Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Sorry about the absence of postings lately!!!

So...this past Monday the three of our HBII's got back from being in Switzerland for Prix de Lausanne!! Congrats to all of them for their dedication and hard work! We have heard nothing but good things and we are so proud :) Harper (Derrin) Watters placed 6th in the competition and won the Contemporary Dance Prize!

Read more about it here!

Since we have been back from tour, we have been busy with the main company rehearsing for Marie and The Sleeping Beauty.
Marie opens Thursday, February 24th and runs til Sunday, March 6th at the Wortham Theater.
The Sleeping Beauty opens Thursday, March 10th and runs til Sunday March 20th also at the Wortham.

The HBII's have a show THIS saturday at the Jewish Community Center!! It is at 8 pm. We will be performing Long and Winding Road, Blue, Calling, and Raymonda. Come and see us!!!!!!

Monday, January 31, 2011

Prix de Lausanne 2011

As most of you know, three of our HBII members are competing in the Prix de Lausanne 2011 competition: Harper Watters, Liana Carpio, and Masahiro Haneji. They left Houston Sunday morning to fly to Switzerland and arrived Monday morning. Tomorrow will be their first official day!! Join me in wishing them "Merde!!!" and enjoy every moment of this amazing experience!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Back to Houston!

WE DID IT!!
Yesterday we had our last performance at Sanibel's Big Arts Theater, and had a very nice audience! The stage, as I said before, had some very interesting circumstances. Having no front curtain meant that no one could practice anything on stage before the performance and during intermission, and that we had to pre-set  for the pieces in complete darkness. We were lucky that no one fell off the stage!! And Having no wings meant that if you had an exit from the stage, you would have to stay on the side and just pose...because the audience could still see you. O, and the boys dressing room was part of the backstage cross-over. But we pulled it off and it turned out to be a great last show!

Backstage crossover

Raymonda 

When the show was over, we all went to a little ice cream shop and celebrated!! The owners of the shop couldn't have been nicer and stayed open later just for us. It was called Pinocchio's, and they had AMAZING flavors. We were very excited that the last show was over and done with :)



When we got back to the hotel, there were little surprises in some of our rooms!! Thanks Maid Loraida :)



This morning, our flight wasn't until 3 pm, so we got to sleep in! It was a beautiful day in Ft. Myers today, so I don't think anyone wanted to leave. Blue skies and sparkling water...you'd be crazy not to want to stay! But I think it's safe to say that everyone was ready to get home! We got to the airport, did a little last minute souvenir shopping, and then had a direct flight back to Tulsa. O wait....Houston. Our flight attendant didn't know where she was flying to.
Now back into the swing of things!! Classes start back tomorrow, so no time to waste...or rest!!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Off to Southwest Florida!!

First, I just have to say that Sanibel is SO beautiful!!
Yesterday, we left our hotel in Boynton Beach around 9am and headed to Southwest Florida. We drove 3 1/2 hours, making a stop half way in the Everglades, and finally reached our hotel in Ft. Myers.


After we checked into the hotel, we got ready and had class at Gulfshore Ballet. We thought we were going to a junk yard, because the studios are pretty much in a warehouse. But it turned out to be pretty nice, and cute!

After class happiness :)

After class ended around 3:45, we had the rest of the evening off, so we decided to go to an Outlet mall near our hotel. There was Coach, Polo Ralph Lauren, Gap, Nike Store, Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, and other stores. There was also a sunglasses store that a bunch of people made purchases at :)

Shopping for a couple of hours always works up an appetite! So we all went to a restaurant called Bahama Breeze. You could tell that everyone enjoyed their meals, because most of the plates were scraped clean! Some of the entrees included: Mahi Mahi, a Tropical Salad with grilled chicken, Seafood Paella, Lobster and Shrimp Quesadilla, and Seafood Chowder. 

Tiger Shrimp glazed with a Lemongrass Coconut Sauce with
wild rice and grilled seasonal vegetables. 

There were desserts that followed too...like Key Lime Pie, Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, and Chocolate Island. Yum :)

This morning we had class in the same studios at 11am. Brian told us that the stage we are performing at tomorrow night is very small, no front curtain, and no wings. Hmmm. 
So he marked the dimensions of the stage and we realized we had some rearranging to do. So we had rehearsal until 1:30. But after that...another free afternoon! So we went back to the hotel, got changed, and went to Jimmy John's for lunch. After we all had stuffed bellies, we went to a beach on Sanibel Island. It was sooooo beautiful!!

FYI! Sanibel Island is known for their premium shelling and attract visitors from all around the world. The large amount of shells that wash up on the island happen as a result of Sanibel being a barrier island with an unusual layout having an "east-west orientation when most islands are north-south". 
Sea Shells by the Sea Shore!

Enjoying the lovely weather!!

Searching for shells!

It was really pretty weather, but still a little chilly!! We saw dolphins!!! There were so many and they were jumping out of the water :) 
After some debate, a few of us decided to face the cold water and go swimming! It was VERY cold but so worth it! Then, after a couple of hours, we decided that we were too cold and left to go get coffee. We went to a little coffee house called Sanibel Bean. And look what was there!!



Then we left the coffeehouse and went to a little Shell Shop and gift shopped! We left the store and went back to the hotel. We were on our own for dinner plans so everyone did their own thing. 

Unfortunately, two of our dancers, Guillaume and Zecheng are currently not feeling well. Guillaume has been in bed all day, so hopefully they will both feel better by the morning. 

It was so nice having two days without performing. Our show is at 7:30 tomorrow night...last one!!!
Until tomorrow, good night!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

3 down, 1 to go!

Yayy! Tonight was a great performance for everyone! Now only one show left...can't believe it!! We performed at Palm Isles Theater tonight and had pretty much that same stage as the last venue. But I have to say that the floor was a lot harder, but glad to have two days without performing :)
Now time to rest up for a 3 1/2 hour ride to Sanibel tomorrow morning!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

HBll takes on the East Coast

So...as the first post of HBII ZONE is posted, 11 HBII members are on an 8-day tour on the East Coast. Along with us is HBII Ballet Master Claudio Munoz, Houston Ballet's General Manager Jim Nelson, Houston Ballet's Production Manager Brian Walker, and Cooper Verona who is in Level 8 of the academy.

Sorry about the delayed postings..we have been really busy!!! But trying to catch up :)

We left the Houston Ballet studios Saturday Morning at 7:30 and flew to our connecting city, Dallas. We had a 3 1/2 hour lay-over...
Let's just say that there was a lot of shoe sewing, ballet video watching, wandering, and a computer jet-glued shut.

Then we flew into Greenville, SC and drove for an hour to our hotel. After that, we had class with Claudio at the theater in a really nice studio! "Skinny mirrors!!" - Francesca Forcella ;)

The next morning we had class at 9, had a dress run-through of the program, and the first performance was at 3 PM. It went really well and the audience seemed to enjoy it!! We had a meet and greet afterwards and everyone was very complimentary, which was a boost! After all of that was over we had the evening off to rest.

The following morning we woke up pretty early and headed off to the airport to fly to Miami!!! We got there and the weather was so beautiful! We loaded up the vans and was prepared for an hour ride to our hotel in Boynton Beach...but that HOUR drive turned into a THREE hour drive. Thanks to a Police Funeral Procession that closed a major highway...during rush hour. real smart. So we got to see the more interesting side of Miami where you can buy a Sub with Turky...yes...T-U-R-K-Y. But in the end we made it here and got a bite to eat and went to bed!! We have stayed in Hampton Inn's this whole tour so far, and I have to give the beds 5 stars!

Today, we had class at 12! Woo Hoo! It was at Boca Ballet studios, and they were really nice! After class we went to the Coral Lakes Club where our second performance was. And yes, it is a retirement home community. But it was a good size auditorium, but the stage was very hard. But of course the HBII's made it work and everyone was fierce!! Hurray for a standing ovation!! Now we are back at the hotel and need to rest up for tomorrow's performance! We will be better about posting daily, and getting pictures up, etc.
Until tomorrow, good night!