Ellison Ballet Year Round Professional Training Program Week 1 and 2 -Robbie Downey

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Hi everyone!!! So I made it to New York! My flight took off around 1pm on September 5th and I made it to the city a little after 9pm.  I had two large suitcases, a carry on suitcase, and a backpack. Once I got outside one of the workers asked if I wanted to use one of the carts that people left. Usually you would have to pay for it, but there were a couple sitting around. It really helped getting my luggage to the taxi stand.  I think I got to the dorms sometime after 10pm, there was a decent amount of traffic. It felt a lot like leaving for my summer intensive but I would be gone much longer this time! Only home for holidays.

My going away party with all of my best friends and sister! 

At the airport. No crying! 

I currently have a pretty small room. My roommate didn't come until that Monday, so it was fine for just me.  Once all of our stuff was in here together, it was tight.  We haven't really finished unpacking.  I then saw my friends room the next day and it was way bigger! We are supposed to be moving rooms in October.

I couldn't really fall asleep until around 3am, which is 12am California time.  The next day I woke up around 11 am. Before I headed out I facetimed with my friends Audrey and Sophie.  I eventually got ready and then headed to Juice Generation.  I got the Smooth Strawberry Smoothie and added spinach.  It was really good, I could only taste the fruit! After this I headed to Bed Bath and Beyond to grab some things for my room.  I then headed back to the dorms, and went to go say hi to some of my friends.  I then came back to my room and facetimed my sister for a bit.

On Monday my friend Gloria and I headed out.  We stopped at Columbus circle and I grabbed an acai bowl from Jamba Juice. We didn't really know what to do so we walked down to 66th and then headed to the area of the dorms.  We didn't want to go back  inside yet, so her roommate met us.  We then looked in a couple of stores, one of them was Urban Outfitters.  After this I went to get my eyebrows threaded...much needed!!  Once I got back to the dorms I met my roommate! Her name is Emma and she is really nice! After I talked with her and her mom for a few minuets, I went downstairs to say hi to my friend Gillian, who I know from summer. Then my friend Taylor and I headed to Trader Joes to grab a few groceries. I love TJ! ;)  Once I was back I went to Whole Foods and then down to hang out with my friends in one of their rooms.

Some of my friends and I needed to go pick up our white leotards from Grishko. We have a set style we are to buy made by Ainslie Wear.  I also had to pick up a pair of Grishko flat shoes.  We then headed to Capezio, which was near by, to see if they had any of the Prima Soft stretchy ribbons. They didn't have the exact ones I use so I just ended up ordering them from Discount Dance.

Tutu in the Grishko Store.

A cute baby shoe in the Grishko Store. 

On the Wednesday before I left California, my foot started bothering me.  It hurt to press on my metatarsal below my third and fourth toes.  It also hurt on releve.  It was more of a sore pain, but I was still worried.  On Wednesday morning my foot felt way better, but I was still going to let my teacher, Ms. Forrest, know about it.

I arrived to the studio around 9:30 to warm up.  We had technique class at 10:30 am and then pointe afterwards.  For the first three days we started off really slow, like we were beginners.  We did every combination facing the barre and they were all basic and slow.  It is amazing to start off this way because you get to pick everything apart.  This is so helpful because most of us learned new things that are extremely important to work on.  Ms. Forrest finds all the little details, which are extremely important to our technique.  Our barre on the first day was probably around two hours.  Mainly because we were moving slow and talking a lot about corrections. We did a little bit of center work and pointe work.  After this we had an hour break and then orientation.

Gaynor Minden Paws! 

After my first day at Ellison I headed over to Gaynor Minden to go try on some leotards for them as fit models. Another Gaynor Girl was also there, her name is Abby.  Before we tried on the leotards they took a look at our custom shoes.  They thought mine looked good, so I would let them know how I liked them once I sewed them.  When we were trying on our shoes, two of the dancers from Trockadero came in to pick up their pointe shoes! I thought it was so cool!!! Trockadero is male dancers on pointe. It's a great, fun show! Basically we tried on a new design that is still in the making!  I also met Eliza; she designed and developed Gaynor Mindens!!

Gaynor Minden Paws and Sweater Tights! <3

On Thursday morning before class we all helped each other review combinations.  We learn new combinations at the beginning of the week and continue using them for the rest of the week.  Usually she will add to the combinations or add additional combinations.  We were all sore and it lasted the rest of the week!

After class, during our break, I usually like to write down corrections in my notebook.  I already bought mine before the program started, but Ms. Forrest recommended for all of us to buy one.  It is extremely helpful because there is so much information being given to you, so if you write it down you will always have it there.  Also, in companies they don't usually work on technique.  Sure you may get a few simple corrections here and there, but its mainly class and then rehearsals.  Ms. Forrest said that these notebooks will most likely help us in the future.  It will always be nice to review the corrections and to have them written down.

Friday was pretty similar to the rest of the days.  Slower technique and pointe class followed by workshop later in the day. In workshop this past week we just worked on technique.  We were able to ask questions about some of our corrections.

After class on Friday, Gillian, Taylor, and I went to 16 Handles, and the looked around Urban Outfitters.

Me at Urban.

On Saturday morning I went to brunch with some of my friends from Ellison. We went to The Butcher's Daughter and it was soo good! It was a super cute restaurant.  We then walked down Mulberry St.  Later in the day we walked around So Ho for a bit.  I then came back to the dorms and hung out with some of my friends there.

The Butcher's Daughter! I had French Toast! =)

On Sunday I went to go take Mr. Ellison's class at Steps.  It was a good class for me!  After class we all talked with Mr. Ellison for about an hour and a half.  Some of us asked questions; I asked about how to get a deeper demi plie  He gave us some ways to help loosen the top of the ankle.  There is this little spot of the ankle that gets tense.  If you flex your foot, it is the indent right in the middle of the ankle.  He massaged mine on one foot and it actually hurt!  You can feel it more when someone massages it for you, rather than when you do it on yourself. 

Me with Taylor and Alejandro at Steps.

Rainy day in the city.

WEEK 2

On Monday we had technique class at 10:30.  Ms. Forrest assigned us barre spots, which she hasn't done before so we were all curious to know why.  In the studio we were in for class I couldn't see myself.  This is good sometimes so you can feel what you are doing, rather than constantly looking at yourself in the mirror.  Class was "slower" today because we were learning the combinations and talking more in-between.  We now have one hand on the barre, but are still going on the simpler side. Class actually went by super fast.  It was almost 12:30 and we were still on barre! We did a little bit of center and then had to end.  After our hour lunch break we continued a bit of class and then went into pointe work.  Yay!!! We had pas de deux at the end of the day from 2:30-4!  My partner is Arne, but sometimes I go with Forrest.  Mr. Ellison said we are going to start with simpler combinations and slowly build up.  We also have to remember our combinations for partnering class.

After class on Tuesday we all sat down and had a really nice talk with Ms. Forrest.  We all talked about the coming year and how we should not bring ourselves down.  Do not constantly be like, "oh that was terrible", or, "I suck, I can't do this." Be positive about everything!!  We are such a great group and we are all willing to help each other!

Everyday class starts at 10:30 am.  Before class on Tuesday we all reviewed combinations together. Technique class is supposed to go from 10:30am-12:30pm but we went over into our pointe class for a bit.  After this we then put our pointe shoes on and worked until 1:30pm.  We then had workshop at the end of the day.

Heading to class.

Wednesday was the same schedule as Monday.  In Pas de Deux we started working on The Nutcracker Grand Pas de Deux!  The music is so pretty and I am really excited to work on this pas! We ended up going over 30 minutes, working on this pas de deux.  After classes, I went to Central Park with a couple of my friends.  Once I was back at the dorms I facetimed my sister for a bit.  I miss everyone from home so much!!!!!

In workshop on Thursday, Ms. Forrest wanted to do a pirouette combination and a Grande Allegro combination, but we ended up only working on pirouettes.  We spent a majority of the time working on chaines.  She had us go in partners and film each other.  We then analyzed the videos.  Ms. Forrest would tell us to look at only one part of our body at a time.  I learned so much from doing this and now I know how much goes into something like chaine turns. 

Stretching after class.

We all love to help each other! My friend Brianna giving me a few corrections! =)

I woke up Friday Morning and received and email saying that Mr. Ellison would be teaching our technique class!  He wanted to see what we have been working on, so we used Ms. Forrest barre combinations.  We did a short center but continued working for a bit into our break.  After our break we had pointe class with Ms. Forrest.  I finally received my ribbons and had sewed my new custom pointe shoes the night before! I really like how they are looking.  My bunions (especially  my left one) get slightly irritated in new pointe shoes, so I changed into my previous pair before pas de deux.

On Saturday I slept in! I love sleeping in hehe.  At around 12 I did some laundry and then headed to this clothing store that was having a huge sale! I have been looking for some type of black booties for a while now, so that was my main reason for going in.  My friends Gillian and Emma also came.  The store was pretty crazy but I ended up getting these cute black booties for 10 bucks! Yay! After this I headed back to the dorms for a bit and then my friends and I grabbed a quick lunch from Whole Foods.  Gillian and I then explored Home Goods...I love that store. ;)  I then headed to Bed Bath and Beyond to get a blender.  I can't wait to make smoothies now!  Later in the evening I made some dinner and then went to 16 Handles with my friend Juliette.

At 12:30pm on Sunday is Mr Ellison's class at Steps. I went to go take his class and it went well! After class me and some of my friends went to Levain Bakery. Ahh they have such amazing cookies! I then went and got a few things from Trader Joe's.  Later in the evening I hung out with some of my friends at the dorms.  

Thanks for reading! My schedule is crazy but I will blog as much as possible. And thank you BC for making writing this blog on a laptop possible =)))))

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Love,

Robbie 
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So excited for Fall!

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ABT NYC Summer Intensive 2015- Week 5 by Robbie Downey

Week Five - Summer Intensive Update

You can be updated by email when I post new blogs. Join the email list here... http://eepurl.com/h3qE 

On Monday we had Mrs. Brown for class.  It was nice because she went easy. We also had her for pointe. I went out and got lunch at Pret a few blocks away. It was really good. After lunch we had a run through of the whole show in studio one. All of the teachers would be watching us, so most of us were a little nervous. I thought it went fine! We had a lot of time to spare so me and my friends were practicing fouettes and whip turns. Since I wasn't in the second show at all we would just watch the second cast in front.

Here are some pics we took in the studio.

Tuesday I woke up and my foot left felt like a brick. I couldn't really point it. Once I got to the studio and warmed it up a bit it felt a tiny bit better. It hurt to point and go on releve mainly. I did barre and it was a bit of a struggle. For class we had Melissa Bowman. I told her before center and asked her if I could take it easy. She said of course. I sat down for jumps and iced. Before we went to lunch we got in line to get our ABT t-shirt. This year they are red.

After lunch we had rep and we were in the GG-4 studio again. Before we started we talked with Gabby for a bit. She loves to tell us some of her hilarious performance stories. She is so funny. She let some girls do it on flat, but I told her about my foot anyway and marked through the piece for the performance Friday.

You can read the press release HERE for the ABT Summer Intensive 2015 Final Performance

At the end of the day we had Pilates combined with the Green level. 

After class Tuesday I went to Dough Donuts with some of my friends.

Soooooo good. The Nutella one is also great! 

Wednesday my mom came into town! She took a red-eye flight the night before. I met her over by ABT and we headed to class together. It was parent observation day so she watched my technique class.

The first picture my mom took when she walked up. Me with Spencer. Spencer sold a ton of Merde Shirts. Thank you Spencer! 

Class was with Kate Lydon. I told her about my foot and took it easy with releve. It felt way better than yesterday! I did most of jumps but took it easy with grande allegro. I tried on my pointe shoe and that's what hurt the most. I ended up sitting out of pointe. :(

With Kate Lydon in class. 

Me with Kate after the performance Friday

After lunch was variations with Olga Dvorvenko. She taught us a variation from Paquita. I did it on flat and mainly marked the legs. I sat out and iced for the last 20 minuets. Our last class of the day was rep and I could do it more full out than before. She let us run it once each cast and then let us go. Before we left our counselor gave us some information about the next day at the theater. 

On Thursday we were originally supposed to have class with Charles Askegard but it was changed to Mrs. Dvorvenko. I told her about my foot and didn't really do releve. I wanted to make sure it was okay for the performance. She gave us a nice warm up class before heading to the theater. We all had to head over to the theater with our level wearing our red ABT shirts. We compared it to 5 year olds heading to a museum in preschool. It was actually so funny because once we were at the subway station we saw a bunch of little kids with matching  t-shirts heading somewhere.

We got to the theater and went straight to the audience. We had spacing on stage first. For this we could wear warm ups. After spacing we headed upstairs to eat and then we could go to our dressing room. I then put on my stage makeup and got ready for dress rehearsal.

This was my first time really doing pointe since Monday. My foot was feeling fine!! Dress rehearsal was a little rough. Some spacing issues mainly. Since I was only in first cast, me and some of my other friends went to watch the second cast rehearsal.

My Friends with Gabby.

Friday morning we had to be to the studios at 9am. I ended up meeting Jordan and Emily at Pret and got some breakfast and something for lunch later. We ended up being able to go into the studios earlier. (Around 8:20) .

We had a quick 1 hour warm up class with Gabby Brown. She let us wear warm ups. MY FOOT FELT GREAT!  I could jump and it was amazing. I had been icing it and using arnica and trying to stay off of it as much as possible. We then all headed to the theater in a group again. 

Once I was at the theater I put on my stage makeup and warmed up a bit for the performance. I thought the piece went well! Better than dress rehearsal. We weren't allowed to watch the rest of the show and had to stay back stage for the second show no matter what. I hung out with some friends back stage. Kevin McKenzie, the Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre, watched the first show! But I didn't find out until after. Also, all of the teachers were in the audience.

Some photos after the show with a lot of my friends and dancers from other levels. 

With Harriet 

With Judy at Grishko picking up my sister's pointe shoes.

My mom and I ran some errands after the show. We stopped by Grishko to get my sister's pointe shoes and Judy bought a Merde shirt =) (You can buy it here www.balletfreak.com) She is so nice and a great fitter. If you wear Grishko definitely go see her when you are in NY!

Saturday I went with my mom to Gaynor Minden and then went home to rest after saying goodbye. She left that night and I am here until the 9th. I am at the Ellison Ballet Pas de Deux intensive ! Stay tuned because I'll be blogging about that too.

Thanks for reading about week five in the city at ABT. I had the best time and really enjoyed the entire 5 weeks. I met so many new people and had so many different teachers. It was a great experience with great training! 

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Love,

Robbie

ABT NYC Summer Intensive 2015- Week 2 by Robbie Downey

Week Two - Summer Intensive Update and Pics from the City 

You can be updated by email when I post new blogs. Join the email list here... http://eepurl.com/h3qE

Me and Audrey at Steps for Mr. Ellison's class. 

On Sunday I took Mr. Ellison's Steps class with Audrey and some of my other friends. The class was hard, as expected! It was really nice to take his class again, I really missed them. After the class I stayed and talked with Mr. E for a bit.  

After I finished at Steps, my friend Jordan and I headed over to David H. Koch Theater to pick up some student rush tickets for Royal Ballet! Student rush tickets are only available to students and they are at a great price! We couldn't choose where we were sitting but I knew some of my other friends who got student rush tickets on the orchestra section. That's what we were hoping for! Once she handed us our tickets Jordan and I were in shock. We got orchestra second row to see the Royal Ballet! When I walked out of the building I stopped to take the picture below. Just after I took this picture my friends Christine and Danielle (from Ballet Arte) came up from behind and scared me! I talked to them for a bit and then headed to meet Audrey. 

Unbelievable student rush ticket! 

Audrey and I headed to Columbia University to check it out. It is so beautiful there! There were a lot of good places to take pictures. I loved all the trees and green areas. 

Ballet at Columbia University

Audrey the photographer! 

From Columbia I went straight home to to get ready for Royal. I met Jordan out front of the theater and we changed into our heels. Once we were at our seats we were already extremely excited. We were so close! We usually sit in the upper rings and it was just so amazing to be this close. We both said that is it super cool that we can hear them breathing. It sounds strange but I really like it.  

I was truly speechless after watching The Royal Ballet. They were so amazing!  All of their dancers are so clean and controlled and they also have great artistry.  

The first piece was called Infra and it was probably my favorite. The choreography was so well done. I really liked how there was a mix of sharp and more fluid movements. It was so beautiful. I would go and watch them perform over and over again. I absolutely love The Royal Ballet and if you ever have the opportunity to see them you should.  

The cast we got to see! Still in shock! 

Some quick pics after the show. 

With my friend, Jordan Kesler, after the show.

On Monday at ABT we had Susan Jaffe for technique. She is considered one of the leading ballerinas of her time and you can read her bio here... CLICK HERE. Her main focus throughout the class was to engage your butt and to also use your torso to help you. After class we then had Gabby Brown for pointe. She is hilarious and I really love her classes. She is also staging our rep (short for repertoire) . 

After lunch we then had rehearsal for La Sylphide where we worked on the corps de ballet. After rep we headed to Pilates class and then we were done for the day. 

On Tuesday we started out with Pilates class at 9am and then had technique class with Ethan Brown. We were combined with the boys for those two classes.  My hip was a little sore during this class but other than that the class was good! After class we headed upstairs for anatomy.  We were combined with a few other levels for this class so the room was pretty full. The two teachers used this app that allowed you to reveal different muscles. They would "take away" other muscles to uncover others and to show us which ones we use.  It was very interesting because you can actually see exactly where the muscles you are using begin.

Susan Jaffe working with Misty Copeland! © ABT

After lunch we had variations with Susan Jaffe. She taught us the second pas de trio variation from Swan Lake. Honestly, I like the first one better, but I had a lot of fun learning this one as well. Since we just did Swan Lake it was nice to work on it. The version she taught us it a little different than the one we used at my studio. This variation is challenging but I like it! After this we all headed to work on our rep piece.  By this time of the day my feet were hurting and I needed to pick up some toe tape! It's always good to wear toe tape because it can help prevent blisters. My shoes were starting to rub on my pinky toes and my right big toe.

Dancers feet.

Great video!  Susan Jaffe... A Ballerina's Career in a Nutshell

On Wednesday we had Ethan Stiefel for class! We were all very excited. I enjoyed his class and he gave us some great corrections. Jordan and I took a quick picture with him before partnering class. He was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre from 1997 till July 2012. He was the artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet from 2011 to 2014. You might remember him as one of the lead actors in the movie Center Stage! 

For partnering class we had Carlos Lopez as a teacher. He teaches ABT Studio Company class and I believe the ABT website says he is currently the Ballet Master for Studio Company as well. It's so great to have access to all of these people! For some reason most of the older boys were not there I am not exactly sure why. I did not have a partner so I ended up partnering with Austen Acevedo because he did not have a partner either. He is really good at partnering and obviously an amazing dancer. He placed second in Senior Men category at the 2015 Youth America Grand Prix- NYC Finals and was a 2015 Prix de Lausanne finalist. Visit his website here... http://www.austenacevedo.com/

At Prix de Lausanne photo © Gregory Batardon

After lunch we had variations with Gabrielle Brown (former ABT soloist). She gave us a quick warm up since we just had a lunch break. We then worked on the variations that are in our rep piece. 

Our last class of the day was history. I actually really enjoyed this class! The teacher was very entertaining and passionate about dance. She basically talked about the history about ABT and it is great to know especially if you ever want to dance with ABT. She tried showing us some video clips but they would not load too well because of the slow wifi. :-/

Jordan looking good in her Merde shirt! You can get it at www.balletfreak.com 

Once our classes finished up I headed home to get ready to go see ABT perform Cinderella. We watched Hee Seo and Cory Stearns perform, and they were both amazing! Misty Copeland was one of the fairies. For her variation the choreography seemed very hard but she made it look so easy. 

(PS she just got promoted to principal dancer along with Stella Abrera). The full list of promotions is here... CLICK HERE

Hee Seo and Cory Stearns. 

Jordan and me getting ready to watch the show

Me with Spencer and Jordan (my friends and ABT SI students) before the show started. We had orchestra seats for student price again!

After the show I met my friend Scout to give her a men's black merde shirt. One of her friends wanted one. Scout is in the ABT Corps de Ballet. After I talked with her and some other JKO students I headed home. I had to be at the studio at 9am the next day.

For Thursday we started out with Pilates and then had technique and pointe class with Lupe Serrano. You can CLICK HERE to read her bio. After lunch we had character with Olga Dvorovenko (former principal dancer and ballet mistress for the Ukrainian State Academic Dance Ensemble) . It is nice to have a character class since I do not have it at home. We had rep after character. I can't say enough how lucky we are to have access to these teachers. Please read about them HERE if you have time.

Jordan and me before character class. 

Pretty much almost half of our class was not there! Some were sick, injured and had family things! We all ran the two small variations. The way were are doing it is that one girl comes from each side. (We cross over each other) They do it this way to make sure everyone gets to do something. After about 45 minuets or so she told us to take off our pointe shoes. For the rest of class we attempted to figure out our  spot places. It was difficult because a lot of people were missing! My spot got changed and so did a few others. She said you should basically know every spot cause you never know what is going to happen for performances! In La Sylphide it is not too difficult because it is the same step, but one person is facing front and one is facing back. She said the spots could change, so nothing is really set yet.

We had Friday off for classes due to the Fourth of July weekend. My hip felt a bit "stuck" so I decided to not try and take a class elsewhere. I ended up meeting Spencer and his mom later in the afternoon. We headed to the Chelsea Market and got some crepes.

As we were walking around the city we walked by this car. I thought it was pretty cool! I like classic cars ;) 

Before I went home I stopped by Bed Bath and Beyond to grab some sort of a bucket for icing my feet. I ended up just grabbing a small storage bin that was big enough. It works just fine and was way cheaper than a normal bucket! It is a great idea to ice your feet every night no matter what.

I tried to sleep in on Saturday but I  woke up around 8:30. :( I didn't actually get out of bed until later though! (Hehe) at around 11 I met Audrey in Columbus Circle. We stopped by Juice Generation before heading to Central Park. We saw one of those stands and both thought the same thing..to buy a pretzel! We found the rock to sit on under some trees. It wasn't too nice out but I still loved sitting outside. Audrey decided to start feeding the birds some of her pretzel. I did the same! I actually loved feeding the birds. Some were brave and came really close to us! There was this one chubbier one that we would try to give bread too, but he seemed sort of lost and the other birds would steal the bread! You shouldn't really feed bread to birds because it fills them up and then they don't eat what they are supposed to so we didn't feed them for too long . But I'm thinking they must always find all kinds of "people" food in the city .

After Central Park we headed to Bed Bath and beyond. This may sound strange but I really love this store! I picked up some Icy Hot for my hip and hair color. Audrey wanted to get her hair cut so we called a couple of hair salons to see if any were open. We found one that was open and had available appointment. 

We were a little early for her appointment so we decided to stop in Claire's which was a block away. All of their Jewelry was on sale for super cheap! I came across this set of earrings and I had to get it for Kyla and me.  ALL CATS! We are huge cat freaks.

Audrey and me before her appointment. 

(Notice her hair before) 

After! I think she looks super cute with her hair this short! I would never be able to pull that off! Later in the day we met up with our friend, Spencer, and hung around in Tribeca.

Statue of Liberty is very small and on left side in the photo

Palm tress inside a mall. Not exactly California but close!

After hanging out with Spencer, Audrey and I headed to my apartment so I could dye my hair. 

We didn't feel like going out again and decided it would be too crowded so we watched some of the fireworks on TV. I have spent the last few summers watching fireworks by the Hudson River. We did pick up some fruit because we were really craving it and wanted something healthy. 

On Sunday I took Mr. E's class at Steps and it was pretty crowded. He gave me and some of his year round students some good corrections afterwards. He had us repeat after him, "I can, and I will." 

He was saying if you want 180 middle splits, for example, you can get there, but you have to work for it obviously. If you really want it you will make it happen. Mr. Ellison has always been a great source of motivation for me. I think everyone should train at Ellison Ballet at some point. If you can make it happen you should definitely do that. 

Audrey met me at Steps and we grabbed a salad from Fairway market and headed to eat in Central Park. We found this really nice place to eat. 

It was so pretty and very nice out on Sunday!

After we ate we went to Trader Joes to grab some groceries. My arms and shoulders were a bit sore from carrying my groceries back! City life problems. 

Some pictures from the sunset Sunday night. 

Thanks for reading about week two in the city at ABT. I hope it helps other dancers know what to expect and gives everyone an idea of what we do all summer! I have to say that I am LOVING the ABT summer intensive and am excited for the coming week. 

You can be updated by email when I post new blogs. Join the email list here... http://eepurl.com/h3qE

Love,

Robbie