September marked the beginning of a busy and mostly happy 3 months. Nutcracker rehearsals started the day that school returned for a new year and regular classes the week after. This year, I took 2 ballet classes a week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Having the extra class each week made such a difference! Even though I practiced at home using railing bannisters as barres and our large basement as a dance floor, having that extra class with a trained teacher gave me that extra little boost to expanding my dance knowledge and abilities and I could tell that I was improving at a faster rate as a result of this.
Nutcracker rehearsals were typically scheduled for weekends and some Friday afternoons and I found myself at the studio a minimum of 4 days a week! Green soldiers rehearsals were first..I still remember most of it as it was quite fun dancing in a "marchy" sort of way and in the end the battle scene was highly exciting with the green and red soldiers rat king and mice etc. After that came the First Act in which I was the nanny to Clara. The First Act involves the guests arriving, the young party girls and adults performing dances, Clara receiving Nutcracker and such...the party scene was really fun..my only qualm was that I wished to be part of the adults dance. I watched it so much that I eventually learned the choreography!! (hehe) and all the girls dancing were my age and some of whom I went to school with, but again they had years of dance experience over me. Being the nanny was fun though as I got to open up the party scene..So, rehearsals began well and I began feeling excited..that is...until I went to the first trepak rehearsal.
The trepak is the Russian dance involving character shoes..I was excited if not a bit disappointed not to be one of the spanish dancers or in the flower waltz A (the flower waltz B group were all dancing on pointe and more advanced). The first trepak rehearsal was horrible. All of the girls were about 4 years younger than me, and the dance, which was initially to very quick music, got changed as the fast past was too much for some of the dancers. This made the choreography which was quite basic, painfully slow and I felt ridiculous doing it. After the first rehearsal, I went and spoke with my ballet teacher who had seen some of the rehearsal. She said she could tell by my face that I was far from enthused by it. Unfortunately, they'd squeezed enough people into all the roles based on the number of costumes they had and the only thing they could offer me was an understudy role for Flower Waltz A. Since the flower waltz was something I had wanted to be part of (plus the music alone is enough to get me teary-eyed) I accepted and officially left the trepak role.
Then began the whole experience of being an understudy.Initially I was pleased, as I got to attend the rehearsals and learn the dance with the others whom were all in my ballet classes and a few older girls as well and I had no difficulty picking it up. However, when rehearsals got more serious and the room became full of flower waltz B and the rose queen and such, there was no point in me taking part in them any more, but being an understudy meant that I was to stay on top of the dance and attend every rehearsal whether I was dancing or not. Initially I didn't mind but closer to the performance I began to get annoyed as it was becoming obvious that no one was going to drop out or get the flu. There was one girl though who was quite slow in picking up the choreography and made several mistakes right up to the last week of rehearsals..there was a glimmer of hope at one point that I might replace her or this other girl, as the teachers were becoming frustrated but both girls picked up their act in the end, much to my disappointment.
That period in Nutracker with the waltz was definitely a test for me. It was hard to be completely happy about it all since I desperately wanted to dance at least one of the performances in the flower waltz. I understand though that after giving roles out and assigning performances, that they couldn't just take 1 or 2 performances from a dancer just so I could take part. I was infuriated though to overhear two girls in flower waltz A and the arabian dance (one my age who had been dancing since 5 and who was in my classes at school) and the other two, a year and two years younger than me, say that they were only doing nutcracker because their parents wanted them to do it and that they wished they didn't have to. I got upset at home over this a lot and it still upsets me to remember this..as I both knew by now and had accepted the fact, that I wouldn't get to dance in the 2nd act (The Land of Sweets) which to me was the ultimate act of the Nutcracker. But it was very difficult to hear these comments and not be upset and angry as it became obvious how much more I loved dance than they did. I never missed a class, practiced at home and I would bet lots of money that neither one of the girls is dancing now..in fact, I know that 2 of them quit within the year after Nutcracker. So to know that they got to dance waltz, arabian or spanish for all 3 performances when they didn't want to be there while I was left to understudy when I really and truly did want to be there for every second of it, was heartwrenching.
Nutcracker aside, regular classes were moving along well..barre and centre were becoming increasingly more technical and I learned a lot of new steps and felt that I was progressing very well, and by Christmas I had somehow managed to execute a triple pirouette (on my right ride).
Mid-November brought full day rehearsals every weekend and in the last week, rehearsals during school hours which meant missing some class. I remember leaving geography at 11:30 one Friday morning with a friend in the class who was also in Nutcracker. Everyone knew why we were leaving early and I must say, I felt pretty important :)
Another highlight was that many of my teachers went to see Nutcracker. My English and Geography teachers went, as did some others that I'd had in previous years. I received positive comments on my performance which was really nice. Nutcracker was done every 2 years and in the past I'd felt beyond jealous of the girls participating (this was before I began dance of course) and this time I didn't have to..
Nutcracker opened the first Friday in December with a 7:30 pm show, followed by two more shows the following day at 2:30 and 7:30 respectively. I was incredibly nervous to be performing in front of a packed theatre but the nerves brought both adrenaline and excitement as well and all 3 performances went very well and even though I felt bitter about not being in the second act, I felt proud of my dance achievements in the little over 2 years that I'd been dancing.
Being nanny to Clara meant that I also interacted a lot with her "parents" who danced in the adult dance and who were actually teachers in their late 30's who did ballroom dancing but who had done ballet years before..they were Dave and Evelyn and they were unfailingly kind to me and seemed to both know and understand my love of ballet. They knew how much I loved it and were obviously sorry about what happened with Act 2 and disappointed for me but told me to keep my chin up because who knows what could happen in the future. On opening night, they presented me with a lovely card saying how much they'd enjoyed dancing with me and how if they ever needed to recommend a great nanny they'd recommend me and to keep dancing :) Along with the card was a cute Christmas bear with a snowflake santa hat. I was touched. Long after Nutcracker, I used to see Evelyn shopping occasionally while I was working in the bookstore and she'd always stop and chat, give me a big hug and inquire about how ballet was going and comment on how much she loved that I loved it so much..the last time I saw her was a little over 2 years ago. Her last words were "keep dancing girl" :)
The following Monday at school, I walked into English to see a small Christmas bag on my desk. Inside was a card thanking me for an enjoyable performance and a Nutcracker christmas tree ornament from my teacher. Another girl in my class in Nutcracker, had also received a gift and card. We were both very surprised and pleased.
The end of Nutcracker came a week before school let out for Christmas holidays and the holidays brought some snow and a lovely Christmas present from my Mum of 2 beautiful and expensive ballerina book holders :)
Friday, 10 June 2011
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
How it continued..
So ballet began and I was happy..really happy..I never tried out for school sports teams again and halfway through my first year of ballet, I had my gr.10 piano exam which I got a 77 Honours mark for..seeing as I could go no higher (other than to become a certified teacher) my lessons ended..anyway I continued music through jazz band at school which I enjoyed but of course, it was ballet that I looked forward to every week..
Initially, I took just one class a week; I wish I could have taken more but Mum was firm that it should just be for "recreation" and that I had school to focus on..and that she'd spent enough money on piano for me; however, towards the end of my first year I was approached by my teacher's daughter and asked if I was interested in private lessons..I took this as a positive sign. For one thing, the only people that took private lessons were those preparing for festival or exams and of course, the studio favourites who took every class available to them and whose parents were pushing them (or they were pushing themselves!) to dance professionally..either way, I said YES immediately to the offer. Mum wasn't overly thrilled of course and just reminded me that "this is just a hobby Nicola; you're not going to become a professional"..which annoyed the heck out of me at the time. In the end, I got 3 private lessons just for me :) I learned some valuable things in those 3 lessons..they weren't like a class at all but were based on different aspects of a typial class. In the first less we went through the barre exercises that I did each week and things such as arm placement were adjusted..who knew holding your arms just a fraction of an inch in a different way would make for such a different look? But in ballet, every little detail is noticed (and felt )..all in all, those private lessons were wonderful and I admit I was pleased that I'd been asked as a few others in my class who were in my situation (my age who had started at the same time) hadn't been asked..
At the end of the year (June) brochures were posted around the studio for the annual summer school in August..$220 for a 5-day dance intensive..I can't remember the details of how I twisted Mum around to saying yes..but I was quite determined to attend the intensive..and so, for one wole glorious week that August 2003, I was at the studio from 10-5:30 doing jazz, ballet, which introduced pointe!, hip-hop & stretch & strength, all of which were super exhausting but so much fun! This intensive also introduced me to jazz for the first time..which I enjoy. I learned so much from this intensive in so many ways, and even now when working on my stretching, use stretches and exercises I learned from the Stretch & Strength class...THANK YOU STEPHANIE!
September marked a full year that I'd been dancing..my first milestone! That month began a little rocky. There was no "teen ballet" class anymore, as most of the girls stopped after just the one year (but myself and one other) and so I was put in with younger girls..which was fine-they were all 3 years younger than me and one of them was my now former best friend's younger sister..slightly awkward as I'd had a big falling out with my former friend . Anyway, there I was, full of the usual energy, enthusiasm but also of my newfound knowledge from the intensive and ready to begin another year..then I went to the first class..
That first class of the year was a nightmare. I was behind in every single exercise!! This was humiliating for me as I felt that I'd developed in my ability to pick up new steps and choreography-everyone else seemed to know the barre, centre and floor exercises but me..however, it turns out, that every single girl (but me) were preparing to take their Gr.7 RAD exam and they had all done syllabus in August (like getting a leg up with what will be required of you in September..you get taught all the barre exercises for your grade, and most of the floor and centre work)..so, before they'd walked into the first class of the year, they'd known everything..of course I didn't know this at the time and so felt utterly miserable being behind..even now, I remember that first class and wonder why on earth I was placed in that class at that point? Over the coming weeks, the routines were the same so I eventually picked them up and was fine, but considering that 3 girls not doing their RAD exam joined the class once the exams were over why wasn't I given that opportunity? There were plenty of open non-exam classes that I could have joined temporarily..I still remember being at the front of the barre and not knowing what to do and turning around too soon in the exercise to see my former best friend's younger sister laughing at me...not pleasant..
On a happier note, the exams were over within 2 months and November brought new barre work, new centre and new floor exercises which I was happily able to pick up in the same manner as the others. Over the rest of the year, I felt my skillset improve even more (exercises changed every 2 weeks or so), began receiving praise for my work, and before the end of my second year had successfully performed my first double pirouette. Nutcracker audition posters were put up that June as well and I felt confident enough in my abilities to audition.The audition was incredibly nerve-wracking..I was shaking with nerves the entire time which I know influenced my performance..after an hour of exercises we were thanked and taken to another room to be measured for costumes.. Over the summer, I found out that I was to have 2 roles..they were small in comparison to what many of the girls had..but considering they had 10+ years of dance on me, not bad. I was the nanny to Clara (which involved more acting than dancing), a green soldier (in the battle between the rats and soldiers) and part of the Trepak (the russian dance)...
Summer of 2004 I chose to do syllabus ( I was now at the RAD grade 8 level) over the intensive, so as not to have a repeat of the previous years' incident! While not as varied as summer school and shorter in length..(Just 3 hours every afternoon for a week)..it was intensive in its own way and in a strange twist of irony, the barre work for grade 8 and two of the dances (the movement libre dramatique and movement libre poetic) were things I learned over the course of my first year of ballet..(tho now they were taught over a few hours rather than many weeks!)..so it was nice that I was ahead of the others as I remembered it all..and initially the teacher was shocked when, as we were marking the first few steps, I went ahead (since I knew what I was doing already) and she was like "how did you know?" so I came clean and admitted that I knew from a prior class! Thankfully, there were lots of other grade 8 exercises and dances that I hadn't learned before, so that was good; a highlight of syllabus occured on the last day, when parents were invited to watch the classes, and all the dances we had learnt over the course of the week were performed for them..for one of the dances (a character one) the teacher had each of us dancing them on our own and then graded us out of 10..I performed the dance and was give a 9.5!! I was super pleased with myself to the point that I cannot remember the tiny critique I was given (that took off 0.5)...either way it was a great feeling :)
Syllabus ended after a week, and a couple of weeks later, September arrived... marking 2 years dancing, the start of Nutcracker rehearsals (yippee!) and my taking 2 ballet classes/week after promising Mum that I would be able to handle all of that, and school and jazz band and my paperoute!
Initially, I took just one class a week; I wish I could have taken more but Mum was firm that it should just be for "recreation" and that I had school to focus on..and that she'd spent enough money on piano for me; however, towards the end of my first year I was approached by my teacher's daughter and asked if I was interested in private lessons..I took this as a positive sign. For one thing, the only people that took private lessons were those preparing for festival or exams and of course, the studio favourites who took every class available to them and whose parents were pushing them (or they were pushing themselves!) to dance professionally..either way, I said YES immediately to the offer. Mum wasn't overly thrilled of course and just reminded me that "this is just a hobby Nicola; you're not going to become a professional"..which annoyed the heck out of me at the time. In the end, I got 3 private lessons just for me :) I learned some valuable things in those 3 lessons..they weren't like a class at all but were based on different aspects of a typial class. In the first less we went through the barre exercises that I did each week and things such as arm placement were adjusted..who knew holding your arms just a fraction of an inch in a different way would make for such a different look? But in ballet, every little detail is noticed (and felt )..all in all, those private lessons were wonderful and I admit I was pleased that I'd been asked as a few others in my class who were in my situation (my age who had started at the same time) hadn't been asked..
At the end of the year (June) brochures were posted around the studio for the annual summer school in August..$220 for a 5-day dance intensive..I can't remember the details of how I twisted Mum around to saying yes..but I was quite determined to attend the intensive..and so, for one wole glorious week that August 2003, I was at the studio from 10-5:30 doing jazz, ballet, which introduced pointe!, hip-hop & stretch & strength, all of which were super exhausting but so much fun! This intensive also introduced me to jazz for the first time..which I enjoy. I learned so much from this intensive in so many ways, and even now when working on my stretching, use stretches and exercises I learned from the Stretch & Strength class...THANK YOU STEPHANIE!
September marked a full year that I'd been dancing..my first milestone! That month began a little rocky. There was no "teen ballet" class anymore, as most of the girls stopped after just the one year (but myself and one other) and so I was put in with younger girls..which was fine-they were all 3 years younger than me and one of them was my now former best friend's younger sister..slightly awkward as I'd had a big falling out with my former friend . Anyway, there I was, full of the usual energy, enthusiasm but also of my newfound knowledge from the intensive and ready to begin another year..then I went to the first class..
That first class of the year was a nightmare. I was behind in every single exercise!! This was humiliating for me as I felt that I'd developed in my ability to pick up new steps and choreography-everyone else seemed to know the barre, centre and floor exercises but me..however, it turns out, that every single girl (but me) were preparing to take their Gr.7 RAD exam and they had all done syllabus in August (like getting a leg up with what will be required of you in September..you get taught all the barre exercises for your grade, and most of the floor and centre work)..so, before they'd walked into the first class of the year, they'd known everything..of course I didn't know this at the time and so felt utterly miserable being behind..even now, I remember that first class and wonder why on earth I was placed in that class at that point? Over the coming weeks, the routines were the same so I eventually picked them up and was fine, but considering that 3 girls not doing their RAD exam joined the class once the exams were over why wasn't I given that opportunity? There were plenty of open non-exam classes that I could have joined temporarily..I still remember being at the front of the barre and not knowing what to do and turning around too soon in the exercise to see my former best friend's younger sister laughing at me...not pleasant..
On a happier note, the exams were over within 2 months and November brought new barre work, new centre and new floor exercises which I was happily able to pick up in the same manner as the others. Over the rest of the year, I felt my skillset improve even more (exercises changed every 2 weeks or so), began receiving praise for my work, and before the end of my second year had successfully performed my first double pirouette. Nutcracker audition posters were put up that June as well and I felt confident enough in my abilities to audition.The audition was incredibly nerve-wracking..I was shaking with nerves the entire time which I know influenced my performance..after an hour of exercises we were thanked and taken to another room to be measured for costumes.. Over the summer, I found out that I was to have 2 roles..they were small in comparison to what many of the girls had..but considering they had 10+ years of dance on me, not bad. I was the nanny to Clara (which involved more acting than dancing), a green soldier (in the battle between the rats and soldiers) and part of the Trepak (the russian dance)...
Summer of 2004 I chose to do syllabus ( I was now at the RAD grade 8 level) over the intensive, so as not to have a repeat of the previous years' incident! While not as varied as summer school and shorter in length..(Just 3 hours every afternoon for a week)..it was intensive in its own way and in a strange twist of irony, the barre work for grade 8 and two of the dances (the movement libre dramatique and movement libre poetic) were things I learned over the course of my first year of ballet..(tho now they were taught over a few hours rather than many weeks!)..so it was nice that I was ahead of the others as I remembered it all..and initially the teacher was shocked when, as we were marking the first few steps, I went ahead (since I knew what I was doing already) and she was like "how did you know?" so I came clean and admitted that I knew from a prior class! Thankfully, there were lots of other grade 8 exercises and dances that I hadn't learned before, so that was good; a highlight of syllabus occured on the last day, when parents were invited to watch the classes, and all the dances we had learnt over the course of the week were performed for them..for one of the dances (a character one) the teacher had each of us dancing them on our own and then graded us out of 10..I performed the dance and was give a 9.5!! I was super pleased with myself to the point that I cannot remember the tiny critique I was given (that took off 0.5)...either way it was a great feeling :)
Syllabus ended after a week, and a couple of weeks later, September arrived... marking 2 years dancing, the start of Nutcracker rehearsals (yippee!) and my taking 2 ballet classes/week after promising Mum that I would be able to handle all of that, and school and jazz band and my paperoute!
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