How can I get a job at Disneyland?

It's been awhile since I've posted, obviously. If you're new here, this happens a lot. My blog isn't my priority in life, it's more of a fun side project that I come back to every so often.

You know that post where I talked about working at Disneyland? I've basically planned the next four years or so around it. I put a whole lot of energy into finding out how to get a job at Disneyland. What kinds of jobs do they offer? Most importantly, how can I become a Disney Princess? I began researching what exactly Disney character/performer audition directors are looking for, and I found some incredibly helpful articles and YouTube videos on the subject.

The first website I referenced was the Disney Audition's Official Website. Although helpful information is included about when and where auditions are, basic audition etiquette and requirements, and a simple run down of what the audition might look like, the details are not too clear. That's when I moved to Google to find other articles that participants might have written and found this little gem. The basic seven tips aren't the only information on this page! Make sure you scroll past #7 to find the other useful tips that aren't included in the main list.

One of those most informative things I've found so far though is this YouTube video. It's in two parts, and rather long, but she talks about the entire audition process. She also has a couple other videos about her experience.

When Disney says they're looking at your appearance, they are looking at everything. She talked about how they got right up in her face, looking at her teeth and moles, and then at her hands and nails.  Everything about her was analyzed in order to make sure she would fit the role they were considering filling. When she got the part, she had to learn to talk, walk, and act like her character (in this case, Alice). I'm sure I'm not the only one who has seen videos of people following Peter Pan all over the Disney parks. Those guys embody what it is to be Peter. They walk, talk, and act like him. Not only that, they're improving the entire time, taking the things they learned how to do and using it and more around the park.

You might think it's harsh how critical the casting directors are, but think about it like this; they're trying to make the park as magically authentic as they can. Not everybody can play a certain character, or any character. As fun as it would be for me to be a Disney Princess, I would appreciate any chance to work in the magical world of Disney.

So there you go. A short post with some helpful links to help you with your dream of working for Disney.

~La vie est belle, Bri~

5 Things To Do While You're Single

What? Another article not written by yours truly? It's okay, you'll have a full post from me eventually, but for now enjoy this wonderful list of things to do while you're single from Jarrid Wilson.

Being single isn’t a disease, it’s an opportunity for you to grow, learn, and experience life in a way that you won’t be able to when you are married.

Here are 5 things to do while you’re single:

1. Be firm in your faith. 
- Build your faith on a foundation that cannot be shaken, no matter whom you encounter. This will not only bring you peace during your season of singleness, but will also help you in your journey of finding the person you plan on being with for the rest of your life.Don’t let your beliefs change depending on whom you’re trying to impress. This tactic will always come around to hurt you in the long run.

2. Get grounded in your personal identity. 
- Know who you are before trying to explain it to someone else. Be confident in your purpose, your body, your identity, and your life choices. Relationships will not fix your identity problems, but they can be an added bonus to who you are as a person.

3. Focus on school, or starting you career. 
- You have a lot of time on your hands. Instead of spending it wallowing in your singleness, GO MAKE SOMETHING OF YOURSELF! You are worth more than what sitting on a couch waiting for your significant other makes you out to be. Step out into the world and take maturity by the horns. Start building your future instead of simply dreaming about it.

4. Learn to be independent until needed otherwise. 
- There is nothing wrong with aspiring to be a stay at home mom, or even being a man who works from home. But until either of these opportunities come into play, you need to make sure you are doing everything possible to provide for yourself, your future family, and your future aspirations. Don’t live day-to-day. Plan for the future, and look forward to the possibilities. You owe it to yourself to mature in all. 

5. Stop dating people you know aren’t right for you. 
 - While you’re single, stay away from mindless dating experiences. If you know they aren’t your type, don’t give them the time of day. All you are going to do is hurt them and eventually confuse your heart. Stop dating the wrong people and start focusing on becoming the right person.

***

~La vie est belle, Bri~

27 Ways to Get More Stuff Done

So I am back in a Alaska. Yay.

I hurt my ankle the day of my flight and suffered through a six and a half hour flight which ended with my ankle swollen three times it's size and pulsing in pain. Ouch. I know. So I am kind of confined to the couch for the next week. Well, confined to the couch when my mom is paying attention.

I hate sitting around. I have to be DOING something, and Facebook isn't quite cutting it. So I hopped over to Pinterest for a little bit to ease my boredom and found this little gem, an article about productivity. (P.S. The title has a swear word in it, sorry!)

~ Click Here ~

This got me thinking about everything I have to do this year. It's my senior year of high school, and I'm a little behind on what I'm supposed to have accomplished. That's what I get for graduating early. 

Anyway, my most important priorities are studying for the ACT, becoming a dancing beast, and making sure I have all the credits I need to graduate and get into the college of my choice. Oh yeah, and did I mention I'm supposed to apply to colleges? 

Scary.  

Check ya later, gotta go to do grown-uppy stuff. 

~La vie est belle, Bri~

 

SYTYCD Treasures Season 10

Check out a couple of my favorite routines from the two episodes of this season of SYTYCD I've seen so far.
 

Click on the above picture for a breathtaking waltz performed by MaKenzie Dustman and Paul Karmiryan on SYTYCD season 10. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Words really cannot describe it.It's just...watch it. Now.

Brittany and Bluprint doing an African Jazz piece. Dude. Blueprint is a fricken ANIMATOR. He's fantastic!!! CLICK ON THE PICTURE.

This...Jasmine and Alan....Travis Wall Contemporary with BLINDFOLDS. I can't even...just...watch it. Now.

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Amazing Ideas

Have you ever thought up an idea, on a whim, and then completely and utterly fall in love with it?

Yeah, that happened to me this past couple of weeks. Four times. It’s kind of ridiculous. This would have fit perfectly with last month’s theme. Did you realize it’s March and that means there’s a different theme? Kudos to you, I didn’t, which is obvious by my last couple of posts containing the title “Change”. Let’s just assume that it was supposed to be like that, okay? Okay.

Anyway, I digress. The four perfectly perfect ideas I came up with, in the order which I came up with them, are;

1. We should go to Disneyland this fall. 
2. I should do gymnastics and figure skating when I return home this fall.I should also find somewhere that teaches how to use those giant silk things.
3. I should go to Paris next year, or in 2014. With Renaye. 
4. Dude. I SHOULD WORK AT DISNEYLAND AS A PERFORMER AND A PRINCESS. 

Um hello, how amazing are these ideas? Guess what the best part is. They are all achievable.

My parents suggested they drive down with the family and pick us up, and on the way back we’d stop in Disneyland and have some magical fun. I then called my mom back a week later to confirm that this was indeed happening, and that I was seriously looking forward to it. So now that is a plan. I plan on saving lots of money this summer, to enjoy Disneyland as much as possible. Food, souvenirs, etc. I am SO EXCITED. I freaking love Disneyland.

As for gymnastics and figure skating, that’s really not hard. Except the fact that I might die of over exertion. I WILL PREVAIL. (Note that ballet and other forms of dance will also be taken.) I just need to find somewhere that teaches how to use the silks...
The whole inspiration for this is Disney on Ice. Just look at it...so amazing.

 Okay, you might think that traveling to Paris is kind of impractical, and you’d be right. But it’s also worth it. I’d probably want to raise somewhere around $6,000-$8,000 so I’d have plenty of spending money and as well as money for museums and trains and such. But hey, that’s not so bad. It’s pretty accomplishable.

HELLO. IS THIS NOT THE MOST AMAZING AND FANTASTIC IDEA EVER?! My plans were always go to college, possibly get married, open a dance studio. That sounds pretty vague, but for me it was kind of a straight shot. Accomplish this, then that, and then this. But how BORING is that? I mean, I enjoy teaching dance and dance in general, but how incredible would it be to perform at one of my favorite places on earth, helping create the magic that happens there? I think on a scale of 1-10, it’s probably in the millions. That’s how excited I am about this. I’ve looked up tips on how to get hired, positions being offered, college programs…you get the idea.

WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS?! IT'S THE BEST JOB EVER.

I want to be a part of one of those families who goes to Disneyland every year or so. Not enough to wear out the magic, but it enough to make it special. I’ll probably spoil my little girls rotten with princess things. I want to own ALL of the Disney movies, and AHHH can you just IMAGINE?

Better marry a rich guy. Ha ;)

Anyway, there’s my thought for the next couple of days.

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Subtle Captivation

Here’s the thing…I’ve decided to start a new project. I know what you’re thinking, but I am determined to stick with this one! Here’s what it is.

The name is "Subtle Captivation".

Every month has a theme. Each day I will take a picture and write something to go along with the theme. It can be poetry, observation, anything. This happens every day of the week, but I’ll post the entire thing on Sunday. Some weeks may be longer than others, that’s just life. Deal with it.

Here are the themes:

January: People Around Me
February: Change
March: Color
April: Religion
May: Light
June: Beauty
July: Clothing
August: Knowledge
September: Loss
October: Memories
November: Dance
December: Music

~La vie est belle, Bri~

I don’t want to diet; I want to get in shape.

So, if you’ve ever danced, you know that natural instinct that insists you do everything perfectly immediately. It’s unavoidable. Even if your teachers are pushing you hard (and believe me, teachers can be super harsh sometimes), the one who’s really pushing is you. Dancers have a tendency to be extremely unforgiving of our mistakes, even when we don’t have to be. It’s a mental glitch placed the moment you step into a studio for your first class.


I used to think it was hilarious how my friend Helen would look at pictures of her dancing and call out every little thing that was wrong with her technique. I would tell her how it looked great, stop fussing, and she would in turn glower at the picture some more. I would think to myself how she’s just over exaggerating.

But now I’m

Just.
Like.
Her.

I notice every single thing that’s wrong in any videos or pictures taken of me while I was dancing, and I just end up feeling down and depressed.

Why do we do this to ourselves? 

When I first started dancing again my mom confiscated the scale. She insisted that dancers have an unnatural fixation with their weight and are prone to getting eating disorders. My first reaction to this was annoyance. I argued that, hey, you’re over reacting. I don’t need to lose weight, I’m skinny enough. I am not going to get an eating disorder. I love food too much!

But, after a whole semester at the dance studio? Yes, those last two statements are the only two I still believe. Don’t go all psycho on me though, hear me out. If you could see all the girls at the dance studio, you’d understand why I started feeling out of place, or “fat”. I can’t help looking at pictures and watching videos and all the while lamenting the fact that my hips look funny and my shoulders always seem to be hunched over (IMA HUNCH BACK!). I’m not fat, by every day standards, so why do I put myself down?

Because I could be better. 

Along with tossing the scale, my mom also forbade any “dieting”. The problem with this is that my mom has a significantly loose definition of what a “diet” is. Even the most discreet suggestion of maybe eating more fruit and vegetables (“eating healthier”) is always met with a suspicious look and opens up a lecture on how I am perfect the way I am.

But seriously, what’s wrong with trying to improve myself? Everyone can be better, so why not me?

There are so many diets out there in the world right now, some healthier than others, so naturally when someone tells you they need to get skinnier and lose some weight, the first thing that pops into your mind is a diet, right?

That’s why I like the phrase “get in shape” better. It’s more centered around exercising and eating healthier things than limiting what you eat and not eating too much in one day. Obviously, I’d have to make sacrifices (such as; not as much sugar, McDonald’s, etc.). If there is one thing right now that I want to learn more about, its nutrition. This is going to sound really stupid, but I have no idea what calories are and how they affect our bodies. When I was younger, sitting at the dinner table, my sister and mom were talking about how many calories our rolls had. When I inquired what they meant, I was told that I was too young to worry about it.

Now, even If I were to ask, it’d be the simple version intended to make it sound like not a big deal so I wouldn’t worry my pretty little head about how much I weigh. Can you imagine how many times I roll my eyes a day?

I don’t want to diet; I want to get in shape.

As a last thought, I’d like to go back to what I said about dancers being over dramatic and self-conscious. Almost every dancer you could ask, they would say that they have made this or that mistake. In the words of Bekah Cornell, “If we did everything perfectly, no one would come to our recitals because they’d have seen it all before. Our mistakes make us unique and original.”

~La vie est belle, Bri~

My Goals

My Goals (Summer 2012)

1)      Dance at Sonja’s

a.       Ballet 2b

b.      Jazz 3b

c.       Lyrical 2

d.      Modern 1/2  

2)      Get through Pre-Algebra

3)      Catch up in Seminary

What I need

1)      Dance

a.       $700+ for classes and gas/food

b.      Advance in my classes during spring semester

2)      Math

a.       Workbook

b.      Time

3)      Seminary

a.       Scriptures

b.      Manual

c.       Time

My Plans

Dance

1)      Advance to the higher classes (mentioned above)

a.       Be more attentive in class

b.      Workout/Stretch Daily

                                                               i.      10 minute jog

                                                             ii.      50 crunches

                                                            iii.      Ballet ab work

                                                           iv.      Other stretches  

c.       Practice more

                                                               i.      Barre work

d.      More outgoing in class

                                                               i.      Ask questions (at the end of class, preferably)

e.      Eat healthier

                                                               i.      Not a diet, just healthier food. No more McDonald’s and soda all the time!

2)      Money

a.       Penny Per Page

                                                               i.      “I’m working towards a scholarship for dance”.

                                                             ii.      Maybe make a video of me dancing, and explaining what I want?

b.      Babysitting

                                                               i.      For gas/food money

c.       Photography

                                                               i.      Ask mom

Pre-Algebra

1)      Do an hour a day

a.       Stay on schedule

Seminary

1)      Do a lesson a day

a.       Extra when I can

2)      Read my scriptures

a.       Every night

The Man of My Dreams

Another "click on the picture to see the post" from my Auntie Amy. She is by far my favorite Aunt in the world, and she inspires me so much. I love this post about her husband, and hope someday I'll be lucky enough to find someone like him :)

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Blue Butterfly

Butterflies make me happy. You know, I've only ever seen orange butterflies? Until I found this picture among my friends album on Facebook "Reeeeeeeeally old pictures" (<---or along the lines of that). I edited the picture so it looks like this, and I am thoroughly in love with it.

Blue butterflies are the ones the flit around in my stomach when I'm nervous or excited. They're special. And This is my new background on my computer.

~La vie est belle, Bri~

Per. Fec. Tion.

This video is sheer perfection. Kept me laughing the whole time, and it's easy to follow. I hope I will someday be able to pull something like that off.

~La vie est belle, Bri~