10 Resolutions for 2014

Each New Year brings us to rethink our lives and think of new ways to improve them. The rebirth of a new year lends us to think there is a rebirth in ourselves and therefore, we make resolutions. Very few people can keep them the whole year, but they are fun to brainstorm ways to better ourselves. Here are 10 of my New Year's Resolutions for 2014:

1. Spend less money
2. Actually write letters to the little girl I sponsor in Indonesia
3. Be nicer to my rabbit
4. Have more motivation towards everything
5. Go to a dance school for the 2014-2015 school year
6. Work out more (real original right? ;))
7. Get abs
8. Take better care of my body
9. Finish High School early
10. Be thankful for how lucky I am, and not complain as much

Nutcracker Season

This year, I did not participate in my towns annual production of the Nutcracker. The Nutcracker is a beloved ballet with music by Tchaikovsky that brings to life the dreams of a little girl on Christmas Eve night. Her dreams swirl with colorful Arabians, Chinese, Clowns, Flowers, Snow and the leader of this wonderful place, the Sugar Plum Fairy. Clara, the little girl, follows her toy Nutcracker through the Kingdom of Sweets until her sweet dreams are awakened. I did not participate in the Nutcracker this year, however I performed in the past. In past Nutcrackers I have portrayed, the Snowflakes, Flowers, Mirlitons, Parents, Rats, Dolls, as well as my favorite, the Sugar Plum Fairy. I am excited to go see the Nutcracker performed by the San Francisco Ballet later this year.

YAGP

At the end of January I will be competing in Youth American Grand Prix, in Seattle. I have 2 classical pieces and a contemporary piece. YAGP is the largest ballet competition in the world with various locations, and finals in New York City. I don't expect to win anything at all but I want to go for the experience.

What I'm Thankful for this Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, when we are giving thanks for the many privileges we have in the United States, I will be in California with my brother. My brother and I didn't get off to the best start in life, he's 14 years older than me and hated me the moment I was a possibility. He never spoke to me until I was around 8, when I was just a normal part of his life and he had grown up from adolescent tantrum. Nowadays, I rarely see him, but I'm thankful that we're on good terms and can act almost like any other bickering brother and sister. I'm also thankful for this because this is the year that I realized he might actually care about me and not see me as just a person he had to deal with. It sure feels a lot better to have your brother care about you than ignore you completely. 

Another thing I am thankful for, is the ability to dance. I sometimes take it for granted that I was born healthy, with natural flexibility, and long limbs. However, earlier this year I realized how truly lucky I am to not just have flexibility, and long limbs, but the ability to walk. This realization came to me when I was dancing in the middle of the food pantry my dad volunteers at. A elementary age girl was there that had recently had surgery for her cerebral palsy. As I was dancing, she looked longingly at me and said, "I wish I could dance." It just about broke my heart. This sweet little girl could not dance because of her condition, and I felt awful for a few days. That is, until I realized that even though some people will never dance, I can bring joy to them through my dancing. And that is what I am truly thankful for.

Happy 85th Mickey

Today is everyone's favorite mouses 85th birthday. Created in 1928 by Walt Disney, Mickey's first appearance was in Steamboat Willie. Over the years, Mickey has gained popularity, his own television channels and many new friends. Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Daffy Duck, Daisy Duck, and Goofy are now the main friends of Mickey.

Mickey has his own theme parks and has made many people very happy over his 85 years.

Tunguska Event

In 1908 an enormous, mysterious explosion took place in Siberia, which at the time was part of the Russian Empire. The explosion covered about 2,000 square kilometers and had an energy 1,000s of times higher than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The actual cause of this massive explosion is unknown, but many scientists agree that it was caused by a comet, but there has also been debate over the idea of alien invaders. Because of these thoughts, the Tunguska Event is under the X-files. The explosion would have registered a 5.0 on the Richter scale which considering, is a pretty large earthquake.

Why Yesterday was Good

Yesterday, I didn't go to school

Yesterday, I got the new Iphone5s

Yesterday, I passed my drivers test

Yesterday, I ate cake

Yesterday, I watched Marianela Nunez and Carlos Acosta dance Don Quixote

Dance Gods

Daniil Simkin

Ivan Vasiliev

These guys are beast

Simkin and the City

Harry Potter World

I went to Harry Potter World in Universal Studios. Amazing. Just amazing.

 Hogwarts

 Butterbeer

That is all.

Pictures of School and Stuff

Here are some photos I took for my web design class. These were all taken with my iPhone 4. 

 This is a picture of my friend that I've obviously distorted because she would kill me if she knew I was using this picture, so I made her unrecognizable!

Summer at Kaatsbaan

After reading this title, your first instinct might be, "What the heck is a 'Kaatsbaan?!'"  Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet is a ballet summer intensive in upstate New York. Also, just to clarify, this is UPSTATE New York, not the city. Actually, the camp is in a teeny tiny town called Tivoli. There's not much interesting in town but there is good pizza and coffee... I digress. This past summer I spent 6 weeks at dance camp. Let me tell you, the campus was beautiful. Once Eleanor Roosevelt's grandparents farm, the founders turned the crumbling barns into beautiful dance spaces and adequate living spaces. (The only real problem was the lack of WiFi)

                                                          A rainbow outside the studios.

Me outside the studios

My 6 weeks were spent in 2 separate sessions. Meaning that each session was 3 weeks long and brought new people from all over the country. There was even a girl from my state which I found astonishing as I was on the opposite side of the country. 

Every day we danced for 7+ hours. Starting at 9 we would have a two hour technique class followed by pointe then lunch. In the afternoon we had mostly rehearsals interspersed with flamenco and modern classes. That took us to about 5:30. On Tuesdays we had "folk dancing" after dinner which made everyone feel silly but got us out of our technical ballet mindsets.

After our classes we would go "party" in our dorms. However in our terms of party, this mostly consisted of eating as much food as we could stuff in our mouths, and watching movies on our laptops. (I found my love for the movie Moulin Rouge here <3)

On Saturdays, we always had an outing. We went to Woodstock twice, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, to see the New York City Ballet, and we went to Jacob's Pillow to see another dance performance. Getting a day to relax and have fun shopping (or watching ballet) was always a good way to unwind from our strenuous week.

Woodstock round 1 with our teacher Roberto

<3

Jacob's Pillow

On Sunday's we only had one class, which was a master class. We had classes with many people but my two favorites were Kevin McKenzie, (Artistic director of the American Ballet Theater) and Sascha Radetsky. (Soloist with American Ballet Theater and also played Charlie in the 2000 movie, Center Stage) The rest of our Sunday's we usually spent either doing laundry in town or catching up on Pretty Little Liars up at the studios.

Kevin McKenzie

Sascha Radetsky

I had an absolutely wonderful time at Kaatsbaan despite the lack of appealing food...(Caterers were gross!) I met some absolutely wonderful people that I will never forget, and I truly improved myself in my dancing. 

Friends from session 1

#casual8

Peace

Hi

Hai I dance.