little miss ballerina

It's ballet week again.  It happens every fall and spring at our house.  Miss A began dancing when she was 3.  I'm not sure I'd start her so young if I had it to do all over again, although it has been a really fun experience, and she still loves it.  I guess I'm probably more relaxed now than I was then.  

Here she is:  a hummingbird.  It's an original ballet called "Reverie" by our fabulous ballet director.  It's and so fun and beautiful to watch!  I always try to take photos on dress rehearsal day rather than on the actual performance night.  We have a little more time at home and generally are more relaxed.

These were taken against a white wall.  The side lighting comes from French doors that are opened just to Miss A's right.

  

You can see the carpet and corner in the top left and below photos which take away from a professional look.  I'd crop those out if I wanted to hang these up anywhere.

And now, for the actual rehearsal photos.  Miss A leads her side of the stage out.

I just love the hummingbird's wings.  They spend a lot of time fluttering them.

 

They turn and stand in position while the other side of the stage enters.

 

Pretty girls!

 

And, now the steps:  passe, passe, tombe, pas de bourre, glissade, jette, glissade, jette....it's all French to me!  (I'm not sure how to add the accents, which actually really bothers me since I was a French major!)

 

The antagonist enters and the girls circle around her.  This is the last of my shots.  

 

I shot them all with my Canon 24-70mm lens at  ISO: 1000, f/2.8, SS:1/100 

If I had it to do again, I'd bump up the ISO so that I could increase my shutter speed a bit.  I don't mind the blurry background too much since I was focused on capturing Miss A, but if I had been taking photos for the entire group, I would have wanted to make sure everyone was clear and sharp which would have required a higher shutter speed.

Looking forward to the actual performance tonight!  Break a leg, Miss A!

dress rehearsal day

Yesterday was dress rehearsal day.  For the fist time in several years, I only had one bun and one face to put makeup on.  It was sure a lot less pressure!  Miss M has decided that ballet is just not for her--she's a beautiful dancer, but just does not love it.  And so now we have one little ballerina in the family.

Presenting our water lilly fairy, Miss A.  

Love this expression.  It's her truly delighted face.  The real smile, the one that only happens when she's filled with joy or tickled pink.  Love it!

We took these photos right after we fixed her hair and make-up.  I asked her to put her costume on for just a minute so that we could snap some photos.  We took, maybe all of 5-10 minutes to snap these.

Twirl, Miss A, twirl!

Notice how the back of her head is in the shadow?  I had some nice side-lighting coming in from an open door just to the right.  The background is just a bare, unpainted wall.  Yes, after 4 years, we still have unpainted walls.  But, I've gotten so used to using this wall as a plain backdrop, I can't imagine it any other color than white! 

My personal favorite from the bunch.

Except for maybe the photo on the right.  It's such a classic Miss A expression.  Sort of like her classic "are you serious?!" face. 

The real deal is on Friday night.  Can't wait to see the performance (again!)

Oh, and if you're wondering, she came up with all these poses on her own.  I just asked her to face the open doorway for me so that her face was in the light, and not in the shadow.

ballet hangover & a sad story

I think I'm almost over it--our ballet hangover, that is. It's what happens to our family twice a year a full week of rehearsals, late nights and ballet buns, tights and leotards. It usually takes us a few days to recover. But, it's worth it.

This year the girls' Nutcracker recital was bumped up a bit, so as to lessen the craziness of the Christmas season. It was so much better in November! And, it sort of launched me into the Christmas spirit. Sort of. As much as one can have the Christmas spirit while living in central Florida.



Now for the sad story. The day after the recital, we actually had a date on the calendar. A real date where you get a babysitter and take a shower and go out with just your spouse. It hasn't happened very often since little Z was born, sadly. So, we were really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, Miss M began to feel ill--on the day of our date!! But, we decided to go for it anyway, leaving our sitter with instructions to call if something bad happened. And, it did. Just as we arrived at our destination, my cell phone rang. Miss M had just thrown up. Lovely. So, there was no date. Now, isn't that a sad story?

ballet week

It's that time of year again. Time for what I call "ballet week." It's become a tradition in our house over the last three years since the girls have performed in the "Nutcracker." It was a very full week: Monday--staging class, Wednesday--dress rehearsal, Thursday--recital. The girls love getting their hair fixed in a nice bun and putting on real make-up. I have become much more proficient in such things as well. This year, it was a treat to have their Auntie Yvonne here to watch them dance too. Thanks for visiting, Yvonne, it was fun to have you!





On a side-note, it's my birthday today! I'll post some pics later--David and I have a fun day planned at Epcot. I'm excited!

ballet week

It's ballet week at my house. Three straight days of ballet: ballet stage rehearsal, ballet dress rehearsal, and the actual ballet recital which happens tonight. It's a lot of fun, but also very exhausting. Here are a few shots from the dress rehearsal.


Miss A is a butterfly.


The best face Miss M could eek out for me. She is a bluebird.


Waiting to perform.


The sliperless-ballerina. This was the third time A's class ran their piece. It was actually optional, thus the missing shoes. One of her classmates was even in her pj's for this run-through. They're so cute! Break a leg, girls!

ballet day

It's ballet day at our house. Every week from 3pm-5pm I'm committed to it. Both girls love it, but A, in particular, is in love with dancing. Like mother like daughter. She takes any chance she can to do her moves. Turning on classical music in our home is an invitation to begin twirling around. But, apparently, cold days at the beach bring it out too. Buckets sitting around on the beach? An invitation to practice leaps.

last 'o the nutcracker

Getting ready backstage. Can you tell what I got for my birthday?


Our neighbors. Betcha didn't know I'd stick your photo on here :)


Me and my dad.


The dancers were all awarded roses and Chistmas gifts after their performance. If only A would have stepped forward a bit! From my vantage point, all you can see is her red dress.


It's a Nutcracker Christmas ornament. How appropriate!


Tired little dancer!


And, finally, a real smile from M. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift. Mostly I just get lots 'o attitude.

my little model

So, I'll just drag out my Nutcracker photos. Actually, it's such a fun busy time for me. My parents are here visiting, so I'm just posting in little chunks. That's the life of a mom, anyway. Just do things in chunks, and eventually big jobs are done. :)

nutcracker rehearsal

These are all from our dress rehearsal last night. The girls did such a good job! It was quite a lot of exhausting work to get them ready, but still very fun. I still have a few more to share!

A was part of the opening scene when Drosselmier arrives with the Nutcracker.






M's pink tutu.




Goofing off on stage.






The girls ran through the entire show twice. After the first run-through, they were allowed to watch the show from the front. This was their only time to see the show, as they were backstage during the actual performance.

nutcracker peek

I've been up to my ears this week in tulle! Here's a sneek peak of more to come:



Oh, and Heather, here's a prime example of where you PS skills would come in handy. See that tripod in the background? I've love to clone it out of the picture! But, I haven't a clue how to do it well...any tips? Pretty please?