15 Ways You Know You are Wearing Stage Makeup

It's a pain to put on, a pain to take off, but we all secretly love it. And here's how you know you're wearing it:

1.       It took you 15 minutes to just make up your eyes.

2.       Your lips look like they belong on a clown.

3.       Your eyelashes can be referred to as “cave woman eyelashes”.

4.       You have at least 3 shades of eye shadow on.

5.       You have eye shadow all the way up to your eyebrow.

6.       A friend had to help you with some portion of your makeup.

7.       When you leave the theatre you get looks from just about everyone in sight.

8.       You had to re-glue your eyelashes half way through a performance.

9.       Your eyelashes obstruct your vision.

10.   It takes you twice the time it usually does to take off your makeup at night.

11.   Your lipstick is still bright red after eating/drinking/trying desperately to wipe it off.

12.   You don’t recognize yourself when you look in the mirror.

13.   Your cheeks are almost as red as your lips.

14.   You have to use an eyelash curler to keep the mascara out of your eyes.

15.   You look like a clown and a hooker had a baby.

Now dancers stop complaining and put your damn eyelashes on.

A Desperate Attempt to Keep up with Blogging

I have a bunch of really, REALLY be-lated birthdays! I know I'm a terrible person.
So here it is:

Happy birthday Arianna!
Birthday: October 20th
Age: 15
Arianna is one of the companies youngest members and freaking adorable! I can't believe she's 15 and a freshman in high school. She's not allowed to grow up! She always has this super cute short hair cut that I can't get over. I love her sense of humor, she always has something funny to add about any topic and is FANTASTIC at playing who, what, where, when, and why. Happy birthday girl!

Happy birthday Gormley (Elizabeth)!
Birthday: October 27th
Age: 18
Gormley is one of the companies seniors this year. We will be so sad to see her leave. She's hilarious and says the most random things, "Cuttlefish change color!" She adds so much to the company and I don't know what we'll do without her next year. We're losing a base guys! Love you Gormley! Happy birthday!

Happy birthday Emily!
Birthday: October 27th
Age: 16
Emily always has a spark to her! I how upbeat she always is, and has a kind heart. She's so bubbly and I love her for that. Plus we have a bond over being the shortest girls in the company. It's pretty fantastic. Happy birthday Emily!

Happy birthday girls! I hope you all forgive me for being so late. Love you all!

The Traveling Dress

This past weekend the dance company had a very successful performance at an art gallery in Michigan City Indiana. The 10 girls including myself performed a piece based off of the scientific concept of string theory. We had great feedback from the audience and the gallery wishes to have us back. After watching the taped piece, I believe that this is the best I have ever seen the girls dance before, and I am so proud of everybody. (We also got to meet the artist who created the piece of art we were performing in front of.)

However, this is beside the point. The next day the company went shopping at a thrift store in Michigan City (this is a common past time of ours). Melissa our artistic director and choreographer found a dress for a dancer Megan to try on. Megan tried the dress on and it looked beautiful on her! However, she already had a dress very similar to it. Megan gave me the dress to try on. I did not think that the dress would fit me because we have completely opposite body types. Regardless, the dress fit and looked great!

Now, I know what you're thinking if you have read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books (or watched the movies). Could these girls really be so dorky as to pass the dress on from girl to girl? Why, you would be correct. On the train ride back to Chicago we all decided that we would pass the dress on from girl to girl along with a journal. Each girl would have two weeks tops to wear the dress once, take a picture of herself in it, and write a journal entry. She would then pass it on to the next girl.

We also decided that we would have a company sleepover at my house to start off the journey. We will have candles and cheetos and make rules to go along with the dress. I'm SO excited for all of this! And, yes I am being super dorky and girly, but I really don't give a crap. Let the Company of the Traveling Dress begin!

Two Sweet Sixteens!

It’s been a while since I’ve had a real post. I promise to have one after this! I thought I’d combine birthday wishes for Victoria and Maddie, their birthdays are really close.

Happy birthday Mommy!!

Every time there is a birthday among one of the dancers I will post a little blurb about them and why they’re awesome. J

Michelle is turning 19!

Nickname: Mommy, mother, mom, Auntie Michelle to some (you get the idea); also I call her Louise (Thelma and Louise reference).

Age: 19

Known for: Colorful hair and combat boots

Ripped tights status: I don’t know how she gets her tights on! It looks like she wrapped thread around her legs.

Music: Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Alanis Morissette, Sarah McLachlan, The Indigo Girls, etc. She should have grown up in the 90’s.

Favorite Foods: Carrots, cake, chips; yeah that’s all I know.

Will not eat: Tomatoes, olives, anything that came from an animal, she’s vegan.

Why she is awesome: Michelle is one of the least judgmental people I know. She is always there if you need someone to talk to. She cares about her friends more than anyone I’ve ever met before.

Why she is mommy: She is one of the oldest members of the company, she helps us cross the street, she has saved me from being hit by cars numerous times, she drives me EVERYWHERE, always calls to order the Chinese food, and she generally takes charge in “adult like situations”.

Running joke: Don’t mess with her; she has a black belt in karate. Of course we all know she couldn’t hurt a fly. Also, jokes about her being a college student/ English major.

Random Fact: She does ATS (American Tribal Style, a form of belly dancing)

I consider Michelle to be one of my best friends. The two of us are pretty much Thelma and Louise (it is really, really sad if you don’t get this reference). There are many other things I could add to this, but it would take me a lifetime. Also, she’s going back to school right after her birthday, which makes me very, very sad. L It’s okay though, we all know she’ll be back. J

Love!!!

I think it is safe to say that last nights campout was a success! Honestly, I think it is one of the best get togethers we have had. Even though, who, what, where, when and why didn't exactly work I still had a blast, and a left feeling fantastic regardless of lack of sleep. Usually the get togethers are filled with fun and laughter which this one definitely was (Maddie's email to Hannah's boyfriend made my life), but a new atmosphere was introduced to the mix. As we were playing truth or dare (it's fun, okay) the truth was, if you could trade places with anyone in the tent who would it be? We decided that everyone had the answer the question because it was so good! We went around in a circle and each girl had to say who they would want to be and why. Every girl had a different person that they would want to be, it created a very loving and flattering atmosphere. It felt so good in fact that we decided to do affirmations. We went in a circle affirming one girl at a time, each girl said something, usually it took a while for each person to finish, and there were usually extra comments even after everyone was done, all of this of course followed by cheesy clapping. Girls were complimented on things they usually wouldn't expect to be complimented on, but everyone else sees. I was so flattered at one point that I started crying (I don't cry very often guys). I think it's safe to say that none of us realized just how much we admire each other even if it's just the little things that a person does. Telling somebody how much you care about them and why can change a persons view of themselves or at least change their mood for the day. All I can say is that I have the best group of friends in the world and I wouldn't trade them for anything. Love you guys!

Dance Campout reminder!!

Dance Campout tonight guys! Get ready for some epic stories!! I'm sure there will be a dancers camping part 2.

A Different Perspective

I know many of you girls like reality dance shows, it's entertaining and the dancers are good, I'll give you that. Here is a different perspective. Ally and Melissa have both posted it on there wall.  http://www.backstage.com/bso/content_display/news-and-features/e3ied8519e098ecf0008963a07cd3fb2e64

HAIR

I'm too lazy to write a full description of these photos... but I think most people will completely understand them :D

*Here are just a few mandatory facts to be included for this blog post...:*

1. Avery has VERY long hair
2. According to Stacey, this hair is magical if you eat it
3. Destiny plans for Avery and Ron to be together. Forever.
4. Avery will soon star in the Broadway production of HAIR
5. The dance company is still in the process of choreographing a "Scissor Dance" (again, no explanation needed)
6. These photographs are pure perfection.

FIREBALL

In the fall and spring I participate in a weekend retreat called Operation Snowball. A couple of other girls participate/ are planning to participate in the weekend also. It is a fun, drug/alcohol free weekend where you can meet other people who are drug and alcohol free.

 It is notorious for what we call warm fuzzies. When you give a warm fuzzy you give someone a well thought out compliment and then tie a string of yarn around that persons yarn necklace type thing. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, hence the name. We also like to give hugs.

Welcome to Appalachia!!

The History of Appalachia:

Once upon a time there was a group of dancers who were in rehearsal for a performance with the Dupage Symphony Orchestra. They were trying on beautiful (but not really...) dresses for the costumes. But alas, there was not enough dresses for everyone!!! (*gasp*) So, plan B was taken into action... This plan consisted of costumes that had a shirt and long pants with brightly colored ribbon embellishments. The dancers were thrilled to discover that these magnificent (just kidding :D) costumes were made in... (*drum roll*) APPALACHIA!! A short time after trying on the costumes the saying, "Welcome to Appalachia!" was born... (*epic music begins to play*)

The "Welcome to Appalachia" Chant:

I must say that I am extremely sad to not be a creator of the saying, but I can explain it nonetheless. To say "Welcome to Appalachia" like a true élan dancer, some things must be taken into consideration:

1. You must raise your arms above your head (as if reaching to the sky)
2. Your hands must be in a jazz hands/ spirit fingers type of thing
3. You need to shout the words "WELCOME TO APPALACHIA" very loudly.
4. When you shout the words, you must speak in an Indian accent (at least that is what I think it was)
5. Don't try to shout the phrase by yourself (you need to be with a group of people). Otherwise, you'll look like a freak (I know this because I tried it while sitting alone at my computer).
6. I think that's it...

*Over vacation I was fortunate enough to visit the real Appalachia and learn about real Appalachians (and their love for quilting..). I also got a bunch of amusing pictures of Appalachian merchandise :)

Dancers Camping

The 2^nd annual dance campout is coming up, so I thought I’d write a little bit about last year. All of us love the idea of being outside and spending time together! What could be better than a campout, right? Okay, it’s not real camping it’s in a backyard, with a pool, but still we’re outside in a tent, right? Well, we tend to forget about what actually ends up happening when dancers campout.  This is how it usually goes.

Sit-Ups

When a normal person hears the word "sit-up" they might think of a normal -put your knees in a bent position and struggle to pull the rest of your body up to them - sit-up. However, when we hear the word sit-up we know better than to hope for a set of 30 or so normal sit-ups. In our minds, sit-ups mean an entire Shakira song's (and yes it HAS to be Shakira) worth of ballet sit-ups and various crunches.

Def. Ballet Sit-Up (n.)/ an exercise in which a dancer must begin by lying flat on her back in a tucked under position. Next she must simultaneously pull her upper body up to almost a 90 degree position and open their legs into a straddle position while raising her arms into fifth above her head. After holding this position for roughly 2 seconds she must lower her body back down to the ground without letting her feet or shoulder blades touch the ground. If you think this sounds impossible, then you're almost right.

Our wonderful teacher whom we adore claims that all of this torture will make us stronger turners and pretty much all-around better dancers... but during the painful routine we have trouble believing her! We always say that if a normal person (not a dancer) had to do as many ballet sit-up as we have to do on a daily basis, they would probably die.

Quote of the Day

"Dancing's not work. You can't call it work. A day I don't dance is a day I don't live."

~ from "Serpent of the Nile"

Quote of the Day

Definition: Cuba

1. Subtle

2. Sultry

Example

It is afternoon and the air is still.

The b in subtle is subtle like Cuba.

Synonyms

1. Naperville

2. Western Movies

Downtown Naperville

Well, as you might have figured out, after dance, some of us like to wander around downtown Naperville a lot. Naperville, if you don't know, is a nice suburb and so a group of girls walking around looking like they aren't wearing any pants draws a lot of weird looks. People have even stopped us too to tell us that we should wear pants. And actually, we sort of just wander around when we have a break between rehearsals too, whether it be to go to Einstein's after ballet or Starbuck's for a snack, not just to got to FlatTop for dinner. So I'm just posting this because people will probably post stuff referring to downtown and now you'll kind of have an idea of what they're talking about.

Quote of the Day

Well, not really of the day, since I'm on vacation right now. But since I'm still catching up it's a pretty recent quote. And I'm keeping all of them anonymous, but if you know them, well, you'll know.

"Arch your back like a rainbow!"

You know, some things from dance, and just life in general, are really random. It just happens way more often in dance.

My "Nickname"

So on this blog we were all supposed to have nicknames, but none of us have really done that so far. Anyways, mine is Lil' S, course, you don't see that as my signature do you? Well I got that when we went to FlatTop for dinner (just look at Katie's post if you're confused). And at FlatTop when we were coming up with names someone decided that I would be Oprah. Just so you all know, I'm chinese, and being called Oprah was totally not happening. So then someone else (I really don't remember who) suggested Lil' S, I think because I'm the youngest in Senior and have been for the past three years, and this coming year. And I figured why not? It's better than Oprah, and apparently the name stuck. Well, not exactly Lil' S, because the waitress said something like Lilz instead.

10 Reasons Why Flat Top is Awesome

My friends and I have a sort of tradition where we go out to eat at Flat Top Grill (you're welcome for the free advertising) and then go and get Gelato. This is usually followed by us walking around the downtown area looking for things to do at 10 o'clock at night which of course there never is anything because we live in a "family town" and everything closes at 9 or earlier. Therefore, we usually end up settling and go to the book store. There really isn't any rhyme or rhythm to this tradition. We just go if we haven't in a long time. Of course it's usually after a dance rehearsal, a few of us are always in dance clothes, and yes we do get a lot of weird looks.

It's gonna be okay.