...a wonderful 4 months

  Early bird again. I arrived at around 4:50 yesterday afternoon. The props from the other day's show had already been cleared and replaced with tables and chairs for the little kids in Ballet 1.

  While fixing my stuff Ate Delphine poked her head through the door way of the dressing room to say bye. I was the only one there and I said goodbye too. She, Ate Georgette, Ate Gaye, and Teacher Agnes left for Manila to stage Puno at the PETA-Phinma Theater.

  I didn't notice the picture on the mirror until later;

And the note...

  It was the fuss of the dressing room when my classmates arrived...

  Ate Delphine, 

You were a great theater teacher and I really enjoyed your classes. 

Hope you can come back next year to teach again! 

Thank you for the wonderful 4 months ^_^

XOXOX

Puno: Pangatlong Galaw

A view of the theater from my sitting place.

  My whole family watched Puno with me last night. We arrived early and was able to chat and dilly-dally at the front desk where I saw an excerpt of Teacher Agnes new book 'Philippine Neo-ethnic Choreography'. We entered through the back door and sat at the rightmost corner of the studio-turned-theater, right next to where the dancers exited and entered.

  The show started at exactly 7:00 and and ended a little earlier than 8:30. Narrations were in Tagalog by Ate Delphine and there were photographers who documented the work. 

  I especially liked the dances with props. My favorite being the one that seemed to symbolize a Bonsai. Ate Georgette danced this with a thick wire that she wrapped around her body. It made me realize how truly similar a dancer and a plant is. The piece is entitled 'Bawal Kang Tumubo', in English; 'You are not allowed to grow'.

  The whole thing was entertaining, not as serious as Dahon. There was this super funny fight scene which, I'm guessing, was probably Ate Delphine's handiwork ^_^ It ended up with Ate Gaye hiding behind Michael Dakudao and Ate Georgette sitting on his lap and kissing him! I wonder if he was there in the last two shows, or if they victimized someone else...

  My friend and I took a picture with Teacher Agnes in front of the Encantada poster afterwards. It's blurry but I think the memory's worth posting...

Rosin Powder

  So far I don't know of any place that sells rosin powder here in Davao City. I do, though, know where one can buy rosin.

  Yes, rosin. Whole, shiny, rock, hard, amber-colored rosin.

  'So, like, uhh... What is rosin?' you might ask. Well, my friend, according to my research, rosin is basically the hardened sap of pine trees. Traces of rosin can be found in every day items from paper, to soda. It adds traction to surfaces. Dancers sprinkle some under their shoes and violinists rub it onto their bows. 


  Violinists... This brings us back to where we started. Where do we find rosin in our little city? I have found a solution; Music stores. A long time ago my fiddler on the roof sister Ashley gave me a small block of rosin saying something about it affecting the sound of her instrument. I had no idea how I was to apply the hard rock-like material onto my shoes so I just shelfed it...

  I came to a brilliant idea earlier this week though, and am willing to share it ^_^ Using a broken scissor, I scratched on the rosin until it powderised. Yes! I now have my very own stash of rosin powder in case of a slippery studio moment.

  A word of warning though, before you start scratching on your rosin; this activity is a bit messy and watch out for allergies, like all powders rosin can cause a lot of sniffles. Also about the scissors, fast scratching action can cause... casualties...

   Have you ever slipped in the studio, while in the middle of an almost-perfect center-floor combination? Lost control of your turns? Looked down at your feet while on the barre and saw your two feet slowly sliding away from a turned out fifth? Rosin. It works.

  The problem is my ballet shoes don't need rosin. I'm actually having a hard time with my pirouettes because of my new shoes' extra traction :( 


  What's the opposite of rosin?

Goodbye Quotes! #8

  I'm actually defeating my purpose of clearing the quotes from my side bar by posting this quote because... it did not come from my side bar! 

  I was drinking tea yesterday and this quote was on the tag of the teabag. Cute right?! I so love Yogi Tea for this reason! ^_^ {Please visit their site!}

  This quote really caught my attention, though, because... It's true! Most especially for Ballet!

  If you obey your teacher, serve her by executing steps the way she wants them done, love your teacher, or what she teaches, or ballet itself, then you will excel!

  I love these laconic-but-true phrases! 

  What wisdom!

Puno cast warm up class

Christine comparing my huge pointe shoe with her minuscule one :P

  This morning, I was panicking and nervous because I thought I was late. When I arrived, though, Ballet 2 was still ending. Whew! I thought. I was relieved... So relieved.


  "No class today!" Teacher Agnes announced. She said that we were going to watch the cast of Puno in a warm up class. She explained how the dancers of Puno go on to explore their bodies because their technique is solid.


  We sat in the sides while Nikki Uy, Gaye Galiluyo, and Georgette Sanchez executed clean barre combinations. It was modern and each had a different way of dancing. It was so interesting; 

Ate Nikki is undoubtedly clean in her movement. She dances the steps as they were made to be danced.

Ate Gaye is very 'upright' and muscled. You can see the muscles in her legs tightening as she dances. Despite this, she was still no sweat by center floor...

Ate Georgette's dancing looks so effortless and each step is organic. She makes it look as if the dance was made for her.


* * *

  {Not to fear, the barre combinations are in You Tube! ^_^}


Just click the links:

PUNO: Pangatlong Galaw Warm-up Class (Exercise 1)

PUNO: Pangatlong Galaw Warm-up Class (Exercise 2)

PUNO: Pangatlong Galaw Warm-up Class (Exercise 3)

PUNO: Pangatlong Galaw Warm-up Class (Exercise 4)

PUNO: Pangatlong Galaw Warm-up Class (Exercise 5)

  Watching the warm up class was inspiring. It made me reflect on my own dancing and want to work harder...

  We ended earlier then usual, of course so we {Ballet 3 and 4} just talked while waiting for our rides home. We ended up comparing pointe shoes and Chritine's is tiny!!!!

This week with Georgette Sanchez

   Ate Georgette took over ballet for Monday and Wednesday this week. Her class is the kind I enjoy; one wherein we are asked not to look boring because "Dance is supposed to be fun," She said on Monday, "not torture."

  I was on the verge of not attending class on Wednesday {friggin' dysmenorrhea}. I'm glad I did though, I think dancing took my mind off the pain :)


  Took pictures of the stage for Puno; Do you see the garters underneath the trees? I think they are going to do some kind of Tinikling dance on them. I saw Teacher Agnes testing it last Saturday. She called them 'Chinese garters' {You know? The game?}.

  I find I am not happy with my new ballet shoes :( They squash my toes and feel bulky on relevee. Hopefully I can fix the toe squashing part by changing the way I sew the garter.

  While scanning my blog archives I have the feeling I blog too much :( Well, I wont be as intense now because of this internet schedule Mom has implemented. I'm glad for it though, because I get to do other things {practice piano, guitar, read, etc., etc., etc.}.

  Exactly one week left till Puno!!! 

Tickets are Php 200 each.

... falling into place

My sister's Chucks.

  I missed voice class yesterday. Ashley had Violin lessons at home and we didn't pay much attention to the time while chatting with her teacher... At least I wasn't late for Tap. There were some new steps, which makes me a little unsure about stopping for a month...


  Ate Delphine came into Tap a little while through the beginning. I was both surprised and happy to see her. 

  {Serendipity again!}

  I told her about my going to Manila for the Hip Hop Shakespeare Workshop and we started talking about theater :) 


  Every thing seems to be falling into place!


  I really love theater. Maybe I should concentrate on that instead... 


  A lot of dancers who are in Broadway are saying that voice lessons are useful. Guess I'm on the right track...


  I'm really happy I went to the workshop... New doors open :)


  Saw another poster of Encantada outside the Philippine Women's College.

Literature Portfolio

Not so little me attempting a good photo with books :)

   I heard from my friends from school that they are making this thing called a "Literature Portfolio". If school was the world, "Literature Portfolio" would trend on Twitter... definitely.


  So, I decided to ask what that was and they said that our {wait, the} principal required them to make a list of books they have read...


  I remember Mom, long ago... telling me to do just that. 


  Pleased and Motivated, I busied myself with listing down my 'Literate Accomplishments'. So there. The life of a homeschooler.


 Saw a lot of school friends today :)

. . . . .

  

  Spotted a poster of Encantada in a restaurant. I was like "Success!!!! Oh Yeah!!!" Ashley says she sees a lot of them in different places... I wish she'd tell me! I'll do a poster count ^_^ Apparently it's Carissa Adea{not Candice} who will be dancing for us this August. I'm not sure I ever watched her but am glad for the introduction ^_^


  The stage in Locsin's has some interesting props for Dahon. And the latest newspaper article by Michael Dakudao; Agnes Locsin’s PUNO: Pangatlong Galaw.


  Asked Ate Gigi about the Encantada Tickets. They are not selling any until Dahon shows. 


  There was a short pointe class. last Saturday. Didn't get to join. I didn't bring my shoes :(

  Class with Ate Georgette this week. 

Pinterest, finally!

  Finally! I have Pinterest!!! 

It's pretty fun, you know. 

A lot like Tumbr :) 

Since I'm new and follower-poor, I will entice :P 

  I'm following my first 10 followers

  So go on, click the link :)

http://pinterest.com/amberhao/

   

Book Review : The Ballet Companion

  The Ballet Companion is basically a dancer's manual. I think for those with a lot of questions, this charming library piece is a big help. 

   I also found it to be a great help in the section on health and eating disorders. I was able to fix a problem I had, thanks to the information in that chapter {Blog Post: Answers}. 

  I liked how the author injected some important stories from ballet's history. And there was just the right amount of it; There were sections on the legends every ballerina and danseur knows and loves. Of course they weren't as detailed as Apollo's Angels but they were still very informative and useful.

  The photos were all very well, especially the ones of Maria Riccetto and Benjamin Milliepied {of Black Swan fame} demonstrating the correct positions in certain steps. I wish though, that the photos that were not for demonstrative purposes had dates on their captions- just so that we have a mental timeline But, then again, it's not a history book.    

Recommendations?... to the long time dancer, short time dancer, stressed dancer, curious dancer, balletomane, dance /ballet teacher, dance mom/ dad, injury- paranoid, injured, P.T, Bone doctor, and the ones who wanted to be ballerinas ♥

Missing PETA :'(

With Kitsi and Sol... planning what to do with A Midsummer Night's Dream

  

PETA posted pics of the workshop already! 

{Click Here} 

I miss PETA 

:'(

Nostalgia started yesterday morning. In the bathroom, of all places...

Hope the peepz I met in the

wonderful, wonderful workshop

keep me posted 

^_^

#TheaterWorkshops

♥

PETA Website:

http://petatheater.com/

Busy rep. No ads -_-

  When we got home for lunch today, dad gave me quite a surprise. A VIP ticket for Teacher Agnes' Encantada. Strangely, though the ticket is from TicketWorld, Encantada does not appear on the TicketWorld website :( Anyway I will freely advertise myself;

  Agnes Locsin's Encantada is coming to Davao on 9August 2012, 7:00 p.m. Rosa Santos Munda Events Center, Philippine Women's Collage of Davao, Matina, Davao City.

  I am rather disappointed by the lack of advertising... Puno is more well advertised. I am not saying that one is better than the other. I'm just puzzled by why Encantada isn't spoken of... Will ask.

  Yesterday, Ate Gaye taught Ballet again. She said that Ate Georgette would take over next week. I have been enjoying Ate Gaye's classes so far. I guess we 'emote' more :P Shhhh!!!... And my back hasn't been hurting!!!

  Had my first voice lesson at Scherzo Music School this afternoon. We studied 'Think of Me' from Phantom... So excited for this August...

  Tap this evening. Arrived early, again... Busied myself reading Bernard Shaw in the dressing room. Class is speeding up... a little. Working on those s l o w steps. 'Articulation' B) Teacher Agnes and Ate Gaye watched us... 


  Mom wants me to stop Tap for a month... :(

Ballet class : Monday - 6:30 pm

The new shoes I bought in MLA

  Rehearsals for Puno have started. Mom dropped me off at Locsin's early and I was able to catch a glimpse of Georgette Sanchez and Teacher Agnes on the ground floor studio. I didn't think it would've been ok for Teacher Agnes if I watched them rehearse so... I didnt :P

  I waited {reading Bernard Shaw plays} in the dressing room until they finished rehearsing and when they did, I came out and bumped into Ate Georgette. I asked her if she was going to join our class that evening but she said there would be another rehearsal. I could hear music from the second floor and thought someone might have been rehearsing there too. We both went upstairs, I was hoping I could warm up already but it turns out I was right! Gaye Galiluyo was there rehearsing by herself so I decided to stay in the dressing room. After a while Ballet 1a {I think} started so I watched them. A kid I recognized from baby's ballet was in dancing in the class ^_^


  The class last night was taught by Ate Gaye. I had a lot of corrections and prior to class I was told by one of my classmates that I had gotten 'bigger'... -_- So what? I'm not obese! I am never going back to that super stressful, semi-anorexia stage again! I still wanna grow tall, ok?  #I'mNotMad

  During pirouettes, Ate Gaye said 'Pointe!!! you have nice feet,  use them!'  

  It was the first time I was ever told I had nice feet in class...


  Tap tonight :)

Top 5 Dream Roles 2012

OMG! What timing!!! On the same day last year, I made a list of roles I wanted to dance, so, I just wanna do this again because 1) tastes change and 2) it s fun ^_^


1. Carmen
{Choreography by Roland Petit}
  Georges Bizet's music is exceptional! Even the opera {which has the same score}is lovable. Entr'acte III is my fave part {starts at 2:28 in the video bellow}.
video: CARMEN BIZET - ALESSANDRA FERRI -LAURENT HILAIRE


2. Sleeping Beauty
{The original, classic by Marius Petipa}
  Princess Aurora is oh, so graceful in her decent, long sleeved tutu. The balancing feats en pointe symbolize her poise and dignity. Long balances aren't something I can brag about, so maybe this role will improve me :D Aurora caught my attention because, unlike the way I usually project myself onstage, she seems a very gentle and wise...
video: Alina Cojocaru at 25 - Sleeping beauty, Act 3 pdd variation

3. Swan Lake
{The new San Francisco Ballet version by Helgi Tomasson}
  There's no particular role that I would like to perform in {of course to be Odette/Odile is still a plus!} because, if you watch the video below, even the corpse de ballet has an impressive part to dance. I do like moving my arms and skipping about ^_^ Yuan Yuan Tan made this ballet appeal to me ♥
video: SF Ballet - Swan Lake

4. La Bayadere 
{Rudolf Nureyev... I think}
  After all this time... The exotic theme, intricate footwork, and astronomical wardrobe; so many shiny skirts and headdresses! Not sure about Princess Gamzati or Nikiya though.
video: La Bayadere - Opera nacional de Paris


5. In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated
{William Forsythe}
  Just to finish the list with something different! Modern en pointe looks so impressive to me. This piece looks so wild yet controlled at the same time. Interesting choice of music. At first I found it too metallic sounding but after watching the video I link below {featuring Yumiko Takeshima of leotard fame} the movements and the sound actually do go together.
video: In the Middle, somewhat elevated 3 - Pas de Deux - Semperoper Ballett

Dance Again

  I woke up this morning with an aching body. I've probably said that hundreds of times before but it's the truth, you know? I think I did pretty good in glass yesterday. I was just a bit lazy on the barre and I couldn't get one combination :( But I was proud of my Pas de basque. OK, new fave step! 


  My back did not hurt at all the entire class and I was still able to do a more than 90 degrees arabesque. Wooohooo! Yeah! Not-so-good news: The dreaded Cambre on releve is back -_- Need to strengthen my releve... Teacher Agnes suggested that the Ballet 3 class attend Ballet 2 to strengthen the little things like articulation and turn out {arches for me}. 


  A new work is going to be staged at Locsin's soon. The third part to the Alay sa Puno series: 

PUNO: Pangatlong Galaw. 

    

  It's so cool that my teacher's work going is to be stage at PETA, when I just came from there! I just find it so serendipitous... 

Brunch at UP DIliman

    Before heading to PETA for the workshop the other day, Lola Bengay, with whom we stayed with for the duration of the workshop, took us around the UP Diliman campus. There's this jinx going around the school that if you take a photo with the Oblation {the statue} before you graduate, you wont graduate in time...

  BUT! Since, Lola Bengay and Mom said, I havn't enrolled yet {and am not even in collage} the jinx does not apply :P



  UP is the largest campus I have ever been to. When I visited the Ateneo Collage here in Davao, I was already awed but, goodness! UP Diliman has a highway!!! #FirstTime ^_^ LoL. Another interesting thing that Mom couldn't get over with was the jeep. Instead of street names on their routes, there were the names of the buildings in the campus :) The one we rode passed by the Math and Registrar building and something else too that I forgot...

Going around UP Campus in a jeep with Lola Bengay.

  We ate 'student food' brunch at Rodic's. I quit my no pork diet :P

Last Day of Workshop

Last Day of Workshop

  Came home from Manila this morning. The performance last night went smoothly except for my mistake with one of my entrances and a delay with the lights and music.

  We were divided into five groups and each were asked to create a play {or something} loosely based  on A Midsummer Night's Dream. My group's was the longest performance. We included singing, a little dancing, and of course rap as well as spoken dialogue in our presentation.

  Before all our performances started, though, Akala asked the audience to participate in a game of 'Shakespeare'. He'd recite a line and the audience would vote if it was from a Rap/ Hip Hop song or from one of Shakespeare's works {This was an exercise of ours during the workshop, only we would have to perform the lines}. He also performed a rap of one of Shakespeare's Sonnets {The one that begins with Shall I compare thee to a summer's day}.

Here, Akala talks about The Hip Hop Shakespeare Company, plays the 'Shakespeare' game, and raps Sonnet 18.

  Ballet Tomorrow...

Hip Hop Shakespeare Workshop

 

  The workshop today was great! It was very similar to Ate Delphine's theatre classes in Locsin's last summer; we played games, did scenes, only, of course, it was more concentrated in Shakespeare and lines from Rap songs. I felt (and this is just Day 1) that the exercises we did were really creative and that I will truly benefit from this workshop at the end of it  :D


  My favorite exercise so far is one where we are divided into groups of five and each of us are given a verse to perform. The verse can be either Shakespearean or one from a rap song. We don't have to perform it according to what the verse or song is really about but we can use it (or it's idea) to create an entirely new thing.

  The first verse my group got was a few words from Romeo and Juliet. Akala (our instructor) said that we didn't have to let the words make sense. We did a kind of kung-fu-i rescue the princess thing ^_^ Haha... The next time around, the verse we got was a lot longer. It was a verse from Eminem's Stan. We did a sort of personality confusion scene wherin one of my group mates was the real person and the rest of us were his multiple personalities that in the end he had to chose from. It was kinda heavy, the topic. I was watching Stan in YouTube a while ago and I'm so interested at how you can really deliver a few words and turn it into a totally different thing.

  So tomorrow, were supposed to do sort of the same thing with A Midsummer Night's Dream. My groupmates want to meet up early to rehearse and stuff like that. So a little something about my group. There are five of us, three boys, two girls. I thing the three older ones already have acting experience. I think their theatre teachers. I'm the youngest of the group, actually, the youngest in the whole class!

  After the workshop, Mom and generous Tita Clara (Who used to dance ballet in Locsin's too) took me to That's D' Pointe! It was the biggest dance shop I had ever been to and, a dream come true, they have a barre!!!

  I bought a pair of ballet shoes because, as I have probably already mentioned earlier, My old ones are like... d e a d

  Please click the link bellow to see all the photos from today :)

Hip Hop Shakespeare Workshop

Shakespeare Workshop :)

  Whew! Finally figured out while all my pics disappeared. Don't delete pics from Google +! I'm sorry if other posts havn't been edited yet. It takes a lot of time, you see :) I also changed the photos of a lot of the posts because I couldn't find or remember the original pics that were in them :( You might wanna check them out for that :)

  So anyway, I'm joining the Hip Hop Shakespeare Workshop in Manila. I'm leaving for the airport around lunchtime. By the time your reading this, I'll probably already be on the plane ^_^ 

  I hope it's a good workshop. I read in the outline that the participants will be asked to compose a song or poem at the end of it. I'm nervous for that part... I hope they'll consider an original choreography to one of Shakespeare's Sonnets :)

  Just finished reading King Lear yesterday. It is tragic, I mean, although the "bad guys" all die in the end, everyone you care for while reading the book die too! Only the young guys live. But because their loved ones were taken away from them, their present view of life is

"... we that are young/ Shall never see so much nor live so long"

  I don't want to end my post on a sad note so I'll just mention that I hope to buy new ballet shoes in Thats D' Pointe dance shop and that Mum wants to visit the museums ^_^