Hey there!
I had the most amazing phone conversation a few days ago, and it is making me think that maybe God is doing something really cool. I don't know where this will end, whether it will be the way I want it or not, but I decided to post about the way it has been going thus far, and I will write a second part once I find out the outcome.
So here it is.
If anyone has been interested enough to go to Bracelets for Ballet on the right side of this page, has read my About Me section, or has read either of my earlier posts, A Familar Smile, or Encourager, you will know already that I am aspiring to be a ballerina.
For the longest time I have wanted to take lessons but have had virtually no means of doing so. I have taken a few random classes throughout the year as well as a week-long dance camp coming up in August again. I am 15 years old and probably in grade 2 ballet.
I decided a while ago that I was going to buckle down and take lessons this year if I possibly could, but it was like there was a row of doors in my face, all of them closed.
Door #1: A Studio
I had looked into a whole bunch of different studios in Windsor and had come to the conclusion that the only one I was interested in was the Dance Barre, which is a secular studio and VERY stressful according to what I have heard about it. Also it is not very convenient for my mother to drive me out to where it is twice-three times a week.
But we would make it happen, if I was able to raise the money for it.
But just a little while ago, we heard about a Catholic studio called Academie Ste Cecile, which "just happens" to have a lot of people I know who go there and they all love it. It also "just happens" to be way easier for Mom to drive me to.
Note: I am still undecided between the two, because I don't know all of the details about Academie Ste Cecile yet.
Door #2: Technique
As I just mentioned, I don't know all about Ste Cecile yet. The number one thing I am concerned about is ballet technique. But in order to tell if a studio teaches good technique, you have to watch a video of their dancers. I emailed the teacher and asked for a video, but they don't show videos of their dancers to other people, so that seemed like a deal breaker. The Dance Barre it was.
But then I found out that a good friend of mine takes lessons there! She has a recital video from a few years ago and so I will get to see that.
Also, another big deciding factor was that most studios decided what class you are going to be in according to your age. That is NOT a good thing. They should place you in classes according to your ability and experience. I asked about this, and they decide according to ability, not age.
Door #3: Money
On our Bracelets for Ballet Facebook page I started a weekly update of "This is how much money I need, this is how long I have to get it." But since you can't charge tons of money for bracelets, the money was slow coming in, although I was getting lots of business.
I had asked the Dance Barre if there is any way I can work in exchange for a discount, but that was not possible.
I thought to myself one day, It would take a miracle for this to happen. It would literally take someone walking up to me and saying, "Here's a thousand dollars."
Then we heard about this crew that goes out in the summer and works in corn fields, detasseling the corn. The pay is extremely high, though the work is extremely hard. (If you want to check it out, you can go to their website here - http://www.corncrew.com/)
They were supposed to have closed the registration already, but for "some reason," they left them open late and we got them in.
Then I got a phone call from the teacher at Academie Ste Cecile, and she answered all of my questions super helpfully, she was soooo nice, I really want her to be my teacher. When I emailed her, I had asked if there was any way I could work for a discount, and she gave me the answer to that on the phone. There are three girls doing that right now, what they call a Working Scholarship, but one of them, again, "just happens" to maybe not be able to do it this upcoming school year, so she said she would put me down as first in line for that position if she can't do it.
That scholarship gives you a HALF PRICE discount! Although it is an amazing discount, I would still need about $300 IF I get the working scholarship.
Door #4: Corn Detasseling
Even though we got our applications in, we found out that there were hundreds of other applicants, so the chances of us getting the job were not that great.
It made it even worse when we found out later that they had already hired a whole bunch of people from previous years, so that made the chance even smaller!
Yesterday I was doing something for my dad, and my sister who applied with me came over to tell me that we got accepted, but we missed the replying date, and our jobs were given to people on the waiting list.
I just prayed, barely hoping, that we would somehow still get it, and when I went back to our room it turned out that she had made a mistake and we still had about a week to respond!
It seemed like those doors were not going to open. I didn't think they would. But God has been opening them, one at a time and just in the right time, I am amazed again at what He is doing.
My hope is that He will proceed to open the remaining doors, #1: Technique, and #2: The Working Scholarship. Either that or open the Money door for the Dance Barre, but honestly I would prefer Academie Ste Cecile.
But it is all in His hands. :) I don't know why He would open so many doors only to close them again, but if He does, His plan is perfect and I just need to trust Him with it.
So I will post again when I find out about the technique, either with the title being Opening Doors Part 2: Open, or Opening Doors Part 2: Closed.
I can't wait to see what God is doing!
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