Archive for miami
March 10, 2008 at 3:08 pm · Filed under dance, miami, careers, candice thompson, CANDICE, LOLAstretch
Last Friday night I saw the animated film, Persepolis. It was really beautiful and moving to me and full of pearls of wisdom from the sassy Grandmother. She is constantly the voice of reason in a time of personal and international turmoil, urging her granddaughter, Marjane, to be less selfish, have more integrity and to be true to herself. Midway in the film, there is a hilarious sequence where Marjane tells us of her awkward growing pains during puberty by describing different body parts getting larger one at a time to form a sort of distorted monster until everything catches up and a unique beauty is restored. Well, that is a perfect metaphor for how I feel about my company, LOLAstretch, and often my life right now. It is growing and changing which is a beautiful and exciting thing that I have worked tirelessly for, but at the moment it is often unwieldy and difficult to manage day to day. Perspective is an easy thing to lose.
So I have given myself a task as a winger, artist and entrepreneur that is trying to stay sane……I am going to blog about it– everyday! In the past, I have only really blogged for major events and with this new project I want to take on the Sloan style of communicating little bits more often. A daily journal of sorts. But hopefully, more of a daily conversation with you all!
I am going to leave you today with a couple images from a recent trip I had to Miami. It was such a good time and filled with some much needed r & r, so I am going to use that place in the sun and sand to keep me motivated this already busy Monday morning. I love Mondays, much in the way that I love the morning; everything feels new and full of promise to me. This week could hold anything.
Recent Posts by candice thompson
December 9, 2007 at 10:53 pm · Filed under SLOAN, dance, travel, art, miami, florida, life, mobile, iphone, art basel
Unfortunately though, I got sick again the week before we were supposed to go, so it’s been a really low-key trip. But I figured if I could make it through the flight, perhaps the warm air would help cure me better than the anti-biotics.
Saw some fun things at our brief stop at the convention center including a few dance related art pieces, some more successful than others, which I’ll post about when we get back.
Recent Posts by kristin sloan
September 18, 2007 at 3:26 am · Filed under dance, travel, rehearsal, studio, friends, miami, wingers, miami city ballet, twyla tharp, life, JUSTIN, rubies
So I just returned from a fun 5-day visit to Miami. I went to visit a bunch of very close friends of mine, who are now prominent members of the Miami City Ballet.
My first order of business upon my arrival was to really take in South Beach (where most of the dancers down there reside). At first it gave off a feeling of surrealism. It was as if I had walked into a postcard setting. Or as if the city of Miami Beach is simply one great big extensive resort in paradise. There are miles and miles of beaches engulfing South Beach, and the weather is in a constant tropical state. I’m not sure how I would feel about living in such a peculiar corner of the country, but visiting it was, beyond a doubt, an experience of its own.
Visiting my friends gave me a prime opportunity to get to see what Miami City Ballet is all about. Like with any ballet company, it has its pluses and minuses. However, overall I found that I really took a liking to the company. It seems like a great company to work for. There are roughly 50 dancers, and they appear to have created a sort of family-based feeling to the work environment. The company is saturated with talented dancers from all walks of life. Everything from Cuban virtuosos, to Chinese technicians, to talented alums of the School of American Ballet.
I also loved their repertoire, and remain to be particularly jealous of the Twyla Tharp ballets that they get to dance (In the Upper Room, 9 Sinatra Songs, + more). Sometimes I find that, after a while, Tharp choreography can begin to mesh and look very similar. But it’s the type of movement that I could watch all day. Its like candy to me. Or ice cream. In ballet slippers.
One thing I couldn’t help but noticing was the average height of the Miami dancers. Their tallest dancer can’t be more then 5’11”, thus making me feel like some sort of colossal freak. I constantly caught myself crouching over when I talked to the other dancers, out of self-consciousness regarding my height and size 
.
So I definitely had a great time on my 5-day stint. I will absolutely be back to visit again very soon.
South Beach! A few of my close friends being sandwiched between two Winger correspondents
One of MCB’s beautiful practice studios. The company is in the middle of rehearsing “In The Upper Room” here
Me with a big group of the MCB dancers
Fellow Winger correspondant Alex Wong, doing the ‘rubies tilt’ with MCB dancer Daniel Baker
Recent Posts by justin
August 23, 2007 at 4:10 am · Filed under dance, injuries, ALEX, miami, beach, elvis costello, apollo
So this photo was taken a while back, but I forgot to post it. Just having some fun on the beach and doing a knock-off “Apollo” pose with an extra leg! 
The dancers are Michael Breeden, Holly Fusco, Maira Barriga, Me and Carolyn Ramsay.
Also wanted to say that I am finally out of my crutches and back to dancing pretty much full out now. Man is it great to be back! We’ve got a jam packed season ahead of us, full length Jewels, Tarantella, Liturgy, Bourree Fantasque, La Valse, Square Dance just to name a few, as well as a newly commissioned piece that we are currently working on by Twyla Tharp with a completely new score written by Elvis Costello!
I’ll keep you all updated!
Recent Posts by alex wong
July 16, 2007 at 6:12 am · Filed under dance, injuries, rehearsals, ALEX, miami, canada, crutches
(Me, in my cast and crutches. Look at that lovely pointed foot.)
Hey everyone! Just wanted to apologize for not writing in such a long period of time, I’ve just been caught up with everything as we all are sometimes! I have been meaning to post for so long, but never got around to it. Well anyways I finally have some news (which is in fact quite old by now) but I thought I would wait a while before I blogged about it.
Well, as all of us dancers know, it’s inevitable that sometime in our careers we will get injured, well I guess it was my turn, last month in the middle of June I broke the base of my 5th metatarsal, so I have been on a cast and crutches (non-weight bearing) for over a month now! I was doing some partnering work and I guess I mis-stepped a little and stepped on my foot sideways and it just cracked. At first I didn’t think it was actually broken, I thought it was fine, so I just kind of walked it off, and 10 minutes later I looked down and saw a nice little golf ball-ish lump on my foot… I decided it was time to get some ice, hahaa.
I’m actually quite thankful that it happened when it did because we are actually off right now so it’ll give me some time to rest before our season starts back up again at the end of July. I’m hoping that I’ll be out of my cast in the next few weeks and hopefully walking again, however I’ve already acquired a special name of “Gimpesha Limpalot” by my dear friends.
It’s not so bad to be in crutches right now (I’m back in Canada at home, and my family is able to take care of my needs, hehe… I’m being spoiled!) but man, is it ever hard when you’re in rehearsal in a cast… watching other people dance… watching other people dance roles that you wanted to dance… it just feels like everything is slipping away from your grasp and you have no control over it. There was still about a week and a half left of work when I broke my foot, and that week and a half was terrible. Going into rehearsals when you can’t dance makes you even want to dance more! And being on crutches in the super hot Miami weather does NOT feel nice, hahaa.
Well I thought I would get really depressed being in my cast and crutches, but for some reason it hasn’t been so bad. Maybe it hasn’t even really hit me that my foot is ACTUALLY broken, but everyone has been very supportive. I always believe that “everything happens for a reason” and all my friends stressed to me that I should really try and enjoy this, well, MANDATORY break. I guess I am enjoying it as much as I can, and I feel like being on crutches and walking a lot with them is maybe helping my upper body strength as well as maybe helping me burn some calories since I’m not getting to exercise as much as I would like to! Haha
Well anyways I’m really crossing my fingers to be in my cast for only about a week and a half more. The doctor told me that it takes anywhere from 6-12 weeks to heal, but since I’m healthy I should hit the 6-8 week mark… which means I’m really aiming for that 6 week mark (July 26th)! Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Anyhow, I hope you all have a wonderful summer!
Recent Posts by alex wong
June 15, 2007 at 3:49 am · Filed under dance, video, teaching, savannah, miami, students, VERONICA, the STUDIO, teacher, youtube, american ballet competition, keiran, caitlin, firebird
Posted by Veronica Moretti Niebuhr
Things have been crazy crazy at the studio. We just finished our spring performance where I dared to tackle the Firebird. They certainly exceeded my expectations and the audience was quite impressed with them. The girls have improved so much, but it is always a challenge to do something which requires a sort of mature expression of the movements. Getting the translation or feeling to kids from 6-17 years old is a major feat.
Here’s a short youtube of the girls in Firebird rehearsal.
ps.
the Firebird made me an insomniac-the music just haunted me. It was good. I was very happy with it. Even though it completely tortured me!
The opening of our show features the classical variations section. Except we faked out the audience and when the curtain opened that song from pulp fiction plays and the girls just hot dog it. Fouette turns, zig zag
they got the audience pumped for all that ballet!!! It was so fun.
Angela/Kashei/Kitri
This is Ansley. My newest (well I’ve taught since she was 5) rising star.
Caitlin came home and I threw her in the show, she choreographed her own piece to a Radiohead song, which was beautiful and so unique. Following the show, I took Angela and Caitlin to the American Ballet Competition, which is a valuable learning experience. There was some very deep talent there. They decided not to rehearse so much………..It was still a good experience and I think both girls needed to find themselves again like we always need to. I am so proud of them.
Why do we dance?????? I read today in the times the Diana Vishneva article and it touched me so much. There is no perfect body. there is a will, a desire to share, something more…..
View from the hotel in Miami, Florida for the American Ballet Competition.
Kieran came along to support Angela and Caitlin in Miami. So, Caitlin sat on her.
Caitlin and Angela before they compete..
We warm up to Life is Beautiful (on repeat so the sound guy doesn’t lose his mind) at the theatre
A tough moment for Caitlin before she competed at the American Ballet competition.
While in Miami, we did venture out and there was this balloon guy………….My son Enzo likes Spongebob and I kind of wanted a balloon!
Angela poses by this crazy tree in Miami and it reminds us of ABT’s Swan Lake….
Well as you know, it can be pretty expensive to do those summer programs. Caitlin and Angela went to the American Ballet competion at the prompting of their so supportive Mom’s, who by the way, are two of the most beautiful people I know, with the hopes of receiving a summer program scholarship. But the girls were not up to this.
Caitlin, who is struggling with growing up and keeping her inspiration did not need this at all. And Angela, who has improved about 2 years worth in 6 months didn’t really need her confidence shaken. I tried to explain to them that it was that they needed to believe in themselves. That there is no reason to do this if you don’t think you are good yourself.
How do you explain that they are facing more rejection than acceptance in their future? But that it is worth it to keep pursuing it? I never thought twice about my own abilities, but I don’t know why I didn’t. Teaching sometimes takes you here. They don’t believe it, but I do!
They didn’t make the finals in Miami-but they could have. And I believe it. I wish they could .
Ms. v
Recent Posts by veronica moretti niebuhr
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