Texarama 2016

This past weekend was Texarama!  We split Tiny's entries between the Junior category and the Ladies category.  We were honestly just really happy that she made the finals for her championship round in the Ladies category, since it is such a competitive division, and the people she danced against were formidable, and when she ended up winning, we were thrilled! I haven't had time to write a full post, but here are the links to her videoed rounds and our favorite pictures from yesterday.  Stephen Marino (the photographer) got some amazing shots of everyone, and these are the ones we loved the best!

Open Cha Cha, Rumba and Swing with Daniel.

Ladies Championship Semi-Final Round.

Ladies Championship Final Round.

Junior Scholarship Championship Round.

Dancescape DVD Came In!

The Dancescape DVD came in this week, and I got my hot little hands on it today, so of course I immediately had to figure out how to pull Shara's clip off of it, which I then uploaded so all of the family could see how beautiful her performance was!

Here it is!

She has Starlight coming up in April, and we thought it would be fun to push the boundaries.  She is currently planning three performances, a swing with Daniel, a rumba with Matt, and a foxtrot with Richard.  She won't tell me what her music selections are for the rumba and foxtrot, so we'll see how she does picking music!

January Show!

Yesterday was the big show!  Things have been crazy, and I haven't been keeping the updates as current as I would like, for two reasons really.  The first is that we have been SO busy, and the second is that other than rehearsing for last night, and our bi-yearly "team meeting" to plan for the next year and a half, Tiny hasn't really been up to much.

Yesterday was a long, long, long day for her.  She got there at 10:45 for hair and makeup, and was really excited that they didn't have to make hair helmet for her this time, since it was an exhibition rather than a competition. 

 

That's her bored face.

The dress rehearsal ran until about 4:30, and the show started at 6:30.  It didn't end until a little after 11:30, and we just couldn't scrape up enough energy to make the after party, so we packed up the magical trunk of mystery (she got a rolling makeup case for Christmas) and snuck out.

 By the way, a HUGE shot out to Heather, the Singing Seamstress, for not only her original work on the dress, the gorgeous additions to the dress, and all of the alterations to various costumes, but for the perfect last minute vest she put together for Tiny's partner, which really made them look extra professional on stage. 

 She looked like a doll that came to life!  I didn't see many people with that level of matching costuming, and it really added a nice touch.  He said it will definitely be nice to have, in case they need to match again in the future.  (He even let me put some crystals on the lapels!)


The choreography was scary, and she may take a few days to heal the last of her bruises, but she did a fantastic job!  We get a DVD once the company is finished processing them, and I'll post her performance on the private youtube channel as usual.

She got roses.

I know she's really excited to get back to focusing on her competitive Bronze steps tomorrow.  There has been a new development at the studio with instructors, and so she will now get to rotate among three partners:  Richard, her first instructor, Matt (the one from the above pictures, and two of her competitions), and Daniel (from the other competition back in May).  Her next scheduled event is a Mini Match at the end of this month.  After that, she has a Level Passing in February, Regional Team Match in April, probably a studio Starlight in June, Texarama Regional Competition in August, and the big star on the tree:  Nationals in April of 2017.  

Lone Star Results Came In!

We got Shara's results and plaque from the Lone Star competition back in May, where she danced all Latin with Daniel.

So if we do the math, the girl she was going up against beat Shara four times (or six if you count the championship round) and Shara beat that girl eleven times (or twelve if you add in the championship round).

 

I will say that Tiny Dancer was pleased to hear that, simply because the loss in the championship round shook her confidence a smidgen. Taking first in every round at the competition the following weekend really helped, and knowing that the choreography that they put together for her was a reflection of their confidence in her ability to learn it helped, too. 

From here until the end of the year, it will be working on choreography for the October Spotlight, which will be an Open Swing to Uma Thurman and potentially a preview of her Dancescape choreography.

Show Choreography and Mini Match

It has definitely been a busy week.

We got a call on Tuesday morning that we could come to the studio and watch the choreographer work on her solo.  Of course we went!  I have to be honest.  As I watched, I felt a little like the Len Goodman in the room.  I would have liked to see more Argentine Tango content, but what they put together will be really great when she learns it and they smooth it out.  I think there are about five challenging lifts, though it may be more if we include the trust fall and the floor drag.  I absolutely CANNOT post any early video since this is all proprietary stuff, but let me tell you how impressed I was at how challenging they made it for her.  It will definitely be a growing experience for her.

 I did get a fantastic picture of her face when she saw the first lift they were working on, and it was pretty humorous.

 So fast forward a few days, and today was Mini Match.

Since we're putting most of our money towards Spotlight in October and her solo in January, she only danced each of her competitive dances once.  I was so proud of how improved her Rumba was, and so disappointed that I pushed the wrong button and ended up with pictures instead of video of that dance!  I have video of the other eight, and we should have her comment sheets later this week or next.

 She actually thought it was really funny that I got an accidental picture with the camcorder that looks almost identical to one I accidentally took with Matt back in January.

 

Tango! 

 

August Mini Match

 Some of you might notice the bandage around poor Matt's head.  Long story, and not really mine to tell, but suffice to say, he's mostly okay, and the studio named their themed super hero after him:  Captain Calamity.

So, two exiting things - we pick up Shara's custom costume (shout out to The Singing Seamstress for all of her amazing work!) tomorrow, and the guys have agreed to let her try out three inch Latin heels.  She really needs to start physical therapy to stretch the tendons in her feet, but we're having a disagreement with the insurance company, so it may be a little while before we start those.  We pick up her smooth shoe inserts on Monday, so with those in the smooth and the slightly taller heel in the Latin, it may really help, though she definitely needs to make sure those tendons are expanding before she's old enough for them to settle.  Anyhow!  Exciting stuff - tall shoes and a new dress, so expect pictures tomorrow night!