ABT Day Twelve

Today Amanda was able to sleep in a little because there weren't any conditioning classes! She was really grateful for that as we got to bed a little later than usual because we saw the ballet last night!

The first two weeks at ABT you have a conditioning class first thing in the morning, either Pilates or Yoga. After that, you only have it twice a week, so instead of having to be at the studios at 8:30, you don't have to arrive until 9:30. Such was the case this morning.

After Amanda and I walked to ABT, I took the subway to Lincoln Center to pick up our tickets for Romeo and Juliet. After that I decided to try to find the La Guardia Performing Arts High School, which is near Lincoln Center.

I thought it might be prudent to locate it ahead of time and since it is on the same subway stop as the Metropolitan Opera House, I thought today might be a good day to find the facility.

Once again clutching my trusty iPhone, I was able to locate the high school. It is just around the back side of Lincoln Center, so it was not too difficult to find.

Amanda had a Bejart class yesterday! We were both mystified as to what it might entail, but Amanda said it was kind of like modern pointe! She seemed find it interesting!

We were going to go out to dinner last night, but as her classes were getting out, the sky become quite dark and it started thundering and lightening. As a result, we decided to forego eating out and came back to the apartment instead. We had a very enjoyable spaghetti dinner together!

We hope your summer is going well!

Beth and Amanda

ABT Day Eleven

Today was a pretty good day! Amanda was back to her classes after a fun and relaxing weekend. She had Pilates, Technique, Pointe, Choreography, and Rep. As these are all classes with actual dancing (and not dance history, etc.)--it was one of those days with 4 1/2 hours on pointe! Her classes started at 9:00 and got out at 5:00, but she seemed to enjoy her day.

I forgot to mention on the previous Friday Amanda had George de la Pena (who one of Debbie's cats is named after, ha) for acting! For part of the class, they had to convey emotions through dance and also sing a song. Amanda said that her friend from Sweden didn't know any American songs and Mr. de la Pena told her to sing anything, so she sang the happy birthday song. A few of the other girls sang songs like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and I'm a Little Teapot. Amanda said it was a fun class and that he was nice.

After Amanda's class was over with, she changed for the ballet VERY quickly and we headed over on the subway to go to Lincoln Center. You all would be proud--no maps were needed this time and I wasn't even frantically clutching my iPhone to figure out how to get there like I usually am. I made sandwiches ahead of time which we ate in a little outdoor seating area near Lincoln Center. Then we made our way to the Metropolitan Opera House.

Seeing Sylvia with Gillian Murphy and Maxim Beloserkovsky was incredible! Amanda recognized the male lead as one of the principals in the move Center Stage, and she enjoyed seeing both of them dance in Sylvia so much! We were very close, so we could really appreciate not only the dancing, but also the beautiful costumes and the setting of the ballet. You can't really call it a backdrop, because it is all three-dimensional--there were trees that looked so real and doors that Gillian Murphy went in and out of--it was beautiful! The setting was shaded is such pretty shades of almost sea green and a lot of the costumes had the same color--it was so striking.

We didn't really know the story of Sylvia before--it is a Greek ballet--Gillian Murphy shoots arrows while she is dancing (very multi-talented she is!). The ballet is complete with Greek gods such as Orion, Diana, and Eros. Part of the ballet takes place in a woodland and another part at the temple of Diana. It was very well done--the music was by Leo Delibes and the choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton. It was so nice to see a ballet that we didn't know anything about!

Amanda and I have enjoyed going to these ballets at the Metropolitan Opera House so much! The dancing is just sublime and the setting of the Metropolitan Opera House is so beautiful! We are planning to see the last ballet that will be performed her before ABT goes to LA on tour. Next week we are going to see Romeo and Juliet which Amanda has always wanted to see. The principals will be Paloma Herrera and Marcelo Gomes. We specifically picked this particular cast of Romeo and Juliet because Amanda really wanted to see Paloma Herrera again, and this time from a little closer up.

We hope you are all having a good start to your week!

Beth and Amanda

Sunday!

Today we had a very nice day! We woke up a little later than usual and enjoyed a nice breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien, which is just around the corner from the ABT studios, and very close to our apartment. We had a very good meal--complete of course with bread and some unusual, but delicious jams! A particular favorite was chocolate hazelnut, but they also had yummy strawberry and apricots jams! After we returned back to the apartment, Bruce, Melissa, and Muffin left to go back to Virginia!

After they left, Amanda and I decided to go exploring and soon found ourselves near Washington Square Park and NYU. We took some pictures and posted them here--we hope that you enjoy them! We also found another Pinkberry near NYU and felt it was our duty to stop and ensure that quality control was being maintained in this Pinkberry chain as well! We thought you might like to see what an original yogurt with raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries looks like. YUMMY! We wish you were all here to go to Pinkberry with us!

Since we were exhausted from all our walking and it was getting hot, we decided to take the subway home. We got off at our usual spot on 23rd Street, but soon found that we were in the middle of the Gay Pride Parade and couldn't make it to the other side of 5th Avenue to get back to our apartment. After a lot of walking and trying to find somewhere to cross, we finally were able to cross at a little break in the parade. We were very happy to get home and relax, especially since one of us will be doing a lot of dancing tomorrow!

The rest of the day we took it easy! Amanda went out on our deck and listened to her Ipod for a while, and later after we ate dinner, decided to soak her feet while we watched "The Turning Point." During the week, on the days when Amanda has less pointe, she is on pointe for 2 1/2 hours and the days when she has more pointe is on pointe for 4 1/2 hours. So, her poor feet need to be pampered a little on the weekends!

We hope that you are all well and that you have a wonderful week!

Take care,

Beth and Amanda

Amanda's Sixteenth Birthday!!!!

Today is Amanda's sixteenth birthday! Happy Birthday Amanda! We had a wonderful day! We started out the day by taking the subway to Rockefeller Center and exploring all the sights there!

As soon as we arrived at Rockefeller Center, we visited the Magnolia Bakery so Amanda could experience one of their delicious cupcakes as a birthday celebration! Melissa, Amanda, and I all ate our cupcakes in front of a beautiful fountain in Rockefeller Center--enjoying the moment and the opportunity to spend a family weekend together!

Next we entered the concourse at Rockefeller Center and explored the shops! We ended up eating at Pret a Manger, a wonderful sandwich and soup cafe! After that we went to the NBC Television Store and the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store and enjoyed our time there! After that we decided to peruse the many shopping meccas on 5th Avenue! Particularly, we went to a huge two story Juicy Couture store, which was quite beautiful!

Then we decided to go home to rescue poor Muffin, who had been left alone all morning! He was very glad to see us, and we put the leash on him and took a walk toward Pinkberry Yogurt. Muffin seemed to enjoy his walk, although he did seem a little grass-challenged! Such as the life of a dog in the city who must be creative as he sniffs for his favorite spots!

We walked for a little bit and then Muffin stopped in his tracks--his signal to us that he was tired and we had reached the end of his journey! As we weren't at Pinkberry yet, Bruce picked him up and carried him the rest of the way. We soon arrived at Pinkberry and Amanda, Melissa, and I all enjoyed the frozen yogurt with fruit on top ! Yummy!

Next we went back the apartment and Amanda opened her birthday presents! Then we rested awhile before leaving for our dinner at Pete's Tavern--it was Melissa's first time there and she was looking forward to going to the restaurant as were the rest of us! We enjoyed a delicious meal in a wonderful atmosphere and the waiter brought Amanda a yummy piece of chocolate cake in celebration of her sixteenth birthday!

Further we sat in the same booth that O. Henry wrote "The Gift of the Magi"--we took a picture of the plaque mounted in the booth stating that is where he wrote this work! It was interesting to think he had written the story in our booth and we were all trying to determine if we felt more prolific as we sat there. No... we didn't think so!

As we left the restaurant, we experienced something we have come to expect! A downpour! Amanda and I shared our umbrellas with Melissa and Bruce and as you can see from the picture, Amanda's umbrella turned inside out which provided a moment of laughter and fun and the end to a perfect evening--even though we were all getting wet! Being in New York City for Amanda's sixteenth birthday was very special indeed and was a wonderful memory that we will always remember!

We hope that you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Thank you for your interest in our trip!

We hope you are well!

Beth, Bruce, Amanda, Melissa, and Muffin

ABT Day Ten and MELISSA!

Last night we had SO much fun going to Lincoln Center to see Swan Lake. We hurried to leave the apartment to get the subway, and in that we had to take one subway and transfer at Times Square to another subway, we allowed plenty of time. We arrived at Lincoln Center early and spent the time having iced coffees in a nearby Barnes and Noble which was huge--actually it was four stories high.

Amanda received her ticket at ABT before she left for the day and her seat was way, way up in the Family Circle of the Metropolitan Opera House--literally it was on the fifth level (it is a huge theatre) and she was the second to the last row. I of course felt badly as I sauntered down to my seventh row orchestra seat. I offered to trade with her before the show, I texted her again before the show started, and I texted her at intermission, but she said she would stay where she was.

The show was so incredible! First of all Paloma Herrera and Ethan Steifel were just amazing and performed beautifully--I found myself not wanting the show to end! Amanda enjoyed it as well, but she was eye level with a chandelier and said she could only see the very top of the backdrop. Afterwards she asked me if I could see the expression on their faces and I said yes. Oh dear, by this point my mom guilt was really kicking in, even though I had offered to trade several times.

So this morning, I tried to determine what ballets are left while we are here in order for Amanda to really have the opportunity to see the feet of the dancers, the costumes, and backdrop up close. It seemed that the best vantage point might be for Sylvia, a ballet by Leo Delibes, which we are seeing on Monday night. Apparently Tchiakovsky liked the music so much for this ballet, that he said if he had known about it at the time, he wouldn't have composed Swan Lake. We are in the third row orchestra right in the center, so I think we should have a wonderful view. The principal female dancer is Gillian Murphy. We are excited about seeing this show! Being in the Metropolitan Opera House was an experience in itself and we are looking forward to returning! Above you can see a picture of Amanda sitting outside in an area adjacent to Lincoln Center!

We hurriedly took the subway home (the show didn't get out until 10 pm). What Amanda didn't know as we were returning from the ballet was that Melissa had taken Friday off work and was coming up on the train to surprise her for her 16th birthday weekend. She was waiting on the street outside our apartment when we returned home--Amanda was very surprised and we are thrilled to have her visit for a three day weekend and excited that Bruce will be here on Saturday and Sunday! So, all in all it was a very nice day. I took a picture of the chandelier at the Metropolitan Opera House which I posted here. It is really quite magnificient.

More in a future blog about what Melissa and I did today--but just let me say that cupcakes from the famous NYC bakery Magnolia were involved and we also had other fun experiences!

Thanks for checking the blog--we love your comments!

We hope you have a great weekend,

Beth, Amanda, & Melissa

ABT Day Nine

Amanda had a good day yesterday! She had her technique, pointe, and character classes! She was supposed to have her rep class today, but the teacher had an emergency, so instead she had a hair and make up class. She thought it was very useful, because not only did the teacher talk about performance hair and make-up, but also street make-up and what hair styles and cuts might be good for a dancer who is continually putting her hair in a bun.


Amanda also enjoyed her first character class! During one portion of the class, there was some partnering and she danced with the same guy that she does the pas de deux classes with--he is from Pittsburgh and a very good dancer.

In her second week, Amanda is getting to know the drill and has discovered on the 4th floor there is a box of "free" items that varies from day to day (of course some days there is nothing in the box). A couple of days ago, she came home with some Scrunchie hair products. Yesterday, she came home with a couple of very nice color photo ABT books (a couple of years old) with nice pictures of their current and former principal dancers and a couple of posters . It was interesting to see photos of Wes Chapman and Deidre Carberry when they were younger and dancing for ABT as they were two of the instructors at SERBA this year.

After Amanda got out of her classses today, we decided to try a restaurant called Wichcraft--it is a sandwich place and we were very intrigued by the clever name. We had a very nice time and it was enjoyable to try a new spot for dinner. It was raining yet again, but since the place is close to our apartment, we were able to go there and come back without getting totally soaked!

I didn't do too much yesterday--I did go to Whole Foods again and spend a little times in the Farmers' Market. You can a picture of a lady in the Farmers' Market demonstrating how to peel potatoes! Ijust had to put her in our blog.

Of course, we have to end the day relaxing, especially since we will be out late tomorrow night seeing Swan Lake! I hope you enjoy this picture of Amanda fixing her nightly cup of tea.

Have you are having a good day!

Beth and Amanda

ABT Day Eight

Well, it may amaze and surprise you that I actually made it off the subway yesterday and survived another day to record another entry in the blog! I know it surprised and amazed me! Thankfully my worst fear of being stuck at "the end of the subway line" and not being able to find my way back to the apartment was not realized!

My iPhone has been my constant companion as I have "hopstop" loaded and it continually tells me what train I should be on and where I should exit the station. It was fun to go to Lincoln Center yesterday and pick up my ticket and peruse the gift shop at the Metropolitan Opera House. Bruce very kindly arranged for me to have a VERY good seat (7th row orchestra) so I know I will have a wonderful view! Amanda will pick up her ticket at ABT on Thursday--right now she has no idea where her seat will be. If she is way up high in the balcony--I will feel quite badly about my nice seat! I offered to trade with her if she receives a seat in another zip code, but she politely declined and of course she wants to sit with her fellow ABT students!

I hope you enjoy these pictures of Lincoln Center. There is quite a lot of construction around the area, as you can probably tell from the pictures. Juilliard is right next door to the Metropolitan Opera House and both New York City Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre perform at Lincoln Center.

Amanda really enjoyed her jazz class yesterday with Joe Istre. Some of you may remember him from the National RDA Festival in Pittsburgh. (Remember the warmup he did to "Over the Rainbow?") He is an awesome teacher and according to Amanda it was a fun class! Amanda loves ballet, but it was so nice to get back to taking a jazz class! She also had pilates, ballet, pointe, and choreography today, so it was a full day of classes.

They have Pilates/Yoga only four times a week, so today is her day off! Therefore we were able to sleep in a little as she didn't have to be at the ABT facility until 9:30 (rather than 8:30). She enjoyed the chance to be able to sleep in this morning, just a little! It also means she doesn't have to tote the yoga mat today, as she has to bring it for both Yoga and Pilates. She also has her first character class today with Olga Dvorovenko. She is actually dancing the lead in Romeo and Juliet for several of the ABT performances of the ballet that will be presented while we are here.

We hope that you are all having an enjoyable summer!

Amanda and Beth

ABT Day Seven

Well today is Amanda's seventh day at ABT! She seemed to have a pretty good day yesterday, although she was quite tired by the end of the day! I guess dancing from 9 to 5 each day can be pretty exhausting! She purchased her ticket for Swan Lake, so she will be seeing that on Thursday night! After her classes, we went to City Crab for dinner. It was quite delicious and by the time our meal was over, we discovered it was raining again! Luckily, we have learned to NEVER be without an umbrella so we were prepared! City Crab is only about a block from our apartment, so before long we were back home! Then it was time to relax--Amanda fixed herself a relaxing cup of tea, put her feet up on the couch, and we continued our "Friends" marathon! It is very nice that Amanda can relax each evening because that seems to be necessary after a day of rigorous dancing!

Here you can see the upper floors of the ABT building where the classes are held! I believe Amanda has had her classes on three of the floors--there are about nine studios where her classes are being held. As you can see, there are a lot of window air conditioners and they also utilize a lot of fans! Amanda says it gets somewhat hot when they start dancing, but it is bearable. There are radiators in the studios--such is the way it is with an older building I guess--dance studios in the city are much different than what we are used to in the suburbs! It is good, though, to experience this type of studio as well!

Tomorrow she has her first jazz class with Joe Istre, so that should be fun! Later in the week she will also have acting and character. This promises to be a busy week! Here you see a picture of Union Square--it is only a couple of blocks from ABT and is where I go a lot of mornings after Amanda starts her classes. They have a wonderful farmers' market several days a week here, a Whole Foods, and a Trader Joe's. Grocery shopping is definitely different here as you must carry whatever you purchase several blocks! It didn't take me long to figure out you don't buy too many heavy items in one trip! (Or wait until Bruce comes on the weekend--ha!) They are very nice stores, and actually the Whole Foods store is on three levels--the very top level is their "cafe" where you can eat their prepared items (much like we have in Fairfax). There is no elevator--but a separate escalator for the carts only (no people allowed!).


Today I went on the subway to do a "dry-run" to make sure I can figure out how to get to the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center where Swan Lake will be performed! Since I am still not that familiar with the city, I thought it might be wise to make sure I know where I am going! I had to switch trains in Times Square, I had a little bit of trouble finding the second platform where I supposed to make by transfer, but after asking a couple of non-threatening looking fellow travelers, I made it to my destination! Of course, when we go for the actual performance, it will be rush hour, so I'm sure it will take us longer! Today I picked up my ticket for the performance--if I am going to be waiting for Amanda, it made sense to see the show as well, even though we won't be sitting together! We are looking forward to Thursday evening very much!

Thanks for "checking in" with us!

So long, Amanda and Beth

Second Monday at ABT!

Well--it is hard to believe--we are already at the start of our second week in New York and Amanda's second week at ABT. Things are going well and we are starting to feel a little more familiar with the city! Sometimes we can even walk to where we are going without referring to a map--real progress I think!

The ABT students here can get tickets to the ABT ballets for $12, so is something that Amanda will definitely be taking advantage of! This Thursday, Ethan Steiffel and Paloma Herrera will be performing in Swan Lake, so Amanda will attend the show with a couple of her new ABT friends! I think I can figure out the subway route, without too much trouble--at least that is what I am hoping!

Yesterday we went to Pinkberry for some frozen yogurt--here you see Amanda enjoying a delectable treat! It was a fun place to go and a lot of the other dancers like to go here as well! I'm sure that we will be returning at some point! We hope that you are all well and we send you our best!

Amanda and Beth

Our First Weekend in New York!

Bruce arrived late on Friday night in order to spend the weekend with us. Melissa was supposed to come also, but unfortunately she had to work. We missed her, but hopefully, she will be able to come next weekend! We had a fun weekend! Earlier Saturday morning we decided to go on our first New York subway ride to a souvenir shop in Times Square called Grand Slam New York. Here you see Amanda looking right at home on the subway platform.
It was quite interesting to go to Times Square--a lot more hubbub then we experience near our apartment. It was a lot of fun though and we passed by a huge line of people trying to get discount tickets for Broadway shows. And of course, as you can see--it is raining again!! It didn't dampen our spirits, though and we managed to have a really good day. We went to Macy's and rode the escalators up and down so we could do some browsing! We ended up eating lunch on the 8th floor at Au Bon Pain. It was very yummy indeed! It is interesting to us that when you sit down to eat, you will be eating with someone else! Since there are only three of us, we have found ourselves sharing the fourth seat at our table with another person! I think it is quite interesting that this wouldn't happen in Northern Virginia, at least I have never seen it, even if the casual restaurant was crowded. I'm not sure what the protocol is--should you speak to this person and be friendly? Anyway, that is something different that we've noticed! Here you see Amanda--we went to the large Capezio store in Times Square--where we purchased a Capezio jacket! Amanda was a good sport and let me take a picture of her--not to mention it was a great place to get out the rain!

There was a lot of merchandise in the Capezio store and there was a small bar and floor in the pointe shoe area--the store is on the second floor of a building in Times Square. It was also interesting--we were looking at the DVDs and noticed a DVD of Judy Rice (from SERBA) teaching ballet to girls! We thought that was interesting!
. Then Bruce and I decided that it was our duty to take Amanda to the oldest bar in New York City, so that's what we did (lol)! It is called Pete's Tavern and actually their food is quite delicious. We had a very good time and liked the atmosphere very much. A humorous event

happened while we were eating dinner. We were in our booth, which was right across from the bar when Amanda sneezed. Well all at once seven men at the bar looked at her and said "bless you" in unison. I guess you had to be there, but it was funny at the time and I think that Amanda received a little more attention than she wanted as a result of her sneeze. I guess you can't say New Yorkers aren't polite.
Amanda is looking forward to her classes tomorrow. She starts out with yoga, and in addition to her other classes will also have Leslie Browne for technique and pointe. She was in the movie "The Turning Point" when she was younger and I believe she also teaches at other ABT summer intensives! We hope that you are having a nice Father's Day!

Beth and Amanda

Friday--End of the First Week!

It is hard to believe that we are at end of our first week here and Amanda's first week of classes! She continues to enjoy the experience! Yesterday Amanda ate lunch with several girls, one of whom was from Sweden. Amanda said she spoke English, but when she was on the phone with her mother, was speaking Swedish. Yesterday at one point as they were doing a combination they asked students whether or not they spoke English. There is also a girl in Amanda's level from China and one from Japan.
We ate last night at La Prima Fresca Restaurante--right underneath our apartment. Actually if you go out on out deck--you see the top of the skylight of the restaurant. I'll have to take a picture of our deck one day! The food was very good and by the way that is a bottle of olive oil on the table! We enjoyed our food immensely and went back to the apartment to relax.

Today the rain had disappeared, so time for of course--shopping I wandered down to Herald Square and across the street found a huge 2-story Victoria's Secret so of course had to visit the PINK store there which was on the second floor. After that I went to Macy's and spent a lot of time wandering around. I made it up to the 8th floor! There is a Starbucks inside Macy's, Le Bon Pain, McDonald's, Ben and Jerry's, and even an Auntie Anne's pretzels. I'm sure Amanda will love to come back and shop. They have a lot of brands and labels that are different than the Macy's in Washington.

Today Amanda had her technique class and pas class with Franco deVita--he is the head of the JKO School here at ABT. She said he was a great teacher and got a lot out of the class. She also has rep and choreography later. We are looking forward to our weekend when Bruce, Melissa, and Muffin will be visiting. Initially we were planning on going to the Freed Store here in NY, but it is not open on Saturdays, so we will spend our time exploring the city!

A Rainy New York Morning

Today is a rainy morning in New York City! Here is a picture of Amanda on her way to ABT for classes this morning. Thankfully, our apartment is really close to ABT (400 feet door to door) so we didn't have to leave until 8:25 to get there at 8:30 (when they open the doors). As we arrived, they were opening the doors, so Amanda went to the back of the line and entered the door about a minute later, so she didn't have to be out in the rain too long! It is raining very hard and there are flash flood warnings today. Our apartment is on 20th Street between Park and Broadway and directly across the street from Teddy Roosevelt's childhood home.

Today Amanda has yoga, technique, pointe, and dance history. The technique and pointe classes are a little longer than usual, so she is tired but is having a great time! She is enjoying meeting the people here--the students are from all over the world. We have been relaxing in the evening by watching "Friends." I bought the complete series DVDs before we left, so that has been fun, and it seems appropriate since the show takes place in New York City. Tonight we are planning on eating at an Italian restaurant (La Pizza Fresca Ristorante--it is pictured here) that is actually downstairs in the same building we live in! I posted the picture here. We hope you have a good day!

Beth and Amanda