dance recital 2017

on saturday, my dance studio had its annual recital and i was thrilled to be a part of it for the third year in a row.  this year's recital was called "circus fantasy" and all of the dances depicted classic circus acts.  i had the opportunity to have my hands in so many different parts of the recital again this year.  i performed in 6 numbers (actually it was 8 if you count the fact that 2 of the numbers were each made up of 2 songs).  in addition, i created the programs, managed ticket sales, helped with props, and did the advertising/publicity for the show.  it was exhausting, but i really enjoyed doing it.  of course it was fun to be able to work on another show with ryan, who always helps out in any why he can.

ryan and i continued our annual tradition of taking photos of my costumes at home after the show.  i like doing this to remember the costumes.  i loved all of the costumes and accessories and i'm glad to have these pictures . . .

^this costume was my "circus ringmaster" getup for the opening curtain announcement at the top of the show.  everyone thought it was cute to do the announcement in character and it fit the theme of the show perfectly.  "ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages . . . "  (i pieced together this costume from things i had in my closet from my senior show from college which was a million years ago.)^

^i wore this costume for a lyrical duet with my friend katie to the song "once upon a december" to depict circus ghosts.  it was fun to co-choreograph and dance this number with her.  (this costume is actually from last year's recital.  it worked great for the theme of the number and we were happy to not have to buy anything new.)^

^act two opened with our senior ballet pointe number as burlesque dancers to a combination of two different songs: "enter the circus" and "vampire masquerade."  i loved the costume because the skirt made a great effect when we turned.  we danced the whole number with these humongous fans too.  (i'm thinking this costume will make a great can-can dancer outfit for halloween!)^

^i had two pointe numbers back-to-back in act two.  this costume was for the junior ballet class that i teach.  i wasn't supposed to originally perform in this number, but i stepped in when one of the girls dropped out.  i'm actually really glad i had the chance to perform this dance because i loved it so much.  teaching this class meant i picked the music, choreographed the dance, and picked the costume all myself.  i was so proud of the choreography and really pleased with how it all turned out.  we were circus tightrope walkers for this number, so we danced with dainty lace parasols.  it was my students' first time dancing in a platter tutu, which was fun too.^

^our senior jazz class danced to a combination of two different songs: "into the spin" and "ramma lamma bang bang."  these costumes were awesome because they glowed under black lights.  we danced the first half of the number in regular lighting and then changed over to black lights for the second half.  it was a cool effect and the audience loved it.  we had matching black and green hula hoops which perfectly matched our costumes too.^

^this year i was the class leader/demonstrator for our youngest dancers who are just 3-4 years old.  they did a tap dance to "let me be your teddy bear."  they all had adorable costumes with teddy bears wearing matching outfits.  i wore an old leotard and a skirt that i already had to match their purple and yellow theme.  (my teddy bear was a gift from my parents several years ago for valentine's day.  his purple accents matched me perfectly!)^

^the recital ended with a finale number to "the entertainer" and we were the circus clean up crew.  we danced with push brooms and garbage cans.  it was a cute way to end the show and to tie the theme together.  after bows the teachers received flowers from our studio director.^

below are a few photos from the recital which were taken during the show by the studio director's son who is a professional photographer.  i absolutely love these shots!  you can see the rest of his recital photos here . . . 

(i have more behind the scenes photos and dress rehearsal photos which i'll share this week too!)

love, laurie

previous dance recitals: 2015 and 2016