Feast of Sharing

Now that I've officially embarked on eating my weight in junk food--which is totally logical since we don't have class for a few weeks--I figured I'd take a second to give y'all an update.

Today we had a promotional event called Feast of Sharing. It's an annual event here locally put on by H.E.B., a grocery store chain pretty big in Texas, every Christmas Eve to provide a holiday dinner to anyone in the community. They make it a huge event with arts and crafts, kids zone, and performances by locals. It's not just in our area; HEB hosts this event all over the state. Members of the company go and do a few parts of Nutcracker. I've never gone before, but went this year. It was a lot of fun! We actually had a good amount of dancers able to make it, so the whole thing worked out pretty slick!

(once again, they aren't rotating...)

Jennifer and I did the flowers part of finale, and we had the perfect amount of each bit that was represented, and it used the perfect amount of finale music. 

While we were waiting, I asked Annika to show me a few things I didn't know but am fairly certain will come up in auditions. I obviously don't have it perfectly, but I have the idea of it, so I can work on it more so that I don't freeze up if and when it comes up. I want to practice as much as I can so that way I can do the best audition I've done, instead of just kind of putsing through it. I want to actually leave an audition and feel good about it. 

There was a day I was in the small studio with Andie on a Tuesday working on doubles. She watched and explained what I needed to work on to help me have proper alignment to get my turns more solid so I can move on to multiples more than just accidentally. There was one turn I did that was supposed to be a double, but it was so bombed I laughed before I even finished bombing it. 

But, then I realized that what was laughable to me now would have been a huge accomplishment to me not too long ago. And that's what I need to remember; progress is happening. If I keep working hard, progress will keep happening. I can't let myself get discouraged. I need to remind myself that it takes time, and that I need to keep working hard to see anything happen. 

Mom asked me how long I'm going to keep dancing. Innocent enough question, I guess. And honestly, if she's not in the ballet world, I really can't expect her to understand what kind of question that is. That this isn't just some whim, but a lifestyle. This is part of who I am. It's in the core of who I am. 

I love ballet. I love dance. I love movement. I love expression. I love doing something to make someone feel something. And seeing the faces of the people today as we danced reminded me of why I really love this; of what inside me begged me to dance. To face my fears and the doubts of those around me. 

So, that's all. Just some thoughts.