bippity-bopitty-boo

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You know those moments in life when everything seems to fall into place serendipitously? A stranger reaches out on Facebook, timing is right, and good vibes effervesce abundantly…

This was my Cinderella story. On Tuesday we drove to Connecticut and made a variation (with 3 menages!). On Wednesday we tasted a giant pretzel, then hit the stage with lights and fog. And glitter. On Thursday we dress rehearsed and dress rehearsed again. Followed by margaritas and tacos in the rain. On Friday we took a Tesla to lunch, we ran-through et voila, on Saturday, we performed for a sold out house. We signed autographs, we took pictures, we performed again. We ate tapas and crossed paths with old friends while forging ships with new ones. On Sunday, another sold out show, more signatures on playbills, and sweet words from the kindest of people. Goodbyes were harder than anticipated, for this crew I spent just 6 days with. But isn’t that what it’s all about? Experiences that leave you wanting more, and checking your toes for magical shoes, as you lay half asleep in your bed, wondering if the whole thing had perhaps been a dream…

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performance photos and beautiful experience via Ballet Theater Company.

you want thing-a-ma-bobs?

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WOW.

It’s been almost a month since my foray under the sea, and I have yet to chronicle it here! What an interesting experience, to dance a ballet with no legs, hovering above the stage in a shimmering pseudo-fin. With some support from my undertow (blue unitard-clan men), I bobbed through back flips and press lifts, paddling through the waves with the wonder of a woman in love with a world she’s never known.

Of course, I owe the great fun of Act II to my Prince, whose garden grows greener and waltzing whirls worthier than any I’ve known. Okay, things are getting strange…enjoy some behind-the-scenes photos, I’m off!

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first 6 photos by Thomas Nola-Rian.

 

weekend reads

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Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve shared a little roundup of reads from the web! I’ve stumbled upon some articles worth sharing, so I thought I would do just that. Enjoy…

“The soles of their feet are flat on the floor, as if receiving a charge from it.” Two Seconds That Explain Balanchine, exquisitely written by Alastair Macaulay, via Michele Gifford.

A little shoutout for a familiar company in Pointe. ;)

Does anyone else love just listening to two people have a conversation? I’ve been pretty into following NYCB’s Jenelle Manzi on Instagram for behind-the-scenes snaps and baking inspiration (girl can COOK!), so naturally I was very game to sit in on A chat with New York City Ballet Dancer Jenelle Manzi via my lady Jess of The Whole Dancer.

A New Juliet Blooms as a Ballerina. I met/developed my girl crush on Indiana at the Bolshoi Ballet Summer Intensive, and cannot imagine a more perfect dancer to take on one of my favorite ballets.

Would love to get into these ballet-based workouts during summer layoff.

“Wanting to embrace a lifelong pursuit of an art form is different than wanting 300,000 followers on Instagram. You can do both, but the work should speak for itself, and it will reward you with something that is irreplaceable, and far deeper and longer-lasting than if you’re just pursuing fame.” An important reminder, beautifully written by Julie Kent.

 

 

swimming into spring

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It’s here! Spring sunshine, mermaid musings, and the final week of the FBP season! Whew!

What a long and fulfilling season it has been.  I’ve been a lonely widow, a playful courier of faith, a sugar-filled fairy, an icy queen, a dewy drop, a romantic American, a rousing ruby, a hyper fox, a slippery tippler, a gush of thrusting gust, a significantly more spritely American, and now, a marveling mermaid.

Here’s to a season of playing, dancing, stumbling, swooshing, and swimming. I am beyond excited to jump down under the sea this weekend. If you’re in New England, I hope you’ll join me.

marveling mermaid

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Whoever said getting older meant “growing up” never met a professional ballet dancer. One of the best things about my job is the essential nature of imagination. The cornerstone of my career transforms “playing pretend” into “making believe”.

In one of my first story ballets, I flew on the ragged tunic-tails of a magical manboy, coated in pixie dust, second star to the right and straight on ’til morning. Neverland became real for a while, and I visited not only in my daily rehearsals but in my sleep each night. In a few weeks I will revisit the little Cinder girl who waltzes in glass slippers and rides a pumpkin to meet a prince, but first I inhabit a mermaid.

Comfort in the sea and pure wonder on dry land, I’m a wide-eyed child, reborn on the shore in awe. The Little Mermaid marvels most everything in this strange new world, an assignment whose endless benefits I do not ignore. There’s nothing quite like putting yourself in the wobbling young legs of a recently spellbound former sea creature. Tip toeing around a garden, clean of this world’s clutter and ready to receive. What a gift to be tasked with occupying this curious stranger.

And if you were wondering whether or not playing around with mythical beings and fairytales is a difficult thing to do “at the office”, note my derpy rock friend and the happy puppy in the background of the above picture. Man, I love my job.

 

If you are in New England, come check out Little Mermaid. Tickets here.

we went on tour!

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Over the weekend, FBP brought a small cast of dancers to New Hampshire to perform at UNH’s Celebrity Series. We went *on tour*! Yes it was just one performance in one location in New England, but for a regional ballet company with a tight budget, that’s pretty impressive! And the nearly sold out theater is surely something to celebrate.

The entire day Saturday was spent in the theater, rehearsing our mixed bill program on a slippery stage, waltzing between runs and munching on “rich people food” in the wings. By the end of the day, the stage was thick with yellow rosin, our pointe shoes coated thick enough to match the floaty dresses of Christopher Wheeldon’s The American.

After the show, we celebrated Archie’s 18th birthday and our own job well done with a cast party at Misha and Mark’s in Portsmouth. On Sunday morning we all made brunch in Maine at my happy place. Sharing this space with my little ballet fam brought on even more warm fuzzies than I had expected. Ahh, Maine. The way life should be.

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