Hello dear hearts, it’s been a while!

A lot has happened already since the transition into 2017. I got a second job, I found some performances and shows to become a part of, I have been planning for the future, and of course, school started again!

I am still teaching for my home dance studio, in fact, I was given a “raise” and now I teach more classes and older dancers! It has been a blast so far, as well as somewhat stressful and a great learning experience. I am still getting the hang of it, but I know I’ll get more and more comfortable as the semester continues.

Along with my home studio, I applied and was hired at another dance studio near me called Elite Dance Academy. I was searching for another job opportunity in the dance teaching realm, and my mother found me their application. They seemed like an incredibly fun and welcoming group, and after chatting back and forth with them and being hired, they are exactly that! I teach late elementary school kids Ballet and Contemporary dance, and while it may be too much work for me to handle at the moment, with school and two jobs being so far away from each other, I am so thrilled to be able to be teaching kids dance in a new environment as well as in my home environment!

As far as being a double major studying for a BFA goes, it has been hectic, to say the least. I started off the semester with 19 credit hours (which is quite a lot, especially with 2 jobs), but I ended up having to drop one of my 3 credit hour classes in order to keep my energy and sanity levels above their minimum. I was really bummed to drop the class, as it was Costume Technologies and I’d love to learn more about creating costume-type things, but overall it was for the best, as I now have a couple mornings off and lots of extra breathing time on my hands.

Performance wise, I also may have dove a little too deep into my abilities of multitasking. Currently, I have been working on a piece for a soon-to-graduate BFA candidate in a show called Catapult (left photo). The piece I am in is called Phobophobia, and it is essentially about anxiety’s impact on perception. I play the role of anxiety, along with 3 other girls, with the rest of the cast being humans that are impacted by the anxieties. It is an awesome, thrilling piece, and I am so excited to perform it for the public!!

The second piece that I will be participating in is not necessarily for the dance department, but rather for a student who is studying resonance, and the “love affair” between humanity, art, and science. This piece will be performed in the Black Box Theater (right photo, that’s the ceiling), also known as the quietest place on campus. It is a completely soundproof room, and it is also the gold mine for creativity possibilities. There have been an extensive variety of performances and demonstrations held there, and ever since I have stepped into it I have wanted to perform there. Now, I am currently working on doing just that! We have only just started the process for this piece, and already I am incredibly excited to have this performance be an addition to my portfolio!

Lastly, because I am a BFA, I need to produce a dance work every semester. Meaning, I have to create something to perform as well as perform in these two productions! Luckily, a lovely friend of mine and an incredible human being has agreed to let me create a solo piece on her. It will be intense, intriguing, and just a little bit weird, and I cannot wait one bit to create my very first piece of work on her!!

When I do finally get to go home and relax, I immediately head for my computer and dive into my second world: Stardew Valley. This is such an amazing game, I got it as a Christmas present and I have played over 100 hours of it since!! This game is basically a hybrid of Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing, which were two games that were always my favorite and dear to my heart as a kid. This game always makes me happy, gets me super relaxed, and is pretty much the best stress reliever I have (other than my love giving me massages every once and awhile). ; )

As far as the future goes, there are so many exciting adventures awaiting me that I will be keeping them a secret until they happen. I am still figuring out the details, but if all goes well I would love for you all to share my excitement with me!!

How has your 2017 been? Let me know!! : )

R