Cinderella City with a Cinderella Ballet

Oklahoma City is becoming known as a new big league city, complete with a league-standard professional basketball team. This new surge in growth has in turn brought about some wonderful advancements in the Oklahoma City arts community. Being a lover of all things dance, I, of course, am loving the new breath of beauty and artistry known as the new Oklahoma City Ballet, under the artistic direction of Robert Mills.

This resurgence in Oklahoma City has also brought new names to our lovely town, including 'Cinderella' city - rising from the ignored younger sister status, to the magical, beautiful belle of the ball. The season opener of Oklahoma City Ballet's 2014-2015 season showed just that - a magical rise to 'Cinderella' status.

My 9-year old daughter was my date to the Saturday, October 18, matinee production of 'Cinderella', featuring Soloist, Dayoung Jung, in the title role. Jung was not only lovely as the main character, but her technique was exquisite - a true example of a ballerina displaying both class and elegance.

The sets were wonderful and allowed the story to be told in grand scale. My daughter even commented on how 'cool' it was that she was able to see through the cottage windows, allowing the audience to view characters arriving and leaving the stepmother's house.

The stepsisters, played in classic 'ugly girl' fashion by Robert Mills and Ronnie Underwood, were the scene stealers of the show. Not only were they over-the-top in their movements and gestures, but they played off each other so well. I loved that although they were ugly, they weren't 'evil'. They came across more as spoiled brats that expected the prince to fall at their feet - a little easier for the younger crowd to understand and accept.

Ah, the younger crowd! I loved looking around to see dozens of girls wearing various Disney princess costumes to the show, holding hands with dad, mom, grandpa, grandma. And kudos to Executive Director Shane Jewell for playing to the audience by including the Okc Ballet hippo mascot greeting everyone at the door. An added bonus included craft tables, allowing patrons to make magic wands and paper pumpkins - a truly memorable event for all in attendance. And special thanks to corporate sponsor, Braum's, for the milk and cookies in the lobby after the performance. All free for the taking! (ps - did I mention how much I love my city?)

After the show, my daughter and I compared notes. Here's our top 3 'fav moments' from the ballet:
1. Sophia: The costumes were so pretty!
1. Me: With the exception of the Fairy Godmother's costume, I thought all the costumes in the show were fantastic! Just to clarify, the Fairy Godmother's dancing was exquisite, but was veiled by a very unfortunate giant piece of sequined teal fabric and purple tulle drape. The ball gowns, the gentlemen's military dress, the stepsisters' costumes, Cinderella's ballgown and dazzling overcoat - wow! Even the corps de ballet costumes were as beautiful as the soloists. I loved that no matter who came on stage, the standard was one of excellence.

2. Sophia: The leaves falling from the ceiling during the Autumn Fairy and the snow falling during the Winter Fairy.
2. Me: Agreed! And can we talk about the four fairies of the seasons? Easily the most powerful dancing in the show - sharp, strong, exquisite in their movements. Kudos to these lovely corps de ballet ladies on their incredible work. By the way, I had to giggle when the Winter Fairy came on stage....so many little ones in the audience whispering (not really whispering), "It's Elsa! It's Elsa! Daddy look!"

3. Sophia: The dancing was so so so good! I want to dance on pointe one day, Dad.
3. Me: Can I get an amen!? I am beyond excited at the future of this company. For the first time in a long time, I can be proud to bring my "big city" friends to a performance of our ballet company and know that our talent ranks up there with any other "big city". An example, is the incredible work shown by Soloist, Alvin Tovstogray, as the Court Jester. His attack and energy were so strong, his petite allegro movements so precise, his ability to portray his character was so enjoyable. Whether interacting with the overly zealous stepsisters, or performing for the Queen, Tovstogray's Jester was a dynamic character that I wished would have had even more stage time.

The rest of Oklahoma City Ballet's season looks to be as strong as their opener. The much-anticipated revamped 'Nutcracker' (presented by Devon Energy), the romantic 'Romeo & Juliet' in February, and the triple bill 'Nine Sinatra Songs' in April.

Am I excited? Does Oklahoma City have one of the best NBA teams in the league? Does Oklahoma City have one of the best up-and-coming ballet companies in the US? Yes, and amen.

5 Things Dance Judges Want Every Studio Director To Know

I've been given the unique honor and privilege of working as both a dance judge, as well as, a Studio Director. During this competition season, in city after city, I've seen some incredible talent. I've seen things that wow me, inspire me, and challenge me to do better at my studio. I also see some repeat mistakes that I believe most judges can agree upon (I know my peers that judge have agreed with me on many of these). Here are just 5:

1. A LITTLE PARTY NEVER KILLED NOBODY....
...but it kills a judge after hearing it more than a dozen times over a weekend. The Gatsby soundtrack this season was a huge hit, but it honestly was overused, overused, overused. Challenge yourself to look for the unique song that speaks to you and can be interpreted by the age of kid you are choreographing for. Also, the classics never get old. I've never been sad to hear another MJ song, or Celine song, or even Josh Groban.

2. LOOK UP YOUR LYRICS!
'Genie In A Bottle' may sound cute for a 9 year old, but the lyrics are unbelievably inappropriate for the age. Young choreographers fall into this trap a lot. Just because you like the song, and are inspired by it, doesn't mean it belongs on your junior hip hop group, or your petite jazz line. Judge after judge after judge will agree. We can tell you horror stories of tragic moments on stage that involved a dancer performing to a song they can't relate to, or can't possibly grasp the concept of. Ask me another time about the 10 year old lyrical to 'Grown Woman', or the teen jazz solo to 'Blurred Lines'.

3. COSTUME ALL DANCERS FOR CONFIDENCE
I love watching a group of girls and boys on stage that exude confidence! They make me want to jump on stage and dance with them.....until I see the girl in the back who isn't feeling the same. I may be in the minority here, but I have a big problem with selecting a costume that doesn't look fantastic on 100% of the dancers in the piece. Specifically regarding 2 piece costumes - if even 1 girl doesn't look GREAT in a 2 piece, then DON'T USE A 2 PIECE COSTUME! Our jobs as dance educators is to do just that - educate. Our secondary responsibility is to instill the love, discipline, and confidence that comes from dance training. The last thing we need is for one of our dancers to not feel confident because their teacher fell in love with a specific 2 piece costume. Save it for a specific group, but don't force someone into a 2 piece that can't be confident in it. Our dancers (especially our girls) should feel gorgeous, elegant, and definitely confident about themselves when they step onto the stage.

4. EDIT! EDIT! EDIT! 
Do we all need to do triple pirouettes into 14 ala seconde turns? When I judge, nothing makes me happier than a group of dancers doing really strong and clean double pirouettes. Remember, don't show a judge what you CAN'T do, show them what you CAN do! Don't show us that you almost have your fouette turns, or that you can almost hold a scorpion stretch. If your team is working on triple turns at the studio, then show us how awesome your double turns are. Don't include mediocre trick after trick. Select elements that your dancers are excellent at executing. Work on those weaker elements during class time, so you can keep getting stronger with them before putting them on a competition stage. This past season, some of the highest scoring routines I've seen included none or very very few turn sequences. Remember, it's NOT about the teacher, it's about the dancer.

5. CLEAN, SHARP, STRONG
This season, I gathered a few of my teachers and challenged us with the following...."Let's clean each other's dances before Nationals and allow each other to speak frankly and freely about parts of the piece that we feel may cause us to score lower. We need to trust each other and be okay with changes being made to our dances." Trust me. It was hard for me to let go of my own dances, but I knew that for the good of the studio, and ultimately, the good of the student, we all had to allow our dances to be cleaned and if necessary, adapted, by our co-workers. I can honestly say that the dances looked so much stronger on the stage. We were willing to not take offense so that our dancers could shine stronger on stage.


I've sat behind many microphones this season, watched thousands of dances, and am more excited now than ever at the future of the dance industry. Let's remember that our dancers are our focus, not promoting our own agendas or goals. When you see your kids leaving a competition or rehearsal full of confidence and pride on a job well done, the end score or top ten placement seems less and less important. Congrats on a great 2014 season!

Singing in the Stall

Another hectic day at the studio...I was rushing as always, checking things off the list and trying not to forget what needed to be done next. I obviously had forgotten to stop by the restroom, because I found myself running through the hall to take care of this high-priority personal business.

As I approached the door, I heard someone singing in the restroom and found an older gentleman singing loudly while washing his hands. At first, I thought he might be a little `off` and maybe I should rush to another restroom, but when nature calls, nature calls. He kept singing loudly as I approached the urinal and had no care that I had entered.

"Good afternoon, isn't it?" he said cheerfully.

Realizing we were the only two in the restroom, I reasoned that he must be talking to me.

"Yes, sir. It is," I replied. "Quite the singing voice you have there."

"Well, my wife and daughter tell me I'm only allowed to sing in the shower, " he said. "But I can't help myself."

I chuckled and replied, "Well, it definitely beats the alternative."

"It sure does," he answered. "Have a great day!"

I couldn't help but smile as he left. He had made a choice to be joyful. He didn't care if he embarrassed himself or that the majority of people sing in the car and not in the public restroom. He probably had just as much on his mind as I did, but instead of rushing around the day like a crazy person, he stopped for a moment and let the joy flow.

It challenged me. It made me choose to smile as I left the restroom. It made me think about heading down the hallway back to the studio office with joy and positivity instead of anxiety and stress for what was awaiting me on my neverending to-do list. I challenge you today to face your day with joy and happiness. Who knows, you might even find yourself singing in the stall.