In the woods by a gazebo

 

 

Photos copyright AG Photography

June 2011

A Midsummer Night's Dream

At times, when I am just one of so many, I question if it makes a difference if I am on stage at all - and my answer is always the same - yes, it makes a difference to me. I love dance... all of it; every bit of it.

Of the many woodland creatures dancing across the theater stage in our company's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, several of our second company members joined our professional company dancers on stage en pointe and it was brilliant. :) Here is a picture of me with three of my best ballet friends in the stairwell from our dressing room to backstage.

I love this ballet for many reasons. I first danced it in February 2003 when I was not quite 7 as a sprite so it holds a special place in my heart as my first full length, non-Nutcracker, professional ballet production. This time, eight years later and many pairs of ballet flats and pointe shoes later, I love it as much as I ever did. 

Mendelssohn was just 17 when he composed the Midsummer Overture Opus 21. He is said to have "scribbled the chords after hearing an evening breeze rustle the leaves in the garden of the family's home." 

The brilliance of the composition as well as the genius of the composer inspires me every time I hear even a snippet of the overture or any of the incidental music (Opus 61) Mendelssohn wrote years later. Ironically, the last time I heard Mendelssohn was last week - which as also our tech and production week. It randomly played on the classical radio station while my brothers and I were eating breakfast before school. 

Schindler's List

Sometimes ballet is an overwhelming outpouring of pure joy. Sometimes ballet speaks to tragedy and sorrow. But whether it is simply a showcase of technique or follows a true narrative, ballet always tells a story.

I am in the middle-left.
Photo by J L Williams

This photo was from our student thesis presentation on May 1 at the university.  It was choreographed by my friend and fellow student, Vanessa. She set this work to Theme from Schindler's List composed by John Williams. The dancers wore our hair long, tied back with a version of eastern-European babushkas created by the costume department.

Second Company

Here is a photo we took a few months ago with all the girls who dance for our ballet company's second company. I love that we are barefoot and wearing jeans. :)  I am in the second row from top, on the left. Photo by J L Williams.

Spring Concert

Our university is performing the spring dance concert this week. Two shows down and two to go. I have a very small part in a ballet called Tango Cafe  set in 1930s Argentina. I actually saw this ballet premiered about three or four years ago by the ballet company it was created for. It was a privilege dancing in such a great work by one of my favorite teachers/choreographers whom I have known since I was 5. :) And thank goodness it was on pointe, unlike my part in Giselle. The only bad thing about university productions is that unlike the real dance world, the casting is based on senority, and when you're 4-8 yrs younger than the college dance majors you dance with - you are cast accordingly.

 I like to call this "Made-lion."  :D Yes, that is a tail, and yes, I am a lion in a cirque de soleil piece.Thank you to my favorite photographer Jim Williams for this fun shot. (He had some great photos, but unfortunately, this might be the only good one of me.)

From classical ballet to ... NSYNC. One of the guys in the piece told me I was born to be a 90s boy band back up dancer (ummmm...sad lol) if only I hadn't been two yrs old back then.That was fun because Andrew put me right up front. Thanks Andrew! Thanks also for making the costume size adult-large cargo pants and also for the thousand safety pins needed to keep them up. :) This piece was probably my least familiar style, but lots of fun. How many times do you dance on stage where knees pads are required under your costume? Not many, right?  Gotta break out the old school dance moves at homecoming next fall, I think. lol.

I was also in three more pieces, including a cirque de soleil style piece, a lyrical piece set to a violin version of Mr. Brightsides - so beautiful! -  and Audition from A Chorus Line. That last piece was all jazz and one tap piece. I have to say this: in my life, I have taken exactly one tap class before this year. I am most proud of that fact that I was able to keep up with a challenging piece staged by a master tap teacher and a class full of students who've tapped longer than I have been alive. I guess being able to count to 8 means something here!

It will be nice to have a break from rehearsals for a while. A MidSummer Night's Dream auditions (with the company, not the university) are next weekend, but luckily rehearsals for the 2nd company/trainees won't begin until April. This means I get to make up what I missed for rehearsals with extra classes during the month of March. I miss getting in all my tech and pointe classes. Hello more Wednesday and Saturday technique and pointe on the schedule. But luckily I am also back to Sundays off. My body needs it - and a nap.

So I showed this to my mom

Patricia Barker at her prime as Odette in Swan Lake as compared to me having fun in the studio with my friends (we all had small townspeople parts!) before a performance of Giselle a couple months ago - the picture of me was taken by my friend Jenna with the background photoshopped out. Ms. Barker's photo was taken by someone fancy, I am sure. :).

My mom is never shy about telling me things like "your lifted heel need to be pulled back and your supporting leg should be more turned out and what is up with your arm and neck?" Instead she saw this and she said, "you look extremely joyful when you dance."

And - Oh look at Ms. Barker's glorious feet!!

A Bridal Fair

This marks my first time on stage in 2011...and it wasn't a ballet! I got to be a junior bridesmaid in a Bridal Fashion show at a huge convention center.

Of course my big hair and I had rehearsal immediately after this. It was just a half-hour of me cleaning up my  Paquita Variation 4 with Ms. Susan. Can you picture me in a leo, tights and pointe shoes with the giant hairdo? Wish I had a video of that. :)

happy MXXI eve

What an amazing year....

although it doesn't look like it here...

...it really was!

This season I danced in three professional productions and one university production including a touring Nutcracker (ok, granted it was one-city, three-shows, but still... a tour!) and a Harrison McEldowney work back in October. I also did Aspen Santa Fe Ballet's Nutcracker earlier in December, danced in Giselle in November. In less than two weeks I begin rehearsals for two original works, Tango Café (ballet) and an untitled work of student choreography involving a more jazz influenced ballet style,.

I haven't actually performed in this many shows in one season before and the season isn't over yet. Hopefully there is A Midsummer Night's Dream in my future in May. 

At my age, I know am not going to be Sugar Plum or Giselle or Titania (yet!), but every production I am in, I give my best to dance completely in the moment. For me though, even more important than performing is perfecting my technique.

Christmas break is going to be over soon. I am grateful that if there is anything to worry about, it is that there are almost  too many opportunities right now. It may not always be that way, so I will never complain. :) Happy new year's eve!

Giselle

 Giselle Nov. 2010

No, I was not Giselle. I was a townsperson, and not even one of the girls on  pointe. But I am happy. I did get to do a shoulder sit and all my prepro teachers and friends and family came to see me. Still being 14, I was pretty pleased to have even been asked to be in the university's production at all. By now, everyone in advanced ballet knows when I say I am a freshman, I mean in high school. :)

Swing Swing Swing!

Here's what I did this weekend

Choreographer: Harrison McEldowney

October 2010

Leo's Dancewear and me

That is me in blue. LOL...

August Already?

I realized I didn't post a single thing in July. What a great summer - lots of dancing, and one last wonderful week at Clear Lake with my family before school starts!

This year, in addition to my pre-professional training, I have been invited to dance at a private university in my city in their advanced dance program. I will be taking 5 college credits this semester (all advanced dance classes that will count toward a dance major.)

The week before I start my first day of college, I will begin my first week of high school - lol!

UPDATE: OK, my mom made me take out information about my schedule, but she did say I could post this. My foot is better even though it's behind a post, and I'm touching the horizon lol. Could be better.

xo
Madeline

Chicago

We went to Chicago and took the usual arabesque shot . This one is at the Galewood station 4 stops out of Union Station. :)

Auditions

This week I had two auditions: one for the ballet company, and one for Les Sylphides, which is to be staged as part of a collaborative dance project. The company rehearses from 1 - 3 every Saturday afternoon.

So today my mom was told that I am selected for Les Sylphides and rehearsals will be - of course - on Saturday afternoons. :(

Patricia Barker

Today I danced with the incredibly beautiful Patricia Barker, former principal dancer and current faculty member at Pacific Northwest Ballet.

She told me twice - "work harder Madeline!" And then later she said to me - "I only tell you this because I know you can do it; otherwise I wouldn't bother."

Haha... she is everything I love in a teacher. :)

 Me (at right) with Ms. Barker

She even showed up to a party at the pool with us on Thursday evening. 

 

Ms. Barker and Ben Houk

And yes, she is THIS amazing, even when she is not dancing.

Resphigi

Click the play button.



Music by O. Resphigi, choreography by S. Chowning, and dress rehearsal last week (June 4, 2010) on the slipperiest stage - EVER.

This is thirty seconds of what is probably my favorite piece of music by Resphigi. It was used by Agnes de Mille when she choreographed Three Virgins and A Devil.

In this case, it is true that a bad dress rehearsal equals a good performance, but there is no poor-quality cell phone video from the balcony of that. :D

Le Conservatoire

Just a bunch of dancers standing in B-plus


I'm in the middle between Olivia and Em. High bun in the midst of the low ones.

Last class...

So today, we pre-pros/trainees were taught our last class at my ballet school. Most of the company have been gone for a while. I am SO excited for the month of June to arrive with our ensemble auditions for next season.


Today after last class: Arabesque. In jeans. On an incline...yah that's right.

However, I still have our showcase performance on Thursday to look forward to. We are doing Konservetoriet, a Bournonville ballet (a.k.a. Le Conservatoire in French) as well as a couple of other pieces.

The image in my blog page header shows the costumes we are wearing for this ballet (yes, that is from a real photo of the preprofessionals at my company before a performance; that is me at the far left. Our costumes are so Degas-like...I love it.)

Happy birthday, Mr. Tchaikovsky

I totally LOVE Google's logo for today, May 7, 2010.


The word "Google" depicted as a scene from Swan Lake


How fun to log on to my laptop this evening and see Google's beautiful logo celebrating the 170th birthday of the amazing Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

I've been in The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. So, one day maybe.. Swan Lake? That would make a triple-Tchaikovsky sweep.


:D

When I was little...

Backstage at Nutcracker 2001 (Daisy)


Hey, at least I was in Waltz of The Flowers. :D


One afternoon when I was maybe three or four, my mom had somewhere to take one of my little brothers, so my dad was in charge of getting me to ballet class that day.

He asked me - "so Madeline, what are you supposed to wear to this class?" I said "Mommy puts my leotards and tights in the top dresser drawer." He looked through everything in that dresser, and then finally said - "ok, I don't know what a leotard is."

Hahahaha! I love my dad.