Under 13 progress reports

[Guest pink tights]

I thought it would be nice for the Under 13's to have a place to check in, share progress experiences, SI anxieties, Nut stories, pointe updates...and more!

 

I'll go first:

 

She would like to audition for SI's-- while she would love the challenge, we (DD and I) just don't believe she is ready to go away from home. That said, she will do an audition or two--mainly for the experience, just to test the waters and see what auditions are all about.

 

DD throughly enjoyed Nut this year. Between class and rehearsal, she was at the studio 7 days a week, however, she managed to maintain her grades and still enjoy MS life.

[Small Slipper]

My DD is doing well. She is enjoying homeschooling and her grades are wonderful.

 

Nutcracker is over and I feel it was a success for all involved.

 

I wish I could say that DD is growing, but sadly, she is still very small and we are waiting for the growth spurt!

 

She was granted early acceptance to Kirov this summer- so it looks like another summer in DC is in her future.

 

She is training hard and learning alot- she is blessed with teachers who understand her and want to see her succeed.

 

After looking honestly at our situation, we are looking at a residency next year.

 

The DS is really too young to say much about in terms of ballet- he is enjoying his ballet classes and I dont see an end to his joy when it comes to dance!

 

So all is well...very well indeed.

[dancingjet]

It feels like DD has been dancing forever and yet she is still not quite 8! She is loving her new school, has made new friends and loves her teacher. Nutcracker was amazing, she had a great time and was dancing around the living room this morning with her Nutcracker doll emulating Clara. ("Mom, wouldn't it be neat if I could dance with my own Nutcracker?" she says to me...) She was tired after the shows were over but never once complained about all the rehearsals. For her, it was all fun. From what I can tell she is focused in class and working hard, and basically having a good time all around. Casting for the spring show is in late February, which feels like it's just around the corner!

[vicarious]

DS1 turned 13 last month and grew in so many ways over this last year. That 12 to 13 year brought such dramatic changes to both DS1 and before to DD.

 

DS2 is doing good and bad in ballet. He has real trouble paying attention and keeping himself contained. On the other hand he takes his technique seriously and when on task works very hard in class.

 

He is a little ham on stage and the audience loves him. He's very small for his age, so when he's on stage it looks impressive that such a little boy is able to act and dance the way he does. Little do they know he's actually three years older than he appears. He got "fired" from one of his Nutcracker parts because he wasn't paying attention and kept missing his cues. I'm glad it happened. It was a good wake up call. Also I think he had one too many parts for a guy his age.

 

I think it will be about 2 years before he'll really take off with ballet. He just needs to mature some more. I do think if he were in a class with children his age, rather than his size and maturity, he'd probably would make a big step up to fit in with the group and the expectations. Right now at 9yo, in with 6 and 7 yos, he doesn't need to act any more mature than them. Some are pretty hyper also, so he just jumps right in if they have the opportunity sneak in any shenanigans. The next level up has a wide range of ages and some of the girls would baby him which wouldn't help him either. It'll be interesting to see how things work out over the next couple of years. He still has plenty of time and he's really doing a lot of work on the basics which is great.

 

I'm pleased with the training he's getting and with how strict but caring his teachers are. His teachers both understand and appreciate him. The AD knows how to use his weakness to the advantage of the production. He was choreographed to be such a cut up, hyper little boy during the Nutcracker party scene. It was great many people in the audience who knew him suggested he wasn't acting or at least was type cast.

 

No SI auditions yet. We have no idea if he will do some part of the SI here or not. It'll depend on what his teachers think he's ready for. I don't think he could handle a full day of ballet for five weeks. Again he has plenty of time.

[Tuesday]

DS is 12, will be turning 13 in a few months. He is thrilled to not be doing Nutcracker this year.

 

He has grown a lot in terms of his ballet technique in the past year. It seems like he has made a lot of gains in both strength and flexibility since last year at this time, and is receiving wonderful feedback from his directors and new teachers. It is a complete change from his experiences last year at his previous school, thank goodness!

 

He auditioned for the National Ballet School summer back in October and was accepted, so he will be enjoying beautiful Toronto this July while seeking admission to the year-round school. We have come to realize that a residency program is the only way for him to fit school and dance into his schedule, and for all of us not to lose our minds in the process. So if NBS doesn't pan out, we will be looking into other programs for him.

 

Homeschooling is going okay. He's getting a lot done, but he really misses being in a classroom with other kids.

[yankee]

My dd is doing well despite her frustration that classes will not resume for a few weeks.

 

She enjoyed Nutcracker very much but she and the other cast members were disappointed that stormy weather resulted in a few canceled performances.

 

She managed her commitment to maintaining excellent grades amidst the many weeks of rehearsals and performances.

 

I am grateful that she has time to rest and enjoy the holidays.

[petnzoo]

Mine spent the first Nutcracker battling fifths disease bright red from head to toe! Then she got a touch of the stomach flu from her brother and spent the second nutcracker dealing with that. The Nuts went well and the productions were vastly different on many many levels.

[housell]

My dd is at the theatre at this very moment. It's been a blessing this year for her to be involved in the company Nutcracker. Sadly, we lost our son (her older brother) the first week of November, very tragically. It's been a good distraction for all of us for her to be involved in this. Her grades at school are not good at all. I think she's failing a couple of classes due to the crises with our son but I don't think she's wrecked her ballet. I think it's been an escape. The counselor we're all seeing says this is normal under the circumstances. Thanks for listening.

[blochbuyer]

I'm thinking of you for your loss. I'm glad you and your daughter had something on which to focus. Take care of yourselves.

[yankee]

housell - your family will be in our prayers. We are sorry for your loss...

[BelaNina]

I am so so sorry for your loss, housell. You're in our family's thoughts and prayers.

[petnzoo]

housell, you and your family will be in my prayers.

[dancingjet]

housell, I'm so sorry. You and your family are in my thoughts.

[Christina]

Dear Housell,

I am so sorry to hear of your loss and the pain and suffering you all must be experiencing.

I cannot even conceive of the intense sadness of having to go though this-

Our heartfelt prayers and condolences to you all-

[Guest pink tights]

Housell,

I am so sorry for your loss. Please, take care of yourself and do post when you feel up to it. I think I speak for all of us...we are here when you need us. It is good to know, the ballet has provided your DD with an escape...perhaps a little bit of light during this sad time.