I have officially started all of my choreography for the acro classes! I'm pumped!!
Here are the songs I chose:
* Advanced: Dance Like There's no Tomorrow - Paula Abdul
* Intermediate II: Kung Fu Fighting - Cee Lo Green ft. Jack Black
* Intermediate I: Dynamite - China Anne McClain
* Beginner: The Time of My Life - Randy Newman (A Bugs Life soundtrack)
Everything is going well!!
I hadn't made a solid decision on the Intermediate I song until tonight. I had been thinking of using the Numa Numa song but I wasn't in love. The studio director came in tonight and was asking me to make the final decisions between to costumes she had chosen and she also put in a CD of songs she thought might work so I could have some other ideas. As soon as Dynamite came on every single girl started to sing along. I looked at the director and we both just kind of nodded. The girls had chosen it for us :)
I'm excited for the advanced class but at the same time I'm a little concerned. The music requires a lot of sass and I'm choreographing a very fast piece for them. Time will tell.
I was pleased with their efforts tonight though. I asked them what elements they thought that the piece needed. I said it was something that we don't work on in class very often (I've been kicking their butts with technique and conditioning). Immediately each girl yelled something along the lines of "attitude" which was exactly what I was fishing for!! My favorite adjective was given to me by my oldest student who said the dance needed "pizazz" which I really liked! They also told me they needed to use facials and add flair. I was so proud of them! I now know that what I am telling them is sinking in...next step...get them to utilized in their bodies, not just their brains. Baby Steps. Baby Steps.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Return of the Rubberband Girl
Okay, so I know that a lot of my blogs are centered around the "Rubberband Girl". Sorry about that. But that's not going to stop me from writing this post. Guess what it's about...
I am now into the second semester of my junior year in high school. At the beginning of the year I was asked to join a studio art course with artist Ski Holm. He taught drawing the first half of the year and this semester he is teaching oil painting. In order to be in the course you had to be hand selected. Unfortunately I was unable to participate in the drawing half, but the school worked with me and is allowing me to do one of my graduation requirements in my spare time so that I can fill that course period with the studio art painting class. We're only a week into it, but I'm really enjoying it so far.
I have the class second period which begins just before 10 am. Today as I walked in Mr. Holm was like, "Hey Mary Kate, I hear you're this big legend for being extremely flexible." I laughed and said that it was probably true, but asked who told him that. He said that his first period studio had seen the back of my palette (we have been oiling our palettes) which has my initials "MKC" written on it.
Apparently just seeing "MKC" makes people think of me, which then seems to lead to my dancing. Who'd have known?
I was pretty surprised because my Rubberband Girl dance was my freshman year, meaning that at this point half of the school doesn't even know about it. I guess I'm just so legendary ;) Ha!
I am now into the second semester of my junior year in high school. At the beginning of the year I was asked to join a studio art course with artist Ski Holm. He taught drawing the first half of the year and this semester he is teaching oil painting. In order to be in the course you had to be hand selected. Unfortunately I was unable to participate in the drawing half, but the school worked with me and is allowing me to do one of my graduation requirements in my spare time so that I can fill that course period with the studio art painting class. We're only a week into it, but I'm really enjoying it so far.
I have the class second period which begins just before 10 am. Today as I walked in Mr. Holm was like, "Hey Mary Kate, I hear you're this big legend for being extremely flexible." I laughed and said that it was probably true, but asked who told him that. He said that his first period studio had seen the back of my palette (we have been oiling our palettes) which has my initials "MKC" written on it.
Apparently just seeing "MKC" makes people think of me, which then seems to lead to my dancing. Who'd have known?
I was pretty surprised because my Rubberband Girl dance was my freshman year, meaning that at this point half of the school doesn't even know about it. I guess I'm just so legendary ;) Ha!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Now I Remember
It's nights like this that I remember why I love to dance. It's Friday...acro night. And it went really well, as per usual. I also got paid tonight and I picked out the costumes for the recital this spring.
The best part though, was after class. On of my best friends, Jenny, stopped by the studio after my last class. Jenny is a dancer as well and she is two years older than me. We would always practice partner moves when we were in show choir (she's in college now) but we've never been able to dance together because we danced at two different studios. The other day, Jenny texted me saying that she absolutely needed to dance a piece with me, so I told her to come in to the studio this evening after my last class.
The dance we did was to "Beside You" by Mariana's Trench. I'd never heard that song before but I love it now! Jenny and I work so well together, it's crazy. We used to choreograph a lot of show choir pieces together and we would always have to same exact ideas. Her boyfriend jokingly calls us "The Brain", meaning that we both share one half of the same brain. He thinks he's cute.
We worked for about two hours and got just over a minute done in the dance (mind, during the two hours we also took pictures of each other, caught up on life, and took several video takes of the dance until we got it just perfect). The dance, if I do say so myself, is perfect. I couldn't imagine it working out any better than the way it did tonight.
Sometimes I lose track of why I dance. I get overwhelmed with school work, family obligations, drama rehearsals and drama in general and I wonder why I spend so much of my time dancing. I regret it most when I see the multiple recruiting letters my twin brother (who can run a mile in four minutes and change and was the only one on his cross country team to make it to the state meet this year...might I mention that he only ran cross country in his spare time as varsity soccer held precedent in his sporting queue) receives per week. I sometimes regret my choice to pursue the least quantifiable form of athleticism. But then I night like this happens. And I go home afterwards and I take off my dance clothes and realize that I'm bleeding and brush burned and bruised. And I'm sweaty and sore and tired. And I feel...so relaxed. I finally feel like every thing in my life is lined up, no matter how stressful the week was. Yes, nights like this remind me that I'm a dancer to the bone.
Check out my YouTube channel, acrobaticallyapt, a recording of our piece will be uploaded by the time you read this.
The best part though, was after class. On of my best friends, Jenny, stopped by the studio after my last class. Jenny is a dancer as well and she is two years older than me. We would always practice partner moves when we were in show choir (she's in college now) but we've never been able to dance together because we danced at two different studios. The other day, Jenny texted me saying that she absolutely needed to dance a piece with me, so I told her to come in to the studio this evening after my last class.
The dance we did was to "Beside You" by Mariana's Trench. I'd never heard that song before but I love it now! Jenny and I work so well together, it's crazy. We used to choreograph a lot of show choir pieces together and we would always have to same exact ideas. Her boyfriend jokingly calls us "The Brain", meaning that we both share one half of the same brain. He thinks he's cute.
We worked for about two hours and got just over a minute done in the dance (mind, during the two hours we also took pictures of each other, caught up on life, and took several video takes of the dance until we got it just perfect). The dance, if I do say so myself, is perfect. I couldn't imagine it working out any better than the way it did tonight.
Sometimes I lose track of why I dance. I get overwhelmed with school work, family obligations, drama rehearsals and drama in general and I wonder why I spend so much of my time dancing. I regret it most when I see the multiple recruiting letters my twin brother (who can run a mile in four minutes and change and was the only one on his cross country team to make it to the state meet this year...might I mention that he only ran cross country in his spare time as varsity soccer held precedent in his sporting queue) receives per week. I sometimes regret my choice to pursue the least quantifiable form of athleticism. But then I night like this happens. And I go home afterwards and I take off my dance clothes and realize that I'm bleeding and brush burned and bruised. And I'm sweaty and sore and tired. And I feel...so relaxed. I finally feel like every thing in my life is lined up, no matter how stressful the week was. Yes, nights like this remind me that I'm a dancer to the bone.
Check out my YouTube channel, acrobaticallyapt, a recording of our piece will be uploaded by the time you read this.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
My Mind Only Choreographs What I Can't Complete
Sometimes I have these big visions. I hear a piece of music and imagine exactly what I would do with it from a choreography stand point. I even see costumes and lighting; I envision the entire performance within the first time I hear such a song. Other times, however, I hear a song that I could never, ever, choreograph a piece to. I wouldn't even try. I never consider dancing to a song that doesn't move me the first time I hear it (that being said, if I listen to 100 songs, 97 of them will move me in some way). I have a problem though.
Nearly every time I choreograph a piece in my head it is a duet. One guy, one girl, dancing together. And for everything I'm imagining the guy (the guy is more specific than the girl...although I usually see myself dancing in each piece, and tend to see choreography first around my own abilities) as a strong and talented male dancer. The problem? Yeah...none of them exist within miles of my hometown. And if they do someone else must have already discovered them and hid them away from me and the rest of the world.
In the words of my best friend and fellow dancer "My mind only choreographs what I can't complete". I guess I just need to re-train my brain to choreograph to what I have to work with in that instance...not what I wish I had.
Nearly every time I choreograph a piece in my head it is a duet. One guy, one girl, dancing together. And for everything I'm imagining the guy (the guy is more specific than the girl...although I usually see myself dancing in each piece, and tend to see choreography first around my own abilities) as a strong and talented male dancer. The problem? Yeah...none of them exist within miles of my hometown. And if they do someone else must have already discovered them and hid them away from me and the rest of the world.
In the words of my best friend and fellow dancer "My mind only choreographs what I can't complete". I guess I just need to re-train my brain to choreograph to what I have to work with in that instance...not what I wish I had.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Spandex and Nylon
My dad recently took my twin brother and I on some college visits in the Philadelphia area. Our first stop was to Temple University. While I don't think I want to major in dance, I certainly want dance to be a part of my college experience. Heck, I want to be able to dance for the rest of my life! The Temple dance program sounded absolutely fantastic, albeit intense. At Temple, it seemed, you either major in dance or you're stuck in the pedestrian classes with people who simply dance for fun. I have no problem with either, but for myself I'd prefer a program somewhere in the middle. One thing we heard, though, was that they take nutrition very seriously with their dancers. Every dancer is assigned to an adviser who makes sure they are eating healthy and eating enough. We were told that the stereotypical dancer "image" is not accepted by those in charge of the Temple dance program. It really made me think...
I'm five feet and nine inches tall. I weigh around 135-140 pounds (ohmygoshican'tbelieveijustputthatontheinternet). My BMI is somewhere around a 20. I wear an 8 or 8.5 shoe size. My jeans are a size seven and most of my shirts are a size medium. And ya know what? I'm okay with that.
Aside from dance classes I do (sometimes) exercise on my own. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little...the intensity comes in waves. I like to run so I often go for runs through my town and I do a lot of situps and pushups. I (try) to watch what I eat. I contribute to the fast food industry maybe three or four times a year. I don't eat very much red meat (more out of personal dislike than an attempt to be healthy) and I attempt to keep the junk food consumption at a minimum.
That being said, there are many hours logged on the couch (although recently I've been stretching on the floor while I watch TV instead of just lounging around) or in front of a computer. Many afternoons pass where I realize I haven't attempted to be physically active. Many pounds of candy and potato chips enter my stomach annually.
Now, with all of that to consider, I'm still happy with the way my body looks. Yes, you could point out any one of my features and I would tell you something I would change about it. I think that's normal. There is a difference between embracing the way you look and being under the idea that you are perfect. Sorry to be a downer, but nobody is perfect. Nobody.
I'm not really worried about the way I look anymore. I'd miss too many incredible aspects of life if I was constantly busy trying to change miniscule details about what makes me the way I am. So I don't worry anymore, I just be. And ya know what? I think I still look pretty hot in spandex and nylon!
I'm five feet and nine inches tall. I weigh around 135-140 pounds (ohmygoshican'tbelieveijustputthatontheinternet). My BMI is somewhere around a 20. I wear an 8 or 8.5 shoe size. My jeans are a size seven and most of my shirts are a size medium. And ya know what? I'm okay with that.
Aside from dance classes I do (sometimes) exercise on my own. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little...the intensity comes in waves. I like to run so I often go for runs through my town and I do a lot of situps and pushups. I (try) to watch what I eat. I contribute to the fast food industry maybe three or four times a year. I don't eat very much red meat (more out of personal dislike than an attempt to be healthy) and I attempt to keep the junk food consumption at a minimum.
That being said, there are many hours logged on the couch (although recently I've been stretching on the floor while I watch TV instead of just lounging around) or in front of a computer. Many afternoons pass where I realize I haven't attempted to be physically active. Many pounds of candy and potato chips enter my stomach annually.
Now, with all of that to consider, I'm still happy with the way my body looks. Yes, you could point out any one of my features and I would tell you something I would change about it. I think that's normal. There is a difference between embracing the way you look and being under the idea that you are perfect. Sorry to be a downer, but nobody is perfect. Nobody.
I'm not really worried about the way I look anymore. I'd miss too many incredible aspects of life if I was constantly busy trying to change miniscule details about what makes me the way I am. So I don't worry anymore, I just be. And ya know what? I think I still look pretty hot in spandex and nylon!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Black Friday Acro
Happy Black Friday! I, for one, failed to participate in the mayhem this morning. I slept until noon and laid around all day. It was nice. My life has been a little crazy lately and I barely have time to pee let a lone relax!
This evening, like every other Friday of my life, I had acro. It was a pretty quiet night, however, which I expected. I always keep class open on Black Friday but there is never a huge turnout. I understand, people visit family for the holiday and such. I'm allowed to cancel class if I chose but I usually forget until the Friday before and by then it's too late to print out notices and such. Oh well, tonight was a fun night.
In the Beginner class (I refer to it as the baby class as all of the girls are three years old) only one girl, Elizabeth, showed up. We had fun though. Sometimes it's nice just to have one girl in class (although that's only happened to me one other time in five years) because it's a little more relaxing. A few times Elizabeth just wanted to run around instead of doing what I told her to. I don't mind that...she is only three...but I can't let it happen when the rest of the babies are there because they all get way too out of control.
Then in the Intermediate I only two girls showed up. The same goes for Intermediate II. Those classes were more productive because the girls are capable of more than the babies are. So we got to try some new things and really focus on technique and such. I sometimes let that slip when all seventeen girls are there in each class and we only have forty-five minutes to accomplish everything.
The Advanced class was a failure. Only on of the "students" was there, but she's also my assistant for the other classes so we had been there all night any way. I expected this though. I had come prepared! We first cleaned the mats with my handy dandy Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. They were rather disgusting...I honestly can't remember the last time I really cleaned them. I Lysol 'em every once in a while but other than that I think this was the first time they've ever been cleaned. And I was there when they were first bought. I was like nine. I'm seventeen now. Ew.
So after that Catherine and I had fun. I had also brought my camera so we took some picture of each other doing weird acro things. I would share them on here but the camera is upstairs and I can't summon the motivation to stand at the moment. Maybe some other time. Gobble Gobble.
This evening, like every other Friday of my life, I had acro. It was a pretty quiet night, however, which I expected. I always keep class open on Black Friday but there is never a huge turnout. I understand, people visit family for the holiday and such. I'm allowed to cancel class if I chose but I usually forget until the Friday before and by then it's too late to print out notices and such. Oh well, tonight was a fun night.
In the Beginner class (I refer to it as the baby class as all of the girls are three years old) only one girl, Elizabeth, showed up. We had fun though. Sometimes it's nice just to have one girl in class (although that's only happened to me one other time in five years) because it's a little more relaxing. A few times Elizabeth just wanted to run around instead of doing what I told her to. I don't mind that...she is only three...but I can't let it happen when the rest of the babies are there because they all get way too out of control.
Then in the Intermediate I only two girls showed up. The same goes for Intermediate II. Those classes were more productive because the girls are capable of more than the babies are. So we got to try some new things and really focus on technique and such. I sometimes let that slip when all seventeen girls are there in each class and we only have forty-five minutes to accomplish everything.
The Advanced class was a failure. Only on of the "students" was there, but she's also my assistant for the other classes so we had been there all night any way. I expected this though. I had come prepared! We first cleaned the mats with my handy dandy Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. They were rather disgusting...I honestly can't remember the last time I really cleaned them. I Lysol 'em every once in a while but other than that I think this was the first time they've ever been cleaned. And I was there when they were first bought. I was like nine. I'm seventeen now. Ew.
So after that Catherine and I had fun. I had also brought my camera so we took some picture of each other doing weird acro things. I would share them on here but the camera is upstairs and I can't summon the motivation to stand at the moment. Maybe some other time. Gobble Gobble.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Life Has No Title
Hey. How are ya? Yeah, I know, it's been a while. My bad. So sorry.
Okay, glad that's out of the way. I have the craziest schedule ever!! I'll run through a few highlights of the last couple of months (mostly dance related but a few pieces of my life thrown in there) and hopefully I'll get back to more regular blogging soon!
So, apparently my last entry was on August 14th. Hmm...what cool stuff have I done since August 14th? Well, in sequential order...
August 17th-21st: I went to Rhode Island for a wedding.
August 21st: I started dancing at a new studio, a ballet school about half an hour away from my home. I absolutely love it there!
September 6th: I started school, although my school started two weeks later than every school in the county due to construction.
September 6th: Classes began at my old studio, where I am still currently teaching acro.
September 9th: The first acro night of the year! It's going well so far. My biggest class has over 13 girls in it. I love them all so much. We're getting ready for our first performance, it'll be on Monday, I merged all of the acro classes together and we're doing a dance before our town's Halloween Parade begins.
September 15th: I began taking ballet and pointe at the studio in town where I teach.
September 24th: Our town held it's annual TownFest.
October 1st: I helped my dance studio (the one in town where I teach) paint faces at our town's annual FarmFest and my friends and I made it through the corn maze in 30 minutes...half the average time!
October 2nd: I babysat the most adorable baby for the first time. He was only six weeks old and his mom was my babysitter when I was a baby!
October 8th: Homecoming weekend!
October 16th: I met my friend's daughter for the first time and caught up with her younger sister, who is one of my closest friends, and I haven't seen her since the dance intensive I went to this summer.
October 26th: My brother ran in the district wide cross country meet, placed 19th and moved on to states (which will be November 4th) but I couldn't be there :( Don't worry, though, I going to paint up for states!
October 28th: I quit the ballet and pointe classes that I was taking at the studio in town...that was NOT and enjoyable conversation with the owner.
And now for today. IT SNOWED! It's just tragic. I hate the snow. Snow in October...where I live. Nooo, thank you.
Well, that's all for now. I have lots of dance events coming up so hopefully I'll be back soon to share.
Okay, glad that's out of the way. I have the craziest schedule ever!! I'll run through a few highlights of the last couple of months (mostly dance related but a few pieces of my life thrown in there) and hopefully I'll get back to more regular blogging soon!
So, apparently my last entry was on August 14th. Hmm...what cool stuff have I done since August 14th? Well, in sequential order...
August 17th-21st: I went to Rhode Island for a wedding.
August 21st: I started dancing at a new studio, a ballet school about half an hour away from my home. I absolutely love it there!
September 6th: I started school, although my school started two weeks later than every school in the county due to construction.
September 6th: Classes began at my old studio, where I am still currently teaching acro.
September 9th: The first acro night of the year! It's going well so far. My biggest class has over 13 girls in it. I love them all so much. We're getting ready for our first performance, it'll be on Monday, I merged all of the acro classes together and we're doing a dance before our town's Halloween Parade begins.
September 15th: I began taking ballet and pointe at the studio in town where I teach.
September 24th: Our town held it's annual TownFest.
October 1st: I helped my dance studio (the one in town where I teach) paint faces at our town's annual FarmFest and my friends and I made it through the corn maze in 30 minutes...half the average time!
October 2nd: I babysat the most adorable baby for the first time. He was only six weeks old and his mom was my babysitter when I was a baby!
October 8th: Homecoming weekend!
October 16th: I met my friend's daughter for the first time and caught up with her younger sister, who is one of my closest friends, and I haven't seen her since the dance intensive I went to this summer.
October 26th: My brother ran in the district wide cross country meet, placed 19th and moved on to states (which will be November 4th) but I couldn't be there :( Don't worry, though, I going to paint up for states!
October 28th: I quit the ballet and pointe classes that I was taking at the studio in town...that was NOT and enjoyable conversation with the owner.
And now for today. IT SNOWED! It's just tragic. I hate the snow. Snow in October...where I live. Nooo, thank you.
Well, that's all for now. I have lots of dance events coming up so hopefully I'll be back soon to share.
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