"Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart." ~Ecclesiates 5:19-20
Why Weighty?! Well for one, it makes for great alliteration in the title of this post! Two, this weekend recap is considered weighty for the significance found within the weekend itself! A Monumental post, really, for the reason that it will forever be the last recap post of its kind -- this post recapping my last ever experience touring with Ballet Magnificat Alpha before retiring my professional ballet career! You're going to want to stick around for this post!
We visited Macon, Georgia this past weekend to finish off our touring for the year. Overall it was such a lovely run-out experience! I know lately, I haven't exactly done the greatest job keeping you all updated on how our tour season has been going this past semester; I guess I've just had a lot of things on my mind to distract me, but you'll be happy to know, not one detail is being left out from this blog update! My friends can confirm that I've been snapping my camera like crazy lately, in a desperate effort to preserve every second left of my time had with Ballet Magnificat. With several other dancers making their exodus at the end of the season along with me, we have all been feeling very sentimental. This past weekend being the last performance experience on tour for many of us, we cherished and appreciated one another more than ever before, understanding the pricelessness of each moment spent working together before things change. The love amongst us this past weekend was thick. I hope the sweetness that emanated is made tangible for you in the following post. Enjoy!
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5/9/19 Georgia Bound :
9:30 AM On a wet wet rainy Thursday, after being slightly delayed due to severe weather warnings, the Ballet Magnificat Alpha team meets at the studio to load up some last minute things, use the bathroom, pray, and then hit the road!
Sam equipping himself with random rain gear found around the studio in order to get the loading job done! 😂
Circled up for prayer
AM to PM A nine-hour drive day... The storm followed us ALLLL. DAAYYY. LONNNG. as we traveled east on our way...
Abbey focused at the wheel.
Rain, rain go away...
...Come back not on a drive day.
Margot creatively staying dry at one of our gas stops!
8:30PM We finally reach our destination in Macon, Georgia at the Marriott SpringHill Suites. We could not have asked for a nicer hotel! It was absolutely beautiful and most comfortable; the best way to end a season of touring! And there was a pool!
The spacious contemporary-fashioned lobby 😍 Photo Credit
Upon arriving we dug straight into the delicious dinners that were waiting for us at the hotel,
prepared for us by our amazing sponsors! Yum!
Enjoying dinner with friends Ashton and Jessie in the hotel lobby
These inviting rooms were like heaven to us after such a long drive day! Photo Credit
Prior to sleeping, I spread out the contents found inside a welcome goodie bag our sponsors put together for us. How hospitable of them! Full of excitement, thankfulness, and anticipation for meeting our sponsors the next day, I knew I was going to have no problem sleeping that night!
5/10/19 Next Day! :
8:00 AM Breakfast time with these awesome chicas, my hotel roommates!
Taylor, Ingrid, and I
Look who else we find in the breakfast hall, friends!
The breakfast hall was just as chic as the rest of the hotel!
... And the continental breakfast offered was AMAZING! The spread had a very European feel!
9:25 AM After breakfast and a short time of some personal Bible reading for myself, we pile into the vans and finally head over to our venue, Ingleside Baptist Church, to start our day!
I must say, This church blessed us greatly with there friendly, hospitable, organized, and accommodating staff members and volunteers. We could not have been taken care of any better!
Inside the church venue was gorgeous! Big and beautiful and most ideal for us to perform in once we set up all our stuff! Photo Credit
9:47 AM After circling up to pray with the church volunteers, company members take their respective "positions" and we begin unloading our trailers and setting up the stage!
Here's Emily! Her job is to man the halls and tell people where to put things inside the building once they come out of the trailers. She is kind of like traffic control. She is good at it. She's good at everything. ^_^
Sometimes she sings. ^_^
Margot assembling lighting poles with a volunteer
Taylor and Abbey lay out our marley flooring
Ashley, Taylor, and Abbey make a great team!
There is Ingrid working on props and sets, assembling a table made out of PVC and wood.
It's like a puzzle. Bless her heart!
Catherine on lights. Doesn't she look happy!
Sam helping out with a smile on his face!
Claire and Jessie on costumes keep us looking good!
I don't know who these guys are, but they look important, like electricians, like happy ones who are helping us get our lighting and sound in order so we don't blow things up.
Ashton is my "Product Buddy". She helps me set up the merchandise in the lobby.
11:17 AM We break for lunch, one of my favorite times of day!
Dancers excitingly file out of the auditorium in pursuit of food!
We were so impressed and thankful for the divine meal prepared for us by Ingleside's
Interim Executive Chef, Chad McDonell!
A fun fact about Ingleside's Interim Executive Chef is that he's prepared and served meals to former President of The United States Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, George W. Bush and now Ballet Magnificat!
Nom Nom Nom...
Lunchtime selfie with dear friend Ashley Helsel!
1:37 PM After lunch we go into dancer mode and begin doing our hair and faces for the show.
I set my make-up and hair station next to Emily!
The beautiful Catherine Martin...
and Ingrid getting ready!
Stealing a moment to take this selfie with my favorite Tour Director!
2:19 PM We begin marking on stage, that is, reviewing our steps and spacing to prepare us for the show that night!
Abbey's a rockstar. ^_^
Another rockstar is Claire! When she isn't needed on stage for marking, she can be found editing videos on her laptop. This girl is the one responsible for editing Ballet Magnificat's amazing behind-the-scenes content that gets posted to Youtube.
When set-up goes fast, and our Tour Director Rachel has time to spare finishing her tasks early, this is where she can be found while the dancers are marking on stage.
A photo op with my fellow Pennsylvanians, the Helsel Sisters!
3:30 PM We have a time of prayer and devotions in between marking and warm up class.
4:15 PM Warm up class beings!
My barre buddies!
I love my friends.
5:30 PM After class we get some last minute snacks and I take a few more pictures!
We dancers love our bananas!
I had to get a picture with Sam on the day of our last performance pretending to be married to one another in the ballet "Prodigals Journey".
Fun fact: Did you know that the engagement ring I give him in the ballet says "Strength"!
Pre-show group selfie!
6:30 PM SHOW TIME! I hope you enjoy the footage below of my friends dancing one of my favorite numbers from the ballet "Prodigals Journey".
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The Lord outdid himself with arranging for this booking atIngleside Baptist Church to be our last. It was so special! Aside from the sheer weightiness of it being my last performance on tour, it was also special because of how Ingleside Baptist Church uniquely incorperated us into their "Mother-Daughter Evening at the Ballet" event. The Lord knows I have such a heart for women, which that fact alone made for a very special night, being given the opportunity to honor them. And, as if that wasn't enough, for the first time in years, by God's sovereignty, I was appointed, at what seemed randomly, to share the gospel at the end of the performance that night, which is truly a passion of mine! I am amazed how all these small details came together to make my last performance unbelievably memorable. What a gift from God to me! I am truly in awe of His intentionality.
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After the show, the Ballet Magnificat Alpha women take the time to snap one last group pic in front of a photo booth the church set up in the main lobby, prior to the audience members flooding out of the auditorium to take pictures themselves, meet and interact with us.
9:10 PM Once things wind down we begin the striking process and load everything back up into our trailers.
Ashton and I pack up all the products and merch. We keep them in these boxes. I give them a hug good-bye as I will no longer have to work with them on a Ballet Magnificat tour, ever again.
Load'er up!
Margot would make Maggie proud as she stands in to organize the way things get packed inside the trailer.
...about finished packing up this trailer. The space that is left is where we will put our luggage the next day.
The After Party!
9:53 PM To celebrate a successful last performance, we decide to make some stops at Chick-fil-A and Baskin-Robbins before going back to the hotel!
Time to go home/back to the hotel! Here we are being goofy on the sidewalk as we wait for Sam to bring the van around.
5/11/19 Next Day :
8:30 AM We meet together in the parking lot and ask the Lord's blessing over our last drive day together.
One last group selfie!
Eight Alpha members excited about finishing our Ballet Magnificat touring careers strong, and looking forward to what the Lord has in store next for our futures! (Maggie not pictured)
...And we finish our tour the same way we started it, driving in the rain.
6:00 PM Thankful to arrive safely back home, we praise God for his faithfulness!
The End .
I am thankful to God for another preicous weekend added
to my storehouse of unforgettable memories.
Thanks for stopping by!
I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Let me know
which of these snapshots you enjoyed the most in the
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