Ms. Reeves

January 31, 2012

Terrific Tuesday! I hope your day was terrific. We had a little trouble applying our technique in first period, but after that, the rest of the classes came to dance. First period usually comes in ready to dance... I hope the next time, you are ready. I know you have missed several classes due to holidays so we have a lot of catching up to do...push yourselves so you will be proud!

Reversing combinations became a little more clear today for many of you...don't stop yourself from learning how to do this important technique. If you have it the first direction and the teacher does not tell you to reverse, challenge yourself and see if you can do this on your own! How good can you be?

Ms. D

January 30, 2012

Marvelous Monday! Did you have one? What choices could you have made that would have helped you have a better Monday? Choices are for you to determine how you proceed in life.

Again, I want to congratulate both the "Hairspray" cast and our three representatives for the Governor's Honors Program in dance: Paige White, Alex Bonilla, and C.J. Babb. These dancers were auditioning with over 100 other dancers this past Sat. for 16 spots into the fully scholarshiped program. "Hairspray" is very good and fun! If you have not seen it, get your tickets for next weekend. We have people that have seen it on Braodway and say that it is better than the one they saw on Broadway! 

This week's classes will focus on reversing petit allegro. Our decussions today were about how one learns to reverse combinations. When you are not sure of information, mentally or physically return to the barre and find your answer. Have you ever heard me say, "now reverse that"? You have been doing it but maybe you did not realize that you were doing it. The more often we get into the center, the more opportunities you will have to take several steps and reverse them.

Have a good evening!

Ms. D

 

January 27, 2012

DId you have a fabulous Friday? Great energy today..I can tell you are glad it is Friday and that you made it through your first full week of classes. You may have noticed that I did not take up your journals today. We have had a lot to get ready for with the state auditions in GHP for dance and drama this weekend and "Hairspray". Plan ahead with your journals for next week.

You will not regret making that extra effort to see "Hairspray" if you have not already made plans to attend. Great fun and to be able to see your fellow classmates achieving some of their dreams!

Have a good one!

Ms. D

January 26, 2012

Were you inspited today? I think you were...I hope you were! I have to say I have never had to "force" students to leave class before and get to their other classes or bus on time. This movie: "Mao's Last Dancer" should be an inspiration for you because you have so much. So many artists have given up so much because of their love for their art.

All we ask of you, is to do your best with what you are already given. A great quote to remember is:

"DREAMS DON'T WORK UNLESS YOU DO"!

Break-a-leg "Hairspray" tonight. I will see you on stage!

Ms. D

January 25, 2012

How was your wonderful Wednesday? Did you make if wonderful or did you sit back and watch your friends and fellow dancers making wonderful moments and opportunities for their future?

I know I talked about voting for Paige White in class but I wanted to go through the procedure again. Go on line to  www.Dancemedia.com. It is very simple to vote. Once you go to the website, register, then a confirmation will be sent to the email you supplied. Confirm and then you can post comments and vote. The top 25 dancers with the most votes will get full scholarships to study dance at the Joffrey Ballet, a very prestigious NY institution. Let's pull together and help Paige!

Also, don't forget that "Hairspray" opens tomorrow night and runs all weekend and next weekend! Go see what your fellow classmates have been up to and you may see why they have been a little tired lateiy.

Petit allegro involves making sure you are showing each postion correctly and carefully as you move through the positions quickly. What did you learn today about your petit allegro?

Ms. D

 

Jan. 24, 2012

Hope you had a terrific Tuesday!

I hope the pretest went well today. This pretest counts as far as you can tell how you are progressing with retaining your knowledge and what you are about to learn. This grade does not officially count on your transcript but does go in Pinnacle and on your data wall. As the semester progresses, you will gain knowledge.

I must say that most of you were able to apply the corrections from yesterday's class to your class today.I did see progress. Now, the challenge will be to maintain that knowledge until next week. Keep up the good work!

Congrats to 4th period for getting into both of the Galas at the National High School Dance Festival at the University of the Arts in March. We received confirmation that they will be performing on Friday night with "Scarper", closing the first act of that Gala and OPENING the Sat. night's Gala with "Summertime". These are great locations to be! Congrats again!

Also, Peyton Clarke showed me a new "Ballet Lite" app for your cell phones that has all of the terminology on it. It is a very good app! I suggest that you take a look at it and see if you need it or can use it!

Ms. D

January 23, 2012

Monday...today was a good way to get back on track. We need to push on with being slightly behind with all of the Mondays we have missed. Our focus this week, will be on the petit allegro. How to be more efficient and get better results. You will discover what qualities are needed to be good in petit allegro.

Fifth period was successful! Way to work today. Isn't it more fun and satisfying to dance like we do in class? Just because you have other dancers in there, this is still your class. Let's see how successful we can be this entire week and how much more you can learn when we all are here to dance. You can truly learn from watching others that you normally don't see in your class. Use this time to your advantage.

Have a dry evening!

Ms. D

Jan. 20, 2012

Reminder: if you are a dance major and not in "Hairspray" next week, bring your ballet clothes for fifth period. I will be teaching you for fifth period and I will be teaching you ballet. "Hairspray" performers will be at the theatre starting on Monday for fifth period.

Also, Monday we will be having an observer from Barber Middle School. She teaches and is in charge of the dance program there and we have many graduates from that outstanding program. This will give her a better idea of how to help her prepare the future dancers for Pebblebrook!

Have a great weekend and prepare your self for five days of school!

Ms. D

 

Jan. 19, 2012

As we take our knowledge and progress to another level, patience is very important. I know it is hard for you to see or feel the progress that you are making. It is very gradual and over time, you can reflect back to remembering when you could not do something but now you can do it. Keep those moments in your mind's eye and let those small steps toward progress drive you toward to your new goals for 2012!

Back to petit allegro: if you don't use your feet when landing with a lot of jumping, what will you feel in your body first? Probably your shins. This would be a signal for you to take a good look at how you are landing from your jumps. I know you all can tell me how to land properly, but are you actually do what you are saying? When you are watching each other in groups with another person, you can learn from them! Watch with purpose...what are you observing?

We had some good discussions about whether petit allegro steps were connecting steps and how a petit allegro step can be turned into a grand allegro step. These are very questions to be thinking about for your training.

Ms. D

Jan. 18, 2012

Petit allegro has finally started to challenge you! Continue stepping up to the challenge and understanding the concepts. As usual, it will take time for the body to be able to achieve the resutls that you are looking for. Hannah mentioned today that she really needs patience. It is true that if you are always working toward that success you are wanting, you will be progressing even though you may feel like you are not making progress. You are! Eveyone progresses at a different rate. Don't compare yourself to other dancers, unless you live their exact lives and have the same body and training as that person! This is wasted energy and at that point you are lossing precious training of yourself!

As I have talked about in each of your classes, please check the posted data results and see where you fall within your academic side of your training.

Have a great evening!

Ms. D