Program
“Slightly Left of Paradise” by David S. Rayne performed by the 7th & 8th grade students of Jordan Middle School.
| Sabrina……………………………………..Ria V. |
| Lydia………………………………………..Amelia S. |
| Helen………………………………………..Ada U. |
| Barb…………………………………………Iris B. |
A musical performance by the Jordan Middle School Choral Program. Amelia received two awards: the Jordan 8th Grade Choral Leadership And Outstanding Choral Musician Award and the Jordan Choral “Expression” Award. Congratulations!
For leadership in the choir!
For most expressive singer in the 8th grade choir!
We finally get to watch the Ailey Dance Theater perform in Berkeley.
Title: Divergent
Main Characters:
Tris (Beatris Prior): A sixteen year old girl, born into the faction of Abnegation (the faction for those who blamed human evil on selfishness), who transfers to the faction of Dauntless (those who blamed evil on cowardice and weakness)
Four (Tobias Eaton): The Dauntless initiate training instructor, of whom there is little known about.
The Story:
Divergent, set in post-apoctalyptic Chicago, is comprised of a society of five factions, or groups of people bonded together depending on what they thought was the reason for the war that destroyed the rest of the world.
Abnegation, the faction that the heroine of this story, Tris, was born into, is the faction of the selfless. They wear plain clothes, eat plain food, and are only allowed to look in a mirror once a month, to demonstrate a lack of obsession about their personal selves and a devotion to the good of others. Abnegation runs the government of Chicago, as they are concerned only for the good of the people and others. Amity, the second faction, is the faction of the kind and peaceful, for those who blamed violence on human failing. They wear bright clothes, and are all cheerful and jolly. They produce food and farm for the rest of the population. Candor, the third faction, was created for those who thought lies and dishonesty was at fault. Their most important rule is to always tell the truth, no matter how painful, and they wear only black and white, to show that the world is only good and evil, truth and lies. Erudite, the fourth faction, was made for people who blamed idiocy and unintelligence. They are all incredibly smart and well educated, with blue as their faction color. They are the inventors of the serum, which is a chemical injected into your neck with transmitters in it that allow people to view what’s happening inside your head, as well as test your aptitude for which faction your personality is best suited for and as shown in Dauntless initiate training, to force you to confront your darkest fears. The last faction is Dauntless. Dauntless train themselves to overcome fear and weakness, first weakness of the body (physical combat, knife throwing, self-defense), then weakness of the mind (using serum to overcome your fears, to brave them).
Tris is sixteen, and it is the day before Choosing Day. When she goes in for the Aptitude Test, administered by a Dauntless woman by the name of Tori, she is told that she must pretend the serum made her sick, that what her aptitude was got messed up. She finds out this is because she is Divergent, something considered evil by Erudite and the rest of the factions, and that if anyone found out she would be killed. With this in mind she goes home and deliberates which faction is best for her. On Choosing Day, she symbolically cuts her palm and sprinkles her blood over the coals that represent Dauntless (and enforce the motto Faction before blood), and begins a new life in her new faction.
Likes:
Dislikes:
“The Student Showcase is our annual school production, in which students perform a dance for each of their classes. It is our policy to use minimal class time for rehearsals, since we are a training school. We incorporate steps that must be learned as a part of the students’ curriculum into combinations, which are then joined together to create dances for the performances. In the past we have had nearly 100 percent participation in the Student Showcase by our students in Level I classes and above.” ~from the PBA website
Amelia will do a solo dance called “Bliss” choreographed by Ms. Brianne. What an honor to be chosen for this lead role among the Level VI dancers. Besides “Bliss”, she will have 5 other dances to do for the Student Showcase.
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This is from a rehearsal photo in costume for “Red Dawn”. “Red Dawn” is choregraphed by Miss Rima.
Amelia is also becoming well-known at her school for her natural ability to mentor younger dancers. Her ability to organize and communicate with the little ones is becoming an asset to the instructors at Pacific Ballet Academy.
Saturday, March 15
12:00 PM – Programs A & B
5:00 PM – Programs A & G
Sunday, March 16
12:00 PM – Programs B & C
5:00 PM – Programs C & G
Program A
Program B
Program C
Program G
DVD Orders:
http://playbackmemories.com/store
The 5 week summer intensive will be held in New York City in the summer of 2014. So if Amelia gets in we’ll need to figure out some housing for her in Manhattan. Amelia has to be in the Junior Division.
Junior Division Summer Intensive Program
June 30, 2014 to August 1, 2014
“The Junior Division Summer Intensive is a 5-week training program for students ages 11-15 with a minimum of three consecutive years of ballet training. The program provides an opportunity for intermediate and advanced dance students to immerse themselves in an intensive training session. Students take daily ballet classes supplemented by additional modern and jazz classes. Advanced girls may also take pointe; advanced boys may take boys’ ballet. Students are provided the opportunity to learn repertory in special workshops, which culminate in the Summer Sizzler performances. All students are evaluated for placement by the Junior Division Directors. During the first week of classes, the program Directors and instructors monitor and evaluate classes to determine that each student is placed in the correct level for his or her ability. Continue reading Ailey School Summer Intensive 2014 Audition
It’s Christmas at last. But this year our Christmas is modest and not as abundant as in previous years. Dad was laid-off from his job several times in the last years so we’re trying to live more frugally. Yet, somehow, Dad has managed to keep my ballet classes going for me because it’s important to me and he knows that. It must be important to him as well.
We enjoy our Christmas because of the little things that friends and family do for us… including this sweet Christmas card hand-made by one of the little dancers at Pacific Ballet Academy…just for me!
This is Christmas enough for us!
Visiting with May Auntie and her son Cousin Justin and looking back 13 years before!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QJxtlGU69I
Title:
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
The Story:
Bilbo, Thorin, Gandalf, and the rest of the gang of dwarfs continue on their journey to make it to the Lonely Mountain before Durin’s Day, or the Dwarfish New Year, because “the last light of Durin’s Day will shine upon the keyhole”, meaning that the last “light” of that day will reveal another way into the Lonely Mountain without disturbing the dragon Smaug, who currently resides there. This ends with one heck of a cliffhanger and more questions then answers. Thanks, Peter Jackson.
Likes:
The kinda-ish Kili/Tauriel romance thing going on. It’s adorable and cute.
Tauriel. She was not an original character of Tolkien’s Hobbit, but she is an extraordinary addition and helps balance out the leading men to leading women ratio, with Lady Galadriel in only one scene and Arwen not even in the Hobbit series. She is an extremely Tolkien character and a true Woodland elf.
The detail in sets and the everyday life of everyone else in Middle-Earth: Because The Hobbit isn’t about a war dealing with all of Middle-Earth and just one race (mainly) and one kingdom, you get a chance to see how men and elves and dwarfs live; a little more insight into their everyday lives and rituals and more history of Middle-Earth.
Dislikes:
The cliffhanger. Oh my word, the cliffhanger. This movie answers no questions, and only resolves the how-to-get-to-the-Lonely-Mountain story arc. It leaves everything else open and unresolved, as well as introduce new arcs. I can’t wait for the next movie.
“To celebrate the holiday season among friends”
To celebrate Christmas and Hanukah, I host an annual holiday tea party with a few of my very best friends. There will be three of us this time (two cancelled). We can exchange gifts and be sisters for one afternoon. We get to practice our etiquette and afternoon tea manners at Lisa’s Tea Treasures in Los Altos.
Exciting!
We unanimously ordered the Christmas Special which consisted of English breakfast tea, salmon mousse sandwiches, chicken salad and cranberry sandwiches, apple and brie tart, cinnamon scone with clotted creme and preserves, and broccoli cheddar soup. The broccoli cheddar soup was especially yummy!
And Maya looks like she’d just got off a private jet from New York City! She’s so cool. Kate really hit it off with Maya and we were all super happy to be together!
