Copenhagen: A Summer Exchange

Copyright thebookybunhead 2012

From the moment I stepped out of the airport, I knew that my second time in Europe as a professional ballet exchange student would be no less than wonderful. Everyone was very welcoming and even Copenhagen itself seemed to greet me with its warm colours and lively streets. The next two weeks would be spent dancing with the Royal Danish Ballet and exploring the sights and sounds of the city!

We had ballet classes in the morning, one with students of the school, and one with professional dancers of the company. It was nice to have the variety of levels and intensity every day, as well as to meet many great people. We also took some other classes such as repertoire and Pilates, with Bournonville being particularly fun as a trademark Danish style with its charming expression and agile steps. It was an inspiring and exciting experience to take company class and I admit it made me feel impatient that apprenticeship starts a year earlier there!

We watched company rehearsals, and though it was too early in the season to see a performance, we got a tour of the beautiful, golden, traditional theatre and saw excerpts of ballet pieces in an annual outdoor show that promoted the Det Kongelige Teatre. It became chilly after sunset, yet the audience of thousands stayed sitting on the grass wrapped in blankets until a standing ovation at the end of the night; it was a kind of cultural appreciation I was quite impressed with.

Throughout the afternoons walking the streets of Copenhagen, we discovered many parks, observatory towers, and pretty buildings, and realized it was impossible to walk a few minutes without snapping pictures of a cool fountain or statue. I had the chance to ride in a canal tour, go to two of the oldest amusement parks in Europe, look at art (including a Degas exhibition) in a couple of the many museums that offer free access, and just enjoy the street and night life.

I once read that Denmark was named the happiest country in the world, and I can say I easily believe it with the relaxed, “go-with-the-flow” atmosphere I felt during my stay. Everyone I met was so nice that I often forgot I was a foreigner, at least until Danish was spoken, which I found out has absolutely no resemblance to English. I was sad to leave but was looking forward to bring back everything I had learned to grow more as a dancer and a person in my final year at NBS! Between the ballet and the excursions with friends, I had a grand time in Copenhagen and hope to visit again someday.

So, this is part of why my summer was packed to write as much as I wanted. The first month of gr.12 has been so busy but I’m really hoping to get this blog up and active again.

Thanks for reading,
thebookybunhead

The BIG Award Extravaganza! (1/4)

I think it is only fair to share the support and generosity that I’ve received; I have many to thank and spotlight, so stay tuned! Rules are posted at the end. Anyone who feels like sharing their opinion, please feel free to answer the last 11 questions as I am genuinely curious.

The Tag! Award

Thank you to Shaun at his inspiration blog for giving me this one.

11 facts about me:
1. I own a pair of bright neon green converse.
2. I lam ambidextrous. In cartwheels.
3. I always feel narcissistic doing this part.
4. I love amusement parks.
5. I love raspberries.
6. I love blackberries.
7. I love strawberries.
8. Berries are my favourite kind of fruit.
9. I wish I had the willpower to be a full-time vegetarian.
10. I swear by Mozilla Firefox as my internet browser.
11. I collect newspaper comics irregularly.

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11 questions I must answer:

1. What is your favourite colour? green

2. Where have you been to in the world, away from your country? USA, Indonesia, France, Hong Kong

3. If you had a time machine where would you go and why? Possibilities are endless! Besides meeting family, one place I would like to go to is the 60’s or 70’s so I can be a flower child and dance at the disco.

4. What food do you love most? Noodles

5. What is your favourite TV show? Arthur and Big Bang Theory

6. Who is your favourite Actor? Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway

7. When was the last time you were in Hospital? 5 years ago for a fractured wrist

8. When did you 1st fall in love, if not, when would you like to? I fell in love with life before I can even remember.

9. Do you understand String Theory? Nope

10. Where IS Waldo? Downstairs in my basement library

11. What type/make of Mobile phone do you have? Don’t have one. Here’s why.

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My 11 questions for you (I’m going to reuse some good ones):

1. Pen or pencil?

2. If you had a time machine, where would you go and why?

3. Now I’m curious. What internet browser do YOU use?

4. What type/make of mobile phone?

5. What is your favourite household chore, or rather, one you least mind?

6. A bucket list item?

7. Will you check out my blog? (Ok, I’m sorry, that was a cheap one.)

8. First classical composer to pop into your head?

9. What do you think of Canada? (Honestly, spill some dirt if you wish.)

10. Alligator or crocodile?

11. How long can you hold a handstand?

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The 15 Nominees!

1. greenembers – a person full of heart (check out the Rome Construction Crew!)
2. discoveringgarrett – musician in the making!
3. thenerdyscribe – humour and sophistication
4. willowdot – always heartfelt
5. digitalhegemon – fun bits of video and music
6. ambitious poet – diligence in creative poetry
7. myadventureoflife – honesty in everyday chronicles
8. Saunved – thoughtful and artistic pieces
9. TOKIDOKI – diverse photography of San Diego
10. women’swindow – for building a community of inspiration and faith
11. Delawhere Comics – quirky, original comics
12. beyondtheflow – beautiful writing on a “philosophy of life”
13. lblivingbetter – generous with helpful tips and life experiences
14. sandbagheart – thoughtful words (the name is quite an image, isn’t it?)
15. GeoSans – deep meanings in simplicity

And here are The rules:

1.  Post a picture of the award on your blog

2.  Tagback the person who tagged you to let them know you’ve accepted the award.

3.  11 facts about you.

4.  Answer the 11 questions I’ve asked you.

5.  Tag the same amount of people as their are letters in your name.

6.  Ask your OWN 11 questions to the people you’ve tagged.

7.  Contact the people you’ve tagged to let them know they’ve been tagged.

Phew! That’s it, Part 1 is done. It only gets better, so stay tuned!
Thanks for reading,
thebookybunhead

TEAL (NaPoWriMo #28a)

Source: atoo.co.uk

Trendy piece in confident fashion
Endless skies and sparkling coasts
Anticipation brewing under cool demeanor
Lost soul floating aimlessly in blank pondering

Intermediate, like a light switch balanced between on and off
Bold yet changing with the ebbs of time
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Teal also happens to be the colour of my ballet uniform.The prompt for a colour poem was too good to resist. So now I’m two poems behind. Oh well. Maybe I will be able to post another one tonight. Congratulations to everyone who has successfully completed the NapoWriMo challenge today!

Thanks for reading,
thebookybunhead

Around the World in 8 seconds (NaPoWriMo #28)

Art by Bill Zindel

Today I met people from
San Francisco
England
Germany
New York City
Spain
New Zealand
Cuba
Australia
In one room.
Talking.
Dancing a universal language.
Traveling more of the world through smiles
Traded internationally in the hallways.

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I had school on Sunday, and it was great. Sounds crazy, but it really isn’t. Today was the first day of a big dance festival with professional ballet academies from around the world. It is all SO exciting, I can’t believe it’s here, and I promise myself I will enjoy this week to the max.

Thanks for reading,
thebookybunhead

Erasure (NaPoWriMo #26)

Original poem by Robert Frost:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

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I definitely need more practice before being able to use this method to create poetry. Great on the abstract side and ambiguous on the conceptual side, it was quite fun. And this is a great poem – I know because I didn’t mind reading it in school – to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy! (Recognize the reference to a certain educational childhood show?)Thanks for reading,
thebookybunhead

 

Fishbowl Head (NaPoWriMo #23)

Art courtesy of Jason Pym

Visions swim in colourful blurs,
I have a fish bowl on my head.
Flailing, the sandy bottom stirs
I have a fish bowl on my head.
In murky water a song slurs
About glassless days. But instead
Visions swim in colourful blurs.
I have a fish bowl on my head.

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So I tried a triolet today which has a form of ABaAabAB – a bit tricky but doable once you’ve picked good themes with versatile rhymes. The image of a fish bowl on one’s head was imprinted in my head by Foster the People’s music video of the catchy “Call It What You Want” at a minute in. It’s very random, abstract, and just visually entertaining, so have a peek if you have time:

Thanks for reading,
thebookybunhead

Frolicking in Downtown TO: A Pantoum (NaPoWriMo #15)

Cool circular shot of Dundas Square.
Source: http://imgfave.com/view/22260

A cluster frolics the streets, wandering but fast
Fun to have, stomachs to fill, memories to make
Long hours rewarded and in the past at last.
It was the best chocolate banana milkshake.

Wind collects – lights, sounds, smells – as it circles the square
Pass the man drumming rhythms on buckets and tins,
Through the lively city we walk without a care.
Seems where the weekend ends I want it to begin.

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So here’s a poem that is a pantun and about a walk (sort of). I tried ‘killing two birds with one stone’ as they say for missing the prompt on Day 13. Last weekend our whole class went for dinner at Mr. Greenjeans. With the busy and long schedules, we don’t hesitate when there is a chance to have an evening out, and we had a good time being outside in the streets of Toronto, even when it began it rain. It’s moments like these that make me so eager to have the school year finish so we can have the freedom of summer.

Thanks for reading,
thebookybunhead

“Noir” Knight Sighting (NaPoWriMo #9)

Art by Marko Manev in his series of Superheroes Reimagined in Film Noir Style

Grinding the butt of his cigarette into the ledge
Sam leans over his hands
Surveying the grim alley below
Exhales a last stream of grey smoke over the edge
Artificial light arises from the lands
Yet buildings lie engulfed in shadow
From somewhere ahead, something stirs in the air
A beacon’s bat in the sky takes flight
As quickly as it appeared, the figure leapt out of sight
A caped silhouette – he couldn’t believe it, he wouldn’t dare!
But Sam knew he indeed had seen the Dark Knight
Guardian of a half sleeping city at night

I was initially going to write about the mystery of a carpet stain for today’s film noir inspired prompt, but this picture was too awesome. So I came up with bystander Sam catching a glimpse of (dunna-dunna-dunna-dunna…) Batman, instead!

Thanks for reading,
thebookybunhead

Dance Competition (NaPoWriMo #7)

Image of dance trophy from Aford Awards

My baby sister made me proud today.
She swept medals and trophies, was a star.
I was never a competition dancer, I say.
But, would I have gotten that far?

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Our family was at a dance competition all day, explaining this short, late post. My sister won three special awards, three overall prizes for her ballet, tap and jazz solos, judges’ choice, and highest overall for the top mark of the competition. It was a very long and tiring day, but it was worth it to see the joy on her face onstage, and to support her in a surprisingly extraordinary outcome. I am completely unmotivated to go back to school tomorrow after spring break, but time waits for no one, so good night all!

Thanks for reading,
thebookybunhead

Hesitant Haircut (NaPoWriMo #6a)

Courtesy of Victoria English Charm

Braided ladder, thick as rope,
Draped over back or shoulder
Falling freely, a lustrous slope
Bouncy in a pony holder

Coiled and twisted in a bun
Pinned and hairsprayed into place
Tangled flag behind a run
Frames or hides or whips my face
Accidental catcher of crumbs and snow
Years and years shampooed, brushed, grew

Steady, scissors, make no haste
To clear this curtain past my waist
Sentimental regret, but it’s time you go
Kind of exciting

Snip, snip.
It’s gone.
Just like that?
Boo hoo.

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I will cut my hair one of these days, and it will feel like this.

Thanks for reading,
thebookybunhead