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!!!!!

A Contemporary Class and a Video

Thistle Hall

On Wednesday morning we went into Wellington for another class with the Freelance Dance Community.
This time it was a Contemporary/ Improvisation class with Marisol Vargas.
Salem really enjoyed this class and Marisol was a great teacher.
Marisol is from Chile and even though her english wasn't 100%, Salem still was able to understand what she was saying and really learnt a lot.

Marisol Vargas

Seeing experienced dancers in the class made things easier for him and gave him more confidence in what he was doing.
The improvisation was challenging for him but he joined in with it all and made a real effort.
This was great as it is something we are working on for him.
It is giving him more tools/ ideas as he is wanting to enter in the Contemporary Impromptu section in competitions this year.
Thank you Marisol for the great class and the lovely things you had to say about Salem's dancing.

And a big thank you Alan for sending us the link to the You Tube clip above.
It is great to see a male ballet dancer dance en pointe so well.
Salem just loves this clip.

I've been trying to upload some videos of Salem dancing which we recorded today but it is just not happening.  I will try again another time, hopefully we will be lucky.

Salem practiced today at the studio at the gym but had a few falls as the floor was very slippery today.
It is a yoga studio so doesn't have a dance floor.  Lots of space and mirrors though.
He was very determined to continue on with practicing but when he landed hard on his wrist and sprained it, I said that was enough.  So it was off to get an ice pack.
I put arnica cream on his wrist when we got home.
His wrist was feeling better when he went to bed tonight.