Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to all!
This is the first year in a long time that I have not produced a show this time of year! A very strange feeling for me! I have been keeping busy teaching at North Carolina Dance Theatre and have had the pleasure of working with some students at Spirit Square. Isabel Macgill has visited often, taking class with me and at NCDT. She has been a busy girl working with Hilton Head Dance Theatre in South Carolina as well as keeping up with her school work in Savannah.
This past weekend, Alston Macgill, fellow Winger and longtime student, who is currently studying at SAB paid me a visit with Isabel and her Mom. We had a great class and followed that with a performance of NCDT’s Nutcracker. My daughter Sofia could not wait to get out of class and on to the show!
Lots of fun! Here are a few pix.
Shout out
I wanted to give a shout out to my kids in Savannah who started me back on my right path and who were there from the beginning with me in Savannah.
I have been in Charlotte, NC for about a month now after giving my studio in Savannah up to do a little growing and finding some “more” myself. It has been a little crazy since my living situation is still up in the air, I haven’t unpacked really and haven’t sent my students the letters I intended to as of yet. Anyhow I am here and it has been…interesting. I have been offered to take a “combo” class for advanced adults,you know-a little ballet, a little jazz, a little..haha, many teaching jobs but maybe not the kind of job I am exactly suited for, given my strong ideals. It has also been mentioned to me that I may not teach wherever I want-I should sign a “non-compete clause”. Well I say to those who have presented themselves, that I will not. I mean, I will do what I want and not be controlled as always. I will drive the car, the car will not drive me.
I have spent a nice amount of time at North Carolina Dance Theatre where my daughter is taking class and I got to visit with my student Emmaline Turner. Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Ayisha Macmillan have been so welcoming to me. What a great place, supportive and nurturing of those dancers who need it.
Most of all, it has been a good thing spending time with my own children transitioning in a new place where the ocean isn’t so close by.
It wasn’t an easy decision to move for me, but the decision was made and so it goes. I have never been afraid of change and I think it is going to be a good adventure for me. With that said-adventure I will.
I have a lingering need to thank some very special kids who made me remember who I am and who I will always be. I teach, I don’t teach with any agenda, I just teach those who want it, the ones who were so like me who needed someone else to know that one person got it. I did. I got it you guys. And also, so importantly to Kristin, thank you too:)
Those kids are Bonnie Henneman, Caitlin Dutton, Angela Novelli, Skye Cornwell, and Isabel and Alston Macgill. Without you guys I may have forgotten what I was supposed to do. I have not forgotten and THANK YOU. So this is my shout out to you. I look forward to seeing you change the world as we know it and I will help try to do that too.
To watch us dance, is to hear our hearts speak
Recently we had our Spring Showcase at Muse Arts Warehouse. It was a beautiful and moving performance.
Every year at our end of the year performance, before the last show, I give out “awards” to my dancers. They are not your typical awards, but it is my way of letting them know that I know how hard they work and how much they mean to me.
“My Cowboy”-Skye Cornwell, “Dance us to the end of Love”-Angela Novelli, “Our Knight in Shining Armour”- Matt Agudelo and “Most Likely to Succeed”-Candice Johnson all graduated this year and are going on to dance at University of Oklahoma, University of South Carolina and the Joffrey traineeship program.
I would also like to congratulate Isabel Macgill, 10 will be at Chautaqua and the Rock School this summer and Emmaline Turner, 11, will be at North Carolina Dance Theatre both with scholarships!
I am so proud of what we all have accomplished together. This show was particularly special to me since I will be moving to Charlotte, NC soon-but I will fill you in on all that officially in some future posts.
Here are some pix from the show taken by Mary Margaret Macgill:
Avery, Erin, Olivia, Kate and Sofia
Isabel
Katie
Mimi
Matt and Shakira
Karina
Candice
Skye
Angela
Cinderella in Savannah
This past weekend Columbia City Ballet brought their production of Cinderella to Savannah. They held auditions locally for children’s roles and had the biggest turnout they have ever had. Many of my students were a part of the production, my Senior Ensemble students were lucky enough to not only get to dance as clocks, but a few even danced along side company members as Members of the Court, a nice honor for them. Here are some shots from dress rehearsal which were taken by Mary Margaret Macgill.
Thanks to CCB for bringing the show and creating a memorable experience for all of our aspiring young dancers.
Mimi, Katie, Olivia and Kaitlin
my girls working with the company
William Starrett gets the time from Isabel
Avery, Sofia, Allyssa and Savannah waiting for their turn
Philadelphia YAGP
Why did I go all the way to Philly? This time I only brought one young student, Isabel MacGill. Her family thought it would be nice to attend the Philly YAGP since her sister and fellow Winger, Alston Macgill would be dancing as well. It was nice for me to be able to see Alston and also Linzy Flinn, who have been attending the Rock School since September.
The facilities at Swarthmore College were excellent. Not only did they have dressing rooms, but a rehearsal studio for all of the performers to warm up in. What a treat!
I always tell you that I bring my students to things like this to help them grow and gain experience. Savannah is lacking in opportunities for my students this way. There is no company here and I often feel I need to get them out to “see the world” and other dancers their age who possess the same desire, drive and talent that they do as well as to inspire them to greater heights.
The talent in Philly was enormous. Well beyond anything we have seen in any regional. It was fantastic to watch these young dancers perform.
Little Izzy danced very well but had to come terms with not placing. A very hard thing to do. I can’t explain what the judges may have thought, but I will say that I never place an importance on a score. Sometimes things you perceive as negative can be a very important tool in how you work in the future. She also got a lot of positive feedback and support. I can only say that good things lie ahead for her:)
Linzy also danced well and it was so good to see her! I really miss my girls but I am so happy they are continuing to go after their dreams.
Alston just happened to receive the Grand Prix award in the Junior division! (I am sure she will give you her perspective on things in a post of her own) Alston and I have had many years together so it was very emotional for me. I couldn’t even put into words the feelings that I had watching her perform and seeing her receive recognition for her talent.
As always, I am beyond proud of all my students. What’s next?
MORE.
Alston, Linzy and Isabel
Isabel checking her arabesque
Isabel's contemporary
Alston doing Grand Pas Classique, so pretty!
Statue in the Philly train station
YAGP Columbia
This past weekend I went with a few students to the Youth America Grand Prix in Columbia, SC. This was one of the biggest regionals that I have been to in terms of numbers of participants. As always, I like to bring my students to this as a learning experience. I was very proud of the work my students put in and happy with their performances.
The senior category was chuck full of some amazing talent. I think there were 96 dancers in all, and I would say nearly all of them were very talented and amazing dancers.
My most experienced student, Skye Cornwell,18, who I have known since she was 11, suffered an uncharacteristic fall in her contemporary dance. I have never seen anything so scary, she somehow missed the floor landing a jump and went up in the air flying and then straight down to her chest, head banging the floor. I was amazed with her courage when she got up and finished her piece. And my heart just broke for her. Thankfully she only suffered some bruises besides getting the wind knocked out of her. Then she had a 4 hour wait to go out again and tackle her variation! She is one tough young lady, and not only am I proud of her, but I have gained even more respect and admiration toward her, as I am sure everyone there did.
Candice, Kaitlyn, Taylor and Emmaline all danced very well and Emmaline finished in the Top 12 in the Precompetitive division.
They are for now, back to work in class and I am heading to Philly for the YAGP there…..
Skye:)
The always exciting open stage
Taylor and Emmaline found a nice corner in the dressing room.
Kaitlyn cleared a space for open stage.
Kaitlyn, Emmaline and Candice with Skye before her variation.
Pretty Emmaline finishes in the Top 12!
A Winger comes to town!
Fun at the STUDIO with Brian Gibbs!
On Wednesday night we had the pleasure of having Mr. Gibbs at the studio for a workshop. It was a great way to start the new year.
I have always admired Brian’s work and felt we had a lot in common in terms of movement sense and of course musical tastes!
I am always looking for ways to keep my students mind’s open and my very young group of dancers were very lucky to have an experience like this.
I myself participated-and I can’t remember the last time I danced for two and a half hours! It was a little tricky for me to get my body to respond to what my mind still knows. Lucky for me I got to partner with Mary Ann Dewberry, who teaches with me at the STUDIO, and she kindly talked me through! By the end of it I remembered many of the reasons why I love to dance so much!
Brian works very instinctively and he tried out some new movement with us involving a lot of contact improv. He spoke to my kids about how important it is to use intelligence in dance and at the end he told them, “You just got choreographed on!”
Thank you Brian for visiting us, we had a blast and we can’t wait to see you again.
Cool shot of Brian
Ms. Mary Ann and Ms. V attempting a new move.
Emily and Isabel working together
Isabella and Noah
Ms. Mary Ann demonstrates with Brian
Mimi and Olivia were awesome together!
Gospel Video shoot
This summer brought a lot of diverse experiences for the STUDIO dancers. Back in June, Wilson Randall, Director, was on the lookout for a young ballet dancer for his latest project-a video for the Gospel artist Porschia. After searching Savannah-he finally found who he was looking for in our own Isabel Macgill. I worked on the choreography with Isabel for it and helped prepare her for the shoot. What a little pro she was! Here are some shots taken by Robert Bryce Milburn during the shoot.
WIlson and Isabel
Izzy in motion
Ms. V with the crew
Registration time……..
It’s that time of year here in Savannah, when new and prospective students are looking for a dance program. Most of the time I post about what my students do, mainly because they are amazing to me and I love sharing that side of my job with all of you, but today I felt I needed to share the other side with you.
It is not easy to run a small studio in a small town. It is of course, like every aspect of the dance world, highly competitive, and I LOVE that part. We are all so competitive aren’t we? I have always loved being pushed to be the best I can be, to find out if I still have what it takes, so to speak! My first teacher however, brought me up to give respect to my peers, that unless you are the dance critic of a big newspaper, stick to the good old- “if you don’t have anything nice to say-don’t say anything at all”. So I learned those lessons very early, it wasn’t always easy though, I might have slipped up a couple of times-dancers are very passionate people!
Since it is registration time-I thought I would give you a short list of things I have heard said about me, always about this time of year (which are not true of course) :
Did you know she curses at her students?
She is a really a Jazz teacher (well, I am a great Jazz teacher-but this was meant to be an insult)
If you want your child to have good manners, don’t bring her there
Her students are only good because she is really mean and drives them into the ground
They don’t do REAL ballet there
I am sure there are dance teachers all over who have had similar and even worse said about them-I even heard that some rival studios will even call your students on the phone to say these things!
I find it incredibly funny when I hear this kind of talk, I guess because I am happy! I love what I do, and I love that I get to do it the way I want to. So I will head into this season, with my little group of dancers who all have such big hearts and I tip my hat to those studio owners who are really good at what they do!
We are all in this together, my students might meet your students at a summer program, or dance together in a company one day! And best of all they will all grow up and hopefully continue to love to dance, go to the ballet, see a Broadway show and have great memories of their first teachers, who taught them so many important things, just like mine did!
Getting Specific
It certainly has been a hot summer! While I have been busy spending time with my family, many of my students have been working hard and getting creative. Some at summer intensives and some right here at home.
Caitlin Dutton graduated from SUNY Purchase, came home for a few weeks and launched the Coastal Dance Collective, utilizing local artists, musicians and dancers, visiting different areas of downtown with some site-specific fun. What a cool surprise for Savannah! Right now Caitlin is setting her sights on California-I am so proud of Caitlin, who was one of my first students in Savannah, so much MORE lies ahead for her!
Coming up in my next post-on the set of a Gospel music video, with singer Porschia, myself and Isabel Macgill!
