So You Think You Can Dance Audition- you asked for it, now here it is!~

Margaret (a talented dancer who had three bananas all attached, as did I)and SYTYCD host Cat Deely sport the same vintage sweater coat. Margaret's belonged to her grandmother and Cat's is from a vintage store.



This picture is of Linda signing her release contract on my back.



Linda, Rachel and Me.



Rachel and me.



Rachel and Linda have been dancing together at the same studio for a few years.





SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (SYTYCD)

On March 1 I boldly went where no Dinah has gone before, haha, well at least not this Dinah.

I headed to the Manhattan Centre Theatre at 6:30 am to audition for the third season of the hit reality dance show "So You Think You Can Dance."

The experience was one of a kind, and I've always been a very confident dancer. However, while waiting outside in line, in the freezing cold on the streets of NYC (my birthplace) for five hours, I met people with tons of audition experience.

I have never auditioned for a show in terms of the "real world." I've auditioned for school musical and plays, dance teams and dance companies, but not in this professional way. And everyone around me already had the benefits of experiencing similar auditions, and rejections it seems.

Outside I met Cat Deely, the host of the show, as well as some very sweet dancers from Staten Island, Rachel and Linda, and Tabitha who had just flown in from dancing in Korea.

Around noon, my section of the line made our way into the auditorium to warm up, sit down and get even more nervous as we watched the producers cut down the competition in groups of 10. Basically, the audition process was not outlined clearly on the Web site, at all.

I expected to dance in a room in front of the producers to my own music, to my own set choreography and just wow them. Alas that did not happen as we were herded in front of them in groups of 10, asked to improvise to a song of their choosing. The songs in question that blasted in the theatre until my departure at 4 pm: Justin Timberlake's "My Love" and "Sexyback," Christina Aguilera's "Hurt", the Black Eyed Peas "Hey Mama" and "Pump it."


If I never hear those songs again it would be too soon. It was hard to determine what the judges wanted to see, until you realized a pattern. Only the absolute best and the absolute worst made it past round one. After all the show needs footage of bad dancers being told they can't dance by the judges.


So I did not make it past that first round, despite waking up at the crack of dawn, perfecting my hair (which actually turned out how I wanted it to despite weeks of disappointment because of the cold weather in Boston), putting on make-up, and rehearsing a craftily choreographed piece to Jem's "Come on Closer."


What I got was a new understanding of show business, my first REAL audition, and the chance to meet a ton of talented and wonderfully sweet people and to be a part of a much-loved television show.


Make sure to check out the audition specials of "So You Think You Can Dance" on Thursday May 24 and Wednesday May 30 at 8pm on FOX. You just might catch a glimpse of me in line, dancing, chatting, or who knows doing what other embarrassing stunt.

A little tid bit

Here is a great entry from the Celebrity Series blog about Cirque Eloize's RAIN.

Enjoy!

Looking forward to "RAIN"

The Boston Celebrity Series which brought us Complexions among other performing arts shows, has brought Cirque Eloize to the Cutler Majestic Theatre this week.

The run began yesterday and will run through this Sunday, March 18. I'm pretty excited to see the acrobatic troupe from Montreal because I've been dying to see a "Cirque du Soleil" or other group. And to be honest I didn't even know other companies similar to "Cirque du Soleil" existed. Much to my delight, they do.

The show is described as fun and reminiscent of childhood views of rain, the summer showers, getting soaking wet and playing outside.

In fact, during the finale, the cast performs onstage in a real downpour. I can't wait to see this! And I think I'm bringing my mom with me!

Through Friday the show will be at 7:30 pm, and there will be Saturday shows at 2 pm and 8 pm and a Sunday matinee at 3 pm. Tickets run $35-$60, and I just am hoping that they will have student rush tickets.

To find out all about Cirque Eloize RAIN, head to the site on the Cutler Majestic Theatre's Web site.

"New Visions" is an eye-opener

It was really a great experience to see a rehearsal of "Brake the Eyes" for free a week before the piece's world premiere and then see it on stage, with full costume, make-up and lighting.

The great thing about the piece was the incorporation of the lighting devices and their movement to the piece. They moved in an eerie, almost airplane-like way throughout the piece.

Larissa Ponomarenko, quickly becoming my favorite principal ballerina in the Boston Ballet, was phenomenal. The broken, dynamic and and sharp choreography of Jorma Elo was perfectly portrayed by Ponomarenko.

The pas de deux sections were crisp and perfect and were thought-provoking. At first, during certain duets, I thought that the two dancers were not in time with each other, when it turns out that Elo's choreography was specifically doing that to create a round, much like in "row row row your boat" when one person starts and the next joins in.

The costumes were reminiscent of Mozart's time, and the medley of music had a Gothic feel to it.

I hope that "Brake the Eyes" become a staple in the contemporary ballet community and throughout contemporary performances, as it should.

"Polyphonia" and the "Sonata" were also great pieces, colorful and full of unexpected movement.

The great thing about contemporary ballet is that it is beautiful while trying not to be. As hard as they try to make the movements fragmented and much more sharper than classical ballet, it is still beautiful dancing.

I can't wait until May when the Boston Ballet will perform Classic Balanchine and Giselle.

Until then I am trying to get tickets to Cirque Eloize, a Montreal acrobatic group started in 1993, Alvin Ailey which comes to the Citi Wang Center in April and "The Seagull", a ballet formed from the Russian play which comes to the Cutlet Majestic Theatre soon.

Stomach virus= not a good blog enabler

So I haven't been feeling too well at ALL, and I realize I am very very behind on my blogging.

A lot has happened in my own dance life as well as shows I've been to.

So here's a little preview of what's to come in blogs this week:

Dancelife Episode 8: the series (or season) finale. Even the Dancelife site didn't specify which it was.

My very own dance life took me to New York to audition for "So You Think You Can Dance" (plus pictures and some of the great people I met there).

Closing night at "New Visions", a great contemporary show from the Boston Ballet this season featuring a world premiere by Jorma Elo as well as two seminal contemporary pieces including "Polyphonia."

An encounter at Boston Dancewear, the only full-fledged dance outfitting and shoe store in Boston proper, leads me to realize I still want to do pointe despite having never done it as a child. Amy, a sweet, friendly and extremely helpful sales associate at the store, as well as a Boston Conservatory graduate helped me try on shoes and inspired me by telling me she didn't start pointe until she was 17 years old.


Plus there is much much more. Clearly I am extremely behind. So just try to be patient as I nurse myself back to health.

Dance Magazine's healthy eating tips for all dancers

According to an article in the newsletter I received from Dance Magazine, end-of-winter snacking and raw, cold days can leave you feeling extremely tired. Some of their healthy eating tips are things we are already know, and some might even surprise. I'm just glad I love green tea and Hershey's kisses.

"Try a hot cup of green tea. It has antioxidants that may boost your immune system and lower cholesterol."

Plus the article explains how substituting one thing for another can help you find a better way to eat. For example, swapping that regular latte with skim latter cuts the calories by more than half. Oil and vinegar make a much more healthy, and not to mention delicious and light, replacement for creamy dressings such as Caesar and Ranch which pile on way more calories than the salads themselves.

Another trick, which I have recently read about in Women's Health Magazine also is to curb a sweets craving by popping a few (no more than five) Hershey's kisses rather than a candy bar. It will give you lots of energy, fulfill that craving and not pack on fat and unnecessary extras.

Soup is not only a winter staple, but a great way to fill up when you are hungry with fewer calories. Plus it helps your body generate energy, especially when you are dancing and need every ounce of energy you have to give it your all.

I love these tips and have really opened my mind up to healthy eating in the past year. My mom raised me on purely homemade food that was delicious, nutritious and sans artificial anything.

But when I got my own money, had less and less time and more responsibilities, I reverted to the soda-chugging, fast food-buying, junk food eating in general habits I had been deprived of.

I blame my mother for feeding me so incredibly well and healthy that I fell off the bandwagon.

But with the help of her, Ricky, and Women's Health (whose subscription was a generous birthday gift that I am still benefiting from and enjoying) I have been eating a lot healthier, and feeling lighter and better about dancing and eating.

Plus here's my own tip, courtesy of all the nursing majors I dance with: Eat a banana to stave of foot cramping. IT WORKS! I eat a banana before every intense dance rehearsal and class and it really does work thanks to the ridiculously high amount of potassium.

I forgot to blog about dancelife

Being too busy with my own dance life I forgot to blog about "Dancelife" that new television show that is a big hit with dancers and reality TV buffs alike.

So on Monday's episode, Jersey was dead on at all of her auditions and got a national commercial for Skechers as well as a gig doing Omarion's new music video.

Unfortunately, the call times for both gigs were at the same exact time, and Jersey decided to go with the national commercial which would give her a ton of exposure. However, Omarion and his producers thought it was completely unprofessional of her to cancel on them when she already said she would dance for them.

Those kinds of things happen all the time, and "will continue you to happen the more successful you get" Blake told Jersey as they shopped for a new car for her, one that wouldn't keep breaking down all the time.

There was a ton of dancing in the show, which made me tres tres happy, YEAH!

And one little clip that was raw and real, at the car dealership really touched me.

Blake spun around and did a back batemont (it's hard to explain in words I just realized this instance, but you basically kick your leg up, and in this case, toward the back) to a full split. It was perfect and real, because he was excited.

I feel like myself as well as many dance friends end up dancing during random times, in various public places, and without self-consciousness.

Another great part of the show was the emotional dance solo at the end, this time Nolan's. And Nolan had plenty of reason to get out a lot of anger and frustration after blowing up at Blake, probably jealous of all of Blake's success. Nolan called him a "bitch" and basically explained he just didn't like him.

Nolan also came out to his father, dealt with finding a new apartment, and more disappointment at dance auditions.

His solo wasn't perfect or seemingly previously choreographed, because each movement was easily identifiable to different emotions he must have been going through.