Time of our lives...

Last Friday was the last day of this season. If feels strange, but we are in desperate need of a break! We all have alot going on this summer...

Erin just left for Ecuador for 5 weeks. Her sister Sara, brother Luke, and herself will be working with an orphanage where they will be holding a Vacation Bible School, life-skill classes (such as cooking, shopping at the store, games, etc.) as well as some movement classes. This will be her second summer down there, and hopefully the rest of Ballet Emmanuel will be joining her in future years.

Amy is going to be tending to her newly planted garden and relaxing on her classy new swing. At the same time, she'll keep busy teaching at Ballet Society's worhip workshop, as well as doing some extra stuff for BE. She is going to be focusing on the business side of Ballet Emmanuel and serving as tour planner/business administrator (we will soon be looking for someone to fill this position for upcomng and future seasons), Amy and Jared (her husband) are also excitied to relax a little this summer. They plan to go camping, hit some jeep trails, and experience the "true heart" of Colorado.

Laci is going to be busy planning her wedding back home in Michigan.. All of the big things are done. They have a church, hall, caterer, desserts, dresses, tuxes, and the honeymoon is almost planned (although it's a surprise, so she has no clue where they are going). On top of that, she will be working a week of camp (at the church camp she grew up at) and planning the preschool VBS at her church back home. She will be ending the summer by getting married August 14th! Erin and Amy are very excited to be joining her out in Michigan, despite the fact that they have to wear yellow for their bridesmaid dresses :)

You may be wondering how our last couple performances went...

Our shows with the Pikes Peak Ringers, a Bell Choir based here in Colorado Springs, were so much fun. We had a blast dancing to something so unique and having the oppurtunity to do something outside of our normal repertoire. The dances we performed were all over the spectrum... we performed a beautiful slow piece, some cute upbeat pieces, and one very special hoedown! For more information on what the Ringers are up to visit their website at http://www.pikespeakringers.com/

Yes we look young, but we are

honestly older than 14!

Our show with the Movement Company of Castle Rock was very special to us. We loved being able to work with such a wonderful group of women. The concert was titled "Freedom: and the show promoted and supported a group called Project Sanctuary. Project Sanctuary helps support and provide for war veterans. The company is more modern and jazz based, and a number of their pieces made us want get up there and dance with them. For more information about their work visit their website at http://www.themovementco.org/

Wow... it's hard to believe we made it! We have had such an exciting season. God brought us so many amazing oppurtunities and we were able to meet so many wonderful new people. Here is a re-cap of what we did this past year...

September was filled with lots of choreography and a couple of small performances.

October included the Women Come Forth Conference in Denver and short tour to Grand Junction, Colorado.

November was busy getting prepared for Christmas.

December had shows every weekend right up to Christmas. 1st Presbyterian Church and Sunrise Church were both amazing productions and then of course we had our own very successful Christmas Concert.

January was all tour preparation.

February was all touring. We traveled to Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Kansas.

March we held a workshop for students and auditions for new company members.

April we celebrated Easter with our "Crown of Thorns" concert. We also worked with Fiddler on the Roof at Sunrise Church and traveled back to Grand Junction for another weekend tour.

May we worked with and performed at the "Evening of Worship Dance" which is a new dance ministry event. We held our end of the season concert "Created" and performed with the Pikes Peak Ringers and Movement Company.

We also performed at many various churches throughout the entire season for services and special events, held workshops and master classes during evey tour, and began planning and scheduling for next season.

Looking back, it is so clear how much God blessed Ballet Emmanuel this season and how good He truly is.

Our last week we were busy making all sorts of plans for next year! But we made sure we had some time for fun. We went hiking to the top of Pulpit Rock and celebrated the season with a bbq and pool party!

We have certainly had the time of our lives and can't wait to come back and reach even more communities next season!

Final Inning...

Hard to believe we are so close to summer break! Here's what we have been up to...


Two weekends ago we had the wonderful oppurtunity of dancing at a worship dance festival called "An Evening of Worship". Worship dance groups all over Colorado (including Pueblo, Boulder, Divide, Castle Rock, and many more) made the trip to the Springs to participate. There were approximately 22 groups in all and we had so much fun seeing other people worship God in their own dance styles, as well as being able to share ours with them. It was very encouraging to all who were there.

That same weekend, we also danced at 3 services at Sunnyside Christian Church for Mother's Day. it was a very long, but rewarding, weekend.

This past weekend, we had our end of the season conert "Created". This concert consisted of the pieces we have been working on and touring with since September. It was a bitter-sweet feeling to perform them for the last time. We had Melanie Dexter dance with us, which was extra exciting because she will be joining us as a full-time company member in August...YAY! We also had a couple of students from the Colorado Springs area perform a piece they choreographed and they did a lovely job.

So the season is almost over. We have 3 more performances this weekend, two with the Pikes Peak Ringers, and one with the Movement Company (for more information about these shows, please visit our webiste at balletemmanuel.org). After that, it's just plans and ides for next year! We are down to the final inning, we are rounding third and about to steal, just a few more sprints and we made it :) It's crazy how fast time flies by.

April Showers bring May Snow?!

The last weekend of April we returned to beautiful Grand Junction, Colorado for a quick three day tour. It was so nice to see all of our friends that we met last October as well as meet many more new ones. On Friday we performed at an event put on by Stonecroft Ministries. Several times a year Stonecroft hosts events where high school and college age women can relax, eat and have fun while the gospel is presented in a unique but relevant manner. We were blessed to perform a full concert for them as well as present our testimonies.

On Saturday we taught three different sets of master classes across the city. First we returned to Mesa State for a contemporary ballet class in the morning then on to Campus Crusade for a short dance workshop during the ministry's "Girl's Sleepover". We even got party favors! Definitely love the glittery lip gloss. It was very encouraging to meet young women who are so active and passionate about reaching out to their peers. Saturday afternoon we taught a technique class and some choreography to the students at the Institute of Dancing Arts. The girls were lovely as usual although we were disappointed not to see Mrs. Diane since she was out of town for the weekend.

On Sunday morning we performed for two services at the River of Life Alliance Church before going to Chipotle for lunch with our hostess and her daughter. Laci and Amy love Chipotle and we think we may have hooked Erin as well! Shortly after lunch we left to return home and on our way we drove through snow! Snow on May 1st, that's Colorado for you! Thankfully our drive was uneventful and we returned home safely.

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

This year's Easter concert "Crown of Thorns" went very well. We had so much fun working with all of our guest artists. Naomi's violin was very much a fan favorite and Sunnyside Up Brass was a riot. We even switched roles with them, we played their instruments and they dance! (Ok, not really, but we did get to hold them)
After Easter we were finally able to rest as we took a week long, very much needed, spring break. When we came back there was no easing into things. That weekend we performed with the Sunrise Players at their benefit dinner theatre production of "Fiddler on the Roof" to support Ballet Emmanuel. After we danced, we had kitchen duty and washed up all the dishes. We had some fun getting wet and Fiddler was spectacular. Plus they gave us t-shirts!
Recently we have also had the pleasure of working with the Movement Company out of Castle Rock (a modern based company). We were going to perform with them for their spring concert "Freedom" but sadly it was canceled due to the random snow storm last week. Watch the calendar on our website for the times and dates of the rescheduled concert.

We are currently working on pieces for "An Evening of Worship Dance" and we also have our end of the year concert coming up! The performance is called "Created" and will be on Sunday May, 16th, at 7:00pm at Sunnyside Christian Church (check our website for printable fliers www.balletemmanuel.org). The event is one the whole family will love and admission is free. We hope to see you there!

Month of March

Two weeks ago we were blessed to have a lovely group of girls join us for a two-day audition to hire a new company member for the next season. We had girls from Arizona, New Mexico, Kentucky, Ohio and Mississippi. It was so much fun to meet new people and see how Christian dance is evolving in other parts of the country.

The following week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we hosted our Created to Dance workshop here in Colorado Springs.

Twenty three girls and one boy came to discover how God not only created every part of us but also created us with a purpose, to worship Him. We then explored how we can use dance as a means of worship, praise, prayer, and reflection.


One of the girls was so excited about the workshop that gave she Erin a picture she drew of herself dancing.


Despite a weather delay on Wednesday we enjoyed teaching the dancers ballet technique classes as well as a jazz piece, a contemporary piece and an Israeli piece to perform for their families on Friday evening. On the last day we finished with an improvisation class that stretched everyone's creativity.

One of our favorite parts of the week was studying the Bible with the dancers. All of our participants were so strong and mature in their faiths, especially for their age. Even the seven year olds were quoting scripture to support points they were making. By Friday our goal was to have Colossians 3:17 memorized "And whatever you do whether in word or deed do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him." This verse would remind us that we can use every moment in our lives to fulfill our purpose and worship God.

We are so excited for this weekend and our performance of "Crown of Thorns," a family friendly celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Several guest artists are joining us for the show including Naomi Hill, the Sunnyside Up Brass Band, Afton Paris and Jamie Southwick. We would love to see every one there! Admission is free and a love offering will be accepted.

Home Sweet Home

During the last couple days of our Midwest tour we performed at three nursing homes in Wichita and a church in Benton, KS. While at the Benton Church both Amy and Erin had the opportunity to share their testimonies with the audience members. One of the things that we spoke on was God’s faithfulness (and His sense of humor). Over and over He has shown us what an awesome God He is, providing for Ballet Emmanuel as a company as well as each dancer individually. It also seems that His sense of humor never fails to slip in, taking His people in unexpected directions.

We had wonderful and busy days while on tour –so much fun!! Although I must admit that by the time we finished our last performance on Wednesday night we were really looking forward to wearing “normal” clothing – i.e. no leotard or tights.

We arrived back in Colorado Springs on Thursday evening. A little weary of driving and quite excited to sleep in our own beds after three weeks of being on the road.

We feel very privileged to have been able to meet and minister to so many people in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Kansas. Dancers, audience members, pastors, studio owners, nursing home residents and workers… so many wonderful people. It is such an amazing thing to be able to use the gifts that God has given us to reach out to and encourage people in the name of Jesus!

Thank you for all your prayers!

Just a few more (random) pictures...

Snow in Michigan

Erin and her Grandpa

Stretching feet before a show

Laci's new little cousin

A lovely little ballerina

Silly time :0)

Be sure to check back for new posts!

Travel...Travel...Travel...

Our last stop before leaving Michigan was at West Kalamazoo Church on Sunday, the 14th. We had a wonderful time performing for and worshiping with the members of the congregation. We left with a very large heart-shaped brownie, so we would say it was a success :0)


On Monday, we went to David’s Bridal to get bridesmaid dresses for Laci’s wedding and to her surprise, her wedding dresses were in a month early (yes, she bought 2…one for the full wedding and one for the 2nd reception)! We all looked very cute in our dresses and “ugg” boots.

As soon as we were done at David’s Bridal, we headed on out to Stoughton, Wisconsin (a last minute addition to our tour). We had a great time out there performing for the residents of Swifthaven Assisted Living Center and visiting with Erin’s grandparents (who live at Swifthaven), and aunts. We were also able to go down to town to the “world famous” Fosdal’s Bakery where we enjoyed very delicious donuts, as well as Cheesers, where we had the unique experience of sampling chocolate cheese. The verdict is…. It tastes like fudge.

From Wisconsin, we headed to East St. Louis where we worked with children at the Christian Activities’ Center. We were very excited to get to work with this group of underprivileged kids. We taught them a couple of technique classes as well as a choreography class. at the end of the evening they performed the dance we had taught them for parents and classmates. After they finished performing several of the girls begged us to put the music back on so that they could “do it again”. We wished we could have had more than one day with them!

From there we drove to Wichita, Kansas, where we have been accompanied by some rain and sleet. But we are still in Kansas Toto, so no complaining. On our way here, we stopped by Lamberts “home of the throwed rolls”. It was our one “planned” just-for-fun expedition. We ate way more food than we should have and thoroughly enjoyed the old-fashioned decorative pictures and ads. Especially the “”Ex-Lax” ad, apparently it’s “a treat for the whole family” ;0)

Since arriving in Kansas, we have had a little bit of time to relax, emphasis on the “little”. Friday, we had the wonderful opportunity of taking class with Sharon Rogers, Amy’s teacher, at Friends University. We enjoyed the class very much, although after 2 weeks of not having class in a studio, we were so sore that we struggled to pry ourselves out of bed the next morning. We also had a performance that night at West Evangelical Free Church in Wichita. The church spoiled us with a very elegant meal before the concert, and lots of people attended the event.

The next day (Saturday, the 20th), we held a workshop at Kingman Dance Center. 10 girls from the ages of 9-20 attended. They all did an amazing job learning the choreography. We all had a lot of fun!!

This morning (Sunday the 21st) we had the privilege of dancing at Amy’s in-laws’ church in Winfield, Kansas. The congregation was touched by our performance and especially enjoyed having Amy there.

This afternoon we taught a workshop to 13 students at the Dance Camp Studio here in Winfield. We especially enjoyed the Bible study time we had with the girls. They had some great insights into the passage we studied. It was wonderful to spend time with high school students that are so passionate for God!