Black Swan on SNL

Everyone's talking about it so I had to post it...

Jim Carey could use a little basic ballet class, haha.

Natalie Portman & Benjamin Millipied Engaged?

This made me laugh hard for some reason...

Portman tells Entertainment Weekly:
“I have always kept my private life private but I will say that I am indescribably happy and feel very grateful to have this experience.” 


MTV lists "5 Things To Know About FIance Benjamin Millipied"...

12 Pains of Christmas

(This was supposed to be funny but it actually turned out kind of self-pitying, haha oops. Sorry to be a downer.)

Candy canes are more fun than walking canes.

1. My achilles, 3 1/2 months post-surgery

2. My scar, rubbing against my boots

3. My calf, from the physical therapist digging in

4. My knees, from sitting at this desk all day

5. My hip, jacked up from compensating for the injury

6. My lower back, from holding that long yoga backbend
7. My neck, from sleeping strangely on the bus yesterday

8. My wrists, from stretching on the reformer this morning

9. My biceps, from today's "holiday" pilates session

10. My lip, from biting it after a cookie from the office party

11. My head, from not enough coffee today
12. My heart, from not being able to really dance this Christmas :/

Happy Hug a Dancer Day!

According to Facebook, it's National Hug a Dancer Day today :)
Send a virtual hug by commenting on my blog award post :)

note to self: Starbucks

Note to self:

When sitting in Starbucks early on a Saturday morning to write a 6 page complicated final exam that requires extensive page flipping, disorganization, and sanity-inducing coffee sipping, DO NOT choose the table right next to the sugar/milk/napkin counter.

I've been sitting here trying desperately to concentrate on the 2nd of 3 major exams/papers due on Monday and people keep interrupting, passing by, spilling things, and such.

My advice: get a table in the back in the corner where nobody goes. Too bad the weekend is like busy New Yorker heaven at Starbucks and there were no other tables.

Random. Sorry. Haha.

so this is what college kids do

If you've only read this blog and never met me (or even if you have) you'd pretty much have no inkling that I have a life outside of dance. I admit, most of the time I don't! BUT this morning I went to show some school spirit since I haven't had much to do with my college since I graduated in January.

Every spring they hold "Strawberry Fest" with free food and fun outside the school (they close off a block of New York City...yes, that is our campus right there). I wrote about last year's festivities for The Monitor here (see p. 11). I mainly went just to pick up my senior t-shirt, haha, but enjoyed some snacks on the way.

Some pictures from this morning's amusement...think advisors in a dunk tank, teachers climbing a wall in the middle of the street, and thousands of strawberries being eaten with a loud band. This is the extent of my "real life" college experience, haha.

i pretend to be a photographer

Two weeks a year I pretend I'm a photographer: the week in early November when the foliage is at its peak, and the week mid-April when the trees blossom into clouds of pink! It's unfortunate that they don't remain pink all year round...I think that would make the world a little happier, haha. They make me smile on an otherwise crazy Monday...





All photos (c) Taylor 2008

love this weather!

yay for spring

rain = pain

Can someone share with me the actual scientific reason why rain and humid weather causes my entire body and all my joints to ache horribly? I KNOW I'm not the only one who experiences this...

Class was rather painful this morning...doesn't help that it's Monday morning, which is an excuse unto itself.

spring has sprung!

What a beautiful Sunday it is here in NYC today. Yay for it FINALLY being spring!

I'm hard at work in my coffee shop this afternoon writing a bit, getting my teacher's monthly e-newsletter together to go out tonight, and more...but I definitely think the weather is excuse for a break pretty soon, haha. I desperately want to go for a walk in the park or something...and I just might do that and procrastinate some more :)

Happy spring everyone.

happy chinese new year!

After spending most of the day at The New Yorker (and getting my official CN key card thingy -- which is rather exciting) I went out with a bunch of people from class to celebrate Chinese New Year...the year of the rat :) It was a fun night.

This post is pretty irrelevant to anything, but other than tonight it was a fairly uneventful day. Busy weekend coming up though...in keeping with my role as editor of my old studio's newsletter, I'm consumed by them tomorrow and Saturday nights with their performances and benefit. Should be interesting. Also have an audition Sunday for ABT's summer program...first audition of the season, and not really looking forward to it, haha.

Anyway. Happy Chinese New Year all

have a laugh

I realize I haven't posted much about my internship at The New Yorker lately...

Here's a quick link to make you laugh...slideshow of the cartoons in the current issue of the magazine. Since I get to see a lot of these before they are printed it's even funnier to see others enjoying them later.

Have a laugh on a rainy Monday.

Newsweek article about my greatest fear realized

In a Monday morning trip to Barnes & Noble (sadly, movmnt mag with my article has not hit the stands yet, much to my dismay...) I found a wonderful article in last week's Newsweek magazine while I had my latte and scone.

From Overdrive to Coasting
"What happens to overachievers as we age? Let's face it, the spirit is still willing, but it's the flesh that's weak. While we hate to admit it, we run out of energy sooner than we run out of ideas. And it is certainly not in our nature to just fade away. We may burn up, burn out or just annoy the hell out of family and friends (who would never even want to measure up to our high standards). I've talked with many aging overachievers who tell whispered tales of diminished capacity for pushing themselves beyond all reason. We feel guilty even discussing what we see as our "infirmities." After all, we are profoundly uncomfortable even having things like bad backs, the stirrings of arthritis or that strong desire to just take a nap. That's the entire point of being an overachiever. We refuse to see ourselves as simply human. That would be settling, and we don't ever settle...."

Go read more. It is so me! I hope I never hit the point where my body won't keep up with my mind, haha. Too much to do in life!

is age only a state of mind?

Warning: this post kind of goes on and on about nothing really, but it's just me thinking out loud...you can ignore me :)

For the past 2 days I've been doing a workshop with the company I was understudying with last week, and instead of standing in the back trying to learn choreography by staying out of the way, this week I actually get to dance. A LOT.

We've had a short contemporary barre/center before learning repertoire, and I really like the alternative way of taking class. It's very different from a traditional ballet barre (specifically in the music, which is WAY more fun than the overly-familiar melodies of the classics). She has a lot of emphasis on moving really big and feeling the movement through your body.

Class itself is defintely a challenege because after years of doing tendus, your brain goes a bit on auto pilot...even though I constantly feel a struggle in turning out and pointing my feet in an easy tendu combination, there's still a level of monotony. With this kind of class the combinations of familiar exercises are different, and different parts of the body are used (the head, deep in the lower back).

Moving on to the rehearsal aspect of the workshop, we've learned a long exercept from a piece her company has done and it's all taught really really fast. Then we put it all together and do it in different small groups a few times before learning more. Again since some of the movement and style is foreign to my ballet brainwashed body it's tough to pick up all the nuances of the choreography. It's great though! And since there's only 9 of us in the workshop (3 are in the company, the rest are other dances from various places in the city...all of whom are at least 4 or 5 years older than me...) the teacher can really see us...

After we put together 3 or 4 sections of the long work, the teacher (who is wonderful, by the way) stopped after me and another girl did it as a group and said she wanted us to go deeper inside to feel it. She proceeded to give me an excellent, lengthy "lecture" (it wasn't really a lecture but...) on how it's important to FEEL the movement and show it, especially through your face. She complimented me a bit but said that I AM young, and I haven't really 'suffered' (which got a laugh from the others) but that that comes with age.

It was a very inspiring speech because to this point being drilled into ballet land nobody has asked me to actually FEEL anything while dancing. Besides 1 teacher in particular, they demand turnout, feet, etc etc, but not that you really reach inside and express it through your face. Isn't expressing emotion through movement was dance is really all about? I was really thankful she took the time to say this all during the middle of rehearsal because it made me think.

Isn't it ironic that one of the major values of ballet, youth, is the same thing that causes a disadvantage in modern/contemporary dance?

In recent years I have been reminded time and time again that "a ballet career is short" and if "you're not in a company by the time you're 18 then it's not worth it" and, particularly in my last year of real pre-pro training, being made to feel as if I'm too old for a career since my body won't allow for the level of technique necessary or whatever. And now, not just in this one instance, but a few times recently, my 'young' age has cropped up as a (minor) issue.

Is age really a state of mind or a number or a level of experience or what?

All of this comes just a week before I graduate from college at age 19. I'm starting to think that I've overcompensated in my real-world life for not being a ballet prodigy child, and now it's coming back to bite me. Or confuse me.

Anyway, all in good spirits. I'm exhausted from rehearsal, but I'm off to class tonight as always, followed by our Friday night rehearsal thing. Hopefully tonight we're going to start the Rose Adagio for the student showcase thing. If I can muster the energy ;)

happy almost new year

Wow, last post of the year!

2007 has come and gone, quite quickly actually. It's certainly been a year of ups and downs, but it is definitely ending on a high note.

I'd like to take this time to thank all of the people who have made this year special, especially the last few months...I hope they know who they are. I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me along the way, given me opportunities to prove myself, and showed me who I can be. There are too many people to name individually, but a big hug and thank you to all my family, friends (near and far), and just everyone.

I have lots planned for 2008, but one of the biggest lessons I learned this last year was that plans are not set in stone and sometimes it's better to just have a general direction you're headed in and let the wind take you where it will.

Another lesson of the year: People can be your greatest asset or biggest hindrance, but only if you let them.

With that said, my new year's resolutions:
1. be more optimistic
2. let go of things that keep me down
3. take more time to stop and smell the roses

I found this quiz thingy online and just thought it was interesting what qualities make a year good or bad. My answers:

Compared to this time last year, you are:
Happier (much, much, much)
Less happy

Compared to this time last year, you are:
Healthier (minus the bursitis)
Less healthy

Compared to this time last year, you have:
More money (I got paid for the 2 things I love doing)
Less money

Compared to this time last year, you have:
More friends
Less friends

Compared to this time last year, your career prospects:
Are better (graduation soon!)
Are worse

Compared to this time last year, your life is:
More exciting (tenfold)
Less exciting

Compared to this time last year, you are:
More optimistic about the world
Less optimistic about the world

Compared to this time last year, you have:
More things to be thankful for (far more)
Less things to be thankful for


Happy New Year 2008 to all! Hope it's a good one :)

oh lazy day

Today was the first Sunday I spent in the city since August! Between Nutcracker rehearsals and going home for the holidays, I haven't had a Sunday to rest since the summer, and today I realized what I've been missing...relaxation!

Hah. I slept nice and late today, got a much-needed massage after being so sore from time off, and hung around at home most of the afternoon. I did some updates over on my website, but that's about the only productive thing I've done. I think everyone needs a day of nothing sometimes!

It's almost new years...

mild annoyance at education

Okay, I try really really hard not to let certain things get to me and to avoid taking out frustrations via blog, but in my insomnia-procrastination tonight I saw this in a big ad in the new Pointe Mag and had to share...

How many PERSPECTIVE students will want to attend the Rock School Academic Program Alliance's unique college prep program when they cannot even spell or use basic grammar?! Usually it's PROSPECTIVE (not PER) who attend such fabulous schools.

I'm allowed to comment because I am an alumni, and despite their misleading self-representation in this writing, I did learn a thing or two about grammar.

Seeing that I'm currently taking a grad level copyediting class than ingrains these kinds of writing rules in my mind, I saw their huge (expensive) cardboard ad and saw that mistake and it just really really really irked me. Especially since the error is in the part where they're promoting the "educational" side of things.

I do apologize for the annoying tone, but it's hard to be proud of something or someplace when things like this come up.

autumn in new york

Sometimes when I'm having a bad day or just need a change of pace I skip the subway and walk through the park to get to where ever I'm going (usually class). Today was one of those days...but it was raining. I didn't go through the park, but instead went through some fall pictures I took recently. Enjoy...

celebrate! gingerbread lattes are back

Today is like a holiday for me - it was the first day of the year that Starbucks began selling their limited-time-only seasonal Ginerbread Lattes for the holidays!

For 2 months of the year this phenominal caffeinated beverage becomes my drink of choice, and it is truly a tragic day come January when I ask the bored barista for one and they are out of gingerbread syrup. Tear!

But they are back! And I had one this morning, which for me marks the beginning of winter (it's freezing today!) and the beginning of the holiday season. I have a mental association with the warmth of coffee and the insanity of Nutcracker that is so comforting.

Yes, it's the little things in life...

MEMORY: Anticipating Halloween

So I'm having yet another case of insomnia - where I cannot get to sleep because I'm thinking of all the work I should be doing, and instead of being productive while being awake I do things like go through old pictures and reread old blogs, etc.

I've been reminscing a lot lately, thinking back myself and talking to some (not so) old friends, and I've decided to start a new installment to this blog: MEMORIES. I'll post an old photo or two and write a bit about some experience or another. Not that I don't have plenty going on right now to write about, but I enjoy thinking back and I have tons of pictures from those times but little writing.

So here's MEMORY post #1 - Halloween.

I came across my pictures from last year's Halloween class and thought I'd put them on here for a laugh. Halloween and ballet have always gone together, for as long as I can remember. Wherever I happen to be in a given year we always dress up for class and attempt to dance in impossible costumes. It's tradition (my personal best costume for class was the fat clown suit, Rock 2004).


(Me and Victoria as clowns. Can't believe I actually just put this on here! May have to delete in the morning when I regain sanity...She may kill me when she sees this haha)

I'm definitely looking forward to Halloween this year, but I have to say last year was definitely one of the best...it's hard to explain why so instead I'll just post some pictures. Enjoy!


Everyone at the studio.


Some of us before class.


The circle of trust.