Kick Parallel!

After waiting three months for the answer, I finally found out in March that I had made a Rockette Summer Intensive that I had auditioned for after Christmas in December. I couldn’t believe it; I was so excited!

Waiting until July for this wasn’t such a bad wait. We had a lot of getting ready to do, and it gave me some time to prepare. What was probably the coolest part about this, for me, was that these girls I was going to be dancing with were from all over the country.

Finally, when July 9th came, Mom and I loaded the coach bus to NYC. It was finally setting in for me and I couldn’t stop smiling and thinking about it! The next day, I was to be at Radio City Music Hall at 9AM sharp for orientation and to start dancing.

Entering the building was like a dream come true. It’s a beautiful place and I felt so honored to have the opportunity to dance there. We all took the elevator to the seventh floor then walked up a couple flights of stairs and then entered into the large rehearsal hall- the one where the Rockettes actually rehearse! At the front of the room there was a table and on it were All Access Passes for the dancers. Soon enough the director started giving us the low down for the week, but I was more focusing on the girls I was going to be spending my week with.

Mom and the other parents were asked politely to leave and then the dancers got a tour of Radio City. It is more magnificent than I originally thought. And of course we had a comedic tour guide which made it so much better. Nothing like a grown woman calling a Glee cast member hot and rolling her eyes at the fact that Radio City has hosted the Charlie Sheen show.

When we entered the actual music hall, all of us fell dead silent in amazement. This theater is spectacular. If you ever get a chance to see a show there, don’t turn it down! There aren’t even words to describe its beauty. One of the facts we learned is that it seats 5,931 people and that back when it was first built in 1931 (or 32 I’m not sure), every single seat did not have an obstructed view. You could be sitting anywhere and see the whole show. Now of course because of sound and tech, apparently some people have TVs in their way.

As we got back to the rehearsal studio, we were told to stretch because we were about to start the placement audition. That wasn’t so bad, it was just to put you in either yellow or green group. I ended up in yellow. They then had to put us in height order (for those famous kick lines). They had 3 lines: Tall, Taller, and Tallest. Basically the way the week was going to work was that we’d practice the dances in our lines and then perform in them too so that way all the parents could see our shining faces 🙂 .

Throughout the whole week our schedule was go over dances, warm up, then a jazz class where we’d learn a section of a Rockette dance, then we’d rehearse our dance for the show, lunch for an hour, tap class, and finally tap rehearsal. All of this was a 9-5 day. I was pretty tired, and my feet had way too many blisters on them!

There are a couple things that the Rockettes are most known for. One is their precision and perfect togetherness. The other is their kick lines with the exact same leg heights and how they make it so easy. As we all learned, the Rockettes do not train like ballerinas, and so they do practically nothing turned out. Everything is parallel which can be a trouble spot for many young dancers. We were told too many times to kick parallel, even on the last day.

By the end of the week, I had made a few friends, knew all the dances by heart, and did not want the week to end! On Friday, we had rehearsal at the Manhattan Center. Unfortunately, Radio City was being occupied by the Cirque Du Soleil show Zarkana so we couldn’t perform there. We rehearsed all day, but lunch was even better than the actual performance. There’s something about telling funny stories with people you barely know that really makes you feel good. We all sat in our dressing room for the full hour and did not stop laughing. All of us felt that we could share anything because none of us knew the others so we weren’t afraid of being judged because there is no point with strangers. I’ll never forget that lunch.

Three o’clock finally rolled around and we couldn’t have been more prepared. We had trained all week for this and we were ready. For me, I felt so happy to be dancing actual Rockette dances and kick lines and it felt natural. I can definitely say I want to do this again next year and I’m so thrilled I had the chance to open my eyes to a different form of dancing; this is a job that I can absolutely see myself doing as I get older.

<br The outside of Radio City

Radio City Music Hall

My Experience with Modern Technology

Now I’m not going to sit here and lie to you people. I love my phone. If that’s even possible, then yes, I love my phone. Ask anyone in my family and they’ll say I’m glued to it. I always find a way to shoot a text to my friends.

Recently though, I’ve had some problems regarding friends and family and I found that my cellular telephone was just adding to the stress. My original solution to my problems was to move, but when that idea got shot down, I decided I was going to give up my phone. Not for lent or anything, but simply because I wanted to.

In trying to decide how long to give it up for, I had a small debate with myself-one week, or two? In the heat of the moment two Mondays ago, I decided two. Right before leaving for dance, I went down to my mother with a huge metal-free grin on my face and said, “Mom, this is my phone,” I put the phone in her pocket and said, “and you are going to keep it from me for two weeks. Hide it and don’t give it back to me no matter what.”

You may be wondering Why? How? How are you able to give it up just like that? And my answer is simply: I don’t know. For someone who is constantly texting and attached to technology, I don’t quite get how I can give it up and not miss it. Literally, I did perfectly fine. I did it because I figured it would help in solving my issues. The truth is is that yes, it did help. Some people I know still don’t believe me that it has helped. I have solved most of my recent issues and its wonderful. I don’t even care that I might have 30+ texts waiting for me when I get home from school tomorrow!

On the other hand though, I haven’t been completely cut off from civilization. There is a wonderful invention out there called Skype. For those of you that don’t know, Skype is something where you can chat, voice chat, and video chat with friends and family across the world. So instead of having my phone I have been communicating through my friends on Skype. As my wonderful step-dad asked me during week one, ‘Are you replacing your phone with Skype?’ And in my opinion I didn’t because I didn’t say I was giving up technology I just said my phone.

A lot of people these days don’t realize what a huge impact technology and electronics have on our lives. Just look out around us- everywhere you look there are people texting or on the phone. Even adults can’t go anywhere or survive without their phones because of jobs. If they don’t get reception I know plenty of people who will freak out.

So my over-all conclusion to these past two weeks is this: I am so proud of myself for surviving without my phone. I have solved a lot of my issues mainly because it gave my time to think on my own without the pressures of friends constantly. Although these past two weeks have been dramatic at school, it’s nice to know that I can leave it at school and just focus on me and my dance at home.

My suggestion: I suggest that everyone at some point during this year give up their cellular telephone for a period of time. Just see how you do. It doesn’t have to be long but see how your life is different or how things change when you don’t have your phone.

My final thoughts: Now, when I get my phone back tomorrow, I’m not going to magically be one of those people who only texts between 2 and 4 PM and turns it off while doing homework or anything like that. I do believe that I will have more discipline when it comes to texting. Maybe (hopefully) I’ll be able to say ‘gtg do hw’ or ‘ttyl im busy’ more often so I’m not over-stressed out. But in the end, I am very proud that I survived these two weeks and I have no regrets.

 

Friends, Dizzy Stars, and the Bear Room

Personally, I can’t believe that this was our fourth year going to Wyoming. Just four times, 4 weeks, 28 days. The week just flew by. Day one and two seemed like the same day by Saturday and all the events kept combining. When we got there we did the usual greetings of all our old friends and then we went to our cabin and checked out ‘the list’ to see who’s new this year and what ages everyone is. Basically checking for potential friendships. As it turned out, we ended up with 18 teens in the teen group. We had to split up between two wranglers. The kids who have been to the ranch before recruited the ‘new kids’ one by one and by the end of the week our group of friends had doubled.

I can’t completely put into words the feeling that I get when I go out there but I do know that it takes my breath away. The scenery is like nothing out here in Massachusetts. The adrenaline rush I get when we start trotting and loping is right up there with what I feel when I dance. The freedom when I ride through the fields of sage with the Teton Mountain Range right there with me and the sun on my face is exhilarating.

Every night, the teens gather in the Bear Room for a couple of rounds of ‘truth or dare’ or ‘would you rather’ which always get us into a conversation. You wouldn’t think that all these kids who have known each other for one week a year could laugh so much or have so may inside jokes but somehow we make it work 🙂 These people are my true friends and we have such fun every time we see each other. Bonding over how cold we are at 8:00 in the morning, or how much our butts hurt when we get lost and our four hour ride becomes seven and a half hours, and how scared we are of the ranch ghost, Lucy, are moments that you can’t get anywhere else but with true friends.

On the teen overnight, after playing countless rounds of telephone, the starts started showing. Now we have been very lucky because every year we have gone out to the ranch there has been a meteor shower. After a little while someone suggested the dizzy star game (and to this very day my tailbone still hurts) which we played for at least 1.5 hours and our wranglers were not too happy about our screaming. We didn’t even care because we were enjoying ourselves being with our friends.

On our last day there, it was filled with exchanging numbers, hugs and goodbyes, finding out each other’s last names, and making sure that we’d all friend each other on Facebook when we got home. I feel like everyone is really planning on keeping in touch through the year because we do want the relationships to last forever. Even though I know the routine once we step off the plane there, it still  catches me by surprise. I mean it’s not very often that you can be within 20 feet of a moose or fully see the milky way or have a ‘family’ place but almost never see you parents. I take it all in while I’m out there and I never miss a chance to take a picture.

Starting school will be especially hard for me this year because I got very attached to Wyoming this time; both the scenery and the people. No matter what goes on at school this year and the drama that plays out, I know I will always have Wyoming to look forward to. And although I do love my life and everything here at home, my heart will always lie in Wyoming.

D.E.P.T 1…get ready cuz here I come!!

I know I haven’t written in a while but I guess there wasn’t much to blog about. Recently, I found something! On May 24th, my dance studio had their annual competition team auditions for the 2010-2011 season. There are 3 teams: DEPT 1, DEPT 2, and DEPT 3. 3 is the youngest and 1 is the oldest.

My first year trying out I got on DEPT 3. Last year and this year I was on DEPT 2 dancing with the same girls. Every single year the drama gets worse and not being included became more and more common for me. I know they all talked about me behind my back but I learned to live with it. This past year was especially tricky however. I suddenly got completely ignored and nobody seemed to like me, and the people that did, well I didn’t give them a chance. On recital day, I was furious. It came to them all teaming up against me. (Keep in mind it is probably 4 or 5 girls who get the others to join in).

This happened in recital A.  By recital C, I was over the worst of it and then it got worse because just before we go on stage I get word that some mean stuff was said about me over Facebook. Of course I’m not on Facebook so I had no idea what was going on. By this point I had all the teachers love and support. Now over this past year I have developed many friends on the older team. I was hurt so bad and this pushed me over the edge.

After the whole recital day was over, one of my teachers came up to me and said that she just heard that one of the girls was not coming back and that means that none of them are.  The thing with these girls is that they travel together. When one goes-they all go. This is because it’s like a chain reaction. 3 of them have been together forever and then one of those has friends that will leave with her and it just goes on.

So, at auditions of course I tried not to let these girls get the best of me and did my best. The next day I got the email saying I was on DEPT 1. I couldn’t hold it in and I was jumping and shrieking. Of course I was at Amanda’s martial arts and they all looked at me quite funny 🙂 My friend Hannah and I were the only two from DEPT 2 that moved up. As I find out now, 6 people from my old team are leaving Dance Etc and moving to another studio. Probably a studio with more competition. I feel bad for Miss Erin because she is losing so much of the DEPT 2, but then again, I am happier then I have been in a long time because all my drama will probably go away.

As for the upcoming summer, I am taking so many dance classes. Two sessions of stretch and strength, a session of Acro, and maybe classes at another studio and finally a couple weeks of classes at Boston Ballet. I started pointe this year and I love it so I am going to see if ballet is where I want to be.

Everyone was telling me stick with dance and ignore those other girls. They are just jealous of you. And I believe it 100%. All I know, is that I love to dance and I want to dance forever. They can hate me if they want but that’s their problem, not mine. It’s not my fault if I’m better than them. And the girls that just want to compete, let them. They don’t think that Dance Etc is where they belong so they should leave and go someplace that accepts them and their personalities so they can grow as dancers.

I’m glad that I worked through my anger that day on recital day, because it has made me such a stronger dancer and person. As Amanda told me one day when I was in tears ‘Your crying isn’t a sign of weakness. It is your way of learning how to deal with these type of girls in the world.’

One of my favorite jumps at one of my favorite settings

Courtesy of Amanda and her awesome camera 🙂

Dance

I just had a dance competition on Sunday!! My team and I did very well. On our first number, the music didn’t start so we had to go to the last resort which was my dance teachers laptop that had the music on it. It wasn’t ideal, but at least we got to dance at all!

Amanda sat in the audience with my dad and took pictures. My mom, step-dad, and family friends of ours Ann and Caroline came too. Our second dance was a hip-hop dance and it was so much fun. We all performed it perfectly and tried our very hardest. Our jazz number was next, and we were ready for it because we had already done it for people at the Topsfield Fair way back in October. We rocked it! After that one, we had a break, and I went out to the audience with my best friend Maddie. As we sat down with Amanda, she started to show us all the pictures she had taken so far. When we got to the ones of our jazz dance ‘Work me down,’ Amanda said to me, ‘You do know you’re like the star of this dance right?’ And I guess she is right because I am showcased a lot. After the break I had one last dance-a modern dance. That one went spectacular!

Once all the dancing was done, it was time for awards. We did really well! Our swing dance, jazz dance, and modern dance all got High Golds, and our hip-hop got a Gold. The Swing also got a special award, as did the modern dance. My team was so proud of our selves!

When I came home from the competition, I had a surprise waiting for me…a cell phone! I was so thrilled I literally couldn’t stop smiling or jumping! That day couldn’t have been better!

NYC

Hello again!

Every year, my dad takes Amanda and me to New York City for 2-3 days, and we see a Broadway show. We go usually the weekend after Christmas, and it has now become no surprise that we are going. The city continues to amaze me with its grand skyscrapers, and spectacular light shows as you walk in Times Square. This place is really one of a kind. I love getting the chance to go there every year because it’s where everything’s at. I am the type of person that longs to be in a central place, where lots of things happen. Ever since I was little I have wanted to be somebody and do something big, and I think that if I were to do that, why not live out my dream in NYC? Even though every year we pretty much see the same stuff, Rockefeller Center, Dean & Deluca, and Times Square, I still love every second of it because it just is incredible. The city-life is definitely for me!

In previous years for the Broadway shows we have seen Mary Poppins, Grease, and Wicked, which are all truly wonderful shows to see.

This year however, we saw a play called ‘Billy Elliot,’ which was different for us because not one of us had really heard any reviews about it. It is an unbelievable show that I will never forget. It is about a young boy named Billy who takes boxing, but somehow gets into a ballet class and really enjoys it, and it quite good. This story takes place in England, at a time when the miners are all on strike. Both Billy’s dad and brother are miners. It shows the struggle between the miners and the government very well. Now me being a dancer, I almost cried about four times because Billy’s ability to dance just was incredible. I was just in shock. It is a very humorous show yet serious at the same time, and I would definitely go back and see it again without a doubt. It beats Wicked…which is pretty hard to do.

So with another mind blowing trip to NYC, and an incredible show to go along, I can’t wait to go back next year and see what new things I learn, and how my dreams become bigger with every trip there.

Prank Wars…watch your back!

So on Christmas Eve, and I was pretty pleased with myself. Why you may ask? Because I pranked my sister so bad I couldn’t stop laughing. This all started on Sunday, when I logged on to my computer (Amanda and I share, but have different users) and saw a word document minimized at the bottom of the page. Of course, I clicked on it, and it was a letter to me with the title: YOU HAVE BEEN PRANKED MUAHAHAHA. This is what it reads:

Dear Rachel,

If you are frustrated by your desktop background’s overall stupidity… meaning it won’t let you click on any of the icons, then HAHAHAHAHAHA. Truth is, I was bored and you are currently not home, making you an easy target for a prank.

If you have not noticed the desktop background prank yet, and instead clicked on the first thing that caught your eye (aka a Word document at the bottom of the screen saying: YOU HAVE BEEN PRANKED MUAHAHAHA), then I invite you to now go try and use your desktop. Good luck.

LET THE PRANK WAR BEGIN!!!!!

So me being me, I went to my desktop and tried to click on the icons, and sure enough, they wouldn’t work!!! Now I’m not one who uses her icons much, but it still did bother me. Mandi and I are big fans of an ongoing prank war between these two guys name Amir and Streeter. They work for a place called collegehumor.com and about a year and a half ago they started these terrible pranks to just get each other. I am assuming that Amanda got the idea to start our own prank war from these guys, and just by being home alone and bored.

Anyways, so to get back at her, I ‘flipped’ her desktop upside down and hid the toolbar. It took her sometime to figure out how to get the toolbar back to normal. I didn’t really expect her to take it to the next level so quickly and move the pranks away from the computer…but she did. I wake up Monday morning to saran wrap on the door frame. Of course, to make it worse, she wrote ‘QUARANTINE’ across the top. Now I was supposed to walk into it and I’m really glad I didn’t. For my prank for her, I waited until about 12:45 AM when she and her friend would be almost asleep (they were sleeping over our house). In my closet is a ‘Secret Passageway’ that leads to Amanda’s room. (The girls were sleeping the basement) I crawled through there, stuck a chair under the door, and crawled back and went to bed, pretty pleased with myself.

In the morning, I acted all cool, and just played everything by ear. I really was hoping that they would find the prank before her friend left. Sure enough, when Mom said for them to go get changed, Amanda goes to open the door, and it won’t open! Here is the dialogue that went on:

Amanda: Rachel!! Did you put a chair under the door????

Me: I don’t know what your talking about

Amanda: Get up here and fix it!!!

Me: I’m sorry, but there is only one way to get inside that door and that is through the crawl space and I’m not helping.

She was so mad at me I can’t even put it into words! I was very pleased with myself, and I am watching my back all the time, because I have no idea what she is planning or when it is going to happen. We are heading to NYC tomorrow for a show and to see the city, and I will be sure to blog when I get back.

*If you have any good prank ideas, feel free to comment and post what they are. Or, if you would like to know how to commit any of the pranks listed, also just comment and I will be sure to let you know*

Rent

So last Friday night, Amanda my dad and I sat down in front of our TV screen to watch the masterpiece of a film, RENT. For the past couple of weeks, Amanda and I have been obsessed with the soundtrack because she watched the taping of the Broadway version. She brought home the soundtrack, and we were mesmerised. Dad bought the DVD and I couldn’t wait any longer, I just had to see this film that everyone was raving about then and now.

When the opening song came on, I could barely keep myself from singing along. As it got more into the movie, I was thinking to myself, “I know this is a musical, but I feel like there is no regular talking at all…just music.” This I found very disturbing, because everyone was raving about it and the story line, but I found it hard to…not grasp the concept…but it didn’t exactly elaborate on what I thought it would, such as the AIDS or the drugs involved. So by the end of this 2+ hour movie, I found myself thinking, “The music was incredible..but the story wasn’t because they didn’t exactly get the main point across as much as I thought they would” I was being told its such a powerful movie, and really makes you think differently…but all I saw was something that had incredible music, with an attempt at a moving storyline, but not succeeding.

I know this might not sound like much to you, but it has been hanging over my head for the past week, and I can’t get over how disappointing it was. A RENT song will come on my iPod and I love it, but then the scene from the movie pops into my head, and my heart drops a little. I just don’t see why and what people were raving about so much, and how powerful the topics were. So, I just thought I would clue you in a little bit about what I have been up to, and my recent obsession with an amazing soundtrack.

New Schools…

Last Wednesday, I started Middle School (7th grade). With butterflies in my stomach and a backpack on my back, I headed down the street to the bus stop. After the almost empty bus ride (only 9th and 7th graders), we entered the school being cheered on by the 9th grader’s peer leaders-we thought we entered the wrong hallway!

I got to my hallway, and stood by my homeroom teachers door, waiting for her to show up so we could get our locker combos. The first day went pretty easily, but the coolest part of this whole expierience so far is seeing all of my friends, but more inportantly, seeing my friends from when I used to live in Boxford-5 years ago. All of the kids from my first grade all rememeber me, and I remember them. It is so cool to not have seen someone for over 5 years, and be able to talk to them like I have never missed a day with them!

We had an extended homeroom, figuring out schedules, and comparing classes with neighbors. When we finally left our seats to go to our other classes, I met up with more of my old friends from Boxford-I was so thrilled. I have found that almost everyday at school, I see somebody from Boxford that I didn’t see that first week. This past week has been such a thrill for me, and for once, I am actually happy to be in school again. Not so happy about the work, but about seeing my friends again-old and new.

This week, (almost 5 days) has been such a blast because I love walking the hallways not in lines, and talking all I want to friends. The freedom is so much better then in any school I have ever been in, and the work isn’t too bad…yet! So far, I have seen almost my entire 1st grade class from Boxford, and my two best friends from back then, and we have been best friends ever since the start of school again! This whole expierience has been wonderful for me, and each day I get up and am happy to go to school! All in all, I have concluded from entering the middle school that it isn’t nearly as bad as Amanda and others have said it would be……yet. 🙂

One Amazing Day!

Sunday, was the amazing day, and I had so much fun. We got up and went to Amanda’s Martial Arts Demo, where she had a very well done solo. Then, we went to a cooking class, me, Amanda, and a close family friend of ours Kim. Dad stayed home to work. All that we made there were desserts, and they were delicious. Here is what we made: an ice cream sandwich, with vanilla ice cream mixed with raspberries, and the sandwich part was marble pound cake. The three of us made everything except for the pound cake. Next we made a watermelon granita, which is pureed watermelon with alcohol (we used coconut extract instead), and when it comes out you eat it, and we all thought it was disgusting! Then we made a strawberry tart, which has a pie crust, with a filling, and strawberries on top-so good! The last two things we made were a drink which wasn’t good because it wasn’t sweet enough, and chocolate mousse inside of a chocolate shell! It was perfect! We ended the class by inviting Dad to come and dine with us, which is where we all got to taste it all! It was a really fun class.

So, after the cooking class, we all drove to Kim’s house, changed our clothes and what not, got in one car, and drove down to the Comcast Center in Mansfield for a Bruce Springsteen Concert!!!! I had heard this add on the radio for on sale tickets, and I told Amanda, and we told Kim and Dad, and they loved the idea, so we got the tickets! For someone who is 60 years old, Bruce puts on one amazing show. All of his songs are so fun to listen to, and we had a great time dancing and singing along. He doesn’t even stop in between songs, he just rolls them into each other. When the concert was over, we thought getting out of the parking lot was going to be a lot like going to the Big E fair.

For those of you who don’t know about that adventure- we went to the Big E, and got out of the parking lot only to find that you move about 6 inches every 10 minutes, so we tried taking shortcuts, with below empty gas at 12:30 at night. We thought we were never going to get home. When we got ourselves lost, we ended up back on the main road, where there was no traffic-it had all cleared. Dad, Mandi, and I didn’t even bother taking the hour long drive back home from Kim’s, so we stayed there for the night.

Much to our surprise, it wasn’t anything like that. We got out of the parking lot and the traffic moved right along. Probably because they changed all of the lanes into outbound lanes. 🙂 Dad, Mandi, and I did get home safely at about 1:15 AM, and went straight to bed. I can’t wait to have another fun day like that one.

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