A dancer in a wide lavender-and-purple folklórico-style skirt trimmed with red, yellow, and green ribbon spins on a dark stage, one arm raised holding a ribbon wand, face painted in Día de los Muertos skull makeup.
image via Oceánica Ballet, photography by Vin Vuthikorn
You know about Oceánica Ballet’s upcoming performance this Sunday, November 1, at 1 and 4pm at the College of San Mateo Theatre. Tickets are at oceanicaballet.org. We hope you’ve reserved yours already!
Last week Maddie, Rowan, and Shellie took a quick moment during a rehearsal break to tell us more about their views on the upcoming show. Maddie is dancing in her third fall production with Oceánica, Rowan in her fourth year, and Shellie is 2.5 years in, since a spring 2024 show at the Hiller Aviation Museum.
Asked what they most love to watch, Maddie named the Blue Fairy solo from the new P1N0CCH10, Rowan the polka in Viva La Vida, and Shellie the solo that opens Viva. More stats: they share the fastest quick change of the show, a three-minute window to go from a colorful dress to a unitard and a head. Three minutes sounds generous, until you add the accessories and a pointe shoe change.
Three minutes only works because of what happens before it. Anyone who has done a quick change knows it’s all about the pre-set: every piece of costume laid out in the order it will be needed, and every action required to get out of one costume and into the next planned and rehearsed just like the visible choreography on stage. The audience sees a magical transformation from gown to animal, and the behind-the-scenes remains concealed.
It’s the same with the people who seem to move easily through a full season of life. The strength you notice is usually built on small, unglamorous preparation they rarely mention: the bag packed the night before, the class already on the calendar, the ten minutes they decided in advance would count as enough of a workout for the day.
With the holidays ahead, here are three ways to borrow a little of that:
Decide your minimum now. Pick one ten-minute sequence, such as using the foam roller or your favorite massage tool, the seated Spinal Motions from GYROTONIC® or GYROKINESIS® class, or a short walk, and decide in advance that it counts on your busiest days. Make this your baseline. A goal you can always reach is worth more than a “perfect” plan you can only sometimes achieve.
Attach it to something that already happens. First thing, before getting out of bed, while your water boils, while watching TV. After any long sit, whether car, plane, or desk, stand up and let your spine move. Tying these movement breaks to an existing moment helps it become second nature.
Book one standing appointment. Carve out your time in advance. A weekly class or session you’ve already booked is much easier to reschedule if needed (we do send 48-hour reminder emails) than it is to get scheduled in the first place. We’re happy to help you set up recurring appointments or class reservations, we just need a valid credit card on file to hold your spot, and paid prior to your appointment. Reach out to Shellie for more details.
What I’m Reading
Leap seconds have helped keep clocks synchronized with Earth’s rotation, but their time is now over – here’s why— The Conversation
This month, the world’s timekeepers voted to stop adding leap seconds, with the change starting in May 2027, and let our clocks drift from the planet’s rotation instead. It’s a quiet decision about which to trust, the instrument or the thing it measures, and it’s more interesting now that Earth has been spinning slightly faster since about 2015. A good read for anyone who has ever felt a tracker and their own body disagree.
Read it here →
Why Washing Machines Took Decades to Catch On — JSTOR Daily
A labor-saving machine that took decades to win over households, and the reasons had as much to do with class, race, and what counted as respectable work as with the machine itself. It’s a good reminder that “easier” is rarely the whole story, and that whose effort gets valued shapes what gets built and bought.
Read it here →
‘Book brigade’ moves 7,400 books by hand to Hintonburg store’s new space — CBC News
The idea came from the customers of Ottawa’s The Spaniel’s Tale, and around 280 of them showed up to pass more than 7,400 books hand to hand, in alphabetical order, to the new space a block away. It’s efficient, but that isn’t really the point. What stays with me is a shop that has given its neighbors enough reason to show up with their hands.
Read it here →
Come see another side of our amazing instructors and staff when they dance this Sunday, November 1, at 1 and 4pm at the College of San Mateo Theatre. Tickets from $29 at oceanicaballet.org. We look forward to seeing you in a different context — and at the studio — later this week.
Warmly,
Harriet
