Summer Intensives

Hi, everyone. Right now I can't wait for Christmas, but right after that is time to audition for summer intensives. My parents are pretty much okay with allowing me to audition, however they seem like they really won't allow me to attend any because they don't want me to be gone for 2-6 weeks this summer, because summer intensives are so expensive, and because where I would be going for them is out of state. I know that summer intensives will really improve my technique in a short period of time, will build up my ballet resume, will allow me to be seen by artistic directors and other future employers will allow me to see what ballet is like outside of my small ballet school, will allow me to become a more well-rounded dancer, will introduce me to more dance styles and styles of teaching, and will give me some really great life experiences. Right now, I have almost every summer intensive audition at a prestigious ballet school written down (which is almost everything from Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington D.C. to Cincinnati Ballet to Boston Ballet). Now, I have to start planning out more and deciding which ones to audition for because I can't possibly audition for every one that I have written down. I guess we'll have to see.

Nutcracker Casting.....

Hi, everyone. What I'm about to tell you guys is definitley not going to be easy. Sadly, i don't think I got cast in the Nutcracker Ballet this year. It completley broke my heart. I think this week we were supposed to be e-mailed and my parents were never contacted about Nutcracker. Now, I can't even listen to the music from waltsz of the snowflakes without tears streaming down my face. I had, had my heart completley set on getting the role as a soldier or a doll, but with me being a year or two too young to be in my small ballet school's pre-professional ballet company, and me being a year or two too old to be a party guest or a peppermint I guess my chances of getting into to this amazing ballet were extremley limited. There are only five or six dancers in my school's company and sadly they take almost every role except the young party guests, young Clara, nutcrcaker soldiers, mice, and peppermints. The only two roles I could possibly get I think are a soldier or a mouse, but I don't want to run around on the balls of my feet across a stage wearing a mouse mask. I would have given absoloutley anything to be a Nutcracker soldier, but sadly there are only four soldiers every year and I guess I wasn't one of the lucky four and I would have for sure known by now if I was Clara, but then again I have only been with my current ballet school for a year and Clara would be given to a dancer who has been training at my school since a very young age, I think. At least now I don't have to obsess over every ballet class about not being able to mess up because then my tecaher won't give me a role in the Nutcracker because clearly she won't put me in there anyway.



I have dealt with quite a few dissapointments with ballet before so this isn't big for me. But, don't get me worng. I am without a doubt one of the best in my class, and I do wll in every class and every class I improve mounds and my teacher (who I truly do really, really like and I know she likes me!) watches me strengthen every day as a dancer. I have to remember that I am a talented, very young ballet student, who has already been dancing en pointe for 5 months. Every dancer at my junior high school always say how they wish they were as flexible as me, how they want to do pointe like me, how they want to be as good of a dancer as me, how I have the perfect body for ballet. This is when I truly relaize how lucky I am and how there is always someone looking up to me and I don't think that really any ballet role could replace that.

Back into dance/Nutcracker?!

This past week was my first week of ballet since my ballet shcool's summer session. It was great to get back and I have already seen a very big improvemnet from I first stepped foot into Ballet IV on the first day of the summer session until my first class this past week. I am getting much stronger at barre, my confidence is raising every class, my pointe work is getting better, my entralaces during grande allegro, and my turns and my arms are improving, just to name a very few things. Right now we are at the time where ballet schools all across the country are announcing casting for the infamous ballet that creates one of the most magical holiday traditions, the Nutcracker Ballet.

I have only been dancing ballet for four years and the first 3 years of my ballet training were at a local dance studio, not a pre-professionall ballet school therefore I never had the opportunities to participate in Nutcracker or any other ballet. Last year I transferred to my current ballet school during November which is when our school performs Nutcracker, so it was far too late for me to perform in the ballet, but this year I really hope to get a part. I am very thin and have long legs which was oen of the first things my ballet tecaher noticed about me and I have been en pointe for nearly four months already, I ahve great balance, I am dedicated to all of my classes and have exceptional attendance, I NEVER talk during class, I always pay attention and am willing to work very hard during Nutcarcker as I always do during dance. My teacher (who is also the artistic director of the school) has seen me improve loads in only a matter of a few months and she has seen me go from weak tto very strong for pointe shoes in only 3.5 months which takes many dancers years. I know if she chose me to be in Nutcracker she would not be dissapointed. Tonight my mom will e-mail my teacher asking her if there are auditions and how you knwo if you will be in Nutcarcker. I already know the answer to the first question, but I want my mom to hint to her so that my tecaher can ethier tell us I will not be in it or I am lucky enough to be in it. I really want to know. I'll let you know if I get cast. Please wish me luck!!

Before ballet and pointe

Hi, everyone. I am about to go to my ballet and pointe class but first I figured I should blog. I've been working really hard in class and although I'm seeing improvement and I'm doing really well sometimes class can seem impossible. Our class ranges from 11-20 years olds and being 13yrs old I am obviously definitley one of the youngest. There's 9-12 of us each class and we are the second most advanced level in my ballet school. In two weeks is the last week of our summer session and I will be on vacation that last week so today and next week Friday I have a makeup class for the two days I will be missing, but other than that I will have perfect attendance. This is very important because we start rehearsing for Nutcracker in about two and a half months and we are selected based on height, age, ability level, and dedication so I really need to continue showing my ballet tecaher my committment and dedication to class. I have never been in the Nutcracker or anyother ballet for that matter so, this is definitley something that I really want to do, but for right now I just need to keep working hard in every class.

My Summer So Far

Ok, so I know that I haven't written in a post in like 19 days, but I have been really busy with ballet/pointe and I have also been hanging out and going to the pool with friends quite often. I also have had two garduation parties to go to in this past weekend. I had ballet and pointe today from 12-2 pm. Pointe hurts, but I still looove it and I love the challenge that ballet and pointe brings me. Every class I am learning something new (especially in my pointe class) and I am vastly improving.

What holds next summer will be very hard to say. This winter I am going to do lots of auditions for ballet summer intensives for next summer, but they are very hard to be accpeted into and are extremley expensive. This summer and this fall I am going to train and work harder than I ever had in ballet. I am starting the school year (unlike last year) at my current ballet school and I am en pointe. I also have the possibility of performing in my school's nutcracker and our spring ballet so I definitley have a lot to be happy about and alot that's inspiring me to keep working harder.

My Pointe Shoes

At the beggining of this week on Monday I was fitted for my very first pair of pointe shoes. I was so excited. I've wanted to get my pointe shoes since my first ballet class and getting them was awesome. I went to the dance store with my mom and my amazing ballet teacher was there with the really nice pointe shoe fitter. After trying on two pairs of the same pointe shoe that were slightly too wide I tried on the third pair of pointe shoes my teacher and pointe shoe fitter had picked. They were the exact same pair except slightly less wide and they agreed that the third pair I tried on was a perfect fit for me so, I am now wearing Chacott Veranese II's. They are a really pretty peach color with a very soft pink tint. My mom and I only had two days to sew on my pointe shoes before my first pointe class which was on Wednesday. It was an hour long class. There are six of us students beggining pointe for the very first time this summer. The first half of the class we learned more about putting on our shoes and how to tie our ribbons. The second half of the class was spent solely on simple pointe excercises at the barre. We did three different excercises. The first was going up all the way onto releve and then doing plie whils still on releve so, that we could really focus on pushing into our arches and then going up onto releve to see if we could maintain it. Then we would reverse all that. The secong barre combinations we did battmant tendu a la seconde and then we would bent the leg in tendu so, we could again focus on pushing into our arches. We would then do that on the other leg as well. The third and last exercise we did was pas de bourres at the barre which I loved. The entire class seemed to fly by and luckily, other than sightly red toes I didn't feel any pain or get hurt toes or anything yet which is good because I've read and heard about many dancers in lots of pain after their first pointe class.

From now on, though I won't be dancing on Wednesdays. Instead I will be dancing for 2 hours on Tuesday and for 2 hours on Thursday. This will start next week and go until I believe the last week in July. Tuesdays and Thursdays I will have an hour and 15 minutes of ballet which will be followed by a 45 minute pointe class. Other than the six of us starting pointe the other girls have already been en pointe for at least a year so, class will be pretty challenging, but I think for most of the summer we will be at the barre when en pointe. I don't think there will be many of us though. Altogether I imagine there will be no more than twelve of us.  I can't wait for class on Tuesday, though! I will keep you guys updated. Got to go know and order a mesh pointe shoe bag on discountdance.com to prevent mold build up in my pointe shoes.

Awesome Ballet news!!!!

So, last Thursday I had my usual ballet technique class and it was pretty good. My teacher followed my fellow dancers and I ouside and said hello to our mothers. My mom asked my ballet teacher about what classes I should take this summer. My ballet tecaher told my mom that we would have to wait for her to e-mail my mom because she hasn't heard from 'the shoe fitter' yet. My mom and I both got excited when she said this because we had a feeling it was going to be...
"But, if Jacqueline wants to do the POINTE class she'll have to do the ballet IV class which is followed by the  pointe class." I was SO shocked and surprised when she said this I coulldn't even believe it! She is seriously going to let me start pointework this summer!!! I can't wait!!!! Now, I feel like all my hard work has really apid off. I know that this is just the very beggining of all the hardwork I will have to spend in the ballet studio, but I'm extremley dediacted and incredibly hard working and my teacher has definitley noticed this. I still can barely get over the fact that she's letting me start pointe. I should get my first pointe shoe fitting within the next few weeks so, we'll see how it all goes and everything. I'm so happy! I can't wait. When I found out my teacher was letting me start pointe that when my mom and I went into the car I burst into tears of joy!  I know about pointe work and how it causes your toes to bleed, it hurts, it gives you bunions and blisters, etc. but for right now I'm going to just enjoy the amazing moment.