Our Savior has come!!

Merry Christmas from JumpwithJoy!!!  May you dance with joy because our savior is born and we are set free!

Today we celebrate the birth of Christ the King - our SAVIOR!!!  If that's not a reason to dance, I don't know what is. :)

Merry CHRISTMAS!!

"Look to God that you may be radiant with joy" Psalm 34:6

Love,
Mandy

Barre Stretch!

I don't know about you, but my ballet class has a set barre stretch that we do at every class every week.  It's a nice rest after a difficult barre, and since it's the same each week, I don't have to think a whole ton about it, just sort of count and breath.  It's great after a difficult barre--or an easy one for that matter--it just feels great.

 Here is where I found another blessing: I can pray during barre stretch!  It's the perfect time to re-give your dancing to the Lord and to refocus while you dance.  It's calming and grace-filled - a present from God!

Pray during your barre stretch - it's a gift from God!!!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Mandy

P.S.  Another thing about a barre stretch: I personally think that you should always purposefully life your foot onto the barre during barre stretch.  Even just a 2 count develope, or a releve lent or anything rather than the lift-and-flop method.  Even after a hard barre, you owe it to yourself to make you dancing that much more polished.  Just my opinion there for y'all. P

Pics found on pinterest and tumblr :)

Who are you dancing for???

The countdown to the Nutcracker has started.  Only a few weeks away!!  Everyone is feverishly practicing and preparing for the show.  You can't let the choreographer down, or your family who is coming to watch, not to mention your entire audience who actually paid to watch you dance.  No pressure, right?

Oh-- and then there's dance class and school and Christmas shopping and homework and you actually need to sleep at some point too.....

This season is so great and so stressful.  I'm really excited to be in the Nutcracker, but I'm nervous too.  I want to do my absolute best, but I also have to do all of the stuff mentioned above.  Stress and excitement levels are really high.

So here's something to think about while you're running around during this season of preparation: dance for Jesus alone.  In your dance of life (homework, school stuff, sports, sleep, eating, etc), do it for Jesus.  He's the One who cares the most and matters the most, and He will give you a reason to keep dancing your life when you feel ready to drop.

And in your dance life, try this: dance for Him alone.  In class, during rehearsal, dance for the King of Kings.  Don't worry about the others; do your best for the One who matters!

I'm going to try this, and I think it's going to be difficult to remember and do at first, but I want to find true peace and joy during Nutcracker, class, and everything.

Jesus, I want to dance for You alone today.  Be with me and give me strength, Jesus, as I live for You!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Mandy

Beautiful for Me

This amazing song by Nichole Nordeman was the credits song of VeggieTales' Sweat Pea Beauty.  Don't be put off because it's VeggieTales, this song is meant for you.  I think that we dancers need to remember this over and over, because we are aiming for beauty and perfection and as human beings, perfection is really, really hard to achieve.  We are beautiful because we were created by God.  He is working in us to glorify Him with the beauty we make by dancing, even when it's not perfect in our eyes.

This song says the truth.  I pray that you can receive it as you dance the Divine Dance!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy

Don't Limit Yourself!

Have you ever heard someone tell you not to limit yourself to a double? Or a triple, or whatever you're used to doing?  My teacher told us to stay in releve the entire time we're turning so that we can see where we are falling, because dancers often automatically drop out of a pirouette just because they are used to stopping, not because they are done with the turn.

Today I read from two different sources about the power of expectations.  The Word Among Us said, "Don't limit what God can do for you, in you, and through you.  Life with him is full of surprises!"  So it's the same with God?  In One Thousand Gifts Ann Voskamp, went as so far to say, "Expectations kill relationships--especially with God" (169).

Wow.  Today I don't want to limit myself to what I expect from God, or to a double pirouette.  It won't be easy, and I won't do it perfectly, but I think it's what God wants of me today.  Are you with me?

"He must increase but I must decrease." -John 3:30

-Mandy

P.S.  The dancer in above video does a great job of pulling up during her whole turn.  This is key for multiple pirouettes!!

Cupcake Day

This isn't a ballet post... balletic stuff will come soon :) but here's what I have for ya'll today:

Today is National Pro-Life Cupcake Day.

The point is to hand out cupcakes in remembrance of all of the kids in the world never had a birthday, who never got to eat a cupcake in celebration for their life.

Life is a precious gift that is being denied to many children.  Today we remember their would-have-been birthdays with a cupcake and a prayer.

Lord, thank you for the life that you have given us.  Please bring the souls of the babies that haven't had birthdays swiftly to you.  Lord, please bring an end to abortion.  We ask this in Your holy name, Amen.

Happy Dancer?

Hey look!  See it? a pretty dancer :)  Not surprised, are you?  What can I say?  I really like inspiring photos of beautiful dancers.

Oh look... there's another one. ;)

Ok - just one more:

Notice anything in particular about these dancers?  They're all smiling.

So? Here's a little story:

You just finished a difficult combination.  Panting hard, you follow your teacher's instructions and head to the center.  Guess what you get to do?  Jumps.  Hard, slow, jumps.

How do you get through it?  Well, here's one thing that helps me (with hard combo's and dances, unless, of course your teacher tells you not to): SMILE.

It helps!  Smiling helps relax your face and with your body relaxed it can be easier to work.  It won't solve all of your technique issues, but it will help you relax and make a difficult combo much more enjoyable.  It also looks polished and professional.

Try it - God loves a happy dancer. :)

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy 

Maybe...

Maybe you are that lucky one with a perfect leap.  Maybe your feet put Svetlana Zakharova to shame (ok, so I don't know if that's possible...) Maybe you are that one who has the best expression.  Maybe you are great at petit allegro, but adage kills you.  Maybe pirouettes are your forte but your jumps just don't make the cut.  Maybe you feel like a great dancer.  Maybe you just don't feel adequate today.

No mater where you come from, no matter how you do it, this is true:

Dance with what He has given you and He will make it great. 

Trust that God has a plan.  Trust that God knows how tomorrow will work out and how the next 12 years will work out.  He will make your life-dance great, no matter where you are.

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy

Only Reflection

"All beauty is only reflection." - Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts (112).

I read this passage in Ann Voskamp's great book this morning.  Immediately I thought about ballet.  In most circumstances, dancers strive to achieve beauty, and after much hard work, it's usually achieved!  Sometimes I have a moment where I look in the mirror and think yes!!! it's working!!!!  Even though I don't have those moments all the time, it's easy to let prideful thoughts seep through the success.

So when I read this passage, it made me realize how wrong I am about my beauty.  What I see as beautiful in the mirror is a reflection of the beauty of God, not of my success.   "He has not called me to be successful, he has called me to be faithful." -Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  So when I am successful, I want to turn it into faith by giving it to God.

Dear Lord, please give me the true humility to see Your beauty in everything others do and the things I do too.  Use me to reflect You today!!!!!!!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy

Picture from: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/grand%20jete?before=17

The Freezy Dance

Today I have a really mini testimony to share.  It has to do with ballet too - here goes:

Yesterday my two year-old little brother was privileged enough to receive a freezy.  It was bright red.  He proceeded to bring it down into our basement.

I didn't take much notice of this occurrence until I went downstairs to practice ballet.  (We have a hard floor downstairs and we have some mirrors that I got from my Grandma's house set up.  A ledge along the wall serves as a barre - I am so thankful for the set up!!)  Anyways, I was about to slip my technique shoes on when I noticed that sticky red drips covered the floor.  It looked as if my brother had sprinkled his freezy all over the floor.... I sighed, grabbed up a wet paper towel, and wiped up the mess.

It only took a few minutes, so I was soon running through plies and tendus.  When I get to degajes, I tried to make myself really push against the floor.  I have had many teachers tell my class to pretend that something sticky is on the floor and we need to try to work through our feet before they leave the ground.  Guess what?  Pretending that something sticky was on the ground became really, really, easy, because now there was something sticky on the floor!  As I began to degaje side, my foot came in contact with a bit of freezy that I had missed.  Sssliiddeee!  My foot pushed against the stickiness, through the ground and lifted off the floor.

The moral of my story??  (yes, there is one :P)

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28.

God used my two year old brother to help me with my technique by spilling his freezy all over the basement.  Maybe you think it's just a coincidence - God didn't do anything.  I don't think so.  God is always working - you just have to look for His loving hands.

How has God worked in your life lately?

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy

Picture found at: http://www.classicalballet.com/

{love me through the trial}

I know that You are always loving me.  I know that everything that You do in my life is a reflection of Your love.

This doesn't seem like Your love.  I can't see how You will show me Your love through it.  It's not what I want right now.

But somehow you are going to love me because of this.  So even though I'm really confused and frustrated and sad, I'm going to hold on.  Because I know that you'll love me through this trial.

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

WANTED!

God, I give you my desires and trust in YOU.  Thank you for hearing me.

If I Succeed Today

I am tired:

all the better to give You the glory...

I am weak:
All the better to give You the glory...
I have failed countless times:
All the better to give You the glory...

If I succeed today.

"We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us."
-2 Corinthians 4:7

{Picture found at: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/shiriny/images/17955810/title/beautiful-ballet-pictures-photo}

Strength

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -Philippians 4:13

It's true.  "But," you say, "I do all of the work when I'm dancing!"

Well, in a way, you do.  Your body extends it's own leg into arabesque.  Your body uses its own head to spot corner one.  Your body pushes you into the air for a royale.

So yes, it's you who does all of the work.  Right?

Wait. Who made you?  Who keeps your heart beating?  Who opened up the door so that you could study dance?  Who gave you the love for dance in the first place?

I think this is so cool: God designed you so that you would love to dance (or do whatever it is you are passionate about)!  He knew you, and He knew that this particular form of praising Him would give you joy.

Yes, in a way, you are doing the work.  But really, God is present and alive all of the time.  He is giving you life, perseverance, commitment, and passion.

So thank Him!!!  Jesus loves you, and even when things are difficult and seem impossible, He is there for you, holding you up, giving you strength.

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

{You know that Feeling?}

You know the feeling that you did a good job?  The very last minute of the dance, when you just know that it was good?

I really like that.  

Or the time when your teacher tells you that you did a great job?

I really like that, too.

I love feeling like I'm a good dancer.  It's fun to feel amazing and awe inspiring and fantastic.  But is it true?

Imagine that you just completed the best pirouette of your life.  You've worked so hard, and finally all of that hard, grueling work payed off.  It's all because of you.  You worked, you sweated, you tried, you failed, and now you succeeded!  You did it all, right?

Nope.  God did.  God worked in you.  He sweated in you.  He tried in you.  He allowed you to fail.  And now He just allowed you to succeed.  

Wipe the sweat off of your brow and give your creator a hug.  Tell Him thank you.  Show Him what you've learned.  Thank Him!  God, the creator, the lover, the healer, did it in you.  You have Him to thank.

That is humility.  

"To be humble is to walk in truth" -St. Theresa of Avila 

If you ever feel like giving up....

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Note: I did not create this photo, but I'm not sure who did.  Thank you pinterest!

Spring to Jesus!

"He...sprang up and came to Jesus." -Mark 10:50

Did you see it?  In this passage, a blind man springs up and runs to Jesus in order to be healed.  He was so in love with Jesus, so eager to let Him work.  He sprang up and ran to the Lord.

As I was pondering over this verse, I couldn't help thinking of springing up to releve en pointe.  When you spring, you can't jump up too hard, because then you will crush your toes.  You can't climb up to releve either, or else you won't get up in your box.  You need just enough umph to get you up, and just enough strength and stability to keep you there.

Is it that hard to spring to the Lord?  Do we need to find the perfect way to pray and then we'll find Jesus?  Of course not!   Thanks to God's glorious grace, we can surrender ourselves to Him.  Jesus will take what we give Him, so don't be afraid to give Him everything.  Spring to the Lord in prayer and give Him yourself.

When you practice springs in class, think about springing to Jesus.  He's the ultimate dance partner, so spring away!

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy

Pirouettes Are Back!

First off, I want to apologize that this blog has been silent lately!  Hopefully, now that summer is here, I'll be able to post a bit more.

I have promised that I would post more about releves and pirouettes.  I haven't forgotten, even though it's been a million years since this post.

Well, as I've slowly progressed, my teachers have given me a few pointers and corrections about pirouettes that I'd like to share here.

• Instead of springing onto releve retire, try to "push the floor away from you."  This should feel like a strong push down into the ground instead of a "sproing" into retire.  This habit helps avoid "jumping" into releve on your pointe shoes and helps you turn more smoothly.
• In turns from fourth position, be sure not to "sit" in your back foot.  Instead of putting all of your weight into your back foot, use it as the force to get you turning.  
• SPOT!!! I've said this before, but it makes a huge difference.  Find a picture, or a spot on the wall, or someone's face, or the piano player, or whatever!  Just spot and it will help!
• A teacher once said to me about pirouettes, "It's like a cookie cutter shape hung on a string.  The shape stays the same, you just turn it."  Try to keep the same shape all of the way around and then hold it as you finish, just like the girl in the picture below.

Again, my turns need lots of work and I hope that my little discoveries will help out some. :)

I also found this article insightful, as well as some tidbits from The Ballet Companion, by Eliza Gaynor Minden.

-Mandy

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

"The Divine Dance" - A Book Review

Today I want to share with you a book that I finally finished reading and found amazingly inspiring.

The Divine Dance, by Shannon Kubiak Primicerio.

This beautiful book is for girls everywhere.  It's not just for dancers, even though I feel like it resonates even more clearly with those of us who do dance.

Written clearly and openly, The Divine Dance walks through the different aspects of maturing in this world in an inspiring and uplifting way.  The Divine Dance is our walk with the Lord, our performance for Him alone.

As I read this, it encouraged and challenged me.  Especially as a dancer, I see this book in a new light.  With the "Divine Dance" analogy in my mind, I can try to dance for the Lord in all parts of my life.

This book is written from a protestant perspective and as a Catholic I disagree with her opinion of being saved.  This is pretty much the only issue I had with the book.

The main question in The Divine Dance is one I need to ask myself often: "If the world is your stage, who are you performing for?"  Shannon makes it clear that God is THE choreographer, THE audience, the only One worth living for.

I could go on and on, but I want YOU to read it instead of hearing ME talk about it!

Want to be inspired to dance for the King in every part of your life?  Read this book and live by its message!

The Joy of the Lord is my strength!

-Mandy

Sanctity Pervades!

"Sanctity can pervade all of our human endeavors" -Rev. Peter V. Armenio.

Woah.  Think about that for a minute.

It is possible for sanctity (aka: holiness) to be present in all of our endeavors.  All of them.

Wait. you think.  All of my endeavors?  Meaning all of my life?  All the different parts............even dance?

Yup, dance.  Including (but not only) dance.  Often in such a detailed and focused activity, it's weird to think of holiness being really present.  Oh yes, we can practice to Christian music (which is awesome, by the way!) and try to snatch a prayer in between combos (which is hard to do...), but is there any way that holiness can completely take over our dancing?

Think about that.  Ask God how He can be present in your dancing.  Surrender your dancing to Him, dance for Him.

Maybe it will be hard to give Jesus this part of us.  This part of our life that we are so in control of, that we have worked so hard on, that we have invested so much in and put so much joy and work and tears into.

Is He worth it to you?  Will you let holiness pervade your endeavors?

Jesus, come and take over my dancing.  This is hard, Lord.  Give me the strength to dance for You alone!  Let me praise your name with dance.  From my heart to Yours, Lord!  Amen!