Monthly Archives

January 2015

Wood For Christmas

By | Dance, Stuff I Like | No Comments

Wood for christmasA piece of wood? You wrapped up a piece of wood as a Christmas present and put it under the tree. Really? I don’t get it. Let me back up a bit.

“Ow, my eyes hurt because the sun is way too bright! I can’t see myself in the fireplace glass! I don’t have enough room to jump! The floor is too sticky! Its so hot! Ugh, I can’t play my music because my parents are working.” That was my life as a dancer trying to train at home.

“Merry Christmas!” exclaimed my parents. “You are getting a dance floor!”

These are all reasons I needed to change my “practice at home” environment. So, we started thinking about the ideal practice area. It would have sprung, marley floors, enough space to do my solos, mirrors, a place to store all of my stretching devices (don’t know what else to call them), and of course, a place where I could play music as loud as I wanted. After all this brainstorming, we started investigating different brands, costs, and types of floors. Luckily, thanks to our friend Dean Clark, we found an instant solution. He found a used floor that was perfect for us, and even helped my dad install it! Now, all of the mirrors are in, the marley is down, and the walls are painted a sleek black color.

Now that the dance floor is done, I practice my solos and stretch on a daily basis. Its also great because I can dance like nobody’s watching (because they aren’t lol). My favorite part about the new floor is the fact that whenever I want to try a new move that I haven’t done before, I can experiment with new things, and even try a little bit of choreographing for myself.

The floor has only been in for a week, and I gotta say, I love it. I think I need to thank Mr. D a second time in this post because I can’t thank him enough. Of course, I also need to thank my parents. I can’t thank them enough either. Not only for the floor, but for all of the other things they do. I am really fortunate to have all of these people helping me out. Thank You Thank You Thank you. I promise to work really hard to show you how much I appreciate everything.

Hollywood Vibe Pittsburgh

By | Competition, Convention, Travel | No Comments

Hollywood Vibe PittsburghThis weekend I will be attending Hollywood Vibe Pittsburgh. I am especially excited because it will be my fist city as a company member. I am so grateful for this opportunity, and would like to especially say thanks to Chris and Anne Smith, as well as creative director, Liz Imperio. I am looking forward to working with the entire Hollywood Vibe faculty, such as Caitlin Kinney, Kevin Maher, Allison Holker, Mark Kanemura, Kent Boyd, Kayla Kalbfleisch, Ryan Lohoff, David Moore, and Adrian Lee.

Being a Hollywood Vibe company member (full list of company members here) means taking on more responsibility, both as a dancer and as a person. If you know anything about Liz Imperio, creative director of Hollywood Vibe, you would know that Breaking Barriers is the most important thing in her life. Breaking Barriers is Liz’s new program that helps dancers accomplish greatness in their lives. Liz has helped me develop the confidence to push my self as a dancer. All of us on Hollywood Vibe Company have the responsibility to strive for our own success, but more importantly the success of the dancers attending the convention.

If you’ve known me for a while, you know that I toured with Hollywood Connection as their Dancer of the Year. It gave me a chance to dance all over the country and meet dancers from a bunch of cities. Many of those dancers are some of my best friends today at auditions, and I’m sure will be friends of mine forever. Also, many of the Hollywood Connection faculty that have helped me with my training, are those I met at Hollywood Connection. People like Bonnie Story, Laura King Lindsley Allen, Brooklyn Jai, Chonique Sneed, Gigi Torres and Robert Schultz continue to have an amazing impact and influence on my dance and my life. I look forward to creating these relationships with the Hollywood Vibe faculty, as well as my fellow company members.

I’m not sure which other Hollywood Vibe company members are going to Pittsburgh, other than one of my best friends, Juliana Keller. Juju and I attend school together, as well as train at Dellos Performing Arts Center. She is an inspiration to me as a dancer, a person and an actor. I hope to become just as close with all the rest of the Hollywood Vibe Company. See you there! Leave a comment below if you’re going to Pittsburgh or any other Hollywood Vibe city this year.