Tendre, Elancer, Plier, Elever, Sauter, Tourner

Laurie Heath is a fabulous photographer who has been supportive of our organization since the beginning.  She spent time with us early on in the spring to capture candid pictures of our dancers in class. She has been gracious enough to give us the use of these images for A Chance to Dance's use.

The five basic verbs of classical ballet that a dancer learns is the foundation for what they later build upon.  Here they are personfied, in a unique way, by our dancers.

Tendre- to stretch

Plier- to bend

Elever- to raise

Tendu- stretch (as in the foot)



 Sauter- to jump

Tourner- to turn

Here are the basic verbs that ballet terminology lacks.

Hug- to press tightly, especially in the arms



Smile- to make a facial expression in which the eyes brighten and the corners of the mouth curve slightly upward







 Sparkle-to shine brightly with flashes of light

High-Five: to display a gesture of celebration or greeting in which two people slap each other's palms with their arms raised

Have fun- to have enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure

Incredibly Blessed

Our performance at First Presbyterian Church of Lake Jackson was wonderful yesterday.  Kyndell and I are constantly reminded how faithful God is in everything that we do with A Chance to Dance.  As we near recital and costs are accruing, we are lucky enough that we don't have to worry that our needs will be met- because one way or another, they always are- INCREDIBLY BLESSED.

We always have the exact perfect turn-out of buddies to assist their dancers at every performance.  These buddies set aside their own weekend to come and help their dancer have a successful performance- INCREDIBLY BLESSED.

The congregation at FPCLJ was so welcoming and supportive not only of Kyndell and I, but of our organization and what we stand for.  They loved watching our dancers, some with tears in their eyes at the beauty and uniqueness of their movements.  We were showered with wonderful compliments after the service: how brave our dancers are, how wonderful they are, what a good job they did- INCREDIBLY BLESSED.

I could go on and on with how special our performance was yesterday, but I also wanted to share with you an new exciting prospect.  We have been in touch with Houston Ballet who would like to schedule a special time for our dancers to come and meet their former principal ballerina- Lauren Anderson- for a tour of their studio and time to talk with her- INCREDIBLY BLESSED.

Thank you for all of your support and generosity in giving these dancers- all 12 of them- a chance to dance.

Leah

"Ordinary Miracle" Preview!

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!  We are ready to kick it in full gear from now to recital.  First Presbyterian Church of Lake Jackson is gracious enough to have our dancers perform on April 22nd during their contemporary service at 9:00 a.m.  You will have an opportunity to preview Ordinary Miracle during this service. 

Next will be recital on May 12th at The Center in Clute at 2:00 p.m.  Our community is pulling together to help our show get to the stage.  We look forward to a wonderful performance!

See you all then!

-Leah

At The Hop

Our dancers are LOVING tap dancing.  Each class will be doing their own tap dance at the recital this year, with one of them being a classic 50's themed Hop.  Yes, poodle skirts included.  Our recital is May 12th at The Center for the Arts & Sciences in Clute.  Please come out and support our dancers!  They have worked hard and are excited about their new dances.  Families will have reserved seats and the general public will be able to get tickets ahead of time.  We will keep you posted on when they are available for you.  If you or your company are interested in supporting us, please let me know.  leah@achancetodancelj.org or call our office (979) 480-9311. 

Cute comment of the week from a dancer: Upon hearing Enya- "I don't know this song, but I SURE like it!".

-Leah

Happy Feet

During our last class of the year, we experimented with....TAP!  Kyndell and I have considered this in the past and had reservations due to the auditory sensory input.  We fit a pair to a student during the previous week- a student whose feet were ALWAYS moving in ballet shoes.  In 10 minutes, she had taught herself to shuffle, flap, clip, running flaps, and more. She tapped ALL over the room.  She is our little Miss Happy Feet.

Not all students were quire as enthusiastic about the tap shoes- giving us a "You want me to put WHAT on my feet?" look.  No students were forced, but if they wanted tap shoes and we had the right size, they got to wear them.  Others remained in their ballet shoes. 

Well, at this point it shouldn't be surprising, BUT, the dancers did great.  We taught them some basic tap terminology and steps, such as toes, heels, heel toes and toe heels along with shuffles.  They picked it up very quickly and I personally liked the sensory input they received from performing quicker firmer movements on the floor.

Kyndell and I have decided to push forward with tap in 2012 and see where it takes us.  Maybe you'll find a few tappers in our recital.

Here's to a great start for the new year- we plan to tap on into it!

- Leah

39,480 minutes: How can you measure, measure a year?

With the fear of over-emphasizing how important volunteers are to our organization, I wanted to spend some time explaining to you how truly crucial each and every person is that donates their time, expertise, skills, or money to this organization.

A rough estimate, calculated briefly on scratch paper today, reveals a number (probably grossly underestimated) at 1,645 hours or 39,480 minutes.  This number is the amount of TIME spent by volunteers on our organization since January 1, 2011 to November 21, 2011.  That is equivalent to 68.5 days.  How incredible is that? 

I recently heard some wise advice: giving without gratitude becomes meaningless and leads to burned out individuals, who no longer have the joy to serve.  In spirit with Thanksgiving, I would like to acknowledge and give thanks to EACH and EVERY person that has supported us.  From making hairpieces, changing costumes, running an errand, working our performances, corralling kids, taking dancers to the bathroom, making dancers smile, giving a dancer confidence, teaching our dancers to plie, stapling papers, folding brochures, hanging up decorations, coming to Great Day Houston with us, giving up time with your family to spend with us, showing our dancers love, organizing costumes,  accounting, holding a door open for us, making our website, taking pictures, writing articles, taking video, going through trainings, sitting in meetings, offering advice and expertise, bringing patience to our dance classes, believing in us, bringing dance clothes and shoes to us, giving us space for our dancers to dance in, and the list goes on. 

I promise that each of these tasks has made a difference to our dancers.  By stapling papers, you free up time for instructors to focus on curriculum.  By folding brochures, you allow others to learn about us, bring new friends to our dancers, and awareness to their abilities.  By holding a dancer’s hand at a performance, you give them comfort and confidence to take the stage.  You also give them safety when they have to exit the stage or become scared. 

There is no price I could put on all that our community, friends, and families have done for us.  We are grateful beyond words.  YOU give these girls the chance to dance. 

Have a blessed Thanksgiving,

Leah

Making Christmas Cards



 Christmas in the Park 2010



Helping across the floor.

HAIR BOW!

Operation Lipstick= lots of encouragement and smiles.

Great Day Houston!

First recital May 2011- thank you for all your help.

Kissing Heels & Bunny Toes

Kyndell Goff, our Artistic Director, is incredibly creative and a dynamic teacher.  For as long as I can remember she has used the term "kissing heels and bunny toes" to teach children ballet 1st position.  This term became a staple in our ballet class for A Chance to Dance and was also a springboard for how to teach new dancers ballet terminology.  After all, it is a completely different language- it's in French, for those of you who aren't familiar.  This week it dawned on me that we are no longer using metaphoric instructions to describe ballet.  Our dancers know what 1st and 2nd position are. We no longer make windows, we "demi plie". Our mice don't run up the clock- we simply have "passe".

It's easy to focus on what our dancers still have to learn and we often forget how far they have come in such a short time.  I feel it is a daunting task for teenagers to learn the appropriate french terminology for ballet and yet our dancers already have a grasp on the basic ballet vocabulary.  Each of our students has their own goals and their own measures of success, but as a whole, their class has progressed together in its own ways.  At our performance last week, Kyndell and I fondly remembered that a year ago we had one dancer that refused to walk on to stage by herself and instead was held by her buddy for the duration of the performance.  This year, Kyndell exited the stage remarking that this same student did very well and performed most of the dance.  Yes, progress can be accounted for by aging & maturity, but I also believe that our students have worked hard and our Angels and Buddies have worked hard to produce what you, our audience, sees on stage.

Thank you for believing in us and helping us to remember to believe in our students abilities and recognize their accomplishments.

-Leah