Ballet Portrait Sneak Peek

Last week was Picture Week at the King's Praise Ballet! Here are some of the (many) portraits of the girls (and guys) who will be dancing in "Mercy in Disguise: The Story of Joseph" next week!



Here's Joseph in his coat of many colors! Or rather, here's one of our Josephs! We actually have three guys who portray the character of Joseph at different stages of his life.

This is Joseph as the ruler over all Egypt. =)

Basic Ballet 3 will be dancing as members of Jacob's family in these lovely costumes!

Speaking of Jacob's family, here are 11 of his sons! (Also known as the Brothers.) In this picture, we have both the older and younger "Benjamin," and we're missing Joseph. =)

Wee 2 is dancing as the Brothers' sheep. These girls make the cutest lambs!

Among other things, Ballet I will be representing the "years of plenty" foretold by Pharaoh's dreams!
I love the color and detail of these costumes!

Most of Ballet V will be dancing as the caravan of Arabs (Ishmaelites) who take Joseph to Egypt.

I love Wee 3's costumes! They are so dainty and sweet!
These girls will be dancing to "Through Heaven's Eyes" (from The Prince of Egypt movie) and "Forgiveness" (by Matthew West).

The girls in Ballet IV have really matured in their dancing this year!
They are dancing as the workers and servants in Egypt. 

This year, we are excited to have the Beginning Pointe class do a dance for the presentation! Along with Basic 2, the girls en pointe will be dancing as the "sheaves of wheat" in one of Joseph's dreams.

Two sweet sisters from Basic 1!
Along with Wee 1, their class will represent the stars, sun, and moon in Joseph's second dream. Basic 1 will also be dancing to "Blessed Be Your Name" by the Newsboys.

This year, Ballet II has a costume that really matches their fun and energetic personalities! They will be dancing as (obviously) the Egyptians of Pharaoh's court!

The girls in Ballet III make the prettiest prisoners we've ever seen!
They're dancing to "Losing" by Tenth Avenue North and "Better Than I" (from the movie Joseph, King of Dreams), which both take place while Joseph is in prison.

And last, but certainly not least, is one of the dads who has courageously stepped into the role of Pharaoh!

You can see these and the rest of the girls and guys in action on Friday, April 25th at 7pm and Saturday, April 26th at 4pm at Hunter Hills Church of Christ in Prattville, AL! We're excited to see how God will continue to bring "Mercy in Disguise" together and use it to bless others and glorify His name! See you there!

Portraits from Thursday and Friday

 

Here are a few pictures from the last two days of Picture Week! Now onto Combined Classes, presentations at local nursing homes, dress rehearsal, and performances!

 

 

 

What could be better than dancing with your Daddy?

 

Sweet friends!

 

 

Half of All the King's Men and half of Ballet IV-B dancing together as Jesus' disciples and the women who followed Him.

 

Bad weather caused Ballet III-IV's class to be cancelled,

but we were able to get pictures of most of the girls anyway!

 

Picture Credit: JP Lofgren, Robyn Clement

Picture Week!

Last Saturday the backdrop for "The Promise Fulfilled" was painted by some very talented artists who designed it to look like a sky. This week, "The King's Praise Ballet" and "All the King's Men" are getting their pictures taken in front of it! The backdrop and the costumes look beautiful together, and we wanted to share a few portraits with you as a sneak peek! There are too many to post them all, or we would... they turned out very well!

Every year, we take pictures of sisters who dance together. This year, the brothers are getting involved, too!

Twins!!

 

Simply precious!

Four sisters dancing together!

 

 

Floating in the clouds...
 

 

These costumes turned out SO dainty and angelic! The girls all look lovely in them!

The "characters" in a dance about people who found healing and freedom at Jesus' feet.

This costume has more ribbons than any other that I can remember!
And it looks so pretty when the girls twirl around!
 

There are two more days of classes left this week... stay tuned for more pictures! And don't forget to come see all these lovely (and handsome!) dancers in "The Promise Fulfilled" on April 26 at 7 PM and April 27 at 4 PM!

 

Picture credit: JP Lofgren and Katie Abbott

Dancers in Daylight

Since Ballet IV takes twice/week, we used their Thursday class to take outdoor photos! It was great incentive for quick warm-ups and good, clean run-throughs of their dances.

It was so much fun! I love these girls - it's so rewarding to be a teacher!

Dancers in Daylight

Class & Individual Portraits 2012

Ballet Portraits 2012

I've edited and uploaded so many photos today, but all the girls are so beautiful, it was a pleasure. My eyes are hurting, but it's good to have them done. Now for our final day of pictures tomorrow!

Sister Portraits 2012

Sister Portraits 2012

Click the link to see sisters dancing together for the glory of God!

Father-Daughter Portraits

Dads & Daughters 2012

Click the link to view the portraits of these great dad-daughter duos and groups!

Different class sisters

This family gets the distinction of having 4 daughters each in a different class!

Dads and Daughters Dancing!

 It's a beautiful thing when a father dances with his daughter

 She feels like a princess...

 He feels like a man most blessed.

 

 They make fun memories...

That will last a lifetime!

Miss Anna

Dancing with this big chiffon fabric this year, to "God of My Everything" by Bebo Norman.

It's pretty, but hard to control at times. If I just don't end up getting tangled in it during my solo, and don't fall on my face, I'll be happy. :)

Portraits 2012 - sneak peak

 There's nothing quite like the cuteness of a tiny ballerina!

 Three sisters, starting dance together!

More sisters - personalities come out in what colors they choose (when they have a color choice!)

It's hard to get 11 girls ages 5 & 6 to look the same way and smile together! But these girls were very sweet, and pretty patient and complying. We got a pretty good shot.

More pictures coming in the week ahead... after a long day of picture taking, I'm off to play a game and relax with family!

Costume "editing"

It's hard to find costumes, especially for older girls, that are modest. So, I often have to get creative, ordering a pretty but not too expensive costume that can be "edited." Often I add leotards or skirts underneath, depending on what the costume needs.

However, I try to find costumes that won't need too many alterations, as the costs and time add up if fixing multiple ones for a class.

With my solo, though, I could be more creative, since I only had to edit one. So, I ordered this dress, and added a maroon leotard, white chiffon fabric drape (to cover spaghetti straps and low neck), white skirt (since the dress was see-through - thankfully I already had this skirt from a previous costume), and a maroon sash (since the dress has an empire waist, and looked funny seeing the skirt waistband show through).

A bit of work, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. The dress works perfectly for my solo, danced to "The Faithful" by Steve Green, and representing China in "Let the Nations be Glad!"

Thursday ballet portraits

Portraits turned out well from Thursday classes! Again, I had costumes arrive at the very last minute (after being back ordered and then shipped overnight express), but they came in time for pictures. So, praise God!

My dad was so kind to spend another afternoon taking pictures in between us practicing dances.

Country: Ireland

Ballet III got creative with poses!

We added their black class leo and skirt under this one, but it worked well, and didn't cost extra!

Country: Mexico

This costume is so cute! Works very well for the song "Cristo Me Ama" ("Jesus Loves Me" in Spanish)

Country: France

The pastel colors are so pretty together! The blue costumes were the last to arrive, 30 minutes after this class started. We were all so grateful when they came!

We added the colored leotards underneath for modesty, but even though they're from a different company than the costume, they matched perfectly!

Sister pictures are also so sweet. I love how these sisters are making each other laugh. :)

More sisters! Not all sister pictures fit together as well due to different colored costumes, but these three looked perfect together!

You can see more pictures in a Picasa album by clicking here.

Tuesday Ballet Portraits

Pictures went well during classes yesterday! The girls all look beautiful, and it's fun to see the costumes turn out!

Country: Canada

After preparing myself for the worst (usually costumes turn out much skimpier in reality than they look in pictures) I was pleased to find these needed very little alteration - just a little take-in at the neck to help it not gape. No slips or other additions needed!

Country: Philippines

When I saw these costumes in the catalog, I new I wanted to get them if possible. No alterations, and so many beautiful colors together!

Country: South Korea

These costumes are just plain fun! Sequins and ruffles are cute on little girls!

Country: Russia

Girls in these costumes made it feel like we'd stepped into a winter wonderland.

We added the white leos underneath for modesty, but I found them on clearance, which was nice!

Country: Austria

Little 4-year-old students are so adorable!

Sister pictures are fun. I currently have 12 families with two or more daughters taking dance. It's fun to make it a family activity.

You can see more pictures in a Picasa album by clicking here.