I am by no means an expert tumbler. Want me to kick myself in the head? Sure. Need someone to lick their own elbow? I'm your girl. Want someone to demonstrate an over-split? No problem. But tumbling...well that's a different story.
I can whip out a side aerial no problem, same goes for front handsprings. I've even been able to pull off a one-handed front handspring. But all of that was self taught. You see, my acro teacher for the majority of my training was not a trained teacher. Don't get me wrong, she was amazing, she had the coolest ideas, she did all sorts of research to challenge us, she worked really hard! But she wasn't completely comfortable spotting the bigger girls on tough tricks. Fat by no one's standard, but being 5'9", I qualify as a "bigger girl". So, as previously mentioned, I taught myself most of my tricks.
I'm scared by less than a hand-ful of things, but I will admit that the idea of launching myself backwards does kind of freak me out. That's one of the main reasons why I never got any kind of backwards tumbling. I wasn't just going to blindly fling myself around with no one there to catch me.
Recently, though, I started going to open gym tumbling classes at a local cheerleading center. I've only gone to two sessions but during that time I just worked on back handsprings with the coaches. Then, last night at a party some girls were tumbling and I decided to just go for it and........my arms gave out and I rolled out of it onto my stomach. Then today I was messing around in my backyard and I decided I would try again. After a few failed attempts I........................................................
GOT MY BACKHANDSPRING!!!!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Rubberband Girl
My nick-name is Mary Kate. My given name is Mary Katherine (insert whatever last name sounds good, as I am not giving out my last name on the internet). My parents call me Mickey, my teachers call me Mary, until I correct them, my friends call me Mary Kate or MK and sometimes, people call me Rubberband Girl.
That sounds really awkward, huh? "Hey there, Rubberband Girl!"--Wouldn't you do a double take if you heard that in the hallway? Well, there is a logical reason behind it.
Freshman year (I'll be a junior when school begins in September) I did the solo I competed with at my school's talent show. It was an acro solo to Kate Bush's song "Rubberband Girl". The song is super old, as in, came-out-before-I-was-born old. I stumbled across it when I was watching a youtube video of the SYTYCD dance to "Woman's Work". On SYTYCD they used a cover by Maxwell, but originally the song was sung by Kate Bush. When I listened to that version I saw "Rubberband Girl" in the sidebar and absolutely had to listen to it. It was honestly one of the weirdest songs (and music videos) I've ever heard in my life. It was also perfect for my solo song...being that I am basically a rubberband!
So I performed my solo at the talent show...and I won!! The prize was $100 in cash! I was so excited. But, ever since then, I am referred to as "Rubberband Girl" at least once a week. This past year, when I did one of my current solos in the talent show (also acro, to a song called "Yesterday"--a rough video is on youtube) the announcer actually referred to me as "Rubberband Girl" hahaha!
This might have seemed like a random post, but I went to a party tonight and this guy, Fernando, called me Rubberband Girl and it was the first time I've heard that since school let out, and it was on my mind when I sat down to write this post.
***There is a video of my solo on my youtube channel***
That sounds really awkward, huh? "Hey there, Rubberband Girl!"--Wouldn't you do a double take if you heard that in the hallway? Well, there is a logical reason behind it.
Freshman year (I'll be a junior when school begins in September) I did the solo I competed with at my school's talent show. It was an acro solo to Kate Bush's song "Rubberband Girl". The song is super old, as in, came-out-before-I-was-born old. I stumbled across it when I was watching a youtube video of the SYTYCD dance to "Woman's Work". On SYTYCD they used a cover by Maxwell, but originally the song was sung by Kate Bush. When I listened to that version I saw "Rubberband Girl" in the sidebar and absolutely had to listen to it. It was honestly one of the weirdest songs (and music videos) I've ever heard in my life. It was also perfect for my solo song...being that I am basically a rubberband!
So I performed my solo at the talent show...and I won!! The prize was $100 in cash! I was so excited. But, ever since then, I am referred to as "Rubberband Girl" at least once a week. This past year, when I did one of my current solos in the talent show (also acro, to a song called "Yesterday"--a rough video is on youtube) the announcer actually referred to me as "Rubberband Girl" hahaha!
This might have seemed like a random post, but I went to a party tonight and this guy, Fernando, called me Rubberband Girl and it was the first time I've heard that since school let out, and it was on my mind when I sat down to write this post.
***There is a video of my solo on my youtube channel***
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Dance Party in the Kitchen
I love babysitting, and yesterday I babysat for the family that I babysat my first time. The family has four kids; Lauren 13 (checkout her blog, dukehart.blogspot.com) Breanna 10, Ashley 8, Brady 6. I've been babystitting for this family since I was 12. The girls all dance and through the years Lauren and I have become really close...we're basically sisters :).
But anyway, we had a really great day (which Lauren also wrote a post about in her blog). I got there at about nine a.m. and stayed until close to two p.m.. The kids are so well behaved and so much fun to be around. At around ten-thirty my little brother, Daniel, who is one of Breanna's best friends, came over. We live on the same street and my mom didn't want Daniel home alone all day since she had to work, my dad was out of town and my twin brother, Liam, was at basketball practice all day. We went on a bike ride (the kids rode bikes, Lauren and I walked) and then we came back and the kids played in the backyard. Eventually Lauren brought out some sidewalk chalk and we decorated the driveway. I traced everyone's body and let them decorate it, and the Daniel and Breanna made it into some crazy game...which I didn't fully understand.
At around noon I sent Daniel home (Liam was back by then) and we got to work making lunch. We settled on homestyle mac'n'cheese and hotdogs. I asked the girls to get me a pot to boil the water, so they got me that but didn't return with a lid. When I told them that covering the pot would help it boil faster they decided that a lid was indeed necessary. When no lid could be located we decided a cake pan would suffice, hahaha.
While we were waiting for the water to boil/pasta to cook we had a dance party in the kitchen!! Lauren turned on the radio and we all danced around (except Brady who was distracted by the television) and got a little crazy. Ashley was swinging around on crutches, Breanna was climbing doorways and Lauren and I were working on our body rolls. It was nuts!!
Babysitting those guys is so much fun...they constantly make me laugh and I absolutely love them!!
On a sad note, the money I made that day went immediately into feeding my truck's belly...that sucker eats gas like Joey Chestnut eats hot dogs!
But anyway, we had a really great day (which Lauren also wrote a post about in her blog). I got there at about nine a.m. and stayed until close to two p.m.. The kids are so well behaved and so much fun to be around. At around ten-thirty my little brother, Daniel, who is one of Breanna's best friends, came over. We live on the same street and my mom didn't want Daniel home alone all day since she had to work, my dad was out of town and my twin brother, Liam, was at basketball practice all day. We went on a bike ride (the kids rode bikes, Lauren and I walked) and then we came back and the kids played in the backyard. Eventually Lauren brought out some sidewalk chalk and we decorated the driveway. I traced everyone's body and let them decorate it, and the Daniel and Breanna made it into some crazy game...which I didn't fully understand.
At around noon I sent Daniel home (Liam was back by then) and we got to work making lunch. We settled on homestyle mac'n'cheese and hotdogs. I asked the girls to get me a pot to boil the water, so they got me that but didn't return with a lid. When I told them that covering the pot would help it boil faster they decided that a lid was indeed necessary. When no lid could be located we decided a cake pan would suffice, hahaha.
While we were waiting for the water to boil/pasta to cook we had a dance party in the kitchen!! Lauren turned on the radio and we all danced around (except Brady who was distracted by the television) and got a little crazy. Ashley was swinging around on crutches, Breanna was climbing doorways and Lauren and I were working on our body rolls. It was nuts!!
Babysitting those guys is so much fun...they constantly make me laugh and I absolutely love them!!
On a sad note, the money I made that day went immediately into feeding my truck's belly...that sucker eats gas like Joey Chestnut eats hot dogs!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Dance Recital
So, I just realized I never wrote a follow up about my dance recital, which was Saturday, June 18th. It all went really well, I was in the most dances of anybody (9/28) but surprisingly none of them were back to back. Last year I had four back to back changes (I was in numbers 1, 2 and 3..as well as other back-to-backs) which really did a number on my stress levels!! This year, though, the show flowed really smoothly and I believe the performance ran as expected.
I did, however, have several changes with only one number in between. Unfortunately, in two of those instances the one number in between was one of the classes I taught. I teach four; I was in one number, I had a quick change during two of them, so I really only got to see one of my classes. They did well, and I heard my other classes did a great job, too. I'm so proud of all of them, those girls really light up my Friday nights!!
After the show so many people came up and told me what a great job I did, which is always so nice to hear :) I prefer compliments from strangers then from people I know because if it's someone I don't know then that usually means they were really watching and went out of their way to congratulate me.
The best compliment I got, by far, was actually inadvertent. My music teacher, and the director of the Senior High show choir, ran the lights for the show. Afterward he was talking to me and he told me he "really liked that Africa song" and that we were going to have to "steal some of the choreography for Messa Voce". Messa Voce is the show choir group and I am one of the choreographers. "That Africa song" was Shakira's song, Waka Waka which is the song I choreographed the advanced acro dance to. So I told him, "Mr. Poe, we don't have to steal it, it's my choreography". He said that it was one of his favorites. So I was really pleased seeing as how it was my first year doing choreography and apparently I did a good job!!
***There is a video on my youtube channel of me doing a self-choreographed solo to Waka Waka, the group dance is similar just altered to fit the skills of all seven other girls in the advanced acro class.
I did, however, have several changes with only one number in between. Unfortunately, in two of those instances the one number in between was one of the classes I taught. I teach four; I was in one number, I had a quick change during two of them, so I really only got to see one of my classes. They did well, and I heard my other classes did a great job, too. I'm so proud of all of them, those girls really light up my Friday nights!!
After the show so many people came up and told me what a great job I did, which is always so nice to hear :) I prefer compliments from strangers then from people I know because if it's someone I don't know then that usually means they were really watching and went out of their way to congratulate me.
The best compliment I got, by far, was actually inadvertent. My music teacher, and the director of the Senior High show choir, ran the lights for the show. Afterward he was talking to me and he told me he "really liked that Africa song" and that we were going to have to "steal some of the choreography for Messa Voce". Messa Voce is the show choir group and I am one of the choreographers. "That Africa song" was Shakira's song, Waka Waka which is the song I choreographed the advanced acro dance to. So I told him, "Mr. Poe, we don't have to steal it, it's my choreography". He said that it was one of his favorites. So I was really pleased seeing as how it was my first year doing choreography and apparently I did a good job!!
***There is a video on my youtube channel of me doing a self-choreographed solo to Waka Waka, the group dance is similar just altered to fit the skills of all seven other girls in the advanced acro class.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Rehearsal Week
Before I go into any detail what-so-ever I have to mention that I am currently listening to the song "We Danced" by Brad Paisley. Yeesh, do I think about anything but dancing? Not really :)
So now to get into the point of this blog. The time has come. The hard work is about to pay off. There is finally a reason to all those hours spent in the studio. As stated in the song I used for the Intermediate Acro 1 dance I choreographed, "Get up when you feel it, it's your chance to shine!" (Strut by the Cheetah Girls). Well, I feel it and it's my chance to shine because it's...Rehearsal Week!
The best way to make it through rehearsal week is to tell yourself...repeatedly...that at the end of the week is the recital, which is the biggest reward of all. I don't know how rehearsal week works at other studios as I've been going to the same studio since I started, but for me, rehearsal week is the most stressful week of the year. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it can be mighty trying at times.
Rehearsal week is the week when all the kinks are worked out, when you learn who really truly knows the dance (and you pray that you're not the one who screws up) when you realize just how quick those quick changes have to be, and when you are pulled in seven different directions for the entire four hours of rehearsals.
Rehearsal week is also the week where you get to see all your hard work turn into something beautiful for the audience, the week where you (I get this especially since I'm a teacher) get showered with hugs from all the little munchkins you had the pleasure of teaching for the year, when you finally get to practice in the costumes you spend a fortune on but have just stored in the closet for months and the week when you get to practice "strutting like you mean it"!!
Tonight was the kick-off of rehearsal week. Already there have been smiles and tears, laughter and yelling, frustration and excitement...it'll be a crazy week. But, hopefully, with all the previous months of practice and lots and lots of organization (thank you Miss Lori!!) we'll make it through and have a solid performance for Saturday!! I'll keep ya posted :)
So now to get into the point of this blog. The time has come. The hard work is about to pay off. There is finally a reason to all those hours spent in the studio. As stated in the song I used for the Intermediate Acro 1 dance I choreographed, "Get up when you feel it, it's your chance to shine!" (Strut by the Cheetah Girls). Well, I feel it and it's my chance to shine because it's...Rehearsal Week!
The best way to make it through rehearsal week is to tell yourself...repeatedly...that at the end of the week is the recital, which is the biggest reward of all. I don't know how rehearsal week works at other studios as I've been going to the same studio since I started, but for me, rehearsal week is the most stressful week of the year. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it can be mighty trying at times.
Rehearsal week is the week when all the kinks are worked out, when you learn who really truly knows the dance (and you pray that you're not the one who screws up) when you realize just how quick those quick changes have to be, and when you are pulled in seven different directions for the entire four hours of rehearsals.
Rehearsal week is also the week where you get to see all your hard work turn into something beautiful for the audience, the week where you (I get this especially since I'm a teacher) get showered with hugs from all the little munchkins you had the pleasure of teaching for the year, when you finally get to practice in the costumes you spend a fortune on but have just stored in the closet for months and the week when you get to practice "strutting like you mean it"!!
Tonight was the kick-off of rehearsal week. Already there have been smiles and tears, laughter and yelling, frustration and excitement...it'll be a crazy week. But, hopefully, with all the previous months of practice and lots and lots of organization (thank you Miss Lori!!) we'll make it through and have a solid performance for Saturday!! I'll keep ya posted :)
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