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Tag: dance

  • Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker on Tour! + Discount Tickets

    Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker on Tour! + Discount Tickets

    I will receive tickets to attend Moscow Ballet’s Great Russion Nutcracker in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

    I love love love the ballet! When I was 3 I remember my mom taking me to see a performance (either Swan Lake or The Nutcracker). Since I was only 3 they weren’t going to allow me in, but my Mom convinced the teller that I would be perfectly quiet, and possibly better than some of the others there – so they let me in!

    I was sold on the beauty. While I wanted to take lessons, I knew I would never dance professionally. When my oldest turned 3 however, I got her into dance classes. She has grown into a beautiful young lady, and truly has the perfect dancers body. She loves dancing, and it is during her classes I see her really shine with a smile on her face that’s hard to come by most days.

    When I heard Moscow Ballet’s Great Russion Nutcracker would be going on tour this fall, and that we lived close enough to one of the performances, I’ve been a bit stalkerish, lol. This is something I would love to take all my girls to, but for the sake of the audience, will probably be just the oldest and myself going.

    The production includes over 200 costumes and 10 foot tall playful animal puppets! There’s a life sized Matrushka Doll – the nesting dollw – and a puppet show that shadows the Nutcracker Story at the opening Chrismas Party. The really cool part I’ve never seen, a golden cannon shoots roses out during the battle between the Nutcracker and the Rat Kind. Finally in Act II there is a “Dove of Peace” with a 20 foot wingspan with 2 dancers on each wing.

    I seriously can not wait for November 28th to roll around! Find the full tour schedule here.

    Get your Discount Tickets!
    Use the code JOY for the biggest discount around!

  • Allons Danser! Learning French through Song and Dance

    Allons Danser! Learning French through Song and Dance

    Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

    I started learning French in 5th grade. For 2 years it was part of our rotation with other classes like Home Economics, Shop, and Art. When 7th grade rolled around though, kids with high grades in Reading and Language Arts could choose to drop their reading class and take French. I loved it. I never truly got the conjugations and his/her possessives. Though I could say a few words here and there, it never really stuck. 

    So when my senior year of high school rolled around and I found myself sitting in an AP class, getting ready to take a college test in FRENCH – I took a hard look at what I knew. And what I knew was that I had no idea how I was even getting an A in the class, because I was pretty sure I was fudging my way through. I felt all I truly knew were sight words, and a few phrases like “puis-je aller aux toilettes?” (translation anyone…)
    At that point I decided it would be best if I dropped my French class, and moved on to other interests. I regret, not that decision, but that I didn’t work harder, and study more while taking those classes. I viewed them more as fun, than useful. 
    This year, we had the opportunity to sign Princess C up for a dual immersion program that would run 6 years. I looked into it, and loved the idea of her learning a language at such a young age. They say children catch onto foreign languages easier than adults because they are still learning to form different sounds (or something like that). Unfortunately after I continued to look into the immersion and even drove over to drop off our application, I just didn’t feel it was right for her or us. boo, sad face.

    THEN I heard about WhistleFritz. Started in 2006 by a mom looking for a way to teach her children a second language. When she couldn’t find anything on the market to fit their needs, she made her own.

    Allons Danser! has 20 songs on it, some of which are classics we already know, others are new to us. Rather than tell you about them though, just watch my kids listening and having fun.

    They’re having so much fun! The kids can now name different body parts thanks to La Tete, Les Epaules (Head/Shoulders), and can count to three with Un, Deux et Trois. The music is all upbeat and fun, so even if they aren’t listening to the words, they can have a lot of fun dancing around. Eventually they’ll start picking up on it. 
    Have your kids learned a second language?


    I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

  • Dance the week away

    Dance the week away

    Shortly after we moved back to Utah County (or as I call it, back to society), one of my old high school friends hosted an ice cream social. It was exciting to get together with these friends I hardly ever see anymore, and meet their spouses and kids.
    While at the ice cream social, a Wii was pulled out, and the game Just Dance was turned on. My kids love to dance. Most nights they perform little dance shows for us, and get all dressed up. They will spend their weekends “practicing” for the dance shows to show “our audience”.

    I’m sure you see where this is going right? So Just Dance is put into the Wii. I’ve heard of it, but never actually seen it, or played it. I found it to be a lot of fun, and of course my kids too. I think Princess V and Princess C took over 2 of the wii-motes for the rest of the night.

    As soon as we got home, I started looking into Just Dance. We’ve really been getting into the Wii lately, and playing family games, but I wanted something a little more active for them, that didn’t take a lot of strategy.

    Initial Concerns:

    Music? With Mark holding a BA in Music Education we are pretty picky about they genres of music we let the kids listen to. That’s not to say we don’t let them enjoy kid music, but we want it to be quality.
    Lyrics? Lyrics were a big concern. I want them clean, and I want them about something good.
    Dance Moves? Especially with how often I see videos of little girls dancing suggestively, this was important to me. My little girls do not need to know how to shimmy, and shake their booty.

    With these concerns in mind, we decided to hold off on getting Just Dance for the kids. But then I heard about Just Dance Kids 2014 coming out, and I knew we should at least check it out. If it didn’t meet our standards in music, lyrics and dancing, we could just pass it on.

    I am really happy to tell you all, that as a picky parent, I approve of Just Dance Kids 2014, and so do my kids.

    Watch this video of the kids jamming out to some of our favorite songs on the play list to get a good feel for the different types of songs, and dance moves you can expect from Just Dance Kids 2014
    How did Just Dance Kids 2014 do?
    Music: I was sold when I found the opening and closing theme to Fraggle Rock on the play list. A little disappointed when I found out Magic Carpet Ride is not from Aladdin, but still good music. 
    Lyrics: Completely clean. The songs are all uplifting, or just plain fun, with selections like “I Like to Move It” and “Walking On Sunshine”, I am pleased. 
    Dance Moves: A few of the songs in the “All Ages” play list contained moves just a little out of my comfort zone, but nothing suggestive or aggressive. 
    Keep up with all the latest happenings for Just Dance on the Ubisoft Blog
    Or purchase a copy of Just Dance Kids 2014
    for your own system (Wii, XBox 360, and Wii-U) on Amazon.

    I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

  • The Girly Girl in me {Haircoverings Review and Giveaway}

    The Girly Girl in me {Haircoverings Review and Giveaway}

    I’ve told you all how I’m no girly girl.

    At least I wasn’t for a long time. I considered myself a tomboy. I enjoyed getting out and getting dirty. Playing with the boys. I have 2 older brothers that I always looked up to, and wanted to be like them.

    I don’t wear makeup. I’m not a very good hair-doer (unless I spend uber amounts of time I don’t have to get it right).   And, I’m just not very stylish. I’m working on that one though. I want more cute and fun styles.

    I want my girls to have a sense of fashion that their mother lacks. So they can put themselves together, look nice, but also value themselves for who they are, not what the look like. The joys of trying to balance life and values.

    I was really excited to get to review a product from HairCoverings.com again (they sent my girls a pretty hat and flower clip last year).  This year I was looking more for me. I wanted something to add, that still kept me, me.  I’m pretty happy with this black scarf I received. Since it’s black I can pair it with just about any outfit for a little dressier feel. Despite it’s thin feel, it actually kept my neck nice and warm on a cold night.

    As you can probably guess, my oldest is quite the girly girl. I received the black scarf just in time to wear to her ballet recital. 
    Princess V absolutely loves dancing, and really enjoys her new dance studio (I was so glad we found one in the area thanks to TimeDog).  You can see she is quite the Diva, as she leaves the stage waving to her fans.

    I love the wide range of products I can get from HairCoverings.com as well as the reasonable pricing. I have a feeling I’ll be visiting them many times over the years for all my girly girl needs. 

    *I have to add though, working with their PR was a bit confusing at times, but everything fell into place, and overall I am happy to work with them. 

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    *I received products mentioned above to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.
    
  • Dance Recital {Wordless Wedmesday}

    Dance Recital {Wordless Wedmesday}

    Tuesday we spend the day running between dance rehearsal and the recital. The princesses sure looked cute all dressed up, and they did a great job too!