Fall

We're a month into Nutcracker rehearsals and everything just seems to be falling into place. My cast is coming along beautifully and they're having a blast learning their newer repertoire.

I love Autumn, its literally my favorite season of all, especially in Florida. A lot of other places have a real changing of the seasons with golden and red colored leaves, crisp weather and Halloween decorations, Florida has the decorations and that's about it... For me fall has always been a gateway into the holidays I love so so so much.

Halloween is still my favorite one and I'd dress up every year pretending to be something I wasn't for years, now I still do but its not as much fun once you've grown up. Thanksgiving I could honestly do without. Its not that I'm not thankful to everyone I have in my life, or that I don't care about spending time with the family, I just don't understand the importance of having a holiday to reflect something we should be doing everyday of our lives anyways. Christmas is the biggest one of the year, millions of people dread it every year and I too, used to look at the Christmas season as my own personal hell with cute themed music and decor to match. Now I look at Christmas as a time to come together and share your past year's experiences and spread the message of peace and love to each other.

For a dancer Christmas holds a special place in their hearts, Nutcracker season. Its the time of the year that every dancer becomes fearful of missing a musical cue every time they hear certain "traditional Christmas songs" while walking through the mall with their family. How many times does one have to hear the traditional Nutcracker March before they can't take it anymore?

In response to this conundrum that's plagued me for years, I've decided to change our Nutcracker music. Only the variations in act 2 though. All of these dances will now be done to traditional styled versions of the original songs. Hot Chocolate will now be played by a guitar, tea will be played by a Chinese mandolin and so on. My girls are so excited to be doing something so traditional in a new way. They're the body of the new generation and I can only hope to continue to provide everything they need to succeed in the dance world.

Comment or message me and let me know what you think of this blog! -Ms Ivy