spring dance recital 2016

grab a cup of coffee and make yourself comfortable, because this post is a long one!  last week i gave several sneak peaks (here, here, and here) as my dance studio prepared for our annual spring dance recital.  on saturday, we had our recital and i was thrilled to be a part of it.

this year's recital was called "memories in music" and it was really a labor of love.  i had the opportunity to have my hands in so many different parts of the recital this year.  i performed in eight numbers, co-taught three of the classes that performed on stage, and created some of choreography for the show too.  in addition, i picked the venue, designed the logo for the show, created the programs, managed ticket sales, made some props, designed the show t-shirts, and did the advertising/publicity for the show.  it was exhausting, but i had a blast and really enjoyed doing it.  it was also fun to be able to work on another show with ryan, who was our "jack of all trades" for this production.  he really did a little bit of everything for this show.

below are a few photos and screen shots from the recital.  the quality of some of the photos are better than others because the combination of the theatre lights and the moving dancers made some pictures a bit blurry, but you still get the idea . . .

^the show opened with our senior jazz class dance to "dream on" by aerosmith.^

^this year i had the privilege of dancing as part of the production trio to a medley of three country songs.  we danced to "country girl shake it for me" by luke bryan, "the river" by garth brooks, and "she's country" by jason aldean.  those three dances were a lot of fun!^

^my senior ballet class opened act two with a pointe number to "love song" by tesla.  by far, it was our longest dance and it was the dance that we worked on the most.  i love how it turned out.^

^as soon as i heard that the theme of this year's recital was classic songs, i immediately suggested the beatles because i'm a huge beatles fan.  for our finale, we did five different dances to a medley of five different beatles' songs.  we opened the finale with "imagine" which we performed in the dark with led candles (which looked absolutely awesome in person, but didn't really turn out in pictures).  my senior class also danced to "lucy in the sky with diamonds" which was a whole production number with fabric, ladder tricks, and ribbon dancers.  (a huge thank you to ryan for letting us use his ladder and covering it in reflective metallic tape to look awesome on stage!)^

^the last number in our tribute to the beatles was "sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band" which the senior class performed with the junior class.  we did a rockettes-style dance which is always fun.^

just like last year, ryan took a few photos of my costumes at home after the show in order to remember them.  i really loved all of the costumes and accessories this year so i'm glad i have these pictures . . .

^we wore this gorgeous blue costume for our senior jazz dance to "dream on."  i loved the color of it and the way it moved.  the rainbow sequined headbands were just the right accessory too.^

^we wore this country girl costume for our trio country song medley "country girl shake it for me," "the river," and "she's country."  i actually loved this costume, which is so out of character for me!^

^our senior ballet class danced to "love song" by tesla and even though tesla is an 80's hair band, the beginning of this song has a renaissance feel, so these beautiful black costumes were perfect for our ballet.  our director hand made us each matching flower crowns too.  they were the perfect touch to really finish that costume.^

^without a doubt, my favorite costume was this amazing gold sequined dress!!!  i seriously didn't want to take it off.  you just might find me wearing it grocery shopping or something because i can't get enough of it.  i was thrilled that we got to wear this dress for three dances during our tribute to the beatles.  we danced in this dress to "imagine," "lucy in the sky with diamonds," and "sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band."  it was gorgeous!^

after the show, my director gave me a mini red rose plant, and the junior ballet class that i teach gave me an orchid flower plant.  both were so pretty.  instead of flowers, my parents bought me a basil plant for our yard because they know how much i love to cook with basil!  when i came home on saturday night, ryan and leko surprised me with flowers too.  instead of a bouquet, ryan picked out three different flowering plants that we can plant in our yard.  that was so thoughtful!

i'm so sad that the show is over because i had so much fun preparing for it and performing it, however, my body is grateful for a little break now because i have a few injuries that really need some time to heal.  it will be good to take a little time to rest and recuperate before we jump back into dancing in a few weeks.  we've already started discussing our next dance projects and i'm excited!

love, laurie

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ps: photos from last year's spring dance recital