My Recital(s) Stories

   Since recital at my studio is coming up (oh dear!) I thought I would share some silly moments from the past years that have made me smile.
  The Wifi Dilema(2015)- At my 2015 recital, I was put into a room with all my company friends. All of us are probably the most idiotic, clumsiest people you would meet. Since all of company get moved into one room, we were all messing around. (Before I move on, keep in mind that all company girls get let into the dressing rooms early, don't ask why. Because I have no idea.) We were waiting for the show to start and we were all on our phones. The Wifi was reaalllly bad in the room we were in, and some of us were desperate. There was only one spot in the entire room that had wifi: in the corner ceiling. To get there, people had to climb on stacks of chairs to get good internet. One of my friends climbed up there... and fell. It was scary at the time, and then it became a funny joke.



2/4ths(2015)- This was actually at a competition, not a recital but I thought it was worth sharing.
We were all at our third competition of the year and we just finished our solos. We were talking about how we think they went, and some people were saying how bad they did. I tried to cheer everyone up by saying at one of the competitions I thought I was smiling the whole time. But as I watched the video back, I only smiled (I tried to say 1/3rd) 2/4ths at the time. I didn't realize I could of said 1/2 instead of 2/4, and I still get teased about it today. Every time I get interrupted, I like to say "Will you let me finish my 2/4ths?!" Its a joke were its not very funny, but somehow, it is.



The FALL(2015)- Last year at recital, I had a tap company piece. We performed it in all three shows, but the first show, bad things happened. We had a turn section in the dance, and I FELL, on my butt, in front of EVERYONE. It was super embarrassing. It was so bad that They replaced that video with a different one in the recital dvd, so no one would see my fall.

How to Handle your Dance Stuff

 Whenever you go to a dance competition/recital and your in 7+ dances, I strongly recommend getting a dream duffel. Its a large suitcase that turns into a costume rack, and it comes in handy ALOT.

      This is what it looks like with the rack all set up.
   There are many different parts of the dream duffel, and Ill go through them right now.
  The accessory pocket-  Theres a pocket where you put an accessory box in. Inside the box you can store bobby pins, hair ties, safety pins, and all sorts of things. There are dividers so nothing gets mixed up.
 The inside pockets- Inside the dream duffel, there are about 5 pockets that you can put anything in. Its good to put shoes in, hair spray, makeup, and anything else.
 The food pocket- In the front left theres an insulated pocket for putting food, and water in.
The back- In the back theres a large pocket where you put in a stand up stool.
   Thats really all there is to it. The dream duffel is an awesome way to store your costumes, especially when you have a long show coming up. Its what I always use!

Different Dancers

    Hey! I was thinking about a certain Youtuber (SuperWoman) and how she always makes different types of people videos. I thought, what if I made of for dancers? And here I am. These are just some stereotypes that I've come across throughout the years.
   Disrespectful Student- This student doesn't care about dancing, they're just there because their parents won't let them quit or their best friend is in the class. I once knew a girl who took her phone and started texting behind a pillar while my teacher was teaching. It really upset me.
  The Quiet One- This dancer is silent during class and focused, but once they leave the studio, they yap and talk so much that it annoys you.
  That Girl- This girl is one of my least favorites. This person is defiantly not the best in the class, but they like to think that they are. They talk back to the teacher asking for special parts, when they really don't deserve them.  
  Modest Girl- This dancer is generally really good but doesn't think that they are. There are the Modest girls who say that they suck just to get compliments, or the modest girls who really just don't think that they're good at dancing.
   Theres not a name for this girl, although they're my favorite type of dancers. They're not the best, but they know that. They know what they have to work on, and they try really hard in all their classes.
    These are just a few stereotypes that i've come across throughout my years of dancing. Thanks for
reading:)

The Time I Got Stuck Onstage

 Just a funny story from a few years ago!
  A few years ago, I used to take aerial dance class (aka dancing on silks). It was my first year and I put myself straight into a level 2 class, even though I didnt even know how to climb the rope! It was the end of the year and we were getting ready for our annual recital. I knew the dance pretty well, and I was excited to go on stage and perform.
   It was the day of recital and we went on stage. During the dance a was getting ready to do a move and my foot wouldn't get out of the silk. I honestly felt like I was stuck there for five minutes. I finally got out, and finished the dance late. At the time I was super embarrassed, but now its just a little laugh.
  I guess you could say that the reason I wrote this was to show that after a few years, people forget things. Unless its really major, people a lot of the time forget things. So if you think something is really embarrassing, it won't be in the future.
 

Ugh, Recitals

 To some people, recitals are the best part of the year. To other people, they really suck. And frankly, I'm starting to dislike them ALOT. I used to love recitals but now I'm tired of them. When you've been doing them for a certain amount of years, it becomes exhausting. And this stage of my life I would much rather be learning combos then one dance for 6 months.
  When I was younger, I would only be in one show, performing one dance. Now I'm in all shows, performing in 14 dances. When that's all you've been doing for 6 months instead of learning different dances each week, you kind of go crazy! (Well, I do at least) That's one of the reasons I love conventions. You learn six different combos a day!
  I'm sorry for the small rant, but I wanted to get this off my chest. Thanks for reading!:)

What The Heck Do You Do At Conventions?

 Whenever I go to a dance convention, I'm always extremely scared, but also really excited. I mean, two full days of master classes is pretty awesome, but then there's the audition. Ugh, the audition. This week, I'm going to go over a few tips that my teachers have taught me when it comes to conventions.
1. Where clothes that stand out- When you go to a convention, you want to get noticed. When you get noticed you have a higher chance of winning a scholarship. Who doesn't want a scholarship? Im not saying you have to be one of those girls who wear their old solo costume to a convention, but be fun and colorful. For the upcoming convention i'm going to i'm wearing purple leggings, and a red sports bra for one of the days. Maybe i'll wear a tank top as well.
2. Don't ditch the audition- Last year a few people that I knew ditched their audition because they were scared. My teachers got extremely mad at them and well, long story short we don't even consider skipping the audition anymore.
3. When you're given your audition piece, freaking PRACTICE IT.- You want that scholarship? You have to earn it. Practice that dance until you know it inside and out so you'll make sure to be prepared the next day.
4. Stretch before your classes start- Although the teacher will most likely do a small stretch with you before you start learning combos, it's good to stretch for yourself so you know that you can be more flexible on the dance floor.
5- Don't talk with your friends- This one is pretty obvious. Just, don't do it.

These are the most helpful tips I have for conventions. Thanks for reading! :)

Guide to Improv Dancing

 Okay. When I say "Guide" I really mean what I do. I am in no way an Improv master (in fact, I think I suck at Improv) but these are what I do when I am improving to a song. Here a list of what I do when I improv.
1. NO MORE DARN TRICKS- Yeah It's okay to add in one or two turns here and there. But doing Battment after piroutte after areals?(sorry for spelling errors) The point of improv is to express yourself, NOT show off.
2. Feel the music- I usually let the music move me, not the other way around. If theres a click in the music, my elbow clicks. If theres a loud boom, I would do a knee drop. Your body should correspond to the music. Don't just move completely off beat. It looks weird.
3. Don't stress out about it- I know a lot of people who worry about what they're going to do during improv, but.... its improv. The point is to make it up on the spot and not pre create the dance.

Improv is a really good way of letting go. (in my opinion) Don't just stand there and look uncomfortable. Move!
 Sorry if I sounded mean :)