Win a book just in time for the holidays!

Alert, alert! The holidays will be here before you know it!

If you're looking for a gift for a young person, one who likes to read, why not enter my giveaway for a middle grade novel? Prince Dustin and Clara: Deep in the Black Forest by Daniel Lee Nicholson is the first in a series that is based loosely on the ballet, The Nutcracker, which itself is based on a 19th century story by ETA Hoffmann.

I wrote a review on the website, Dance Advantage, but it's not up yet. When it is, I will post a link of it if you want to know what I think about it. Here is the Goodreads summary of it:

To escape the wrath of Egon, Clara finds herself Deep in the Black Forest. It is a world of mystery and magic; creatures and animals, fairy tale princesses, and a Snow Queen. Prince Dustin, the Nutcracker Prince, is determined to protect Clara from Egon. Vicious and vile, Egon is not far behind and determined on getting revenge. 

Clara, a sweet and timid 12-year old, soon discovers that her uncle is a wizard in this far away land and that he is at the center of the chain of events. This thrilling fantasy adventure re-tells the story of the fairy tale, The Nutcracker, taking the reader along for the ride…a classic for all seasons!

 I feel it's appropriate for a reader aged 8 and over. Lots of action, some violence, but no sexual innuendo and no profanity. You don't need to know the story of the Nutcracker in order to enjoy the book and you certainly don't need to be a dancer.

So how do you enter? Simply FOLLOW me, COMMENT nicely that you would like to win a free book, and SHARE this post with your friends. That's it! I have one (1) hardcover novel available and will be happy to send it to you wherever you live, as long as that's in the United States. Sorry but I can't afford to send the book outside the country.

Enter BEFORE November 30! I will randomly select a winner on December 1 and will let the winner know by email, so make sure you give me your email address so I can contact you for your physical address to send you the book. Good luck!

Street parking changes at Dance Arts Academy

Dita von Teese parks a car properly

For my LA students, please note the below information when you come to take class with me at Dance Arts Academy. On Tuesday, I got a $68 parking ticket because they changed a street sign overnight. I don't want that to happen to you!

**The blocks on 8th Street and 9th Street between Cochran and Dunsmuir near the school are now permit only after 6PM.  On 9th St, this includes both north and south sides of the street; on 8th St, it is currently only the south side so you can continue to park on the side closest to the school.

Additional street parking that is currently available:
--8th St between Dunsmuir and Burnside on the south side
--8th St between Burnside and Cochran on the north side
--9th St between Burnside and Ridgeley, both north and south sides
--Burnside between Wilshire and 8th on the east side
--Cochran between Wilshire and 8th on both east and west sides

There is metered parking til 8PM north and south of Wilshire and on the blocks west of La Brea.

Also, the lot between Cloverdale and Cochran is available until 9PM for $1/hr.

The lot directly across the street from DAA is convenient but pricier: $2.50/30 minutes although you get an hour free with validation from Lassens.

Finally, there is valet parking for $5, usually on the same block as DAA or on the block south where the restaurant is on the corner.

Bottom line: look at the signs! These free spots may change too.

Hope this helps~

Contest! Win a CD from Rachael Sage!

My first ever contest! Whoo-hoo! And what a great prize I have:

Rachael Sage's new album, Blue Roses

If you came by the blog last month, I posted an awesome interview with Rachael herself. She is a former dancer whose music has been featured on the reality television show, "Dance Moms." In fact, she was recently on the show in episode 25. If you want to see the episode, go here. Rachael's song, "Happiness," was used by dance star Maddie Ziegler in the episode.

Want to win a signed CD? Just comment below with your name (or any name, just don't be anonymous!) with a "hey, put my name in the mix, please!" and I'll draw a random winner in 2 weeks. US residents, please.

Enter by September 15!

Zombie Ballet & ArtNight Pasadena schedule

 Since everyone's been asking (thank you!), here is the schedule for the ArtNight Pasadena events at ARC (A Room to Create) studio/theater:

 

ART NIGHT ARC PARTICIPANTS/Friday, October 14, 2011

 

6:00-6:15 Pennington Dance Group

6:20-6:30 Leigh Purtill and Dancers (Zombie Ballet!)

6:35-6:45 Pasadena Civic Ballet

6:45-7:05 Laurie Sefton-ClairobscurDance

7:10-7:20 Leigh Purtill and Dancers (Zombie Ballet again!)

7:25-7:35 Deborah Rosen Dancers

7:40- 8:10 Benita Bike

8:10-8:30 Danza Floricanto

8:30-8:50 Paula Present -Ptero Dance

8:55-9:05 Jessica Kondrath

9:05-10:00: Laurie Sefton, Pennington Dance Group, Deborah Rosen & Ptero Dance

 

As you can see, my group of 19 fantastic dancers is performing the Zombie Ballet twice on Friday night, at 6:20 and again at 7:10.  I am very excited to watch Pennington Dance Group and my friend Laurie's Clairobscur Dance.  Two amazing modern dance companies!

 

These times are approximate, of course.  When you're dealing with such a large number of dances and dancers, you never know exactly how long things will take!  My piece is under 2 minutes, just fyi...

 

Here is the address for ARC:

1158 East Colorado Blvd. (west of Michigan Ave and across the street from Michael's crafts)

Pasadena, California 91106 

http://www.arcpasadena.org

Entrance in back.  Parking on side streets or in the back of the theater.  There will be food trucks plus free shuttles to take people to other performance venues and galleries.  And it's all free! 

New video and other announcements!

Hi everyone! I will be posting a new video very, very soon. My webmaster is putting the finishing touches on it now.

I also wanted to mention that I'm thinking of giving away a pair of handknit leg warmers (knit by me!) when I reach 100 subscribers on my YouTube channel. Right now, I have 48 so be sure to subscribe to the channel. I'll let everyone when I hold the contest, plus you'll get email updates whenever I upload a new video.

And one more announcement for people in the LA area: I will be subbing for Perry Brown this Saturday at Hama's in Studio City from 11:30-1PM. It's an open level ballet class so if you're looking for a Saturday morning class, come try it out!

Cheers and happy dancing~