Nutcracker season

That time of year has come again! Time to sew point shoes, break out the legwarmers, and pack a few extra tea bags in my dance bag. That's right! Nutcracker!

Nutcracker season was always my favorite part of the year when I was young and dancing at Pasadena Dance Theatre. It's been a few years since I've participated in this magical ballet and although I thought I wouldn't be performing in this show again, I'm more than ecstatic to be back!

The only problem is that I knew what I was getting into...but my feet didn't. Ouch!

Here are a few things that have really helped me get back into the magic of nutcracker rehearsals, including a few new tricks and suggestions I picked up from other dancers!

1) Capezio pro ballet flats. Dancewear companies are always coming out with new crazy looking ballet flats but these puppies have never failed me. Every once and a while i'll switch to leather, for the longevity.

2) Apples, and lots of 'em. I used to never be able to finish a whole apple myself but I think it's safe to say that since this is one of my hubby's favorite fruits, i've been eating more of them.

3) Freed pointe shoes. I've tried so many pointe shoes and have had a lot of difficulty finding ones with a long enough box to fit my low arched feet. My last pair were Bloc Alpha (3/4 shank) but I have high hopes for my new Freeds.

4) Green Tea. You can never have enough green tea. It's great hot or cold and can you say antioxidants?!

5) Body wrapper full body tight. I love these tights for a couple of reasons. First of all, I throw away the removable straps right away. Because of all the extra fabric, these tights are super comfortable to wear folded over your hips, and you aren't left with any rolls due to tight elastic. 

6) Sour Patch Kids. I would be happy with reeses, yogurt covered pretzels, or snickers (to name a few) but sometimes I just need a delicious boost of processed sugary goodness!

7) Sippy cup! (or at least that's what my husband calls it). These wonderful inventions keep my iced drinks cold and the inside doesn't stain when I put tea bags in it.

8) Almonds. The 3 Ps... perfect protein portion. The perfect snack to much on between rehearsals.

9) Epsom Salts! Unfortunately I don't have a bath at home but I'll use a plastic washing tub and fill it with 1/2 C salt and warm water to soak my feet. 

10) My favorite leotards, mostly Yumiko and Class In. 

11) Oder eaters/ disinfectant shoe spray. Enough said.

To keep up-to-date on Nutcracker rehearsals at Pasadena Dance Theatre, be sure to follow us on Instagram here!

@deannaannaed

@pasadenadancetheatre

Tickets for the Nutcracker are on sale now at pasadenadance.org

xx D

The do everything girl

I once had someone tell me "I've got to hand it to you, you've always got some sort of a job"

Thinking back on it now, it was a pretty back handed comment. However, at the time I was (and still am) very proud of my ability to find a job... whatever it may be. Of course I would rather be consistently booking dance/choreography jobs, but wouldn't we all? Any young artist knows that you can't always rely solely on your art to provide for you, sometimes you need to find an extra gig here and there. I've tried my hand at quite a few jobs over the years because I refuse to settle down and give up on my art to sit in an office 5 days a week with only 2 weeks vacation time. No way, not this girl!

D's extensive random job list:

Receptionist at a Pilates studio

Office assistant at a flameproofing shop

Cashier at a cafe

Mannequin model

Hostess

Dance stylist for a dance studio photographer

Home organizer (ok that was only a couple of times)

Waitress

Telemarketer for a travel company (that I'm starting to think may not have been legit)

Dog walker

Sales associate

Personal assisting.

Of course seeing this list inspires me to push even harder in promoting myself as an artist, but i'll be honest in saying, I still hold a lot of pride in my ability to swallow my pride to get the job done. Pointe shoes don't pay for themselves you know.

What random jobs have you taken to keep busy and support your art?

xx D

Who Disney Desires

This morning I work up around 8am to get ready for an audition for a live stage show at Disneyland. It's about an hour drive to the park, and maybe even and hour thirty during rush hour and on weekends.  Not exactly something I want to be contractually obligated to do. To be honest, I've never had any desire whatsoever to work at Disneyland, although I do know many dancers do. To me it's always seemed like a job you went for when you didn't have any other auditions coming your way, or when you were really wanting extra money. Oh boy was I wrong. 

First of all, some of these dancers were F-I-E-R-C-E! The combo was a tid bit more hip-hop-ey than what's in my comfort zone, but after learning the combo and the comfy pay rate, I turned on the power. there were about 100 dancers all together, most with agency's like myself, and a few freelance dancers. We all learned the combo together and were called 5 at a time to dance twice in front of the casting directors and choreographer. 

Something I was never taught in the ballet world but have learned from years of experience in the commercial dance world, is improv! There are always a few eight counts of music to get you prepared to break out the combo. Well, you don't want to look like an idiot waiting for the dance to start so you have to improv. One thing i've caught on to (although I wish I knew this earlier) is to show off your expertise, even if it may not be exactly in the style of dance you're auditioning for. For example, my forte is ballet, so I'm not going to pop my booty or do split jumps even if it's a hip-hop or lyrical audition. No, I'm the girl doing fouettes in heels to a grand jeté.

To make a long story short, I was in the very last group and by this time I had a pretty good idea of the people the were watching... short, hip-hop training, and DISNEY.... basically everything i'm not. Anyway, after attempting to make fouettes look mildly funky, i'm afraid I looked a little more classically trained than I wanted too, and I got cut. So, I rewarded myself for even going and went to in-n-out for lunch. The end. haha.

Bye bye free park entry passes!

xx D