"Waiting" Choreographed by Professor Audra Carabetta Part of being a dance major in any dance program is...well...dancing. Since coming to BSU, I have danced in smaller performances, but Dance Kaleidoscope 2017 was my first serious dance concert with the BSU Dance Company. I was very nervous to audition for DK. Auditions stress me out in general, and I get flustered when I feel like I don't have enough time to really learn a combination. I also get paranoid that I am only seen as a ballet dancer, and choreographers of other styles couldn't see me in their pieces. Nonetheless, I made it through the audition in one piece and was invited to dance in the show. The first piece I danced in was something completely new and different: a traditional Scottish Highland dance. The movements are very similar to Irish Step, which I have always had an appreciation for. I was excited to learn this dance, but I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. No amount of cecchetti ballet training could have prepared me for how much stamina it takes to do this dance. My legs were so sore after 90 minute rehearsals for this piece, but I can honestly say I had a lot of fun doing it. I worked with a great professor and amazing dancers and had a lot of fun jumping over a sword. It was cool to get to learn a dance completely different than my own style, and still find similarities to ballet within it. The next dance I was in was a ballet piece (!!!!!) from The Sleeping Beauty. It was the adagio from Aurora's Christening and I danced the role of Lilac Fairy. I felt totally in my element in this dance, but I have to say I was nervous about it right before going on. When you have done ballet as long as I have (and even have a blog dedicated to it ;) ), people's expectations of you doing ballet become greater. While I have performed in smaller ballet performances with BSU, this is the first ballet dance I have done on stage with the company. I wanted to live up to people's expectations, and to my own. I wanted my arabesque to be as high as I could possibly get it and not fall out of any of my turns. Ballet is so important to me, and here was my chance to do it (and be featured), so I was nervous to let anyone-including myself-down. The best advice I can give to anyone who feels pressure like this is to remind yourself of what you were like a child. I was the little girl who just wanted to put on a tutu and go on stage and be beautiful and have fun. While I was waiting in the wings, it hit me that I was about to make my little girl dreams a reality, and that at the end of the day, that was what mattered. If my younger self could look into the future and see me now, she would have been happy, regardless of how high my arabesque was or how fast I could turn. I was going on stage as a ballet dancer, and that's what my younger self would have been happy about. The final piece I danced in a contemporary/lyrical piece, and was by far one of my favorite dances that I have ever been in. This is not a style I have a lot of experience in, so learning the choreography at first was a challenge. I was concerned that I wouldn't pick it up quick enough, remember it, or look good doing it, but I'm glad I was in the piece because I ended up proving myself wrong. This dance was so beautiful and was very well received by the audience.
While it was a stressful part of my semester, Dance Kaleidoscope was a positive experience for me. I got to dance in three completely different pieces. I got better at my own style and got to experience new ones. I worked with amazing choreographers and dancers and bonded with some really great people. I am glad the show went so well, and am looking forward to doing more shows with this company. BSU should post videos of these pieces soon, but for now here are some photos from backstage!
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September 2020
Offline Updates7/16 Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the showcase I was selected to choreograph for at NYU was unfortunately cancelled. However, I was able to turn my work into a mini-documentary about the choreographic process and art prevailing during these trying times. You can watch my video my clicking the button below!
9/18 Follow my new Instagram just for my dance things!
12/23 I was one of NDEO's Guest Bloggers this year! Read "Teaching is a Vocation. Not a Fallback" on their Behind the Curtain Blog!
9/27 I will be presenting my research at the National Dance Education Organization National Conference next week! See my research project by clicking the button below!
4/15 While working on PMA's production of The Addams Family, I got to combine my two favorite styles of dance (ballet and musical theatre) for "The Moon and Me"! Watch my talented students dance by clicking the button below!
2/20 I am choreographing PMA Theatre Guild's Production of The Addams Family! Come see these amazing high school students perform at Presentation of Mary Academy in Methuen, MA April 13 & 14! Tickets available at the door.
2/20 I am stage managing BSU's Dance Kaleidoscope this year! Show dates are March 29-31 at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, MA. Come see this student choreography showcase!
11/5 I will once again be dancing in a BSUDC concert! Tickets to WinterDance are now available!
8/24 NDEO's National Honor Society for Dance Arts has published one of my articles in their newsletter! Read an updated version of "Audition Advice" here:
5/16 Interested in learning about movement concepts? Visit Becca's new Educational Dance website!
5/8 BSU Dance Company's Dance Kaleidoscope 2017 is now on Youtube! You can watch my performances by visiting the VIDEOS page!
4/23 I recently performed for the residents of Allerton House in Hingham, MA! You can watch part of my performance here!
Amesbury Children's Theatre presents...James and the Giant Peach Jr, featuring choreography by me! Click for tickets!
2/8 My piece "Barefoot" is now available to watch online! Click to watch!
2/5 Happy to say I have been cast in BSU Dance Company's Spring concert Dance Kaleidoscope! I will be dancing in 3 faculty choreographed pieces, including excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty in which I will be dancing the role of Lilac Fairy! Show dates are March 31-April 1 at Bridgewater State University.
Click the button for more info! 1/15 Ballet with Becca is now on Facebook! Click to visit the page, and be sure to like it while you're there!
1/14 I am happy to say I will be attending artEmotion's summer intensive in June! I will be dancing in the one week artEmotion Adult Program. If anyone would like to join or audition for any other artEmotion program, visit their website!
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