Ballet is Hard!

I just watched this video and just about died laughing. This little girl is 100% the cutest thing I've ever seen. She also reminds me of exactly how I felt every time I tried to do a turned-out first position.

I feel her pain.

I think I'll watch it again.

Sometimes its fun to be nerdy...

We watched this video recently in my marketing class and I'm pretty much obsessed with it. I love these nerdy statisticy videos. This one was done by a website called Socialnomics. If you like them too, check out this one by National Geographic to find out if you are a typical human being. In the meantime, let's be nerdy together and watch this little gem.

via

I may or may not have downloaded the song in this video and it may or may not be my new happy tune... although this one still does it every time, too.

Point Shoes

Check out this fascinating mini-documentary called "Point Shoes" that Galen Summer edited and directed for the New York City Ballet.

Then, when you're done, go to Galen's website and check out his other videos... my favorites were the one about making tutus and the one about a pas de deux from the dancer's perspective (obviously) but the others were pretty awesome too!

p.s. LOVE the guy from the "Whisky Stones" video and the scenery from that video is beautiful and has officially cemented my desire to move to Vermont.

Can't You Hear That Boom, Badoom, Boom, Boom, Badoom, Boom Bass?

Now, I'm not a Nicki Minaj fan at all. But I'm absolutely loving Sophia Grace and Rosie. They are quite possibly the cutest things in the entire world. Check out their amazing appearance on Ellen a few weeks ago...

And then they actually met Nicki...

Well, they were back on Ellen today...

I could watch those two forever!

14 Years and Counting...

(I had to keep with the theme)

As of this week, the Lion King has been on Broadway for 14 years.

It is the most amazing show I have ever seen.

Period.

I Want to Work Here.

Mediabistro (a website/newsletter thing about the book, news, and entertainment industry that I subscribe to) does this really cool thing called "Cubes," which is basically a spin-off of MTV's "Cribs" except they tour the offices of major publishers and entertainment people.

Today's episode featured the SOHO headquarters of Scholastic. Words cannot express how much this made me want to work there.... it looks amazing!

Enjoy!

Love This

Best. Commercial. Ever.

Seriously. How cute is this kid?!?

Harry. Flipping. Potter.

Beyond excited.

Dancin' Through the Pages

Last, last weekend (well Friday and Saturday actually) my ballet studio held its spring recital. This year, instead of doing a full length ballet, we did a themed recital with lots of different dances all based on the theme "Dancin' Through the Pages." So, each dance represented a book, like Don Quixote, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Miss. Muffet, or Guess How Much I Love You. The only exception was our "big girl" piece, which was called "The Classics Revisited" and not really based on anything.

"The Classics Revisited" was actually really cool. It was an almost 15 minute, three movement piece, done to Pachelbel's Canon, the third movement to Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, and Black Violin's Brandenburg (a crazy hip-hopized version of Brandenburg No. 3's second movement). See the videos below for the soundtrack. I apologize in advance for Brandenburg's crazy music video. 

  Pachelbel's Canon                                   Brandenburg No. 3 Mvt. 3

 

Brandenburg

Anyway, it was really cool. And we got to wear pretty costumes.

My other role in the recital was as Little Miss. Muffet. I got to wear a killer wig. (literally killer... I (and everyone else who got to witness the epic event) almost died from laughter the first time I tried to wear that thing. It was crazy. And it almost flew off my head while I was turning. But a slight haircut and several (hundred) well placed bobby pins later and it was much more wearable.

My spider was pretty darn adorable too.

Ailey = Amazing.

On Monday evening about 20 girls from my ballet school and I, along with a few parent chaperone/drivers, and our teachers, trapised (well drove actually) down to Lexington to see Ailey II perform at Washington and Lee University.

Needless to say it was beyond amazing. Here are a few highlights from what we saw.

Revelations is probably one of the most iconic pieces from the Alvin Ailey repertory.

This is a video from the Ailey website with highlights from Revelations.

Another cool piece we saw was one called Takademe.

This is another highlight video from that.

Heavy Metal Music...

Literally!

As promised the musical stylings of Doc Cudd, the blacksmith at the Biltmore House and one of only five known anvil players in the states. Loved him!

Animal

Apparently I'm in a video rut considering that five out of my last seven posts have included them. But I can't help it... this was just too good.

Once again Glee has pulled off an amazing production, this time in the form of the Warblers singing a cover of Animal by Neon Trees.

I love the original, in fact I pretty much love all of Neon Trees' songs, but this was just ridiculous. Glee is ridiculous. Kurt is ridiculous. Just watch...

Seriously can't get enough of Kurt in this song. He's so flipping adorable. I mean really. What is he doing?

Love it.


Six out of eight posts... this is pathetic.

That's Crazy Right?!

If I wasn't already a happy Verizon customer, I'd totally go Virgin Mobile over these commercials... they're amazing.

I ♥ This.

I finally ordered Ian Axel's cd. It wasn't the best CD I've ever heard, but it certainly had it's moments and I didn't feel like I'd wasted $7.99 by a long shot.

While This Is The New Year will forever and always be my favorite Ian Axel song, The Music That Haunts This Town, is going directly into my nap mix, my chill out mix, and next year (if I need it) it's totally going into my study mix.

Ian Axel is an amazing piano player.

(please ignore the awkward video)

So Typical

via National Geographic

Probably the coolest thing I've seen all week!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today marToday marked the momentous occasion of the anniversary of the birth of one of the most impressive wordsmiths around. Theodor Seuss Geisel!

He wrote some of my favorite book as a kid... The Cat In The Hat, Fox in Sox, The Lorax, and of course How The Grinch Stole Christmas (which, incidentally happens to still be one of my favorite Christmas movies).

Also super fun is "Seuss Landing" which is one of the worlds in Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fl. I got the opportunity to immerse myself in the land of Seuss back in November and I must say that (aside from Harry Potter Land) it was my favorite part of Universal. It was just so darn cute!
 
The most recent Dr. Seuss inspired creation is a new animated show on PBS, The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That, which is very cute and never fails to make you want to rhyme. Even better, it very cleverly teaches kids science, with lessons about rainforests, sea creatures, and even amoebas!
 
Check it out!

Don't You Want Me?

I honestly don't know how they do it, but the music guys on Glee are genius. Seriously. They have the ability to take a song I don't like and make me love it.

A prime example would be Katy Perry's Teenage Dream. Hated it. Loved the Glee version.

Tuesday night they did it again. Don't You Want Me by The Human League is a song that I'm not a huge fan of, due mostly to the fact that it plays constantly on the family friendly "maximum variety" radio station we listen to at Grandma's. But that's a whole other bag of beans.

When Blaine and Rachel sang it however, it was pretty much amazing.

Check it out.



Rachel's dress is also pretty spectacular. The other highlight of the episode would definitely have to be when the principal called Ke$ha "Key Dollar Sign Ha." Those three things made my life (or at least evening).

I So Hope This Album Rocks

I can't believe that it was only a little over a year ago that I got This is the New Year by Ian Axel as a free Discovery Download on iTunes. It is still quite possibly my favorite song ever.

I've posted it before, but seriously, who couldn't love this song, this video, this guy. So worth a second posting.

As you can probs imagine, after hearing this song, I immediately started searching for more. Alas, until a little (a very little) while ago, this song was the only one I could find.

Now, finally after so many months waiting, Ian Axel is releasing an album on Monday. I may die of excitement. I hope it doesn't suck.

Check out previews of This is the New Year (the album) here, curtsy of iTunes.

Water for Elephants

Perhaps one of the best books I read last year, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, has been turned into a movie. I'm pretty excited for April 15.

Happy B-day Ludwig!

If he was still alive Beethoven would have turned 240-years-old today. Geez.

The Moonlight Sonata is one of my favorites of his.

Apparently he dedicated this sonata to a girl he loved and who loved him too, but when he proposed, her dad said refused to let her accept. Bummer. It's still pretty though.