Dancing4Jesus

 Summer workshop starts in five days! Today I'll be talking about what classes I'm taking, my schedules, and more.  To start with, I'll be taking ballet, conditioning, pointe, variations, contemporary, musical theatre, and partnering. I do ballet, conditioning, pointe, and partnering throughout the school year, but I only do the other ones in the summer. We have two guest artists coming, one for each week. The first one is one of my studio's founders, and one of my past instructors. She's an incredible dancer herself and one of the best teachers I've ever had. The second is a world-renowned choreographer and I couldn't be more excited to have the opportunity to be taught by him.  I'll be there for about 7 hours the first week, including a 3-hour class on Saturday. The second week I'll be there for about 12 hours each day. The reason I'm there an extra 5 hours is because I'll be teaching! I'll be assisting in two classes, and I also get t...

Today I'm going to be hinting at some of the big things that are coming up this summer, giving you a sneak peak of what you'll be seeing in some of my future blog posts.  First of all, I'm going to be attending the summer workshop my dance studio does annually in June. Click here to read about last year's summer workshop. We're also going to have two amazing guest artists visit for the workshop and I'm really excited to be taught by them. I'm also going to have some exciting teaching opportunities during this workshop. In July, I'm going to be attending another dance workshop, but this time, on a much larger scale. It will be at professional Christian ballet company with two guest artists. I'm not only hoping to improve greatly in my dancing, but I also hope to worship and experience God in a whole new way. I've been planning to go for a little while now and am working hard to make the money for the tuition.  Also in July, I'll be receiving ...

 Happy September everyone! Today I'm going to be sharing how the first week of dance went.  As you'll know if you've read some of my recent posts, I got promoted to Apprentice and am also a teacher's assistant this year. If you haven't read  this  blog, make sure to check it out so you can see how I felt before classes started, versus how I felt after the first week. Classes started on Monday, which was also my first day of teaching. It went well and I had a lot of fun getting to know the students. After that I had a two hour class, which was my first class in two months. It felt so good to be back in the studio, and I really enjoyed getting to dance again.  On Tuesday I had conditioning, which was taught by one of my favorite teachers. It was low intensity, thankfully, and the focus was on strengthening and gently getting our bodies back into shape. After that I had a short ballet class, then partnering class was last. I really enjoyed it, and feel like I did r...

Today I'm finishing up my back to dance series with an exciting announcement... I'm going back to dance in 5 days! I've been watching so many videos lately about dance, aching to be back in the studio and to see my friends again. My classes start on August 23rd. I'm so excited... I've been looking forward to this day for so long. I'll finally be an Apprentice! I can't wait for more challenging classes, dancing en pointe more, starting partnering, and all the other perks of being in Apprentice.  I also start teaching on my first day back. I attended a teacher training a couple of days ago to learn about my position as a teacher and all the details that come with being an instructor. I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to be a teacher's assistant and I can't wait to share more about that journey on here. Although I'm super excited, I'm still a little nervous about being in a new level, especially because it's so advanced. Because all...

I had asked God to make H is will for my life very clear, knowing that my own hopes would blind my eyes to His path for me.  Father, if you want me here, dancing at my studio, let me become an apprentice and  get to continue teaching . That was the prayer and commitment I had made a month earlier. I had been moved up to Apprentice, but I hadn't heard a word about my teaching position.  On Wednesday, July 7th, I went to my studio to help relay the flooring, since we'd taken it to the performance venue a month before. When I walked into the studio, I glanced at the staff room. I walked past, not putting my stuff in there because I didn't know if I would be continuing to teach anymore. . . . About a half hour later, I was chatting with the Production Director as we were laying the floor, when she casually asked me if I would like to continue to teach. My eyes got big as I stuttered in my excitement and nodded my head. I tried to express my excitement, but being caught by sur...

 As a little girl, I would watch in awe as the "big girls" danced en pointe, with grace and skill, and longed to be one of them. I've danced at my studio for eight and a half years. Although I've been promoted to the next level almost every fall, there's been two times when I've been held back for a year. There's also been times when I've been moved up mid-year.  The last three levels at my studio are called Echappe, Apprentice, and Company. Apprentice is pretty much considered a part of the Company. They take classes together and perform together. The only difference is that the Company members perform solos, while students in Apprentice are mostly understudies for the Company. Echappe is the last level before this, and for that reason, it's a big deal to get moved up to Apprentice. Once you're in Apprentice, it's just a matter of developing your skills enough to become an official Company member. But like I said, Apprentices still get to ...

  Even before I turned five, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher.  The first time I had a teacher other than my mom was in kindergarten. Then, and for years after, I wanted to be a school teacher when I grew up. I would come home and play school in my room with my retired schoolbooks and worn out easel.  When I started ballet at the age of seven, my dream began to change. I still wanted to be a school teacher, but I also began watching my ballet teachers and started to want to be one of them too. This hope and dream continued for years. With every passing year, I wanted more and more to teach dance. At the age of 12, an amazing opportunity opened up- I got to teach a summer workshop of my own. I taught this same workshop in the summers of 2018 and 2019.  Even though I got the amazing opportunity to teach my own workshop, I still wanted to teach at my studio. This way I could be guided in my teaching by my bosses and teachers who had more experience than me. I would ...

Five days till summer workshop! For the first time in two years, I'm going to attend a summer workshop at my studio! Ever since I was seven, I attended my studio's summer workshop annually. Then, in the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, causing the worldwide lockdown. Because of this, I had to miss the workshop for the first time in eight years. But after resuming classes in August, the workshop will continue as usual too.  This year I'll be taking classes in Ballet Technique, Pointe, Choreography, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Yoga, and Conditioning. The workshop lasts two weeks, five days a week, and I'll be going six hours the first week, and eight or more hours the second week.  The extra two hours during the second week are due to the fact that I'll be teaching two classes this year! I'm tempted to share the story behind this right now, but I'm going to wait and share it next week. So keep an eye out! My posts the next couple of months will re...