"You didn't just finish a chapter from a mystery novel. You're reading the Bible. You should look bored."
-Me

That was not a very popular note. (It was to Steffi, who dances the role of "Prayer" and comes onstage reading a book, presumably the Bible.)

Anyway...
So if a bad dress rehearsal means a good opening night, we're in bad shape. Last night was great!

Tech stuff worked except for the banging of some pots and pans (yes I'm serious, it wasn't loud enough).
Pantomime was bigger, clearer, and funnier.
Large group numbers were clean and together.
Variations were smooth.
The Wedding Pas looked super strong with in-control lifts.

I was really impressed all around.

AND THE DOOR WORKED!

That last part is critical.

You probably want pictures, don't you? Yes you do!!!
Click here to see the facebook album with a whole bunch, but I give you a taste below, too.

Labels: ballet, Coppelia

Coppelia tech rehearsal was last night. Hey, Steffi and Derek, how did it go?


I agree!

So of course, I'm completely on the technical side of things this show, which basically means I'm running sounds (pressing play) and being Sheila's bitch. This is sort of awesome because Sheila knows exactly what she wants and how to get it and also is really nice. Yay for Sheila. You just have to love a competent production manager. We shall just have to see how dress goes tomorrow! Everyone will look like this the entire time:


(Thanks to Patricia for the pics.)

Labels: ballet, Coppelia

Holy crap world, you need to see this:

C Me Dance

Ballet, cancer, hanging out, stigmata, and Lucifer, all rolled into one film. Yay!

Labels: amusing, ballet, movies

What the fuck? THIS is completely unacceptable.

Labels: amusing, ballet

Hey...
I don't think I took the time on Sunday to mention how awesome my roommate is. Well here it is now:
LAUREN COTE IS AWESOME.
She is going to be Swanilda in UBallet's Coppelia this February. For those of you who don't know, that means she got the lead role. It's highly awesome. I am honored to be her roommate.

Meanwhile auditions went very well. I got to teach both classes and I think both did what they were supposed to do. Then after casting (which went great) I got assigned to teach the two parts I wanted: Czardas and allllll of the pantomime for the whole show. Mwahahahaha. I am pantomime tsar and it feels good.

Because I've been enjoying ballet recently instead of despising it like usual, I decided to ransack my room for usable pointe shoes. Finding only floppy dead ones, I gave in and ordered a new pair of Capezios online. Moments later, I found a brand new pair of Capezios under my bed. Damn. I guess I'll be taking quite a few pointe classes to make use of both pairs.

***

Also, anyone know of an interesting topic in Japanese grammar I could write a five page paper on? I'm stumped.

Labels: ballet, Coppelia, Lauren

It's probably time to start blogging again. Yes, I do believe it is. I am not completely sure why I stopped, especially right after I renewed my site, but I did, and uh, that's what happened. So now, two months later, I guess I'll start again.

Unfortunately, I don't really have anything of interest to blog about. But do I ever? Apologies.

1. I finished my internship. I thought I was a pretty shitty intern overall, but my supervisor disagreed, and gave me a kickass performance review, and I think she will write me a pretty sweet letter of rec for TFA. Which means...

2. I'm definitely applying for Teach for America. I have heard some pretty negative things from people who've done it, but at the same time they're saying that they're miserable, they're talking about what a worthwhile experience was and how they definitely made the right choice in doing it. Of course, I probably won't get a job with them since I have no experience working with underprivileged kids, and that is a pretty big deal. Oh well. I need to actually write some essays for that shit.

3. School has started. It is...ok. ASL is pretty fucking awesome. Today we played Go Fish with facial expressions. It proved hilarious, and I think my mad pantomime skillz will take me places with this. Japanese Grammar doesn't look too hard actually, but it's a shit ton of work. Weekly responses, two 5-6 page papers, and one "longer" final paper. Also random assignments. Phonetics/Phonology looks interesting but really really hard. I thought I'd have a leg up since I took the intro course that covered some of this, but turns out he's going to assume everyone took that class (though only about half of us did), so I'm not really in any great place.

4. Ballet is happening. Kind of. I'm webmaster, an active member of the Exec Committee, a rehearsal director, and occasionally a dancer in class. I am NOT the Executive Director, every single member of the EC rolled into one, the rehearsal director for the entire ballet, or a performer. We'll see how well this works.

So that is a me update. In time I will gain back some blogging skills and be interesting again. Have faith. (Ha.)

Labels: ballet, ccm, school

Hey! Remember Cinderella? Remember? It was so awesome!! Now you can watch Cinderella in under three minutes. Ready? Go!

(If you care, I'm the stepsister in the green tutu. You can tell by the horrible dancing but pretty amusing pantomime.)




Also also also, UBallet performed Giselle Act I and Alice in Wonderland yesterday and today, and it was freaking gorgeous. Congratulations to everybody involved!

Labels: ballet, cinderella

My attempts to design a new nattily are proving completely futile. Any ideas? Anyone? Anyone? I hate the current layout, but I'm just stuck. Remember my popcorn one way back in the day? That was pretty sweet. Sloppy, but awesome.

---------------

I have studied for Japanese so damn much this weekend. If I don't pull off a B on the exam I will be very very sad. I think I deserve it.

---------------

I haven't taken class (as in ballet) in like two weeks. I'm going to get all fat and stuff. No good. Bad Natalie.

Labels: ballet, japanese, nattily

I have not blogged in a long time. That is a true statement. Good job, Natalie.

Sometimes I get in moods where I want to limit my blog to things completely impersonal, and typically at those times my personal life gets explosive and squeezes out anything bloggable.

1. I'm quitting ballet. I can't do it anymore. It makes me hate myself. I look shitty, I feel shitty, and that sort of just makes me shitty. So I'm performing in Cinderella and then I won't dance anymore. It used to be fun. Now it's only hurtful. It also makes other dancers who were close friends lose respect for me, and that isn't worth it.

2. Japanese is hard.

3. I don't understand anything in my linguistics class. I find this to be a pretty big problem since I'm just in an intro course, and it's my damn major.

4. I have a hell of a lot of Japanese homework due and a civ presentation today. I have a Japanese midterm and a linguistics (impossible) problem due tomorrow. I have a linguistics midterm on Thursday.

5. I was in the hospital on Wednesday unable to stand up or see straight and no one can tell me what was wrong. In a 48 hour period this weekend I slept for 40 hours.

6. Japanese is hard.

7. I think I'm losing my grip.

Labels: ballet, japanese, linguistics, lists, school

Nutcracker #2 of the year today. I'm trying to imagine what number it is of my lifetime, and I couldn't really begin to guess. Well, I could try. 30? 50? Somewhere in between, maybe. Unless we're counting rehearsals, too, which may count because of the incredible Christmas cheer overload they bring on. In that case, hundreds and hundreds.

It was Ballet Florida at the Kravis Center in West Palm. The dancing was about par for the course, but the production value was phenomenal. I've never seen a ballet with so many tricks and flashes and smoke bombs and craziness like that. AND GLITTER! So much glitter! Pushing gratuitous, but not quite. Mostly just cool. However, Marie Hale did come out and ask for money for like fifteen minutes. Maybe if they cut back on glitter...

So yeah, that was fun. It was mostly fun to hang out with Shannababe. Yay for Vero friends.

And an amusing anecdote involving Joe, my mom's boyfriend:

My mom and I are having a debate. The bathrooms in the ice cream shop we often go to in West Palm (Sloan's) have interesting doors. Interesting as in they are totally see through, until you lock them, when they become opaque. My mom claims they are only opaque from the outside, but that you can still see out while you are in them. I insist that they are opaque in both directions. Shanna (who sparked the debate by being the one to go in the bathroom) couldn't answer us, since the women's room was broken, and it was covered up. So Joe went inside to investigate. And to go to the bathroom.

Joe comes back out and announces that my mother is correct. He went in the men's room, turned the latch, and it was opaque on the outside but not on the inside. I asked how he could be sure of both, since he was only inside and not outside, but he sort of ignored me. My mom is now very very happy because she has defeated me, but I know she really hasn't.

Ok, I just typed out the story of why I am absolutely positive that I'm right, but it seems inappropriate, and involves me being a naughty 15 year old. I'll just leave it at that.

Still, no no no, Natalie's wrong. Then I protest, "But they have the signs! There are signs that say 'Make sure you can't see us or we can see you!'" My mom thinks I'm making it up, but Shanna says she thinks she remembers something like that. And then Joe verifies.

Here the story becomes funny. My mother's boyfriend is apparently a crazy old man. He verified that there really were signs up saying that if you can see out, anyone else can see in. And yet...he still went to the bathroom. With a poor woman standing right outside. Looking "not impressed." Crazy. Old. Man. Crazy old man who pees in public. Nice job.

I realize this story doesn't translate very well, and that's ok. I enjoyed reliving it just now with the typing it out. But, if you ever go to Sloan's on Clematis Street in West Palm (and you should because it's awesome) and you have to go to the bathroom, lock the damn door.

Labels: amusing, ballet, nutcracker

Student rushed Joffrey's Nutcracker last night. $15! Awesome! It was really fantastic. Definitely one of my favorite versions to date.

Notes, for those who care:

ACT I

1. Why did Columbine come out of a cabbage? The other dolls came out of a cupcake (namely Harliquin, CALVIN KITTEN) and some presents. A cabbage? I don't get it.
2. Was Jonathan Dummar twirling really fast with a little boy on his shoulder instead of doing the parents' waltz? Good call, Jonathan.
3. Michael was Drosselmeyer. Priceless. Rather fantastic little magic tricks, too. I was very pleased.
4. How do you fit so many children onstage????
5. Calvin was Harliquin. Cool and all, but not nearly enough dancing. Sad.
6. Though I am usually completely unaffected by it, Snow Pas definitely had me in tears.
7. WHY were there men in snow? I disapprove. I mean, they were all really good, but NO. No men in snow.
8. Speaking of snow...there was stuff thrown all over the stage throughout the entire ballet, yet not a single person slipped (that I saw). Congrats, guys.

ACT II

1. Waltz of the Flowers girls were onstage the whole time. Also, they all had individual names. I didn't really get it until the actual waltz. It was beautiful. Instead of having Dew Drop or even demis, each girl was featured in different ways. Trios and demis and solos and corps. It was a very cool effect.
2. I have never liked it when Spanish is a solo, and I didn't like it this time either.
3. There were THREE separate Nutcrackers. WHY WHY WHY??? So unnecessary.
4. Trepak was badass. Three guys and a girl. It was full on Russian folk badassness instead of ballet. Very very cool.
5. The single best Polychinelle piece I've ever seen. That when I was even in one. It was just amazing. The audience was in tears we were laughing so hard. At least, me and the women next to me were.
6. Along those lines, most effective use of children ever. So so so so many, but still not superfluous. Just cute as hell. The youngest had to be five or so, but they were still not ridiculous and unnecessary. Just totally precious. Way to go Joffrey on that count. And they even had a children's choir to sing the choral part in Snow.
   
7. Oooh, and this is the only version I've seen with music between divertissments. The had Drosselmeyer conducting the whole dream, so they brought in music from the first act for segues. It was cool.
8. Clara was on a horse instead of a sleigh. Uh, that was too weird. Also at the end she flew away in a hot air balloon. That was really not Nutcracker-ish. Dislike quite a bit.

Overall, fantastic. I'll probably see it again next year. And I'll also probably see Miami City and/or Ballet Florida when I get back to Vero. Anyone want to come with??

Labels: ballet, nutcracker

Things suck. I am now going to write an entry about how things suck and I am sad. BUT, I'm a nice person, so to distract you from the whiny bitchy moany post, I am giving you a wonderous video.





So now, I hope you appreciated that. I move on: Things suck.

1. School sucks. I took my last exam yesterday, so maybe I can just put it all behind me, but I'm having a hard time. This quarter was just really bad, and then exams were just worse. I was counting on my exams to bring up my grades significantly, but it looks like they're going to do the opposite. It's just depressing. Firstly, I've done great in my civ(ilizations) class. I pulled off As on both of my papers and my teacher really likes my comments in class. So awesome. That's a guaranteed A. And yet, my exam was so bad, it might actually pull me down to a B. That's probably just my "things suck" side. I'll probably still get an A. But it is just a shitty feeling to turn in a really really bad exam in a class you are really really good at. At least it does for me. But before civ - like half an hour before - I finished my Japanese exam. Japanese, I accepted long ago, is not my forte. BUT I was pretty sure that with intense studying for the final I could pull off a B-. Not the case. I failed the final. Not Natalie's "oh no I didn't get an A" fail, but actual fail. Natalie doesn't actually fail classes. I've said this before, I think my sensei will give me a C because she is nice and knows I try, but still, it's that gut feeling of knowing I really did (deserve to) fail a class. And, as I just found out, she's not the one who grades the finals, so I may very well fail the class altogether anyway! What do I do if I actually failed? I can't retake it next quarter. I have to wait till next year. And then I have to try to get an entire non-indo-european language learned in my fourth year of college? Shit. I'm already trying to cram an entire linguistics major into two years instead of four. If I don't pass this class, my options are sort of...none. Oh, and then there's linguistics. Maybe I got 100 on the exam! Or maybe I got a C. I have no fucking clue. That class is bullshit. It's so disorganized and the teacher doesn't speak English. The information is so fascinating but I just have no idea what she says in her lectures, so I just don't go. Granted, I understand it a lot better than most people who go to class, so that's cool. On the whole, looking at A, B, and C. Or possibly A, B, and F. Either way the worst quarter or semester of my life.

Whine whine moan moan.

2. BALLET SUCKS. Primarily, I suck. As a dancer. Sometime last year I forgot that I quit ballet for a reason: I was bad at it. Well, I'm still bad at it. Now I have a principal role in Cinderella. I dance almost as much as Cinderella herself, actually more at the moment since she hasn't learned any of her pas de deux stuff yet. I got the part because I was whiny about wanting it, and then I set out to prove I deserved it. Well, I'm not doing such a great job with that. I don't deserve it. I look abysmal. Note that this is not just my opinion. It has been established at rehearsals and meetings. Also, one of the groups of dancers that I'm in change of has no idea what they're doing, and I just fail at getting them together. ALSO, on the executive side of things, we still don't have anyone to play Prince Charming, and we don't have nearly enough space to rehearse next quarter. That means Cinderella is going to be a shit show and it's going to be my fault. Way to go Executive Director.

3. Boys suck. I am a slut. That's almost all there is to say there. I walk around like a big slut. I have not really done anything so slutty that someone would point at me and shout "slut!" but I have been mean and disrespectful to guys I really care about, and my feelings on the matter are all over the place. Why can't I just find a good guy and fall in love with him? Specifically a guy who isn't already taken or who wants nothing to do with me. Why can't I fall in love with the wonderful guy who gives me everything?


WHINE WHINE WHINE. I'm a little spoiled brat and my life sucks. Blah blah blah.

Go watch the cat eating broccoli. It's hilarious.

Labels: ballet, boys, broccoli, cats, japanese, personal, school

What a great night to not be able to fall asleep. Auditions are today (I have to say today because it's now 6:30am, even though I haven't gotten any sleep) and I am so damn tired. I am going to be dancing and sleeping at the same time.

Labels: ballet, personal, uballet

Hey. Do you want to see something kind of cool? It is not very cool, but it is a little cool. You know all about Corsaire, I assume, unless you have never read this before. Well, I was a virgin whore, I mean, an Odalisque.

Guys, I am not a great dancer. I don't claim to be. But you know what? That's why I'm not a professional. But I do like it. And I had a lot of fun being and Odalisque, and I'm kind of proud of myself.

So here it is. Don't make fun, because I know I'm not great. It's just here for amusement, and some people have asked me to see it. So I'm the one on the very right of the screen, and I do the second variation.

Fun. :-)

Labels: ballet, corsaire, videos

Oh man, tutu operation just got busted. Cover is blown. Actually, cover never existed. I mean, there is a hose duct taped to the bathtub faucet that leads out of the bathroom and into a bedroom where there is a kiddie pool full of water and tutus. You try to make up a cover story for that.

Anyway, landlords played a surprise visit today to fix a leak in the other bathroom (completely unrelated to tutus) and stumbled upon the hose. Oh man. The husband was just completely baffled. I managed to convince them it was all over and no big deal, but about two minutes after they left the wife came back and freaked out.

So I think Operation Clean Gross-Ass Tutus has come to an early termination point. Alas, we still have lots of gross-ass tutus.

Labels: apartment, ballet, tutus

I live in and operate a tutu knitting factory.


Here, we see the main staple of the operation: duct tape. Lots and lots of duct tape. There is so much tape wrapped around the faucet there that if you turn on the hot water, the pressure immediately flips the fuck out, makes strange noises, and the water starts coming out of the showerhead. It's pretty funny, but also very painful when you go to turn it off because you have a lot of hot water dripping on you.














He we see the bathtub/hose set-up as a whole, as well as the final part of the process. "Drying" is actually just hanging tutus upside down with as much as possible over the tub until the downstairs neighbors call the landlord because of water problems.












And here is the work in progress. There exist two kiddie pools, but I only had enough lung strength to inflate one. I'll get around to the other at some point. Water enters pool from hose, mixes with shit tons of Oxy-Clean (note quantity on desk) and then just chills out with two tutus for eight hours. Then, I come back, add some more Oxy-Clean, and flip the damn things over like pancakes. Then they chill out for another eight hours before they move on to the drying phase.





Best. Summer. Ever.

Labels: ballet, pictures, summer, tutus

Next time I:

• 10am - Go out to the quad (and coerce my boyfriend to come with) and set up an outdoor stage comprised of forty hundred-pound squares
• 11:35 - Arrive late to class (because I stayed to roll and tape the marley for this same outdoor performance which I had no involvement in whatsoever) completely unprepared because I spent my morning homework time helping out with the stage
  
• 12:30 - Get out of linguistics and watch the last ten minutes or so of the show, and then spend the next two and a half hours breaking down the entire stage, loading it into a car, transporting it back to Mandel, and unloading it, so that today my arms to not function and there is a bruise the size of Nevada on my leg
• 3:00 - Again, arrive to philosophy completely unprepared because I was breaking down the stage during my usual homework time for this class
• 4:30 - Go to the bookstore to buy thank you notes for UB
• 5:00 - Go to the EC meeting and write thank you notes until six even though you have already implied that I am lazy for not going to ballet class later (apparently my excuse of setting up/breaking down the stage being physically exerting was not enough)
• 6:00 - Feel bad about "being lazy" so I decide that if I'm not in class, I should at least be helping UBallet, so I go downstairs and start stripping tutus like you said you were going to so they can be washed
• 6:30 - Took a break from stripping tutus and bodices to unload boxes of UB shit from Rachel's car and bring them down to the studio
  
• 7:45 - Realize I really need to get home and do my work, so I put together eight romantic tutus to bring home with me, and tell Michael explicitly how the costume closet needs to be reloaded (Note: the only things I actually removed from the closet was one bag of classical tutus (four) and one extra classical that was not in a bag. Someone else has added more classicals and romantics to the pile, which I was happy to strip.)
• 8:00 - While walking down Kimbark looking absolutely ridiculous with a hanger of eight romantic tutus, get a call bitching me out for not cleaning up "my mess" and that you are "very disappointed with my behavior this week."
• 8:15 - Get home, ignore the phone call, spend the next hour with the romantic tutus in my bathtub with OxyClean and a tub that drains constantly instead of just holding water like a normal tub
• 9:15 - Finally sit down to do my work, when I hear bitching about me coming from the kitchen, try to ignore it, but come on, really? I try to defend myself.

...and you tell me to shut the fuck up, Ima slap a ho.

Labels: ballet, cleaning, pissy

Guys, a week ago I thought I would never say this, but today I can honestly say, CORSAIRE WILL BE AWESOME. I know pretty much everyone who reads this (except Jon, who is damn well coming to the show) lives in Florida and can't really come see me, but still, this is one of the coolest things I've ever done. I'm so incredibly proud of UB. And me. I am probably amazing.

I've spent the last three hours sewing new pointe shoes and coloring (with Sharpies, for realz) white flat shoes. I spent three hours earlier today both selling tickets and correcting all the mistakes that came with the music editing. I will spend an hour tomorrow tacking my tutu so it is flatter, because apparently the 5 or so hours I've already spent on it are not enough.

Seriously, this production is fabulous. I will post pictures soon to prove it.

If you happen to be a UC kid, or just generally near Chicago, you should come see us tomorrow (Saturday, so today I guess) at 8pm and/or Sunday at noon. It is only $5 and it is so so worth it.

Labels: ballet, corsaire

Thank God. It is over. That was a horribly hellish week. I would love to do it again though if it wasn't for that horrible stage mother. I did get to be fabulous with Michael, though. And I got a picture with my one true love, Angel. He is so beautiful. Ignore his homosexuality.

Labels: abt, ballet, corsaire, school

I'm pretty sure Aurora is the one who is supposed to fall over at the end of the first act. Maybe I was just getting a little too into the story. In any case, prologue goes by, everything's fine. I do my quick change, get onstage fine for the first act, chill through rose adagio, and then start to feel a little funny. Aurora's friends dance and I wiggle my feet around, trying to get the circulation going again. Aurora comes on the do her variation, and suddenly, I cannot see her anymore. I cannot see anything anymore. Everything is black and I can't feel my legs. I grab Michael and tell him through my teeth (because I am smiling like a crazy person), "I can't see anything, I can't feel my legs, and I'm going to fall over." Michael, being a saint, grabs me and holds me up until Aurora's variation is over, and during the applause he drags me offstage, where I am grabbed by three or four people I cannot see and dragged over to the quick change area. I'm shoved in a chair and people are ripping off my clothes and wig and handing me ice packs. These ABT people may be crazy, but they sure are organized. They get shit done. There was even a woman who just didn't leave my side until I decided to go home. She just tried to keep my alert and laughing and hydrated. Everyone was perfectly nice. There wasn't even a hint of frustration or annoyance. Still, I am really embarrassed. It's not like I was dancing or anything. I was just standing there. And then, like a moron, I started to faint. What the hell? Now I'm home, trying to eat as much as I can, and my cover is going to do the show tonight. Hopefully I'll be alright by tomorrow. I'm sure I will be. I just don't want to miss Julie Kent's performance. Plus everyone from UB will be there tomorrow, so I have to be particularly ridiculous.

Labels: abt, ballet, fainting

My brain is tired. My body is not that tired, but my brain is tired. I slept in till eleven this morning, and I am still so so tired at only 3:45pm. Well, I guess there was that rather abrupt wake-up call around 8:30 from Nick and Erfurt. Though hilarious, it was earlier than I anticipated waking up, since Tuesdays are happy sleep in day.

ABT is eating my life. Upward of 30 hours between now and Sunday. Olivia isn't doing it anymore. She needs to take care of herself. I am very happy, because she was so super stressed out, something had to go. I wanted to suggest it earlier, but I didn't want to seem even bitchier than I already have been recently. Still, I am really glad she's not going to die. I like her a lot. I would probably not be as happy if she was dead.

I really had something funny to say, but my brain is too tired. I want to take a nap, but I have to leave for the Civic Center in half an hour, and I need food before then.

Labels: abt, ballet, olivia

After nights like last night, I really need a reality check. No matter how badly I may want to be six years old, I'm not. I need to grow up. Grow up.

In the spirit of not growing up, though, I'm going to be a super in ABT's Chicago production of Sleeping Beauty. So, you know, I am going to stand around onstage for two hours or so in a ridiculous dress, and it will be awesome. Olivia, Michael, and I will pretend that we are members of ABT, we will meet Angel and Julie and Ethan and Gillian, and we will call them by their first names. Rumor has it we will get paid to do all of this.

Also, a bunch of UB kids are coming to see the show on Friday night, so they will see us. That is pretty cool. There isn't any dancing involved, obviously, but still. Pretty fun.

Labels: ballet, chicago

I am taking a stand: no more ridiculous ballets. I mean, I don't mind if there is magic involved, or dancing flowers, or even pirates kidnapping whores. Whatever. I just take serious issue with whatever the fuck Petrushka is. Seriously.

I just watched the Bolshoi's production on youtube. Here is the synopsis:

There are some Russians at a fair. They are having fun and walking around for a good ten minutes. There is a police officer there. Then this wizard comes out and gives them a puppet show with three dolls: a clown (Petrushka), a ballerina, and a Moor. The show kind of involves dancing, but it only lasts like thirty seconds. Everybody seems to like the puppet show. Then it turns out the wizard is a bad guy, and he locks Petrushka up in his room. Petrushka is really sad and shakes is fists and makes sad faces for ten minutes. Then the wizards is like, "Shit, I'll put the ballerina in there." So he does, and Petrushka gets excited. Then the wizard is like, "Woops, I don't think so," and takes the ballerina out again. Then Petrushka is sad for another few minutes.

Meanwhile, the Moor is in his room with snakes and palm trees having some sort of fight with a coconut. The coconut is apparently outsmarting him though, for like six minutes. Then the wizard shoves in the ballerina, who marches around with a trumpet. The Moor sits down on the floor and claps. Petrushka breaks in, but then realizes that was a bad idea and the Moor chases him around with his machete and then kicks him out.

So yeah, the people at the fair are still having fun. Some wet nurses dance, then a guy brings a bear on, then this one guys has hooked himself two drunken gypsy ladies. Then the Moor chases Petrushka out of the puppet show and hacks him to death with his machete. Even after he's been hacked to death, he takes about two minutes to just lie there and twitch before he's really dead. Then the police officer gets mad at the wizard, but the wizard is like, "Dude, he's a puppet." Then everybody leaves and the ghost of Petrushka the clown puppet appears and gets mad. Then the wizard leaves and the ghost of Petrushka dies.



Really...what the fuck? There wasn't even any dancing.

Labels: ballet

...when nattily.org was popular? I swear, people used to love it. People read my blog, and they commented, and the askedNatalie, and they took quizzes, and they played Circle Game. I'm not sure what happened, but it's generally very sad.

Oh, I know what happened. I went to college.

So now I keep this up to date for mostly my own amusement. And I guess to appease my stalker. He likes to read my blog, and then pretend he hasn't, and then admit to it a few days later. I like to send him sly messages, and pretend like I don't think he's going to see them.

I at some point intended on writing movie and book reviews. Now that I watch about two movies a day and have nothing better to do than look at my own website, maybe I will start doing that.

Also, I think it's about time we just contacted ABT directly about getting music for Le Corsaire. We have two or three different versions of the music, but none of them have the happy pasha music or the fun time harem music that American Ballet Theatre uses. I have it bootlegged from the DVD, but that is not exactly something we can use in the show. Aside from it being highly illegal (I think), we can't exactly have applause coming from the speakers. We aren't quite that desperate. Does anyone know of a good music editing program that could take applause out of the tracks? I mean...not that we'd use it, since it's highly illegal.
I mean...yeah. Just to rehearse with, I guess. Or something.

Labels: ballet, boys, music, nattily

Abs in pain. Abs in lots and lots of pain. Ow ow ow. No more six pack club. No more. Ow. Too many crunches. Sad. Ow.

Labels: ballet, whiney

I cannot adequately express how strange it is to watch all my friends write papers and study for finals while I sit here just...sitting here. And watch the UBallet's showing of Sur la Glace in jeans from a folding chair at the front of the studio watching someone else dance my part way better than I could have done.

I know I'm doing what's best for me. I know that. I keep telling myself that over and over. It's hard to get past feeling like I'm just missing something though. I feel a little empty. I feel really empty. I miss being normal, or at least only strange in a normal U of C way.

Labels: ballet, personal

I've never been much of a drunk dialer, so instead, let me start a new Natalie-tradition: drunk blogging.

Tonight's post: Holy shit I am so fucking wasted. Sorry if I fucked anything up at your apartment Robyn.

I will post pictures tomorrow.

Oh shit I have to teach intermediate tomorrow. I'm fucked.

Why didn't Jon come? There were lots of disappointed ballerinas.

Labels: amusing, ballet, daily grind

Today has been a generally depressing day.

Woke up late, which means all day I've felt like I completely wasted my morning, and that I'm just generally a worthless mess.

Taught intermediate class, badly. Barre went well, but then someone said something that made me feel like an inadequate teacher, and I just couldn't let it go. I was a wreck all through center. Not the first time, either. I'm pretty sure Ilana would ask me to not teach anymore if there was anyone willing to replace me.

Then of course I realize that I'm such a wreck because I can't let go of some stupid little thing, which makes me hate myself even more.

Then Glacé rehearsal, which was not that bad, but just sort of reminded me that I'm kind of a dick, and that I'm not nearly as good at putting this piece together as I had hoped.

Finished The Brothers Karamazov (finally). Really fucking depressing ending. Even Alyosha's little funeral speech. Was that supposed to be uplifting? And what about Ivan? He's the only character I cared about. Why doesn't that get resolved? Also, he's too good for Katya.

Then of course the nightly ritual of "crap, I can't do my homework because I have no idea what is going on and I'm not smart enough for this school."

And the really depressing part of my day, because after all, I'm a nerd, and so this really made me upset: reading the first twenty or so pages of The Communist Manifesto. I like Adam Smith, but that's not such a horrible offense. But you know, I get a lot of crap for liking Ayn Rand. I get a lot of people telling me I'm a naïve, idealistic, slightly insane, and (why not?) chauvinistic horrible capitalist. I usually take it in stride and laugh it off. But you know what? I do like Ayn Rand. Whatever that makes me, it's true. I think there is so much beauty in her ideas. Whether or not it is realistic or moral or whatever, I don't care. I really think it's beautiful, and I don't think I should be criticized for having many of my beliefs line up with hers.
So yeah, I just got so angry reading Marx. I know that's the idea; I'm bourgeoisie and all, so he's trying to take me down and I'm not exactly supposed to be thrilled. Still, what he says really makes me sick. But then again, it reminds me that I'm just an idealistic, immature little girl who reads bigs books and thinks she knows better.

And that is a very depressing thought.

Labels: ballet, books, daily grind, school, whiny

When I was a kid my mom would not let me go to ballet if I stayed home from school. At first, this was devastating. In elementary school, I only had ballet once or twice a week, and I'd be damned if I had to miss it. In high school, when ballet was misery, it evolved into staying home from school not because I wanted to skip school, but because I couldn't deal with going to ballet.

I'm feeling really really shitty today. Yesterday, too, but today much worse. Some sort of sinus thing. I will go to the Student Care Center tomorrow if I don't feel better, but over the counter meds have been working well enough, and the SCC is kind of a joke anyway.

But yeah, despite my feeling like shit and not going to any classes today, I plan on going to ballet. I'm thinking I'll do as much as I can in class, probably just barre, or even less, and then sit around doing math homework until my rehearsal.

Honestly, physically exerting myself doesn't sound that bad. The idea of the mental strain of my math homework is the real pain in the ass. I still feel terribly guilty though.

I really doubt my mom has any idea of the things she put in my head when I was young that now have such a strict hold on my every move.

Labels: ballet, school

Did I mention I had a stalker? I did? Well, let me say it again. I have a stalker. And I like it.

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Auditions today. Six hours straight in Ida. Exhausting, but a little exhilarating as well. We are doing our winter show in January. The first half is original contemporary choreography to Duke Ellington's The Nutcracker Suite. I am not choreographing anything, because I don't trust myself with jazz, but I got cast as Arabian!! Well, "Arabesque Cookie" actually, according to Ellington.

They divided up Arabian into two parts, and I am the connector, which means I am in all five fucking minutes of it. (For non ballet people, that's a lot of time to be dancing seriously in a row.) I get to be seductive and show off my flexibility and stuff. This means a lot to me. See, I quit ballet right after I got cast as the Arabian solo for my company at home. Arabian has always been my dream, and it was so painful to watch someone else do it after I knew it could have been me.

But now, I get a chance to redeem myself, and I am so psyched.

I also got cast in Sur la Glace, which is our classical half of the show. It's a really fun little ice skating themed ballet. Sounds strange, but it's really cute. I am staging like crazy for this. I'm co-staging (along with my double Katy O) the "glaces," which is the pointe corps of six intermediate level dancers, and the chilling ice queen. I don't think I'm actually supposed to say who got cast as the ice queen yet (the glaces are her cronies, they are supposed to be a blizzard that comes and kicks people off the ice rink), but I AM SO EXCITED. Additionally I'm staging the ice skating competition, which starts with two boys making a fool of themselves, before some of my glaces come out and show them how a real dancer does it. It should be a pretty amusing scene.

I got cast in Sur la Glace also. I'm part of a little ice skating pair on pointe. It's a super cute part. We get to fake slip and fall on the ice and stuff. It's adorable. The thing is, it's definitely an advanced role, and I still feel like I'm an intermediate student. I'm worried that they cast me there because I was too pushy, and not because I actually deserved it. I'm not going to whine about it though. I think Ilana would have shot me the hell down if she didn't think I could do it.

Yay for only four hours of rehearsal a week! Well, besides all the ones I'm running. And besides the one class a week I'm teaching.

So yeah, ballet is amazing.

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Also, yay for stalkers.

Labels: ballet, boys

Hey Natalie, how much did you knit today?
None! I didn't knit at all!!

Hey Natalie, how much did you code today?
So so so much! UBallet is fully prepped and nattily.org is under serious renovation! Soon, wonderful popcorn layout will only exist in our memories, and also probably a few screenshots.

Labels: ballet, knitting, nattily

Yuck. I just went through and categorized all my old blog entries. I also turned off comments for everything more than a year old, because I was getting some serious comment spam.

I think I'm going to do a nattily.org overhaul. Get rid of themes, just make it clean cut and professional looking. I love the orange popcorn theme, it will be sad to see it go, but maybe it's time.

Before I do anything though, I need to fix UB's site. It's looking pretty good, but I need to make it supercool. And get the B--------e photos down!! How have I not done that yet??

Labels: ballet, nattily

So the first performance of UBallet's spring show was last night. It went really well, though we didn't have great turn out. (The audience kind, not the ballet kind...we have all kinds of turn out when it comes to legs.) It feels wonderful to be on stage, and I really think we have a pretty solid show. So if you are in the Chicago area, you really might want to consider coming to tonight's performance at 8pm in Mandel Hall. Because tonight might be the last chance you ever have to see me "twerkin' it like a clock," unless of course you go to the cast party, which should be pretty spectacular.

My dad came up to see the show and took Matt and I out to dinner last night and brunch this morning. It was fabulous, so so so great to see him. And my mom should be on her way now, to see the show tonight. I feel so special and loved.

Okay seriously...you should see me twerk it. I don't even know what that means.

Labels: ballet, family

It is 86 degrees outside. Yes. That is correct. 86 degrees.

You know how it used to bother me when someone would ask me what school I went to and I said University of Chicago and they said, "Oh, it's cold up there" instead of "wow, that's a pretty good school?" Well, they were right. The temperature is much more commanding than the education. BUT IT IS 86 DEGREES OUTSIDE. It's almost...dare I say it...too hot.

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I am in a pretty good mood. I got my analysis exam back, and I got a lot of partial credit, so I ended up with a B. This means probably no A for the quarter, but I can live with that.

Also, I just took my third econ exam, and If I get 31 out of 40 points on it, I don't have to take the final, which means I don't have to go to that class anymore, which means essentially I will be taking only two classes. Which is probably a good thing, considering how much ballet has taken over my life.

Speaking of ballet, I totally won two tickets to see The Joffrey Ballet perform Giselle in October in the ballet benefit's raffle. Sweet.

Labels: ballet, chicago, school, weather