The Mysterious Miss Hannigan

The lovely Miss Hannigan - Kapiti Comps 2015

Aaaaah..... Miss Hannigan!!!!!
What can I say....??????
I love Miss Hannigan!!!!!!!

After being Daddy Warbucks in my dance schools production of "Annie" in December 2014, one song stuck in my head, "Little Girls".
So I thought why not.  I've been Rooster, Daddy Warbucks and now Miss Hannigan, and I'll be her en pointe!!!!

Pointe shoes

I needed a new demi-character dance, even though I still enjoyed doing "Robin Hood", but I needed a challenge.  I still bring out Robin Hood and Truffles the horse occasionally for musical theatre though.
And I wanted to do another humorous dance, demi-characters can be so serious.
So why not be a boy dancing en pointe, wearing a dress and a wig, looking like a drunken mess.

Spilt wine glass

I kept my theme a secret from everyone so it could be a surprise when I finally got to perform it at the Dance Art Comps in May 2015, which also happened to be my 15th birthday.

Bloomers and a little girl with red hair

I gave hints on my facebook page, "Ballet Boy - Salem Foxx", such as the three photos above - the pointe shoes, wine glass, bloomers and a doll (little girl) with red hair (Annie).

Everyone guessed I was dancing en pointe, but nobody connected the clues to Annie or "Little Girls".

Miss Hannigan waking up from a hard night drinking

Mum had great fun getting me a wig and then going through her old clothes to find the perfect dress, fishnets and dressing gown for Miss Hannigan to wear. 

Mum couldn't stop laughing every time I practiced in costume.

Introducing Miss Hannigan

It was so funny when it was performance day at the Dance Art Comps, I got a lot of strange looks and people didn't recognise me. I could see that some of the other dancers were wondering who this strange new girl was backstage.  That was until I talked.

They knew I was going to dance en pointe, but not that I was going to be in drag.
There was quite a few of the other dancers, who weren't dancing in this class, at the side of the stage, waiting to see me dance.

Me and Mum set out my props on stage when it was my turn.
I placed myself on my chair and thought "this is it"!

What a sight - Dance Art Comps 2015

I had a ball!!!!!
It was soooo much fun!!!!
I had finally done it, performed and competed en pointe!!!!!!!
I loved every moment of it.
Mum said that other dancers and dance teachers had crammed themselves side stage in the wings to watch me, a boy en pointe.
This is what the audience and adjudicator saw.
https://youtu.be/h3c6CeuWVhU

I had such a good time, made people laugh and achieved a personal milestone.
Then to top it off, when the results were read out, I had been awarded 1st!!!!!!!
I really couldn't believe it.

Miss Hannigan - Queens Birthday Comps 2015

This next video is part of my dance which was filmed at the Kapiti Comps 2015.
Not my best performance as I had a very badly swollen big toe and foot, I actually didn't think I would be able to perform at all at those comps but I managed with plenty of paracetamol, ibruprofen, arnica cream, and the list goes on..........
https://youtu.be/Wb3_14UiUCk

I am only doing one competition this year, the Kapiti Comps which is local for me.  It is held at Southward's Theatre.
And the lovely Miss Hannigan will be making another appearance.
Wish I could take her out more often.

I'm so pretty!!!!!!

I've been working on some new dances this year and will be debuting them at the Kapiti Comps.
My new jazz dance is quite funny.  I also have a new lyrical and am doing two new variations.  Plus I have entered the classical en pointe class too.
But I'm not telling, I will be hinting, until competition day.
Salem

Last Practice of 2013 and Plenty of Pointe

Today was Salem's last practice session for the year.

It's not open tomorrow either, pity as Salem really wants to do some work on his dances and to do some more pointe practice.

Normally he doesn't take his pointe shoes to the gym as the floor is incredibly slippery and he is constantly having to wet his normal ballet shoes so he isn't slipping all the time.  Unfortunately we can't use rosin there.

So we put yoga mats on the floor which worked quite well and used the step ladder as a barre.

Salem hasn't been doing as much pointe practice lately due to being so busy with all his other dancing but  is now very determined to put loads of practice in and to have a dance choreographed and ready for competitions towards the later part of 2014.

We are thinking a demi-character dance would be good.

Salem is now on to his third pair of pointe shoes and we aren't colouring them yet until we decide on costuming, that's if his feet don't grow before then.

His last two pairs of pointe shoes were Bloch Sylphide's but we decided to go for a Grishko pair, not sure what they are called but they fit him perfectly and have a slightly longer vamp and are nice and narrow.
He says they are very comfortable.  So we are sticking to these ones now.

Last Acro class of the year.

So we will end this year with a photo of Salem's Acro class, we hope you had a great Christmas and wish you

Happy New Year!!!!!

Blue Pointe Shoes and a Medal

Having a quick practice

Salem did very well at the Associated Ballet & Theatre Club Inc's 44th Annual Dancing Competitions yesterday.
It was held at the Little Theatre in Lower Hutt so we had a long journey to get there.
He wasn't dancing until after 6.30pm so we had a nice afternoon in Wellington before getting the bus out to the Hutt.
Salem competed in the Classical 12 yr olds against lots of very good experienced dancers and all were girls.
Salem was placed 3rd.
He couldn't believe it when he got his report and it contained a medal.
It is the first medal he has won at competitions and he is extremely pleased with himself.
And of course I am very proud of him as usual.

Some of the comments on his report are:

"What lovely long legs you have Salem.
You dance very musically.
Some strong jumps and tours shown."

It's great to see his hard work rewarded.
Salem got on well with the girls and will be seeing some of them next weekend for the Genee Dance Challenge.
He has practice for that as well as a Grade 5 class tomorrow evening at his dance school, even though it is a public holiday.

Salem and his blue pointe shoes

On Friday Salem wore his pointe shoes in class for the first time.
The girls liked the colour of the shoes and helped him with tying up his ribbons as he had never had to do this before.
He had his Intermediate Foundation class and while the girls wore their usual ballet slippers, Salem wore his pointe shoes for the whole class.
He did really well and said that a lot of the barre exercises are actually easier when wearing the pointe shoes.
His feet felt funny but soon felt normal after class.

The class really helped break his pointe shoes in.
He had been wearing them at home with socks over the top of them to break them in and even went to sleep with them on in bed.
I had to take them off him in the middle of the night to give his feet a break from them.
It's funny watching him wearing his pointe shoes while he is making up one of his model WWII fighter planes.
He is very excited about wearing them.

First Pair of Pointe Shoes

At Gubbs buying his pointe shoes

Today we went into Wellington to "Gubbs" (a dancewear/shoe shop) to get Salem his first pair of pointe shoes.  He was so excited.
"A boy getting pointe shoes!!!" you say.
Well Salem has been wanting to dance en pointe ever since his ballet teacher asked his older brother, who was also a ballet dancer, if he wanted to learn pointe.
His brother said no, but it put the idea into his head that he could, as before he didn't think boys were allowed to have pointe shoes.

So this year the girls in his ballet class have started using pointe shoes, they first had to do a written test to get their Pointe Shoe Licence and Salem did the test too.
He passed and because of being so busy over the last few months didn't get him his shoes.
But the other day in class, his teacher mentioned to him that he can go and get his shoes and start using them with everyone else.  So off we went.

He said they feel really weird but can't wait for his teacher to check that they fit him properly so he can break them in and dye them a different colour.  He so doesn't want pink.  We will probably colour them black or even blue.  He wants a manly colour.
They will be ready for when he goes back to classes after the school holidays.

Men in Tutus

We went to see Men in Tutus earlier this year and he just loved them.
He thought they were so funny and was so impressed with them dancing en pointe.
He thought that one day he might be able to join a company like that as it looked like so much fun.

We know not many boys would like to dance en pointe but this is another skill he wants to have for his ballet career.
He has been getting himself ready with specific exercises for his feet, ankles etc at the gym.
We will keep you posted as to how he goes with it all.