Quote of the Day

"Don't drape and drive." ~Elizabeth Gormley

From our String Theory performance today at the Yorkville library... well actually this was sent in a text from Gormley to Katie :)

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!