara~

We are headed in the big van to perform for elementary kids right now. Pieces from sleeping beauty. Its early. Blah.
~*sara*~