Choreographically Speaking

It's funny how sometimes you start off with such a definite idea of what your dance is going to be about and what it'll look like... then find it all completely change halfway through.

This dance started off being about a girl being hesitant about giving her heart to someone new after only just putting it back together (oddly enough, close to reality there... well you know what they say about life imitating art right?!) then halfway through it changed to being a girl sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting to see if her loved one pulls through and I think it looks a lot better with that idea behind it.

I also think this idea applies to life: sometimes we have set ideas about what we're going to do with our lives and what it's all about then it can suddenly change without any reason or warning. And even if it doesn't seem so at first? It's usually for the better.

Emotional Fat Day

Ok I'll keep this brief because I hate whining about things but... you know those days when you feel totally... blah?

Yeah it's an emotional fat day.

When the entire world seems to be telling you to give up, go home, nobody really thought you could do it anyway and no matter what you do to try and cheer yourself up you still just feel so...

blah!

Now as a true Brit we are raised to bottle up any and all feelings and push them deep down inside you so you can carry on with the job in hand. The only downside to this of course is that:

a) everyone thinks you're a lot stronger than you are and piles on the pressure accordingly

b) you come across as a cold feeling-less bitch until

c) eventually those repressed feelings explode causing you to come across as a cold feeling-less crazy bitch.

You would've thought after 26 years I would've come up with a better way to deal with the bad things that happen in my life but alas I have not. One day I'll figure it out but for now I'm gonna allow myself the occasional pity party and dance it out.

How do you cope with your emotional fat days?!

Dance Plug

http://www.danceplug.com/

Have you heard of this place yet? It's clearly still early days but it seems like such a useful site! I might even consider signing up and paying for it at some point (but then again I am such a cheapskate right now!)

And yes I applied for the Harold & Kumar 3D audition even though I'm 2" too short... the guy choreographing it might like me for something else! You never know ;)

The To Do List

You know how I said one of the things I wanted to do over summer was choreograph and film it?

It's a work in progress (and I could pick it apart technically until the cows come home!) but I'm thinking I might use it as a small group number... incorporate some flowers in there and some funky lifts. Could be cool!

Some other ideas I've had for choreo are:

* Large group lyrical dance to 21 Guns - Greenday/Cast of American Idiot

* Small tap group dance to When the Night Feels my Song - Bedouin Soundclash (about travellers waiting for the next train after missing it... sounds odd but I can see it in my head!)

* Medium jazz group number to Black & Gold - Sam Sparro (Fosse stylee!)

I'm still working on some hip hop routines but nothing solid idea-wise just yet!

Maybe my trip to Harbour Dance in Vancouver will give me some more ideas.

Summer's here!

So it's the first day of summer...

As a teacher I've officially entered into that scary realm of 'nothing to do' for the next 3 months. Every year I get nervous around May as I realise my work and my paycheck suddenly cuts off until september and I try to figure out what to fill my days with.

Luckily the studio I'm at this year is doing a couple of performances and a week long summer camp to keep me busy for some of the time and I've got a part time job to tide me over but what to do with the rest of my days that can help my dancing?

Here's a few ideas I had:

* Working out and stretching every day (kind of a no brainer but when you're on holiday it's easy to let it slide sometimes!)

* Choreographing and video taping my dances.

* Researching auditions and conventions/intensives to check out in the fall.

*Designing and making my own dance wear (otherwise known as: customising T shirts!)

* Getting new resume photos taken.

* Checking out new classes and dance styles.

Obviously in times like these with no steady income over the summer money is an issue but most of those ideas are relatively free (as long as you have a camera!)

As you can see from the pic above... I've already been playing around with new resume photos! hehe

What do you do over summer when you're not dancing?

Charity Weekend

Sorry I don't know where this pic came from but it's one of my faves!

SO I took part in Relay for Life yesterday... for a little while at least.

It was fun but after the silent lap with the bagpipers? I just had to call it a night and head home... not least because I had to work today at 10!

It felt good to do something for a cause though and I saw so many of my students there! Our 'rival' studio did a routine at the opening ceremony too which I thought was cute (also kept thinking: why didn't WE have a routine in this?) and one of my senior girls can REALLY sing which I never knew!

But we are taking part in some community events soon...

Tuesday June 22nd at 1.30 - Unity Church, Port Alberni (for people who can't leave their houses without help)

Thursday July 1st (CANADA DAY!!) - Glenwood Centre, Port Alberni (for Canada Day celebrations of course)

I'm kinda excited. I love being part of the community and I thought it was strange that we seemed to hardly do that as a studio: I'm happy that we are now. I do love organising things!

Speaking of charity and organising I'm still hoping to organise a small local dance competition to raise money for Eating Disorders. So far I've got most of it figured out but I need to find out about permits, charity bank accounts, etc... I also need to grow a backbone and ask my boss at my studio if I'm ok to do this on the side when I'm not teaching. Obviously I'll try my hardest not to let it take time away from my teaching but knowing me it'll blow up into something a lot bigger than I intended!!

Still... sounds like fun and I really want to do it... I even have a name: Star Focus. What do you think?

'Til Tuesday peeps!

SYTYCD7

So I know some of you watched tonights episode... what did you think?

I love Lauren, she's so cute and punchy... aaand ok I kinda like her because she's little. Having said that I see what the judges were saying... they're all amazing but just not quite killing it just yet.

At least not killing it to the level I'd expect.

Sonya Tayeh is still my absolute favourite choreographer... Mia Michaels and Mandy Moore are a close second but Sonya's choreo just really clicks for me.

What did you think?

Twitter Obsessed

Ok I admit it... I love Twitter.

More than Facebook.

Way more than Myspace.

...

Possibly more than chocolate... ok that's not true but I do love Twitter!

It makes me feel that much closer to my dance idols and actually causes me to get excited if any of them happen to @ reply me... of course I'm aware it's probably not them but some poor lowly assistant replying to my tweets but in that small moment I feel like I actually have contact with these top flight dancers and choreographers and I am totally in awe!

Now you could wonder why I'd be in awe of people who I aspire to one day join? Well truth is my confidence level isn't always that high. In fact I used to be painfully shy... still can be on occasion.

Even though I'm aware that I am just as good as many other dancers out there and I have 'something special' in my dancing and choreography I never quite believe it. Sometimes this is suitably humbling and sometimes it just gets into my way... for example: I was one of the many backing dancers in Michael Buble's music video for "Haven't met you yet". I spent a cold rainy august night waiting to do the 32 counts of super easy choreo with at least a hundred other dancers and actually spoke to Michael at one point and what do you think was the scariest moment for me? Walking into the room to sign in... I swear I almost turned around and gave up!

Crazy as it sounds I was more scared of those other dancers laughing at me having the audacity to be among them than the fact that I practically elbowed Michael flipping Buble into a window then said 'oh s*** sorry dude'...

Insane right?! Similar thing on twitter... I get starstruck meeting dancers hardly anyone has heard of yet meeting actual celebrities doesn't bother me! :D

So follow me on Twitter.... @devilzsoup or you could follow my current studio... @pcsdance

You can check me out on Myspace and Facebook too...

http://www.myspace.com/elliebadham

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/ellie.badham?ref=ts

(If the last one doesn't work just hunt me down... I'm the one with the hat... I'll explain why I have two later!)

Sup!

Ok so let me tell you a little back story...

Once upon a time there was a girl who was convinced she wanted to be a film director... 2 years and an entire qualification later she realised this was BS and went back to her true love: Dance.

She auditioned, she trained, she graduated and then she up and moved to Canada to pursue her dream career in dance.

Now she's a teacher in a tiny place called Port Alberni and she loves it... but it's not enough. She wants to teach, dance, choreograph AND DJ (for some unknown reason, she's still figuring that out)... SO she figured whilst she had a year of solid income to rely on she'd work on her skills and get her choreography out there so when she moved to Vancouver she could broaden her dance horizons.

*This is where I stop talking in the third person!*

This is where this blog comes in... this is where I'm going to post any and all of my dance adventures. From new songs I love to teaching stories, from random improvised dance videos to the latest episode of SYTYCD, from auditions I attend to shows I see... if it's dance, it goes here!

Oh and I'm looking into starting a dance festival and possible dance company at some point... so yeah.... watch out for those ;)

See you soon peeps!