derek hough's "symphony of dance encore"

where do i even begin?  this is a long story, so i will abridge it . . . 

anyone who knows us knows that we are obsessed with dancing with the stars.  we have watched the show religiously for years (and it has always been leko's favorite show too).  back in january 2019 we found a last-minute chance to see the dancing with the stars live tour and it was so incredible.  we were in total awe and amazement at how wonderful the show was, and knew we wanted to go again sometime.  a year later in january 2020 we returned to the same venue in upstage new york to see the new version of the tour.  it was even better and i was crying because i was so happy.  after that, the pandemic shut down the world so we couldn't see the show again, and then noah came along.

this entire past year i have been saying that i really want to see the d.w.t.s. live tour again and i wanted to see derek hough's tour.  (we were supposed to see derek live at radio city music hall back in april 2015 when he was starring in the rockette's spring spectacular, but the day we went to see the show he injured his ankle and didn't perform.)  long story short, we were planning to see the shows this year and then because of a reason i won't even begin to get into, we couldn't and i have been devastated about it for the past 6+ months.

with only 24 hours before derek's "symphony of dance encore" tour came to town, i found a ticket and bought it.  it was really an emotional roller coaster to even decide to go, but i'm really glad i did because when i say this show was life changing, i'm not exaggerating.  it was the single best thing i think i've ever witnessed.  the artistry and athleticism was super human.  

i took a ton of photos and videos.  here are just a few pictures from the show.  derek and hayley are truly incredible.  for two hours i escaped from the real world and was healed by dance.  i was on cloud 9 in my 8th row orchestra seat and will never forget this.  

i even got to see derek's 6 d.w.t.s. mirror ball trophies in person too!

love, laurie

celebrating

so grateful to work with a wonderful group of ladies at the dance studio, and so grateful to be able to carve out a little time to go out to celebrate with them.

love, laurie

"museum after midnight"

the dance studio where i teach had their annual spring dance recital this weekend at the theater and it went great!  the show was "museum after midnight" which was such a great theme that we brought to life.

this show was extra fun because i got to record approximately 40 voiceovers that played between each song to guide the audience through the "museum" and that was so much fun to do!

love, laurie

one more christmas dance recital!

last weekend the dance studio where i teach held their annual christmas recital.  it was themed like the "home alone" movie this year and was so clever.  all of the kids did such a great job!  now we get a little break from dance classes until the beginning of january.

love, laurie 

another dance recital in the books!

the dance studio that i teach for had their dance recital this weekend at the theatre and it went great. the show was "british invasion" themed so we had a lot of fun british-themed props.  noah really got a kick out of the little british guard that was his size!

love, laurie

dancin' in the streets

the dance company that i teach for was asked to dance again this year at the moscow country street fair parade on friday night.  the weather was great and the dancers did a great job dancing in the parade.  last year noah was just a little tike and rode in the stroller along the parade route.  he was happy to join again this year and did a good job riding in the parade!

love, laurie

dancin' the night away

i dressed up noah in his dance company onesie for my studio's dance recital on saturday.  when we got home saturday night, he was showing off his best dance moves before bed.  such a good little dancer!

love, laurie

a "road trip" themed dance recital

in the middle of working dance recital season at the theatre, the dance company that i teach for had their dance recital on saturday.  the theme this year was "road trip" which meant we got to pick a bunch of great songs to choreograph to that you would want to rock out in the car to on a road trip.

i had three dances in the show this year that i choreographed.  i'm proud of all of the dancers, they did such a great job.  i love working with this staff and for this dance company.  it really is one big happy family.  everyone gets along and there's no competition which is so refreshing.

the road sign scenery was perfect and ryan's lights were awesome.

i had no idea that one of the dance moms who was snapping so many photos during rehearsal and the show got several candid photos of me working on stage!

love, laurie

a power-packed weekend at the theatre

it was truly a power-packed weekend at the theatre with four back-to-back shows thursday through sunday.

we kicked off the weekend with my dance studio's holiday recital "'twas the night before christmas" on thursday.  i choreographed 4 dances for this show and it all went great!  then on friday we had the new york tenors with their christmas concert.  (you can see more photos from that concert on the theatre's facebook page here.)  on saturday, we had a 60s, 70s, and 80s rock tribute band.  we closed out the weekend on sunday with another holiday dance recital.

needless to say, we're exhausted.  there's only one more show in december before we're done for the season!

love, laurie

pointe shoe day

one of the summer intensive classes that i'm teaching this summer is our first-year pointe class.  it's always an exciting day when our girls go to the dance store to get fitted for their first pair of pointe shoes.  it was a rainy day, but that didn't dampen the girls' excitement.  they all got their shoes and were ready to try them out for the first time in class!

love, laurie

dancin' in the streets

the dance company that i teach for was asked to dance again this year at the moscow country street fair parade on friday night.  the weather was great and the dancers did a great job dancing in the parade.

last year i was 9 months pregnant with noah for this parade, so i rode along the parade route in the music truck, but this year i pushed noah in the stroller along the parade route.

our studio owner ordered noah a little onesie that matched all of the dancers' shirts.  it was absolutely adorable! 

love, laurie

we survived spring 2023 recital season!

we made it through lots of dance recitals this spring from april through june and we're exhausted.  add a baby to recital season this year and wowza!

we ended the season on sunday with the dance studio where i teach.  the recital was broadway themed which was right up my alley!

everyone did a great job and we're all super proud of them!

love, laurie

"miracle on 34th street" holiday dance recital

on sunday, the dance company that i teach for held their annual holdiay recital at our theatre.  this year's show was "miracle on 34th street" and it turned out great.

noah made his stage debut when he came out on stage at the end for the show for bows.  he was dressed as a little elf and i put on my old christmas dance costume so that him and i were extra festive!

love, laurie

end of summer dance showcase

last thursday was the last day of summer dance classes.  we finished off the summer intensive/camp sessions by holding a little showcase performance for the parents at a local park.  our students danced under the pavilion and showed off a little of what they had learned this summer.  i taught them ballet and musical theatre over the past several weeks this summer and it was a lot of fun.  the girls did a great job!

love, laurie