Tyler

It is Spring Break! Well, I actually have one more class left, but many students took a day or two off this week to head down to their warm vacation spot. Me, on the other hand, am going home for spring break. I’m hoping Fort Wayne, Indiana is in the mid 50’s and sunny, so I can get away from this cold Iowa winter.

I am looking forward to having a relaxing break. My schedule is pretty empty, so I anticipate a lot of sleeping is going to be done. I think after the past two weeks I have had with the Dancers in Company concerts, I deserve some rest and relaxation. The concert at Space Place went fabulously and it was great that my family got to visit for a day! Then this past Tuesday and Wednesday, DIC went over to Emmetsburg and Estherville, Iowa. It was only supposed to be a four hour drive, but with the icy roads and windy air it took us over six hours to get there. We then had to wake up at 6 a.m. to get to the first college on time for our morning performance. We then drove to the next town and performed again! It was fun and tiring, and made my week quite hectic.

DIC returned to Iowa City late Wednesday evening. I then had to try to catch up on all my homework, and not my lack of sleep. But now that I am alive on the Friday before spring break, I am so ready for a vacation from school. I hope everyone has a enjoyable and safe spring break! See you in a week Iowa City!

DIC before our last show at Space Place

Get ready for some shameless self-promotion… This Thursday, Friday and Saturday, at 8 p.m. come to the Dancers in Company Concert in Space Place Theater in North Hall! It is honestly a really fun and exciting show. I say that about all of the dance department’s performances, but I am even more biased because I will be performing.

The Dancers in Company is a group of 13 dancers that are essentially a dance company that conducts rehearsals and then performs. They then go on a mini tour throughout the Midwest. It is to get us ready for a professional career in the dance world! Hence why I have been so busy, and behind on my blogging….

I have been at Space Place theater every night this week until 10 p.m.  getting the lighting costumes, and dancing ready for opening night tomorrow! So if you are looking for something to do this weekend, the Dancers in Company Concert is where it’s at!! Support the Arts!

Iowa City is literally the cutest college town. There is so much to do on any given day, especially the weekends. Yea like any college, parties are in full force on the weekends, but there is so much more going on.

This Saturday my two best friends and I had quite a lovely date planned. Don’t worry there wasn’t any romance involved, but it would be a perfect idea for any boyfriend trying to impress his college crush.

The night started with fresh crepes from Crepes de Luxe Cafe. I got to experience my first crepe, and man have I been missing out. I am already looking forward to going back… The menu is split up into either sweet or savory crepes. Because it was dinner time, I went with a savory crepe, but as I was eating it the restaurant owner was making a sweet crepe with nutella, strawberries, and bananas. It looked incredible.

La Verte Crepe

After our crepe adventure, we made our way to the delicious Molly’s Cupcakes. Basically any cupcake you get there is going to be delicious. I have only been a few times, so I am still trying to find my favorite… if that is even possible, they are all just soo good. I tried their new Thin Mint cupcake. It was definitely my favorite one so far.

Thin Mint cupcake

Once we were stuffed beyond belief it was time for the Faculty/Graduate Concert at Space Place Theater. What a great show, like usual. There was an awesome variety within the two hour show. My favorite part of the concert was that two of my dance professors, Alan Sener and Jennifer Kayle both performed. It was so inspiring for me to see these talented artists practice what they preach to us in classes  all year.

Weekends like this make me so ready for the week to start and get back to dancing in Halsey! Oh, and it is the sixth week already…where does the time go?

That’s right Valentines Day is only a few days away. Between eating chocolate and chewing on candy hearts, I will be spending my romantic night in Halsey Hall. I am having twelve Valentines this year.

The Dancers in Company cast has a 3 hour rehearsal on the love-struck evening. There is nowhere else I’d rather be than with my friends dancing the night away, or in reality I will be sweating in a leotard. Doesn’t get much better than that….

Or does it… because we are already on our 4th week of school. An entire month has flown by. Before I know it, I will be home for spring break! Yesterday was 50 degrees here, and I feel like spring is right around the corner. Spring is probably my favorite time at UIowa. It is such a relief after the freezing cold winter.

Basically there is just so much to look forward too… Valentines Day, DIC performance, spring break and warmer weather! Bring it on second semester 🙂

This has been one of the most intense, but exciting weeks since becoming a Hawkeye. For Dancers in Company, a guest choreographer came to set a dance on us. Nicholas Leichter had 6 rehearsals total with us and we finished a 17 minute dance. I was highly impressed that we were able to finish the dance and make it look somewhat presentable. Nicholas Leichter comes from a hip hop background, and none of the 12 dancers in Dancers in Company have ever really trained in hip hop, so that was our first setback. The second setback was the time. For our other dances we have been rehearsing for a few weeks now, and we are still aren’t finished with our 8 minute dance. So to say the least we went CRAZY fast!

Our first rehearsal with Nick, everyone was feeling overwhelmed and almost curious if we would be able to pull it off. But day after day it started to look a ton better. We still have a ways to go in order to get it ready for the big show in March, but we are well on our way. It was such a great experience working with Nick. He really opened our eyes to how strong dancers are. Even though we aren’t hip hop dancers, we can still do hip hop or whatever we want at that matter. We may be modern dancers, but we do so much more. So needless to say, the Dance Department at Iowa has once again blown my mind by how amazing it is, and how amazing it is to dance everyday.

The Dancers in Company will be performing at Space Place Theater, March 7th, 8th, and 9th. It will be a fabulous show and anyone around Iowa City should come and see it and support the arts!

I am now two days into the second semester. The main differences about Fall and Spring semester is it starts out way colder. The first day walking to class it was zero degrees out. Bundled up in my big puffy coat, earmuffs, gloves, and scarf I was freezing until I walk into the classroom with heat blasting and then I quickly have to take off my layers so I don’t get overheated. The second difference is in the Spring semester the countdown to summer is in full force. Everyone is re-energized from winter break, and already ready for warmer weather. I prefer spring semester anyway, so no complaints from me.

I already have a long to-do list and it is only syllabus week. This semester might end up being more work than I expected.  So I am keeping this blog short and sweet, because I’ve got stuff to do. Top of my list is sewing new pointe shoes… got to love being a dance major!

Dad and I at the Notre Dame game

Being home for winter break has proven to me just how much I love my school. Because I live all the way in Indiana, going home is a little different for me than a lot of students at Iowa. I go home and I am fully surrounded by Hoosiers. Everywhere I look I see Indiana University, Purdue University, and Notre Dame attire, signs, and tweets about the beloved home state schools. I mean, I am sure they are great schools, but I realized absolutely nothing can compare to the University of Iowa. All my friends in Indiana just don’t understand how great my school really is, and the stories I share with them just don’t seem to give the school full justice.

This past weekend, my family and I went up to Notre Dame to watch the women’s Fighting Irish kick butt in their basketball game. The game was a pretty easy win, and the campus was quite impressive. It only got me more ready to go back to school and bring my Hawkeye pride with me!  Needless to say, I am quite excited to get back on campus this Thursday and ready to start my spring semester classes and dance rehearsals! It has been a great 5 weeks of break: lots of working, sleeping, and some dancing. I was able to catch up with old friends and spend quality time with my family and pups. I am already planning out my summer break, and hoping to have an exciting couple of months ahead of me!

It is the last week of classes and I haven’t blogged in weeks. What’s wrong with me? Nothing. I am a typical college student who can barely multitask classes, dance rehearsals, eating 3 meals a day, and snapchatting my friends on a regular basis. Adding blogging every couple of weeks to this packed schedule can be quite the feat. In two weeks I will be done with my third semester of college and I will be sitting at home in Indiana! I am looking forward to winter break. I have been listening to Christmas music for a few days now, and my apartment has a few decorations and lights to celebrate the holiday cheer. And of course, the ugly sweater party invites are bombarding my Facebook… But what is with this 70 degrees!! It feels like the end of spring semester. I should be bundled up in my sweater and scarf, sipping on hot chocolate. Instead I am running around in a t shirt and jeans. Hey, I guess I shouldn’t complain! It makes the late night walk from the IMU much more bearable anyway…

I hope everyone has a great finals week, and a safe trip back home for the Holidays!

A bad dress rehearsal means it will be a great opening night, and I am really hoping that is the case! Last night the dancers in Gala had our final dress rehearsal before the Space Place theater will be filled with anticipated audience members for the next two weeks. The dress rehearsal was definitely not our best run of the dance because of a few minor incidents with dancers slipping off benches and forgetting choreography because of nerves. But that will make tonight even better now that we got all our mistakes out of the way! It seriously is such an amazing show, and after being able to see all the dances with makeup, costumes, and lighting, the show is even better. So if you still have not gotten your tickets, get them soon before they are all sold out! Here is a sneak peek of pictures from the show… >>>http://www.dailyiowan.com/slideshow/1025dancegala/

And to top off the excitement of Dance Gala and opening night, my family will be here Saturday and are watching the show that night! I have not seen them since August when they dropped me off, so I am so extremely excited to see them. And my birthday is on Monday, so happy birthday to me. I will finally be 19 🙂

Merde to all the beautiful dancers in Dance Gala. You will all be amazing like usual, and I am so proud to be dancing with such talented artists!

You are now looking at a Journalism major and a dance major! Yep, I heard back from the journalism school last week, and I  am now an official double major. What does this mean… I will have twice as many classes, experiences and stress in both dance and journalism. Though it is a little overwhelming right now, thinking about everything that needs to get done by the spring of 2016, but I cannot wait to delve right into this new aspect of my education.

When I am not thinking about journalism, my mind and especially my heart is hanging out at Halsey Hall getting ready for the Dance Gala (less than 3 weeks until opening night). Rehearsals are getting pretty crazy, and we are just putting some final touches on the dances. The month of October is a crazy one… Between Dance Gala, midterms, my family coming to visit and my 19th birthday! So needless to say… pick up your tickets now for an amazing show by the department of dance at the University of Iowa!

here is the link (Check it out :))—> http://arts.uiowa.edu/dance-gala-2012