Jump Dance 2010

Last weekend Malia competed in the 2010 Jump Dance Convention and Competition. It took place at the LAX Radisson. It's not that far from us, but we decided to stay in the hotel for the weekend so we didn't have to drive back and forth!

Malia had a great time at the convention and did very well at the competition! She got to take classes from some amazing teachers including several "celebrity" teachers such as choreographers and past finalists and winners of So You Think You Can Dance.

Malia was also one of the VIP finalists, where around 50 kids from over 1000 competitors were picked from an audition. It was very exiting for her! She was also selected from her age group as one of the top tappers.

Most importantly, she had a great time hanging out with all her dance friends!

Malia's Asian Toyota Commercial

Well, I'm putting together a demo reel for Malia so I went on the hunt for Malia's Toyota commercial that was shot a couple of years ago. I finally found one on youtube that one of the other little girls had posted. Malia is the ballerina that the teacher is standing next to... the commercial was recently renegotiated--so it's playing somewhere in the world... This version is in Japanese. I have a version in English but it's very very bad quality--so I can't post it!

Malia's Performance Awards

Here's a video of one of the pieces Malia had to perform at her ballet performance awards this year!

Malia's 9th Birthday!

Yesterday was Malia's 9th birthday! She had a great day. She started by opening some birthday presents!

That morning Malia had her annual ballet exam for the American Academy of Ballet where she earned a gold medal!

That afternoon we took Malia and her buddy Kristen to Disneyland! We all had a really fun time and it was a great birthday for Malia!

Malia's Holiday Concert

Today was the holiday concert at Malia's school and the third graders sang two songs!

Busy Weekend!

This weekend we had lots of fun things planned! On Friday night Malia went to a surprise party for her ballet teacher. She and all her dance friends had a great time dancing and playing dance games! She woke up a little sore the next day and wondered why...uh, could it be dancing non-stop for three hours after two hours of dance class?

On Saturday Malia had dance rehearsal all day and then that night we went to see Seussical that a friend of ours had choreographed. It was fun to go out as a family and see a show!

On Sunday morning we went to a friends Temple and participated in a Family Hanukkah activity breakfast. Malia had a great time with her friends Sammie and Dinah. It was a lovely thing to do with friends!That afternoon we went and saw a friend her dance studo perform in her school's production of the Nutcracker. Liv did a great job!

Then on Monday, Malia received an award as Student of the Month for her classroom for her academic achievements! Good job Malia!

Disneyland

Yestserday we went to Disneyland to have some fun and check out the Christmas decorations! Aside from it being a little bit cold--it was a great day to be there!