Winter Cold and Weekend Competitions

On the train after my dance classes in Tawa.

Hi everyone,
I hope you are all keeping warm. Sooo cold at the moment!!!!!
Winter is well on it's way over here.
It has been very cold coming home late at night from my classes in Tawa.
I have to walk home from the railway station with all the frost setting in.
It's really nice when it's not windy or raining.

It's been a full on week or so for me, lots of practicing and of course all my classes.
Last week I had a photo shoot for a woman's magazine.
Phew, it takes a lot of time and we had to do re-take after re-take of jetes, pirouettes etc for a good action shot.  It took a few hours.

Last weekend I went to the Boy's Master Class with the Royal New Zealand Ballet which was taught by Massimo Murru from La Scala Ballet in Italy.
He is in New Zealand as guest Ballet Master for the RNZB.
It was such a great class and I really enjoyed it.
There was quite a lot of boys taking the class this time.

It's the Queen's Birthday Comps in Lower Hutt this weekend and I will be dancing all four days dancing thirteen of my dances.
I'm even entered in the song and dance class which is going to be funny as my voice is really croaky at the moment.
I will be doing Robin Hood for this.  It has become my musical theatre dance now as I have Miss Hannigan now for my demi-character.
I can't wait to do Miss Hannigan again.

Ameno

Mum's made me some new costumes and added a few more details to my Ameno costume which meant I had to lie down on the floor with the heater on (coz it's so cold here), with my costume on while Mum painted it. Then she had to dry the paint with the hair dryer before I could take it off without paint going everywhere.
She also had to make me a new tunic for Robin Hood as I have grown out of my old one.

Looking forward to comps tonight, it's the variations tonight.  I'm in the Senior Championship.
This comp will be the last one that I will be doing at the Little theatre this year.
We can't afford to do any more than three competitions this year, so I'm making the most of them.
I'm doing thirteen dances this weekend, and none of them are repeats.

Next comps are the Kapiti Comps in July, the last for the year, and I will be dancing 16 times.
I'm going to be very tired but at least they are very close to home.
No Travelling!!!!!!

I'll be heading off to Lower Hutt soon, to go to the Little Theatre.
Wish me luck
                   
                      Salem  :-)

I Need Your Vote - AMP People's Choice Scholarship

Hi everyone, I am needing your help and your votes.

This year, I have applied for the AMP “Do Your  Thing” People’s Choice Scholarship in which people vote for you and whoever gets the most votes will win the scholarship of $10,000. Voting is on Facebook and is open from Monday 22nd September until closing on October 13th. 

Unfortunately only people with a New Zealand IP address can vote. I would love it if you voted for me and share this with others. Voting starts tomorrow and I will have details listed on my page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Support-Salem-Foxx/270946429720441. 

I am hoping to win this scholarship so I can continue learning more about dance, performing and choreographing more. So far I have choreographed seventeen dances. 

I also want to put together a boy’s ballet class so that young boys can have the chance to try ballet with other boys and not feel like it is a girly thing to do. This year I have been teacher’s assistant for a grade one ballet class and also held a very successful boy’s only ballet class with the Waikanae Dance School. 

I loved teaching both. But I really want to concentrate on getting a boys class going first, as boys learn so differently than girls and male technique is quite different. I have had to unlearn quite a bit myself and am very lucky to be taught male technique by the Trimmers. Sir Jon has said that a good way of cementing what you have learnt, is by teaching it to others. 

If you want to find out more information about me, please check out my YouTube channel Ballet Boy NZ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWosTjBuKQhhucPJMxSK7Xg where you can see lots of my dances. 

Thank you for your support

Salem Foxx

Boys Only Open Ballet Class 23rd April 2014

If you live out Kapiti way, I am teaching a boy's only ballet class out in Waikanae for the Waikanae Dance School this Wednesday from 9 am til 10 am.

If you know of any boys, any age, who would be interested in giving ballet a try, get them to get in touch.
No experience necessary!!!

It will be lots of fun!!!!!!!

www.waikanaedance.org.nz

Ballet for a Boy Fundraiser

I have just started a fundraiser for Salem to help raise the money for him to go the National Boy's Ballet Summer Camp in Sydney next summer.  This will help with air fares and the cost of the camp.

You can check it out at : http://www.givealittle.co.nz//cause/balletboy .

Salem is very excited about the Summer Camp and it will be his first time overseas, actually he hasn't been out of the North Island of New Zealand.

http://www.boyssummerschool.net/

He is looking forward to being with other boys who love ballet as much as he does.  And to make new friends.

If anyone would like to donate, we would be very appreciative as every little bit helps.

Still Dancing....Classes, Injuries and at the Ballet

Since our last post Salem has been very busy.

He has had a contemporary class at Thistle Hall with Lyne Pringle.

He really enjoyed that class and thought that Lyne was a really good teacher and gave him a lot of pointers.

Lyne Pringle

On the 24th February he attended the Boys Class with the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

Martin Videl, the RNZ Ballet's new ballet master, took the class.

Salem didn't enjoy it as much as the previous Boy's Classes he has been to.

The boys didn't get to have a chat with the male company dancers this time and only got to see the company's class for a few minutes.

Then on the 2nd March, he attended the Senior Master Class with the RNZB.

Rory Fairweather-Naeylan took the class and Salem said he did a really good job and Salem enjoyed it a lot.  This was the second class that Salem has had with Rory.

Rory Fairweather-Neylan

The lovely people at the RNZB gave the kids who did the Master Classes, free double passes to see the Made To Move ballet that afternoon.

So we got to see the ballet.  Yay!!!!!!

Made to Move consisted of three very different ballets - "The Anatomy of a Passing Cloud" by Javier De Frutos;  "Of Days" by Andrew Simmons;  and "Bier Halle" by Ethan Stiefel.

We didn't like "The Anatomy of a Passing Cloud" at all and were quite bored with it.  It really wasn't our sort of tatste.  The only part we liked was listening to the wonderful songs by the Yandell Sisters.

"Of Days" was a lot better, beautiful dancing but we found that the projected writing was too distracting.
It was so high up that when you read it, you missed out on the dancing and vice-versa.  The lighting showed off the dancers impressive muscles amazingly.

"Bier Halle" was a bit of a light-hearted laugh.
It was very impressive to see Jonte (Sir Jon Trimmer) do a backward roll!!!!!!

Can't wait to see Swan Lake next season!!!!!!!!

Salem has been doing plenty of practice but has unfortunately has had an injury which has put him back a bit.

He has been over stretched which has affected his hips and thighs so we are working through this with gentle exercises and plenty of massage etc.....

He is still doing all his classes and preparing for the up-coming competitions, The Ribbon Festival and The Alana Haines Awards.