Friends Archives - Sparkles Lund

Dec 08 2018

1

Director Brazil Launches One Take Sparks

By Alexandra Lund | Dance, Family, Friends, Vlogs, Work | No Comments

I have been working with Director Brazil – Helton Siqueira – on my videos since I started my YouTube channel in 2013. Brazil and his longtime friend Will Willdabeast Adams invented today’s popular class video format in the dance scene around Los Angeles, California in February of 2013. Shout out to Will for introducing me to Brazil. Being a member of immaBEAST has been a great learning experience for me. Not only have I learned how to train hard, but how to be a citizen of the dance community, a better person, and a better professional. Brazil gave me the experience in front of the camera, knowledge about YouTube, editing, and other things that I would have not been able to get from just doing jobs.

At first, my video channel was a way for sharing what I was doing in dance to family and friends. As my channel grew, I started to experiment with how to monetize my channel. Now my channel is different thing for me. It’s a place to curate my development as a dancer.

One of the things that you do not see much in dance videos today is one take videos. For a million different reasons, one take videos are rare because it’s incredibly hard to get everything right in a dance shot. Sometimes the camera angle is better in a particular run, other times the lighting is better, and a lot of times the dancer is better at different portions of the dance on different takes. You can do a lot to cut videos and add effects today to make videos look great. But it’s a bit harder to try to get it in one take.

One of the benefits of shooting over 100 videos with someone is the relationship and trust that develops between the director and the artist. So many of my videos were made better by Kalyne Lionheart who is an amazing editor. Between Brazil getting footage and Kalyne doing the edits, they turned out amazing. If you want to work with a great team, Brazil-Lionheart Productions is the way to go. They have so much experience.

Brazil has always been an innovator. When we set out to shoot 4 videos in a day, we knew that we were in for a long day. It was over 100 degrees in a warehouse in downtown LA the day of our shoot. When we started shooting, everything just clicked. We shot the first video 4 times and we honestly thought that every shot was great. So we stopped. That was when Brazil came up with the concept of One Shot Sparks – a series of one shot dance videos with no cuts. It is so different from the class videos you see everyday, or your typical concept video. So, we went with it. All of these dances were one take videos.

There are four videos in this series. The first one dropped on September 16, 2018. I danced to a song and an artist that I really love, Jade Bird. The choreography is special to me. One of my favorite people to work with is Cat Cogliandro. I love her work and am blow away by what an amazing woman she is. This video was my contemporary solo for the 2017-2018 season. It is very different than competition pieces that you see. It celebrates the spirit of Jade as an artist, and I really found a lot of sincerity in the dance. Thank you, Cat! Something American will always be one of my favorite dances ever. I appreciate you giving that to me.

The other three videos are choreographed by me. I have been working on my choreography for the past couple of years. I am teaching 5 classes a week and setting pieces on junior and teen dancers. I booked my first choreography job with a major TV studio this year (Thank you Disney and Bizaardvark). I hope that I will get more of those.

Thank you so much Brazil. You picked a great location for the shoot and made it all work for One Take Sparks #onetakesparks –

Aug 21 2018

2

Summer Craziness

By sparkleslund | Competition, Convention, Dance, Family, Friends, Travel | No Comments

Hey Guys, sorry I have been a slacker at posting. The school year ended with intense finals and preparation for our DPAC Studio Nationals. If you take AP classes, you feel me. I left home the day after finals and literally only spent 9 days at home all summer!

My summer started out by training with ImmaBeast and preparing for Buildabeast. I had the blessing of working with the Immabeast team which consists of all young professional working dancers on pieces choreographed by the amazing Janelle Ginestra and Will “Willdabeast” Adams. If you have attended Buildabeast, you understand the amount of heart, soul, and preparation that they put into their company pieces. As usual, Buildabeast was extraordinary and the training in many hip hop and contemporary styles was over the top.

I literally left Buildabeast on Sunday and flew to Las Vegas for Hollywood Connection Nationals with my studio (DPAC). It was a very special Nationals for me as I danced for the last time with my long-time dance partner Trevor Quesada who graduated this year. I cannot express how awesome it has been to dance with Trevor over the past 7 years. We did great at Nationals and I was a Icon Dancer of the Year finalist. When I won Junior Dancer of the Year at age 10 for Hollywood Connection, it literally changed my life. I am so grateful for Bill and Kimberly for creating Hollywood Connection and the amazing faculty that we have the opportunity to train with. Our Duo won top overall duet and top senior contemporary!

After HC, I was able to go home for 2 days to repack for Hollywood Vibe Nationals. I have been a company member for Hollywood Vibe since the second year of the program and, like HC, Chris and Anne with the help of company director Liz Imperio put on an amazing convention. For me, Hollywood Vibe Company has become a family for me. I have had the opportunity to dance in cities across America representing Hollywood Vibe and be mentored by some of the best faculty choreographers in the world. They truly build dancers and they have contributed to my growth as both a dancer, an assistant, a choreographer and enormously as a person.

After HV, I was able to go home for a week and do the DPAC summer intensive. Johnna Clark brought in some exceptional teachers such as Peter Pinnock and Hayley Roderick!

After the intensive, we traveled back to Los Angeles where I had the opportunity to work on filming Mitchel Federan’s choreography to Bellyache. Mitchel is such a talented choreographer and is an amazing person to work with on a shoot. Not all people who teach the steps can make them look great on film. Not to mention Jon Hernandez with the dope cinematography!

After the shoot, we headed down to San Diego for a week of training at DancerPalooza and to start my marketing internship with Capezio. It was the first year that Randi and Hefa produced Noizey – the hip hop intensive. I had the opportunity to take from many of my favorites. As I write this, I am in New York City continuing my marketing internship. I am also looking at colleges while I am here.

I will be dropping a bunch of work on my YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/sparkleslund so subscribe to get notified. I will also be putting a bunch of my favorite class footage on my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/sparkleslund – so follow me there too if you are interested.

School just started up again on August 16th – my junior year. I cannot imagine what 2018-2019 will look like. If it is anything like the year I just had, it may be a little crazy.

Aug 17 2016

0

Joining Pharrell Williams to Empower Kids

By sparkleslund | Dance, Friends, modeling | No Comments

Pharrell and Sparkles

What makes you different? About five years ago, Pharrell launched a program called i am other. It is a pretty simple concept. We are all different, and “individuality is the new wealth.”

i am other is the philosophy that Pharrell carries through all of his businesses and charities. He told us that he only surrounds himself with people who share those beliefs and he tries to instill it in others through all of his projects in music, film, television, apparel, and what not.

Somehow, someway, Pharrell, or Pharrell’s people found me, and invited me to a very special event to launch a collection of school supplies in partnership with Yoobi. Yoobi is a pretty cool company. They have adopted the idea that made Tom’s shoes famous. Yoobi takes a portion of everything they sell and give free school supplies to children in need right here in America. Pharrell helped design the line of school supplies around the themes of i am other.

When you go to events like this, you have no idea who is going to show up. Somehow I was not surprised to see four other immaBEAST dancers, and even a few Disney Channel stars at the event. We all had a really great time, and it is super fun to get dressed up for the red carpet. Overall it was a super fun evening, and one I will remember for sure!

Jul 07 2016

3

Flash Mob America Hits Record With Robert Schultz Choreography

By sparkleslund | Dance, Friends, Work | No Comments

Los Angeles, CA July 7^th, 2016 – Flash Mob America is the #1 booking Flash Mob Company in the world. I guess that makes for a good name, right? What you may not know is that the choreography genius behind Flash Mob America is Los Angeles choreographer Robert Schultz.

Robert Schultz has choreographed over 200 flash mobs for Flash Mob America during the past 6 years, making Shultz one of the most productive and successful flash mob choreographers and directors in the world. Recently, a piece choreographed by Schultz topped over 1 Million views on You Tube! You must watch it. But grab a tissue. You cannot possibly hold back the tears of joy as you see the story unfold

The Flash Mob event was to celebrate the anniversary and vow renewal for Stacey and Rick who had been married for 30 years. For the flash mob, Rick hired Flash Mob America, a camera crew, and threw a party on the rooftop to surprise Stacey. All Stacey knew was that Rick was taking her out for a romantic evening. Rob Schultz made the event amazing with the creativity of having hired dancers and street vendors subtly hand her roses as she walked down the street to meet Rick at the restaurant. As she turned the corner toward the restaurant, a group of family, friends, and professionals break into a huge flash mob for her.

At the end of the dance, everyone points up to the roof top of the building where hundreds more family and friends are looking down, waiving, and welcoming Stacey to her special day made possible by Rick!

Schultz got started as a flash mob choreographer through the help of his long time friend and fellow choreographer, Ms. Lisette Bustamante. Lisette was hired by Flash Mob America to do a piece and she invited Robert Schultz to help. Whenever Bustamante was not available, Schultz began to work directly with Flash Mob America to do pieces.

The most memorable flash mob that Schultz has choreographed was for the ABC hit TV show, Modern Family. Season 2, Episode 8 is called Manny Get Your Gun. In this episode, Cam says Mitch is not spontaneous enough. So Mitch organizes a flash mob at the mall to impress Cam. The flash mob was epic, and in true Modern Family fashion, Cam gets upset because he was not invited to dance in the Flash Mob.

Schultz also choreographed a piece for WAV Group clients, CoreLogic. They had the crazy break out into dance during the peek of the National Association of REALTORS® trade show in San Diego. It was so funny. All of these REALTOR types walking around and suddenly surprised by mob chaos. To Join a Flash Mob, visit http://www.flashmobamerica.com//event-registration. Follow Flash Mob America @FlashMobAmerica (Instagram & Twitter)

About Robert Schultz

I have known Robert Schultz for years. He taught at my first convention when I was 8, Hollywood Connection. At age 9, I qualified at regionals for Dancer of the Year, called Icon of the Year which I was fortunate enough to win. Schultz choreographed the Icon dance that was a tribute to movies. Schultz cast me as the lead in Afro-Circus from Madagascar and I loved the goofy wig! Aside from private training over the past few years, I have begun to work with Robert Schultz on some of my You Tube videos. Perhaps the most memorable is my duet featuring my Grandma Anne and fellow dancer Trevor Quezada to When We Were Young, music by Adele

Nov 21 2015

1

Sean Lew and the Best Boys Ever

By Alexandra Lund | Dance, Friends, Stuff I Like | 2 Comments

There was a time when I was 8 or 9 years old when DPAC when to visit our sister studio in LA, Dellos Performing Arts. I met Sean Lew on Instagram for the first time. He is a year older than me and one of the best male dancers in the world. Sean and I were also both privately trained by Mr. Marco Cruz for years. Over time, I ran into Sean a lot at The Pulse on Tour and other conventions. We also often got calls for the same auditions and worked together from time to time, including The Voice. He and I are also teammates on #immaBEAST with Will Adams.

The dance industry is mostly competitive and cutthroat. But, there are a few enlightened kids that understand that is wrong. Sean is one of those. When I would travel by myself to train at conventions, I was alone and surrounded by kids that were there with their studios. Very few kids would go out of their way to make friends. Everywhere I have ever seen Sean, he has always been my friend and looked after me. I don’t have an older brother, but I imagine that if I did, he would be a lot like Sean.

There was a time a few years ago when Sean started choreographing his own solos. People had their opinion about Sean, some believing that he was too big for his britches. They were so wrong. Sean was born to dance and born to be a choreographer. His work is so good that he gave up competition after winning everything. As you will see from the video – his work is epic.

Today, Sean dropped one of the most amazing videos. Sean choreographed this trio with Bill Will Simmons and Josh Price. The three of them are easily in the top 10 dancers in America today and all #immaBEAST team members. These boys are the greatest and this video is sooooo good.

Watch this video and remember, “sharing is caring!” Share it on your social media so the world can see how talented these guys are!

Oct 26 2015

1

Preview of Animals Dance For Halloween

By Alexandra Lund | Dance, Friends | No Comments

Hi Everyone!

The immaBEAST dancers supported me in the creation of this special dance for my YouTube page. The choreography was created by immaBEAUTY, Janelle Ginestra. @willdaBEAST was not involved in this project, but it is important to acknowledge that none of this stuff would not happen without his vision for supporting and creating opportunities for dancers. Thank you Will!

We are doing a really cool thing to launch the video. Each day between now and Halloween, a different instagram announcement will be dropped.

@jennazalverez
@vivienlopez569
@tahani_anderson
@jadynhernandez715
@savanna.kubat
@sofia_dance10

Thanks to @directorbrazil for all of his hard work producing these videos, and thanks to you for all of the support too.

Check it out

Click Here To View

Oct 02 2015

1

Summer 5 – Summer Ends School Begins and Some Big News

By Alexandra Lund | Competition, Convention, Dance, Friends | No Comments

If you missed the other posts in this series, you may want to go back and start at the beginning.

Summer 1 – LA Sparks and Trip To New York

Summer 2- Hollywood Vibe DOTY and Team Larkles

Summer 3 – Leaving Las Vegas

Summer 4 – Dancer Palooza and BuildaBEAST Experience

While all of this was going on, a few other things happened. My work on the Voice put me over the limit on being a non-Union dancer. So at the beginning of the year I was invited to join the Screen Actors Guild. It is a great organization that really does a lot to make sure that professional actors and dancers are paid a minimum living wage of at least $250 per day.

I was signed by BTB Management and am now blessed to be managed by Nelson Diaz. No more momager or dadager! Not that my parents did not do an excellent job….. BTB manages many of the top dancers and actors in America. I am a long way from their experience, talent, and fame – but I am working on it. Nelson and the entire team at BTB are great to work with. He is always looking out for all of us and guiding our growth while he develops opportunities. My parents need the break anyway. They have their own work to do. PS – I now call Nelson’s wife Aunt Mary – that’s what it’s like!

A component of getting a manager was that I switched from Clear Talent to MSA. This had nothing to do with anything related to Clear Talent. They were instrumental to all of my success the past few years and I would highly recommend them as anyone’s agent. @ShaynaBrouillard was fantastic and I love her.

The dance department there is top notch and they represent many of my friends who are super successful. Switching agencies is not like getting a divorce, but it is certainly a change. Everyone at MSA has been great so far and I look forward to being with MSA for a long time.

Somewhere in here I missed that I did a job for Nickelodeon and was featured on the front page of the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Both of these were lifetime firsts for me. I tried to put a lot of stuff on my Youtube page and on Instagram. If you scroll through those, you will see more. I was also selected to be a Sadie Jane ambassador. Along with Divina, they have some of the best dancewear.

I hope I am not forgetting anything. I certainly did not mention everyone that I spent time with this summer. But, I have been writing this post for days and it seems like this series will never end. This is like a short novel.

Stay tuned for some cool releases on my YouTube channel. I was the host for the season the Behind the Scenes shooting of #immaBEAST year three video. We are also shot a new hip hop video for the amazing David Moore. I have been rehearsing with my super talented friends, Tahani Anderson and my semi-twin pal, Kaycee Rice for a VH1 live show choreographed by Janelle Ginestra. We were Barbie dancers! Check it out https://youtu.be/nFVzWHxnbT8

On the home studio front, I have been taking ballet classes at a new studio called Movement Arts Center in San Luis Obispo. Big News is that Dellos Performing Arts Center is moving to a brand new studio! Can’t wait for another great season with my #DPACfam.

If you missed the other posts in this series, you may want to go back and start at the beginning.

Summer 1 – LA Sparks and Trip To New York

Summer 2- Hollywood Vibe DOTY and Team Larkles

Summer 3 – Leaving Las Vegas

Summer 4 – Dancer Palooza and BuildaBEAST Experience

This is my first 5 post series. I hope you liked it! Stay tuned for more.

Sep 30 2015

1

Summer 4 – Dancer Palooza and BuildaBEAST Experience

By Alexandra Lund | Convention, Dance, Friends | 2 Comments

If you missed the first posts in this series, go back to the beginning.

Summer 1 – LA Sparks and Trip To New York

Summer 2- Hollywood Vibe DOTY and Team Larkles

Summer 3 – Leaving Las Vegas

The next week, we moved from Burbank down to Long Beach for Dancer Palooza. That is a weeklong intensive that, in my opinion, has the best collection of contemporary teachers you can find anywhere. I took classes from Mandy Moore, Mia Michaels, Sonya Tayeh, Teddy Forance, Stacey Tookey, Travis Wall, Dee Caspary, Benoit-Swan Pouffer, Andrew Winghart, and others. http://www.dancerpalooza.com/thecollective

Girls – dance aside – if you have not been to the expo at Dancer Palooza, you have not lived. It is the most number of booths that I have ever seen – its huge!

I did a haul vide with my loot! Check it out

Our #immaBEAST team also was invited to dance in the Showcase. We were rehearsing during Mini Muse and during Dancer Palooza, so after taking classes every day for two weeks, I also had rehearsals at night. I have never been in better shape in my life – 12 pack abs!

Liz Imperio and her new Fiancé came to the showcase. I love her and the support she gives me as a dancer, a friend and a coach. If you do not know Liz, try your best to meet her. She has a program called Breaking Barriers (http://breakingbarriers.dance/) that has been super helpful at helping me set my goals in life and as a professional dancer. Her coaching, advice, and heartfelt support she gives to dancers makes her a very special person. I can’t wait to get on tour with Hollywood Vibe where she is the creative director. #secondMom

Just to keep the flow going, the next week was the #BuildaBEAST Experience. What a switch from a week of contemporary to a week of hip hop. As an #immaBEAST and #lilBEAST, we were able to help work the event and dance. The entire week was filled with the best hip hop training I have ever had. I was surrounded by the best dancers from all over the world (like 22 countries or something insane like that) and across America. #immaBEAST is so much more than a crew. It’s a dance family like no other. The BuildaBEAST experience finished up with the auditions for #immaBEAST. The competition was so fierce and everyone worked so hard. I have no idea how Willdabeast narrowed down the hundreds of auditions to the team we have now (about 70 strong). The good news is that I was able to dance hard enough keep my spot on the team. I learned that there are no free rides in life. Just because I danced on the team last year was no indicator that I would be on the team this year.

Here is my Solo from the event – it was epic

PS – AirBoard was a sponsor at BuildaBEAST and I got one! Hurray. Super fun #christmaslist for you.

If you are keeping track of the weeks, by this point I have not been home at all since school let out in June, amounting to six straight weeks of being on the road! I should pause here and thank my parents for making this all possible for me. With two weeks left before school started, I stopped dancing 12 hours a day and was limited to #sparkkids rehearsals, auditons, #LASparks games, and rehearsals for the #immaBeAST season three video. We still were driving back and forth to LA multiple times each week and staying a few nights in LA each week, but I did actually get to sleep a few nights in my own bed and see my friends at home.

BuildaBEAST Season 3 Video

If you missed the first posts in this series, go back to the beginning.

.

Summer 1 – LA Sparks and Trip To New York

Summer 2- Hollywood Vibe DOTY and Team Larkles

Summer 3 – Leaving Las Vegas

Next up is the Summer Series Finale – Summer Ends, School Begins, and Big Announcement

Sep 23 2015

4

Summer 1 – LA Sparks and Trip To New York

By Alexandra Lund | Dance, Friends, Travel | 6 Comments

I am really sorry for not blogging in so long. My website was pretty messed up and I had a crazy summer. Now things are back to normal (well sort of) and I am back in school like most 12-year-old kids. The rest of my schedule is anything but normal, but it’s good to be home. Here is a recap of the summer. This will be series of posts that I’ll publish every couple of days as time permits, so hang in there and subscribe to get notified when Summer 2 is released – titled Hollywood Vibe Nationals, Drama and Team Larkles.

In the middle of June, I went with my school drama group to NYC. This was the beginning of a travel schedule that took me away all summer. We had an amazing experience. I have been to New York City once a year with my parents, so I know my way around Midtown and Times Square and have done all of the tourist-y stuff. I can tell you that it is way more fun to travel with your friends. (Sorry Mom and Dad!) We had a blast. I am releasing a video in the next few weeks that shows what we did. I lost the footage but just found it. Be sure and subscribe, or watch my YouTube channel. My favorite part of the trip was attending Broadway shows. At sometime in my life I hope to dance on Broadway (Hint Hint Chelsea Blake from MSA and Nelson Diaz from BTB Management). I also loved visiting the set of Saturday Night Live. I love comedy television and it would be amazing to be on that show! #goals. I guess the point of the trip was to dream big, and I am on it.

All summer long I have been dancing for the LA Sparks women’s professional basketball team as part of the LA Sparkids. The team just made the playoffs, so the season continues. The ability to work with choreographers like Brandee Evans and Jenna Frechette has been exceptional. And, who would not want to be on the court at the Staples Center! It is a legendary place for sports (aka home of the Lakers) and entertainment (Taylor Swift set a record for sold out shows this year). They are picky about posting video of our routines, so I do not have much beyond a few short clips on Instagram that shows the work. I made so many new friends on the #sparkids team and was able to work with a lot of the #sparkids that just made it to the #immaBEAST team too. I’m so excited that Im going to get to spend more time with them!

Be sure to subscribe if you want to hear the rest of the summer story. Next up is the Hollywood Vibe Nationals Drama and the introduction of the ongoing dream team – Team Larkles!

Click Here to read post 2 in the series now

Mar 28 2015

1

buildaBEAST by immaBEAST Workshop Announced

By Alexandra Lund | Dance, Friends | 4 Comments

If you follow me on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook (links at the top of the page) you probably already know that I am blessed to be on a team called immaBEAST. Well, specifically the “imma”s are the older kids and young adults. Part of the immaBEAST team are the lilBEASTS (15 and under), and that’s me. The good news is that there will be a workshop that starts July 28^th. On the final day, August 1^st, everyone gets to audition for a spot on the immaBEAST team! You can get discounted tickets for the buildaBEAST workshop and immaBEAST auditon now if you buy them before they sell out! $400 earlybird special http://www.immabeast.co/buildabeast

Over the past year, training with the immaBEAST team has been really fun and amazingly rewarding. I have had the opportunity to train on a team that is 100% professional dancers. Everyone is freakishly talented.

My #lilBEAST Story

In 2013-14 I took some classes with Will WilldaBEAST Adams at Millennium, The Pulse, and 24-7 Dance. He called me out to do a duet at 24-7 which my dad recorded. It is really poor quality video (https://youtu.be/11b11nbtd88) but you can see that I was super inspired by the choreography. At the time, I felt really confident with my skills in Jazz and Musical Theater, but understood that I needed a lot more work on other styles including Hip-Hop. There is something about WilldaBEAST’s style of sharp footwork and hard hits blended with moments of smooth swag that I truly love. Anyways, after the class he told me about the audition to try out for his team. I was so excited that I almost peed my pants.

The Audition

I had been a professional dancer for a couple of years before the WilldaBEAST audition. I was used to going to big auditions with hundreds of people and young superstars. Don’t get me wrong. When I show up to these things and see dancers like Leah Roga, Boogie Tinay, Sophia Jahadhmy, Kaycee Rice, Jordyn Jones, Larsen Thompson, Soni Bringas, and so on, I know that I gotta bring it! But the WilldaBEAST audition was a whole new level. The talent level was so deep that even a great dancer could easily drown. WilldaBEAST says that 2400 people auditioned! Here is a video that recaps last year’s audtion https://youtu.be/z1dwkFL0EbY

On June 11^th, WilldaBEAST announced the #lilBEAST team. Kaycee Rice, Lexee Smith, Gabe Deguzman, Larsen Thompson, Jaron Snyder, Josh Price, Taylor Hatala, Nike Tracreee, Tessa Brooks, Sophie Reynoldson, Phoenix “lil mini,” Kennadi Boese, Leah Roga, Kaylyn Selvin, Sean Lew, Kade Pait, Jordyn Jones, Big Will Simmons, Soni Bringas, Sophia Jahadhmy, Zealand Yancy, Boogie Tinay, Sierra Neudeck, Tati McQuay, Talin Silva and….. Sparkles Lund! Here is my blog post about it. http://sparkleslund.com/?p=353

The Journey – We do this just because we can!

July 2014 – lilBEASTS perform at The Pulse in Las Vegas for the closing show – win the Choreography Award! Killed it.
August 2014 – immaBEAST DVD released featuring the entire team. Becomes a top selling instructional DVD for hip-hop dancers http://sparkleslund.com/?p=413
October 2014 – worked one-on-one with WilldaBEAST and Janelle Ginestra http://sparkleslund.com/?p=17014
October 2014 – immaBEAST performed at DanceON in Los Angeles at an event featuring the stars of the upcoming movie Beyond The Lights. – Here is our video https://youtu.be/qYre6y7NJKs
November 2014 – on set for the filming of a video to Touchin, Lovin for Trey Songz featuring Nicki Minaj – http://sparkleslund.com/?p=17033
November 2014 – lilBEASTS do a video for @Ciara “That’s Right” https://youtu.be/ruAshPdTdrM
December 2014 – I book a job to dance in the season finale of Dancing with the Stars with fellow immaBEAST dancers Trinity Inay, Soni Bringas, and Jordyn Jones, https://youtu.be/IuYmnhr8hEA

#immaBEAST crew selected for Dancing with the Stars

January 2015 – WilldaBEAST Adams YouTube channel hits 100 Million views https://youtu.be/CTFYr3O-yZw
February 2015 – WilldaBEAST teaches us how special any of us can be by highlighting a dancer who overcomes a disability and still can kill it on the dance floor! https://youtu.be/T6br7p6iOHc
February 2015 – immaBEAST team films a heartfelt tribute to our friend Klye Hanagami who is fighting Leukemia https://youtu.be/I6kH7qYJ8_E
March 2015 – WilldaBEAST launches the team website at http://www.immabeast.co –
March 2015 – immaBEAST performs at the Anniversary show for Carnival in Los Angeles – https://youtu.be/bLg_vMid18M

The Journey Continues

Being on immaBEAST is a blessing. Will is one of the most humble, hard working, generous, and genuine people I have ever met. He surrounds himself with people that are not only talented, but have big hearts. The team is really a family of people who help each other and I have made friendships that I expect to span a lifetime.

No matter where I go – a convention, a competition, an audition, or even a class in LA, I am bound to run into another member of the immaBEAST family.

Join Us!

I hope that you can make it to the #buildaBEAST event. Again, be sure to get your tickets right away. It will sell out fast.

Feb 01 2015

1

Dancing In Super Bowl Halftime Show

By Alexandra Lund | Auditions, Dance, Friends, Work | No Comments

Gabe, Will, Tricia Miranda, Kaycee, and Charlize

Don’t get me wrong – dancing in Super Bowl XLIX with Katy Perry would be absolutely amazing. The halftime show set list was perfect and included a surprise performance by wrapper Missy Elliott with choreography by Tricia Miranda. Katy is among my favorite artists and the ability to work with her on the biggest stage in the world would be beyond my dreams. The good news is that I had a shot at an audition video. Better news is that four kids I dance with on team #lilBEAST with Willdabeast Adams booked the job!

Today’s Super Bowl half time show featured Kaycee Rice, Gabe de Guzman, Will Simmons, and Charlize Glass! I feel so blessed to be able to work and dance with so many talented kids! My friend and fellow #lilBEAST, Soni Bringas was on TV last night staring in the the primer of Lifetime’s new show, Beautiful and Twisted opposite Rob Lowe, Pez Vega (Spanglish), and Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown, Sex in the City). #lilBEAST Nation taking over!

I was not able to go to the audition for Katy Perry. At the time, the audition call did not mention Missy (Surprise Guest!) I had already committed to travel to Pittsburgh to work with Liz Imperio and the Hollywood Vibe team. It was my first time representing Hollywood Vibe and it would not have made a very good first impression if I bailed on them. But turning lemons into lemonade, I was able record and send in a video audition. My agent, Shayna Brouillard of Clear Talent Group told me it would be a long shot, and she was right. I did not book the job or get a call back. But I still had fun shooting the video!

I was so excited to see my friends during the Super Bowl halftime show. They killed it. (Trivia – XLIX is the number 49. Next year, in MMXV or 2015 the letter for the Superbowl will be L).

In other news – my YouTube channel went over 200,000 views this week and my subscribers hit 700. Still a long way to go to hit my goals, but hey – a girl has to celebrate milestones. Right? Here is the audition video I sent in.

Nov 04 2014

0

WilldaBEAST Launches Trey Songz Video

By Alexandra Lund | Dance, Friends, Uncategorized, Work | No Comments

I am so lucky to be able to work with so many great choreographers like Los Angeles based Willdabeast. I am on his kids hip-hop crew #lilBEASTS. He has an older team that he works with called #immaBEAST. As I mentioned in my post last week – I have a secret…..

WilldaBEAST with his awesome partner Janelle Ginestra filmed an amazing dance to a new song called Touchin, Lovin by Trey Songz featuring the AMAZING Nicki Minaj. Janelle choreographed all of the parts with the girls in it and Will choreographed all of the parts for the boys. Janelle is the one in the gold shirt with the cute tall bun. I just love her style – she is SO full out! I think this song is going to be a hit and that all of us will be learning to dance to it this year.

I was on set when they were filming and had a chance to interview WilldaBEAST about what he calls “a concept video/music video.” He told me “The inspiration for this piece was big, clean – line choreography with the new swaggy style of 2014. ” If you follow WilldaBEAST, you know that his career is taking off in a huge way. He just won the Next Generation Award at the World Dance Awards 2014 signaling the industry’s view that he is the next exciting up and coming choreographer. All of us who know him already know that he is the BEAST!

I am so happy for Will. The new video is below. Be sure to click on his DVD offer at the end of the video. I was in that! You know that all of us dancers need all of the help we can get!

It is so great to be on Will’s team. I’m having so much fun!!!

If you want to download the song from iTunes click here. I gave you the link to the “clean” version by the way – the only one I’m allowed to listen to!

I will be releasing some new stuff that I worked on with WilldaBEAST in the next few weeks. Be sure to subscribe to my blog and/or subscribe to the Sparkles Lund YouTube page if you want to be notified when it drops.

Here is my #lilBEAST story

Here is the making of the trey songs video . The not-so-secret romance between Will and Janelle goes public in the video #outted by @directorBrazil

About WilldaBEAST Adams

Instagram: http://instagram.com/willdabeast__

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/willdabeast

About Janelle Ginestra

Instagram: http://instagram.com/janelleginestra

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MissJanelleG

About World Dance Awards

http://www.worlddanceawards.com/

#immaBEAST crew selected for Dancing with the Stars

Oct 26 2014

1

Willdabeast Solo Fun

By Alexandra Lund | Competition, Dance, Friends, Travel | No Comments

Solos are the second part of the new dances that I am learning for this year’s dance season. We already learned our group dances. I am doing fewer group dances than last year because of auditions, #lilBEAST rehearsals, and hopefully……jobs! I could not resist teen lyrical with choreography by Tahirih Ellison; teen large open with choreography by Katie Schofield; junior hip-hop with choreography by Re’Sean Pates (Glee); and teen large jazz, also by Re’Sean Pates. I am super excited about the trio I am doing with dancers Juliana Keller and Taylor Costa with choreography by Keara Blake.

On Wednesday, I learned a brand new solo with one of my favorite choreographers, Will “Willdabeast” Adams. Just so you understand how I manage school, dance and auditions, here is the story of my day.

First, I traveled to Harloe, a local elementary school to dance for a program called Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week is a drug and alcohol abuse prevention program. Our studio performs at many elementary schools to show how many great things you can do instead of drugs, like dance! Unfortunately, I only got to do the first school because I had to go to LA for an audition. On the way there, I did all of my homework during the three-hour drive.

Once we got to LA, I had an audition for a secret project that I can’t tell you about. I made it through the first round, but then got cut. I only book about one out of every ten auditions, so I don’t really get upset about not being picked. One of my friends Simone got picked, maybe some others too – so I am happy for them. Besides, I was so excited to work with WilldaBeast on a new solo!

Once the audition was over, my mom drove me to Nappytabs, which is a rentable studio as well as a very popular clothing store. When I entered the room, Will got started on my solo right away, with his assistant Deanna Jenkins. Deanna taught me the first section of it, which was really hype and fun, and I absolutely loved it! It took me a while to get the choreography though, because it was very fast. After I learned that section, Will taught me another section that was slower and calm, but still really challenging and fun to learn. We worked together for about an hour and a half and have most of it done. I need to go back next week to finish and clean it.

The sweet ending to my day was that my dad flew into LA from Chicago for a meeting and was staying in Beverly Hills at the amazing Montage hotel. This place is so nice that they bring a special bed for our dog Austin. Even food and water bowls. Not to be left out, they bring me chocolate and other fun kids stuff. My dad was traveling all week, so it was a great surprise to meet up with him. The only tough part was that we had to get up at 4 am to get home in time for me to get to school.

In other exciting news this week, I launched the trailer to my new YouTube channel. Take a look and subscribe http://youtu.be/POVkGPOWvbg! I will be publishing a new video every week or so. Next week (or sooner), I will be launching my new website – it is almost done! The new site will replace this one.

Oct 08 2014

0

Continuity

By Alexandra Lund | Friends, School | No Comments

I am a member of the Paulding Sports Association. We help the sports teams when they have games by operating the concessions, selling tickets, and working the scoreboard. Today was my team’s first day and it was really fun. Our girls’ volleyball team played another local school and that gave me a chance to see a girl that I have not seen in over a year.

When I knew her before, it was hard to be her friend. She was a combination of shy and a little annoying. Today, she was awesome. She was super friendly and really excited to see me. I was excited to see her too, and happy that she had changed.

It reminded me that people change. I was thinking of another friend that I have who seems to swing between a person I want to be around and a person that I do not want to be around.

I guess that we know that everyone changes. This is a good thing to remember. Oddly a song called Body Language by Kid Ink is playing right now and it says “don’t judge a book by its cover.” When it comes to people, they change covers – not only physically, but also in the way they act. Someone who is annoying today can be super nice the next time you see them. Someone who is super nice can also be super annoying the next time you see them.

My dad and I talked about this today in the car on the way to dance. He taught me the word continuity. It is related to the word continuous, which means consistent. In life, we need to recognize that people are not always consistent. Things happen to people in their life that impact their behavior. Sometimes the things that happen affect people for a day or two. Sometimes they impact a person for a long time.

I guess the solution for me is to try to have continuity in the way I treat others, but recognize that they will change from time to time. When they are annoying, I will lay low. When they are cool, I will look forward to hanging out with them.

Aug 18 2014

0

immaBEAST DVD

By Alexandra Lund | Dance, Friends | One Comment

Willdabeast

A few weeks ago, WilldaBeast (Will Adams) invited all of the lilBEASTS (including me) to come film Year 2 of his immaBEAST instructional DVD. For those of you who have no idea what any of this means, I joined a hip hop crew called lilBEASTS recently, click here to learn more about it, but if you’re only confused about the DVD part, I will fill you in now!

Instructional DVD’s can be used for anything from “How to Knit” to “How to Dance” which in my case is the purpose. In this instructional DVD, Willdabeast teaches a ton of his dances that he originally taught in class. I think its really great because if you live far away, but you want to take a class from WilldaBeast, you can! He offers it to hip hop dancers and aspiring hip hop dancers around the globe to have the chance to take class from him even if you don’t live in Los Angeles where he lives and teaches. His video from last year just hit 30 Million views – so you can understand the quality I am talking about.

The way that lilBEASTS is involved is we assist him for one of the dances, to the song, “Get Me Bodied” by Beyónce. It was really fun, because most of us (including myself) didn’t know the dance yet, so it was like a private class just for us! The choreography was a little bit challenging, but I picked it up quickly. The dance was hip hop, but it was a little bit sassy too. I mean, come on, you can’t not be sassy when you’re dancing to Beyónce! Man, I love that girl. Anyway back to the point, we spent about an hour filming, and then we were finished! That was the end of yet again, another amazing day with all the lilBEASTS and WilldaBeast.

I hope you enjoyed learning about when I filmed an instructional DVD with WilldaBeast! If you would like to pre-order the video you can click here! It will help raise money for WilldaBeast and all of his amazing dance efforts! Tell me what you think of the video after you buy it!

Here is the Trailer

Aug 09 2014

1

Chonique Sneed Releases New Single LET IT GO

By Alexandra Lund | Dance, Friends, Stuff I Like | No Comments

If you are reading my blog, you are probably a dancer, and you probably know Chonique Sneed. She is one of my favorite teachers and choreographers. She was born in Hollywood and started dancing at the age of 8 – which is about the time that I started to take dancing seriously. She is an adult now, and tours the nation with Hollywood Connection on the faculty. She and choreographer, Lisette Bustamonte, also with Hollywood Connection, mentor a group of teen dancers each year to grow in character and confidence. The program is called Creating Opportunities or, Creating Opps for short. From them I have learned that there is a difference between dancing and being a dancer. Dancers are strong, powerful people who are caring and aspire to be the best they can be in everything they can do.

Chonique has choreographed for artists like Missy Elliot, Christina Milian, Britney Spears, Pink, Jennifer Lopez, V Factory, Diddy and more. She is also on the faculty of Monsters of Hip Hop (hopefully #lilBEASTS will go to that).

Join me in celebrating the release of her hit single – Let It Go! ***caution – there are a few words in the song that are not totally rated G **** but it is not that bad – you may want your parents to listen first.

I tried to embed the code from SoundCloud – but it does not seem to be working (someone please help that reads code). For now – just click this link to Chonique’s song on SoundCloud. Please share! Everyone needs friends giving them a little boost!

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/162289636″ params=”auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]

Jul 28 2014

1

Dance Craziness Pt. 2

By Alexandra Lund | Competition, Convention, Dance, Friends | One Comment

When I left off on my last post, I talked about how much fun Hollywood Vibe was. In this post, I will talk about how exciting The Pulse Las Vegas and my first performance with #lilBEASTS was!

Willdabeast

Jordyn Jones

We left for Las Vegas on a hot summer’s Thursday and got there at about 3 ish. It was probably 103 degrees outside. I felt like I was going to pass out. Once we got into our room, we went straight to the pool to find some of my dance friends Jordyn Jones, her brother Skylar, and Sean Lew. We probably swam for about 2 hours and then Jordyn and I decided to go shopping. There was a very large mall across from our hotel, called Miracle Mile because it’s a mile long. We went there for roughly 2 or 3 hours and then had to go to rehearsal for #lilBEASTS.

The next day, I went to the pool again with Jordyn and we stayed for about 2 hours. At 2:00 p.m. that day I had my first day of classes at Camp Pulse. Those ended at 5:30 and then I had an acting class with the one and only Lane Napper. It was so much fun! We did a few improv exercises and practiced saying a little bit about ourselves on the spot.

The following day, I had classes starting at 9:00, and they ended at 2:00. At 3:00, I had another #lilBEASTS rehearsal before our first performance. After that rehearsal, we all felt very prepared to perform.

We were the 10^th number so we all got to watch the dances before us. They were amazing! So amazing, that the time went by really fast because they were so good. The dancers at Pulse are some of the best of the industry. Many of them are professional dancers and they know how to perform for an audience. I enjoyed the show a lot.

I was really excited when it was our turn to perform because this was the first time we performed live as a team. The audience loved us. We even won an award to bring our crew to the Open Call competitions in 2015. Can’t wait to perform more with my fellow #lilbeasts and work more with Will, our director!

If you missed the first post in this series, go back and look at http://sparkleslund.com/2014/07/23/dance-craziness-pt-1/

Jul 23 2014

1

Dance Craziness Pt. 1

By Alexandra Lund | Auditions, Competition, Convention, Dance, Friends | One Comment

Hollywood Vibe

I’m so sorry I haven’t written in a while, I’ve just been really busy with all of the events that I have been participating in for the past few weeks. There’s so many of things going on that I’ve decided to break this into two or maybe even three posts! I am just going with the flow depending on how much of this I get done today. The things I’ll be talking about in these two or three posts are Hollywood Vibe Nationals, The Pulse Las Vegas, #lilBEASTS video, and Macy’s Glamorama. That’s a lot right? I guess I’ll start with Hollywood Vibe Nationals, so that I go in time order.

This crazy week all started on Thursday, June 26, with my first scholarship dance rehearsal. We learned this dance over a video sent to us in an email. Unfortunately, my video wouldn’t play, so it was very stressful for me once I got to rehearsal. I had to learn every single piece of the choreography on the spot that day.

The next day was our first day of classes, taught by Hollywood Vibe’s superstar faculty. We learned all styles in these classes for four days. Also, during those three days I had competition. After the first day of classes, I performed my trio entitled Whipped Into Shape and my solo, Bees Knees, which was competing for Dancer of the Year. After the second day of classes, I had all of my small groups with the rest of the juniors. We were lucky enough to win 1^st Place in the lyrical category and Best Costume with our gorgeous lyrical dance, Tears of an Angel. After the third day of classes, I had both of my large groups, Feels Good and MJ Tribute. Both got Platinum but didn’t place. After the fourth day of classes, it was finally time to for the Final Night Gala. This was where the National Dancer of the Year for each age group was announced and I got to perform the scholarship dance and the Dancer of the Year finalist piece that we had been working on for the past week choreographed by Liz Imperio. Both of the dances felt great and then it was time to announce Dancer of the Year, and Vibe Company, which means you get to assist the teachers and perform with the faculty. They started with Vibe Company, and I got it! So did my good friends Juju, Trevor, Tyler W., and Jordan. We were all super excited but we were eager to find out who won Dancer of the Year. They started announcing the juniors, it was no one I knew. Then they moved on to intermediate. Unfortunately, I did not win but that’s okay I’ll just keep trying and maybe I’ll get it next year! They moved onto the teens I did not know the female winner, but Trevor won for male! Everyone was so excited that they didn’t even pay attention to anything that happened after that.

I had a bunch of fun at Hollywood Vibe and can’t wait for next year!

In the middle of Hollywood Vibe, I had to drive to Los Angeles for #lilBEASTS rehearsal. Which leads to the next post…….The Pulse Las Vegas and #lilBEASTS Showcase Performance.

Here is Part 2 of the series http://sparkleslund.com/2014/07/28/dance-craziness-pt-2/

Jun 24 2014

1

Video Interview with Mocha

By Alexandra Lund | Competition, Convention, Dance, Friends, Vlogs | No Comments

In this video I introduce one of my best friends, Mocha. We have known each other since preschool (like 3 years old) and our families are friends too.

It’s a girls’ world in this video – clothes (Outfits of the Day), nails (how to glitter your French Gels), and of course – a bit about dance. Mocha and I have also danced together forever. We are about to go to Nationals for dance – lots of rehearsals and lots of nervous excitement! Both of us are up for Dancer of the Year! Wish us luck.

Be sure to watch to end to get convention tips that you may not already know.

There is a cameo from Austin – dog extraordinaire. Follow him on Instagram at TheAustinBubbles_ – he only has 28 followers – so help a doggie out!

If you want to see my first ever vLog, check out this post

http://sparkleslund.com/2014/06/24/vlog-1/

Jun 24 2014

0

Video Interview with Juju

By Alexandra Lund | Dance, Friends, Uncategorized | One Comment

If you don’t know what a vlog is, it is a video blog. To switch it up a little bit, I decided to do a vlog instead of a regular blog post. Hope you enjoy!

In this video I introduce one of my best friends, Juju. We have known each other since I started competition dancing at age 9, and our families are friends too. She is also a professional dancer and books a lot of work (#proudfriend, #loveher!). Follow her on instagram at http://instagram.com/jjjjjuju (5 js).

In this vlog, we talk about favorite movies – outfit of the day – and a story about the scariest thing that happened (think HOUSE ON FIRE). Not to spoil the ending, but it is not what you think and it is really funny.

Note to remember – Stay Calm……..sometimes your breath can go a long way to save the day.

May 22 2014

0

Science Camp

By Alexandra Lund | Friends, School, Travel | No Comments

Last Wednesday, I left for Rancho El Chorro, also known as 6^th grade camp, or Science Camp. Those of you who live in California, you know that this is a big deal for 6^th graders. For those who aren’t, I will explain. In sixth grade, you get a big trip, normally close to the end of the year, and it is called Science Camp. Today, I will be telling you about everything I did during those action-packed three days.

Day 1

On Wednesday, we arrived at roughly 11:00 a.m. We got to eat lunch, and then one of the naturalists (camp counselors) old us to go unpack our bags in the cabins. Our cabin had four bunk beds (8 beds), but we only had five people so we got to choose if we wanted the top or bottom bunk. I chose the bottom because it was easier to get up if I had to go to the bathroom. After we unpacked, we started what the naturalists called the Welcome Walk. It was basically where they took us around the whole campus and showed us where everything was. My favorite part about that was when we go to go inside the Science Lab and look at a bunch of interesting animals. Later that day, we had dinner. In order to enter the lunchroom, we had to answer questions about the things we learned that day. I thought this was really cool. I sort of wish that we did this at regular school to enter the cafeteria. After dinner, we had our night hike. It was very cool because we got to see a lot of wildlife that you can’t usually see during the day. We also did an activity with Wintergreen LifeSavers. We partnered up and then the naturalist gave each of us one LifeSaver. We put it in our mouth while keeping it wide and started chewing it. You could see little sparks! It was so cool! The naturalist said that it was a chemical reaction created by the artificial flavoring in the mints and your saliva. We finished off the night by a nice poem read to us by the naturalist who took us on the night hike. I slept not so well but it was okay.

Day 2

In the morning, we had a delicious breakfast of eggs and potatoes and then got started on our first hike of the day. It was probably the longest hike we did as well as the most tiring because it was a hill hike. I liked it, except when I got to the top of the mountain and ran out of water. It just went downhill from there, literally. After the hill hike we had lunch and then free time for about 30-45 minutes. That was also the time slot we had for showering. The showers weren’t too bad, three people had to go in at one time.

In the evening after dinner, we had a group campfire. Other schools from around California were there too, so we were able to meet other kids. We sang a bunch of fun campfire songs including some that you may know like the “SCAT” song and “Baby Shark”. I slept very nicely that night because I was so tired from the day’s activities.

Day 3

The next day was unfortunately our last, but we did get to do lots of cool things to close out the week. For example, we got to visit the raptor room which is where the naturalists keep all of their large predator birds (“raptors” in science words). We got to see an injured red-tailed hawk up close with a bird handler. It was beautiful, but also very sad because the bird could not fly. After that, we had our closing ceremony.

Throughout the whole week, we had name tags on with our real name as well as our “nature name” that we could make up. My nature name was starfish. Sparkles may have worked as a nature name given the stars in the sky, but I like starfish too. Every time we finished a hike we would get a bead on it and at the closing ceremony we got one last bead that had a leaf on it, it was very cool. Next, we had to pack up our bags and head home. I had so much fun and I hope you enjoyed hearing about it.

Did you go to science camp when you were a kid? Comment below.

May 06 2014

0

Otis Parson School of Design Fashion Show

By Alexandra Lund | Auditions, Friends, modeling, Work | One Comment

Recently, I had an audition at Otis parson school of design. It was for modeling, so the audition process was really fun and that is what I’ll be telling you about today.

When we got there, the audition was supposed to end at 3:00 and we got there at 2:59. Yikes, right! After we walked into the room, the guy said, “I remember you! I picked your headshot; adorable!” I was glad he said that because we weren’t even sure if I was going to be able to audition given our arrival time. After that, a woman walked in and said, “Have her try the one that no one fit into.” When she said that, the guy picked up an outfit and handed it to me. There was a small room guarded by curtains that he signaled me to go inside and change. The outfit fit perfectly! I think that that was a good thing because remember how earlier I told you what the woman said about how it was the outfit that know else fit into. Well, it fit me!

Pre Show Party Dance After that part of the audition, I put my own clothes back on, and I had to freestyle to Happy, by Pharell. It seems like every audition I’ve gone to lately has always been to that song. It’s super weird! I felt really good about it and the casting director seemed happy.

A few days later my mom got a call from my agent saying that I got the job! I was sort of expecting it because the casting director seemed really pleased with my audition. I was excited that I did get the job, but if I didn’t I would still be happy because I knew that I did the best I could. This is one of those occasions when I feel really lucky being fun sized.

After about two weeks I had the fitting for the job. It was a little bit weird because they just gave me the outfit and I had to undress in front of everyone in the room! After I put it on, they had me improv to Happy, by Pharell, again. As you can see, I’m getting a little sick of that song. I hear it basically every single day, but anyway back to the point. I improvd and then they made a few modifications to my outfit like put a pin here, tuck this in there, stuff like that. That was actually one of my favorite parts because I felt like a real life runway model! Then, once they made the modifications, I had to improv again. That was pretty much it! The whole fitting really only lasted roughly 10 minutes! But the whole thing was super fun and a great experience.

Two Thursdays later, I had my first rehearsal. I found out that the choreographer was Jackie Sleight, one of my favorite teachers at, as well as the owner of L.A. Dance Magic, a popular convention/competition I went to earlier in the year. The rehearsal was 5 hours long! We started at 1:00 in the afternoon and went until 6:00 p. m. First, we learned a big piece of the choreography and then had a break. Next, once the break was over, we learned another large chunk of it which was the part where we model the clothes for Under Armour, the sponsored brand. After that, we were pretty much done with all of the choreography and we just got to run it and get it in our minds better. The next day, we had another rehearsal but on the actual stage that we would be performing on. We did basically the same thing as the previous day, except it was on stage and the rehearsal was shorter. We also got to have some delicious food provided by the hotel the event was at.

Finally, the next day, we had the show! There were two shows, one in the afternoon and one at night. The night one was for some very important people like famous designers and photographers. In our preparation for the show, we had a few of the students that designed our outfits in the room with us, helping us get dressed and keeping us in order. They were really nice. I was so excited before we went on stage but I was also a little nervous. Once we went on, I felt this big boost of adrenaline and the show was great. The second show was just as great, except better! After both shows, I went swimming with two of my friends that also did the show, Hannah and Hayden. We had a bunch of fun in the pool, and then we had a delicious dinner.

The whole experience was super fun because of all the friends I made, the amazing designers, and of course, my loving parents.

Here is the video from the fashion show. I am at about the 22 second mark.

Apr 07 2014

0

Mr. Marco is Back! Pt 2

By Alexandra Lund | Auditions, Dance, Friends | 2 Comments

We left off where from my first post – Mr. Marco is Back Pt 1 Mr. Marco picked me to be in the opening number for a Michael Jackson tribute show. Remember that? Well, that same night, Ms. J informed us that our first rehearsals would start on April 1^st and April 2^nd. I was super pumped and hungry for learning new material.

At our first rehearsal, we mainly focused on learning all of the sections and blocking. For non-performers, that means putting everyone in spots. I really liked all the different part because not one was similar to the one before. We got really close to being finished in that rehearsal, so we didn’t have much to do the next day but run it and clean. By the end of the day, I felt that it was definitely a time well spent working on it and making it as close to flawless as possible. You know what they say, practice makes perfect!

If you enjoyed reading this, please subscribe to my blog if you aren’t already and if you already are thanks for being great fans!

Apr 07 2014

0

Mr. Marco is Back! Pt 1

By Alexandra Lund | Auditions, Dance, Friends, Uncategorized | One Comment

Those of you who know who Marco Cruz is (mostly my dance friends) know that he has been gone from DPAC for a while teaching at KAR, a popular convention/competition. I have missed him a lot because he was one of my favorite teachers at DPAC! Fortunately though, he recently visited us twice and that is what I will be telling you about today.

Mr. Marco choreographed my first ever solo, Whatcha Want. I won every competition with that solo so you could see why I love him. I also enjoy his amazing teaching styles and challenging combos.

Last week, Ms J. told us that there was going to be an audition for the opening number that we are performing at a Michael Jackson Tribute show in LA. Afterward, she told us that Mr. Marco was choreographing it. I was upper excited but I also knew that I needed to bring my A Game because he’s very tough. The audition started on Thursday during the two hours when it’s usually Hip Hop 2-3 and Hip Hop 4-5. Marco walked in with his trusty assistant, Taylor and they started the combo right away. I had visited Marco a few weeks before that so I already knew the beginning of the piece but he also added many other things so I don’t think I had much of an advantage at all. After we did the dance he split us up into four groups. We ran the combo a few times in those groups and then he started putting us into different groups based on what he thought would look good together. He did this for a while, taking people out and putting people in. Finally, after he did this for about 20 minutes, he started picking the people that were going to be in the actual piece. He started with choosing the older girls. Then he got to the younger ones like me. He called out about five people and then he paused. I was a little bit upset because I thought he was done and I didn’t get picked, but right after that he turned to me and said, “You’re in.” I was super excited because it was very unexpected!

Click here to see the second post in this sears – Mr. Marco is Back Part 2

To be continued…

Mar 30 2014

1

SOL Dance Convention

By Alexandra Lund | Competition, Convention, Dance, Friends | No Comments

Last weekend, I went to SOL Dance Convention. It was very fun and very easy to get to because it was in Santa Maria which locals know is roughly 25 minutes away from where I live! The studio had a great weekend and I will tell you all about it below!

It all started on Friday, the 21st. Unlike most convention/competitions, all of the competition dances(that means solos, duo/trios, and group dances) were on the same day! And on top of that, the awards weren’t until 6:00 p. m. on Sunday! My first dance was my solo, Krazy n’ a Box. After that, it was my trio, and then all of my group dances which I don’t remember the order of. That night my best friend Camille a.k.a Mocha slept over at my house. We planned out our outfits for the next day as well as what we were going to do with our hair and what accessories we were going to put in it. On Saturday morning, we got up, showered, got dressed, ate breakfast, and then left for our first day of convention classes. Unfortunately, on our way there, the GPS on my dad’s phone wasn’t working so we got there a little bit late. My dad was extremely angry with Siri.

Our first class of the day was Bollywood with Jesus (pronounced hay seuss). For those who don’t know what that is, it is a dance style that originated from the movie Bollywood which was filmed in Mumbai, India. Our second class was Salsa with Jonathan, it was fun to have this because it is not a common convention class. After that was one of my favorite classes, Music Video. It was the kind of dance that you would usually see in a music video, so, it is not that hard but extremely fun! Those were all of our classes for the first day which was really unusual because at most convention/competitions there is an average of 6 classes per day.

On Sunday we started a little bit earlier than Saturday, but I’m not sure why. We had the same classes but instead of Music Video as our last class we had Character with Suzy. For those who know what musical theatre is, it’s like that. It is a dance that tells a story and the song is normally from a Broadway musical. The dance we did with her was from the musical West Side Story. After that class, we learned our audition dance. I liked most of the dance and the song, although the dance could have been a little less weird. There was a lot of strange hand movements and some weird floor work. We rolled around on the ground for most of the dance. Now that I think about it, I really only liked the song. We had roughly 20 minutes to practice the dance and then we started auditioning. I was in the first group, but I wasn’t my choice they just picked random people. We did the dance once, then switched lines and did it again. I didn’t feel very good about it because the judges were only watching one girl and it was not myself.

About an hour after that, it was time for the awards. They started with announcing the awards for the competition on Friday. All of the dances I was in got first place except for my solo. I was really proud of my team members but I was a little bit upset that my solo didn’t place. I got over it quickly though. Then it was time for the scholarships, they started with partial scholarships, then went on to full scholarships and finally they announced the STAR Performer of the Weekend, it was awarded to one of my dear friends, Carina Avila! I was so proud of her, and surprisingly didn’t feel bad at all! I felt great about the whole weekend and was also tired as heck by the end of it. Although, whenever I feel that way I know that I kicked some serious booty.

Mar 12 2014

0

Auditions!

By Alexandra Lund | Auditions, Dance, Friends | 6 Comments

Last week I had an audition for the girl group Fifth Harmony, but I’m not allowed to say what project it was for. I didn’t feel the best about it, but yesterday I found out that I made it t0 the callback!I went to that today and that’s the story I am about to tell.

This morning, we left at exactly 11:40 A. M. for Hollywood. It was a very stressful and long drive due to traffic. I hate traffic. We got there right on time for sign in. After that, they told us what group we were in. I was in group 4. It took about 30 minutes for my group which was a long time in my opinion. But after I went I felt great! I didn’t mess up once and the judges were looking at me a lot. I made it through that round, but then they put us in different groups and I got cut. They said that they would have kept me but they wanted taller girls. It was not a very good day to be short.

Even if I didn’t get picked, it was still a fun experience and I got to see a lot of my friends.

Mar 05 2014

1

2 Celebs in one Week

By Alexandra Lund | Convention, Dance, Friends | No Comments

If you are one of my many active Instagram followers, then you already know that in the past week I have met Zendaya and Vanessa Hudgens! But I thought I would reiterate for those who aren’t. Both of these people are inspirations for me because they both are triple threats and that’s what I aspire to be.

Zendaya

I met Zendaya at Camp Pulse (which I won two scholarships at but that’s for another time). The emcee announced that, “Camp Pulse has a special surprise for all of us!” and she walked in with Rosero, a part of the Camp Pulse faculty. I was extremely thrilled to meet her because I am a big fan of the show Shake it Up that she starred in and she is an amazing dancer!

I met Vanessa Hudgens at a nail salon in North Hollywood called Modern Pamper. I had just finished a long day of auditions with my friend Juju and we wanted to do something relaxing and fun so we went to get our nails done! We spent most of the car ride deciding what design to get because we heard that you could get any nail art you wanted. That being so, we had to choose something exciting. We decided on a blue color with zig-zags.

Anyway, back to the point. We were starting to get our nails done and Vanessa Hudgens just walked in and started hanging out in the nail salon! It sounded like she came to meet her sister because she was with another girl that looked almost exactly like her. After we were done, we asked her if we could have a picture with her. She was very friendly and kindly said yes. It was a great experience meeting her because I have always been a huge High School Musical fan for what feels like forever. Thanks for reading:)

Feb 24 2014

1

Hollywood Connection 2014

By Alexandra Lund | Competition, Convention, Dance, Friends | One Comment

The night before going to Hollywood Connection I was very nervous and I had a hard time getting to sleep. In 2012 I was selected as their Icon Dancer of the Year and I assisted the teachers at a number of conventions last year. Hollywood Connection was my first competition in 2011, the first time I did a solo in 2012, and so many other firsts for me as a dancer. Bill Bohl also gave me my start as a professional dancer by representing me through Movement Talent Agency. Moreover, the teachers at Hollywood Connection have helped me grow as a dancer – Brooklyn Jai, Chonique Sneed, Jason Kalish, Lindsley Allen, Mitchel Federan, Robert Schultz, and Bonnie Story. I love them all and I feel so much support from them. They teach a lot more than dance.

This year I moved up in age groups to Guest Stars – Teens age 11 to 13. It is like starting all over again. In Irvine, CA you compete against many of the best dancers in the Los Angles area from the top studios and there are lots of professional dancers. INTIMIDATING! The 13 year olds are so good.

DPAC decided only to bring solos to this competition and convention. I have three solos this year – Jazz, Hip Hop, and Contemporary. I decided to perform Krazy n’ a Box, my Hip Hop solo choreographed by Brooklyn Jai, and Cosmic Love choreographed by Mitchel Federan. This is the first time they have seen me compete with their solos. I did my best. I am so thrilled to have scored Platinum for both dances and second overall in each category. Out of the 103 acts, there were about 10 platinums (DPAC got 4) and my friend Danielle Esposito got the only Titanium. Her choreographer is Jill Clark who also choreographed my jazz dance, Bees Knees (think Gatsby). At the wrap party, I was awarded Icon runner up for the event and qualified to compete for Icon of the Year – which is their version of National Champion for the 11 to 13 year old age group. I also was invited to participate in a music video directed by Bonnie Story( High School Musical). I was featured in last year’s video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_YDm_TpoW4

I am super happy for all of the DPAC dancers. We all faced super tough competition but we took the top dancer award in Open and Contemporary for my age group. That was pretty exciting. So happy for Allie Gilson who crushed the Open category and Trevor Quezada who won contemporary.

Last night I performed in a show with Jay Pugh of RUN DMC at the Celebrity Centre on the Church of Scientology campus in LA. They asked me to perform Krazy n’ a Box and a group piece called Tears of an Angel. DPAC brought the house down! It was fun.

So sad that my Grandma Stella and Aunt Shelia (yes, its spelled that way) had to go back home today. I miss them already. Looking forward to Pulse next weekend in Santa Clara! I am entering two solos into the preliminary showcase hoping to get selected to the Showcase. Wish me luck!

I hope you don’t mind the ads. They help me earn money to pay for dance. My dad says I get paid more when you click them. Anything that you can do to get more people to the site would be much appreciated. If you like one of these posts, please share it on Facebook and Twitter to your friends. It helps.

Feb 21 2014

1

JuJu Plays Applejack In New Commercial

By Alexandra Lund | Friends, Work | 2 Comments

One of the great things about Dellos Performing Arts Center (DPAC) is the opportunity to be friends and dance with so many amazingly talented kids. One of my besties is Juliana Keller (aka Juju). She works really hard and is one of the top dancers at our studio. I learn so much from watching her. She is awesome.

Juju and her family have also been working on developing a career in the entertainment industry. Doing commercials, acting, dancing, singing, and that sort of stuff helps us offset the costs of our dance training. Auditions are always better when you get hired! I am so happy for Juju who is the absolute STAR of this video for My Little Pony. She plays the role of Applejack – sporting the hat and rocking out on the guitar.

I have known Juju ever since I started dancing at DPAC. She has always been really nice to me and we have learned so much from each other. I’m really proud of her booking this commercial. She always looks like she’s having so much fun when she’s dancing, and I’m pretty sure that she actually is! I love you Juju!

Please watch this video and share it with your friends.

Jan 31 2014

1

LADM Was a Success

By Alexandra Lund | Competition, Convention, Dance, Friends, Travel | 3 Comments

As some of you may know, last weekend I went to DPAC’s first competition of the year, LADM! Our whole studio had so much fun and everyone did amazing! Speaking of amazing, how about I tell you the awards that the Junior Company and I received this weekend.

Numb(small group) – 1st Place Platinum

Proud Mary(small group) – 2nd Place Platinum

Tears of an Angel(small group) – 1st Place Platinum and 1st Overall High Score

Rags or Riches(small group) – 1st Place Platinum

Whipped Into Shape(trio) – 1st Place Platinum

Feels Good(production) – 2nd Place Platinum

Krazi n’ a Box(solo) – 2nd Place Platinum

Bee’s Knees(solo) – 1st Place Platinum

It was really exciting to get all of these awards, but my favorite part of it was the rush that it gave me. It’s like that for me at every convention/competition. In my opinion, it’s not about the award itself, its about how you earned the award, and how hard you worked to achieve the goal.

Another thing that at LADM is we were competing against another local studio that we have had a rivalry with for years. We tried to keep things friendly, and it stayed like that for the most part but there were still some people who shook things up a little. Ummm, that’s all I’m gonna say about that. Thanks for reading!!! <3

Jan 20 2014

1

2014 Dance Numbers

By Alexandra Lund | Competition, Convention, Dance, Friends | One Comment

This year in dance I have been working on 4 small groups, 1 large group production, 1 trio and three solos. Our first competition of the year is coming up this weekend in Santa Clara. The title of the competition is LADM (LA Dance Magic). It is not only a competition but also a convention which means that we get to learn from their fabulous faculty and assistants.

Small Group #1: Numb,

choreographed by Katie Scofield, style: contemporary, dancers: Maya Spriggs, Larkin Paddock, Mariah Urbano, Taylor Costa, Camille Cattaneo, Claire Grzincic, Trinity Terassas, and me

Small Group #2: Proud Mary,

choreographed by Tahirih Ellison, style: jazz, dancers: Juliana Keller, Trinity Terassas, Camille Cattaneo, Taylor Costa, Larkin Paddock, and me

Small Group #3: Tears of an Angel,

choreographed by Keara Blake, style: lyrical, dancers: Ashlie Andrade, Anna Devereaux, Trinity Terassas, Camille Cattaneo, Juliana Keller, Taylor Costa, Maya Spriggs, and me

Small Group #4: Rags or Riches,

choreographed by Jillian Clark and Jordan Neil, style: hip-hop, dancers: Mariah Urbano, Sidney Domingues, Trinity Terassas, Levi Spriggs, Camille Cattaneo, and me

Large Group Production: Feels Good,

choreographed by Re’Sean Pates, Dylan Tarrant, Jillian Clark, style: hip-hop, dancers: too many to count

Trio: Whipped Into Shape,

choreographed by Keara Blake, style: musical theatre, dancers: Camille Cattaneo, Juliana Keller, and me

Solo #1: Krazi n’ a Box, choreographed by Brooklyn Jai, style: hip-hop

Solo #2: Bees’ Knees, choreographed by Jillian Clark, style: jazz

Solo #3: Cosmic Love, choreographed by Mitchel Federan, style: contemporary

All of these dances I love for different reasons. For example, Tears of an Angel I like because of the technique in it, and Numb I like because of its unique style. I hope you enjoyed me telling you about all of the dances that I am in this year!!!

If you want to see when and where DPAC will be performing – look on my calendar page here.

Jan 09 2014

0

Sick at Christmas Time

By Alexandra Lund | Friends | 2 Comments

Unfortunately, over Winter Break I was extremely sick. I had a fever of 104, an awful headache, and I was really congested. But luckily, it was only for the first week. The second week was soooooo fun! I went kayaking, saw three movies in theaters (Anchorman 2, Saving Mr. Banks, and Catching Fire), and of course…. Opened presents!

You know how I said I opened presents? Well, I didn’t actually do that on Christmas day. I felt fine on Christmas Eve when we went to church, I even felt okay when we were eating delicious lobster tails for Christmas Eve dinner! After dinner, we opened one gift (family tradition) and I received Christmas pajamas. I heard that a lot of families get their Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve.

That night, I went to bed thinking about all of the presents I was going to get. Tragically, I got an awful stomach ache in the middle of the night. I got up, and went to sleep with my parents. On Christmas morning, I was so sick I couldn’t walk. My dad gave me a piggy back ride to the living room to see all of my presents, but all the festive colors made me puke. Back to bed I went. I felt so bad I didn’t even care about missing Christmas! My parents were cool about it. We decided that the whole family would delay Christmas until I felt better. The good news is, I was well enough to open my presents the very next day.

I thought it was awful that I had to miss Christmas, but what I took away from it was the true meaning of Christmas. Being with your family and celebrating the holiday is the greatest gift of all, no matter what day it is.

Dec 04 2013

1

Pee Good News

By Alexandra Lund | Competition, Convention, Dance, Friends | 4 Comments

Have you ever heard such good news that you feel like you’re going to pee? Today I’m going to tell you about my encounter with those situations. Usually, this happens to me when I book an audition or win an award. It gives me a rush where I just feel like I could do anything. It also motivates me to keep trying my hardest. Another time when this happens a lot is when I eat lots of sugar. I get super excited and start jumping up and down (then I get the pee feeling). So, I guess for me the things that give me this emotion are things that make go, “Weeeeeeeee!!!” I was going to talk about the opposite of pee moments but I don’t want to ruin your guys’ day. I’ve never tried to hold on to a “weee” moment, but I think that if I were to attempt it, I would try to embrace the good news and take the best out of it.

What I’ve realized as a dancer, is that after a lot of “weee” moments, you start to get used to it. For example, after you keep winning competitions over and over again it doesn’t feel as special as it did when you won that first competition.

I really hope that I can stay as motivated as I am right now to keep dancing and pursuing my goals. As one of my dance teachers always says, “Dream a dream, set your plan, do the work.” I think these are very good words to live by.

I know this was sort of a short blog post but I think its meaningful and explains a lot about me. Thanks for reading!

p.s. Keep on having those “wee” moments. They don’t always last forever.

Oct 24 2013

0

Camp Pulse Dallas

By Alexandra Lund | Convention, Dance, Friends, Travel | 7 Comments

This weekend I will be traveling to Dallas, Texas for a dance convention called Camp Pulse. I will be spending the weekend with amazing choreographers like Lane Napper, Rosero McCoy, and many more. One of them that I mentioned: Lane, actually starred on the Nickelodeon hit show Victorious playing the role of the school’s guidance counselor. Rosero does all the choreography for the Disney show, Shake It Up!

I will arrive in Dallas today, but the convention starts Friday, October 25(a.k.a. tomorrow) and I will be performing my Jazz solo, Gatsby. After that, I have an acting class with Lane Napper! Sounds cool, right? Then, I have a master class with the amazing Wildabeast. He is one of the leading Hip Hop choreographers in LA. He also has his junior crew called Lil’ Beasts. I would probably be a part of it if I lived in Hollywood.

The following day, I will start the convention classes. Those start at 9:30 and end at nighttime because we have something called the Pajama Jam. It is where we get to dance and play games in our favorite PJ’s. I am wearing furry pajama pants with colorful smiley faces on them and a teal colored shirt.

On Sunday, I do basically the same thing except there is a wrap party at 3:00 where they hand out scholarships to the dancers that they think worked the hardest and deserve it the most (fingers crossed). The truth is, all the dancers are excellent, there are just some that stand out more than others.

I am really looking forward to seeing my dear friends Charlize Glass and Sean Lew. I first met Sean when he danced at my dance studio’s sister studio, Dellos Walnut. I met Charlize at another Pulse and we became fast friends. Well, that’s a preview of my weekend. The captain just announced that we are descending into the Dallas Ft. Worth airport and need to shut down all electronic equipment for landing. Wish me luck. If you want updates throughout the weekend, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter – my handle is sparkleslund on all of them.

Sep 23 2013

1

Sam Waterman to get Life Saver Award

By Alexandra Lund | Friends | No Comments

Saving someone’s life is a pretty big deal, and my friend Sam Waterman did that last year.

Sam Waterman has been in my class at school until this year. He goes to a different school now. We used to carpool to school all the time.

Last year he saved a elderly woman’s life in his neighborhood. He was doing his job as a dog walker when he heard the old woman yelling for help. Sam went into the lady’s house and found her on the floor. She had fallen and could not get up. I heard that she was stuck on the floor for more than a day before Sam came along. If he hadn’t found her it could have been fatal. Can you imagine lying there for a day with no food or water?

Sam’s grandmother, Ariel let us know about Sam getting the award. They are having a ceremony this Thursday, September 26^th at 9 a.m. The ceremony is going to be at the Honor Farm Building, 880 Kansas Street, San Luis Obispo. I don’t know if I can go or not because of school, but I sure hope that I can.

Sam Waterman in our School Play Last Year. He is wearing the hat.

Sam Waterman in our School Play Last Year. He is wearing the green coat and brown hat

Aug 31 2013

0

12013-2014 DPAC Trio Crew

By Alexandra Lund | Dance, Friends | No Comments

Mocha, Juju and I were selected by DPAC to work with a company choreographer for a trio this year! Not sure what style the number is going to be, but I am totally psyched to dance with my girls.

We had a break dancing session together with Joey, he is on the Cal Poly B-Boys team. Afterwards we worked on tumbling – front hand springs, back hand springs, aerials, and some other crazy cray stuff we just goofed around and made up. Mocha’s brother Bear was fierce with his summersaults. We were so sore we spent over an hour in the hot tub.

We are having a three family BBQ tonight with a fire and an outdoor movie. Not sure what we are watching yet. Watch www.instagram.com/sparkleslund or follow www.instagram.com/jjjjjuju

Nov 06 2011

1

Bowling at Paso Bowl with Tristan

By Alexandra Lund | Friends, School | No Comments

Today, I went bowling with my friend Tristan (he’s in my class). It was a perfect thing to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon. We each played on our own, and also had a team because Tristan’s little sister Ruby decided not to play after we bought a round of bowling for her.

Tristan and I tied in our individual matches (we each had 92) and together we had the highest score as a team (96). My dad taught us that it is easier to throw the ball from our chest rather than try to roll it the normal way.

After our game, we had burgers and sweet potato fries. The fries were delicious because I dipped them in a mix of ranch dressing and ketchup. Then we played a whole bunch of arcade games and Tristan bought me a yellow bouncy ball with a smiley face on it. Tristan told me that, before I arrived at the bowling alley, he almost won an iPhone 4 in one of the games. The game was called “Stacked”.

On the car ride home I saw a rainbow. That made me feel good.

Friends

About Robert Schultz

Small Group #1: Numb,

Small Group #2: Proud Mary,

Small Group #3: Tears of an Angel,

Small Group #4: Rags or Riches,

Large Group Production: Feels Good,

Trio: Whipped Into Shape,

Solo #1: Krazi n’ a Box, choreographed by Brooklyn Jai, style: hip-hop

Solo #2: Bees’ Knees, choreographed by Jillian Clark, style: jazz

Solo #3: Cosmic Love, choreographed by Mitchel Federan, style: contemporary

Instagram

Recent Posts

Categories

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Categories

Recent Posts

Meta