Anna's Sultana Bran advert - she's the one in front of the fuzzy boys with the red pigtails!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Anna SDC winter 2009 Lyrical Contemporary
This one was choreographed and taught by Reed Luplau - if you are interested in this sort of thing, you can Google him!
Anna SDC Winter 2009 JazzFunkHiphop
This is the dance where you can see the most of Anna. Anna looks good, but it's hard not to look at the girl in the first section on the front row who absolutely ROCKS! Apparently she has only been dancing for a year - obviously a natural. If you are having trouble watching it, because it keeps pausing to buffer, just go away and let it do its thing until it has all downloaded then start again. Then you get to see it without all the annoying stoppages. Enjoy!
Girl's World
It's been a lovely week. Anna and I have made the most of some time just to be girls, and to add to it all, the weather has been unseasonably fabulous.
Whilst we have become accustomed to the old story that 'the weather is not usually like this', this has usually related to torrential rain and UK-like temperatures. On this occasion, however, we have been treated to some real winter sun - with the temperature reaching 26 degrees on Tuesday. I made the most of it, taking Bronson for a walk along the beach at South Curl Curl over to Freshwater, where the beach was buzzing with bikini clad women and small children playing in the sand. The only people venturing into the water were the surfers, who were kitted out in steamers (winter wetsuits), but apart from that, it could have been a spring or early summer day.
A bit of sun on your face seems to smooth away a lot of anxieties, and as a result, I haven't started the assignment I have to have in next Friday...I'm hoping for a lot of rain next week as a result, but I still have it ingrained in me that I mustn't allow good weather to pass me by. I just haven't gotten used to the idea that the moment the sun slips its hat on, I don't need to rush out to catch some rays. He'll be coming back out soon enough.
So what have Anna and I done this lovely week together? Well, time has been restricted by the fact that Anna has been dancing all day everyday at Sydney Dance Company (more on that shortly), but in between, we've made muffins (and successfully been able to protect them from Bronson, who has recently begun to steal the odd thing off the worktop...hmmm), been to see Hannah Montana the Movie (one good song and one fun dance, and that's about it - but don't tell Anna I said that...), and been to see Harry Potter at the Gold Class cinema (film fairly good but marred by a group of cackling women at the back who laughed like drains at anything that was even mildly amusing - god alone knows what sort of a state they would have been in, had it been a comedy...). We've snuggled up on the sofa watching tv, shared my bed, and held hands around the shops. We've had our hair done at my hairdressers, which was a very special treat for Anna, as I feel that even when I go there it's a bit of an indulgence - this is the salon which did the hair for Nicole Kidman's wedding and the owner recently travelled around the world with Hugh Jackman doing his hair for all the press junkets for Wolverine. It's been gorgeous. I've had a day doing a bit of naughty retail therapy in the city too, so pretty much it's been a perfect week. We've received regular updates from our boys, who, by all accounts, seem to be having a wonderful time too, even if they haven't been so lucky with the weather.
And to cap it all off, today I"ve been to Sydney Dance Company to see the winter intensive course showcase. Anna has danced from 10am to 5pm every day this week, being taught and choreographed by some of the most respected people in the Australian dance industry (some of whom we've become familiar with when they have choreographed for 'So You Think You Can Dance') and dancing with a group of 11 - 14 year olds who all also live and breathe it. They've covered lyrical contemporary, Broadway jazz, hiphop, jazz/funk/hiphop, classical ballet and jazz (I think that's all of them) and Anna has loved every moment. She's been to one other workshop at SDC, but this winter is the first time she has been old enough to attend one of their youth intensives. She was a bit nervous at first, as they recommend that the participants have at least 4 years experience to attend (Anna has been dancing for just about 18 months), and she didn't have anyone to go with. In the event, from what I could see, she was able to keep up with the standard, and she made lots of new friends. She is already nagging me about the spring intensive.
The actual showcase was really pretty impressive. There were some children there who were particularly talented, but overall the standard was pretty high. I'll try to get some of the video I took on here, and you'll see that for the amount of time they had, and the number of kids in the class (50!), they all did pretty well.
So Anna is on cloud nine. And not only because she has danced herself dizzy this week, but also because 'her' issue of Total Girl is out. She has a picture on the front cover, and a double page spread on the inside.
Imagine you are an 11 year old girl...it probably doesn't get much better than that, does it?
PS I've added a feed from YouTube which should allow you to see any videos I upload. It's on the left there. Yes there - on the left...well done...
Whilst we have become accustomed to the old story that 'the weather is not usually like this', this has usually related to torrential rain and UK-like temperatures. On this occasion, however, we have been treated to some real winter sun - with the temperature reaching 26 degrees on Tuesday. I made the most of it, taking Bronson for a walk along the beach at South Curl Curl over to Freshwater, where the beach was buzzing with bikini clad women and small children playing in the sand. The only people venturing into the water were the surfers, who were kitted out in steamers (winter wetsuits), but apart from that, it could have been a spring or early summer day.
A bit of sun on your face seems to smooth away a lot of anxieties, and as a result, I haven't started the assignment I have to have in next Friday...I'm hoping for a lot of rain next week as a result, but I still have it ingrained in me that I mustn't allow good weather to pass me by. I just haven't gotten used to the idea that the moment the sun slips its hat on, I don't need to rush out to catch some rays. He'll be coming back out soon enough.
So what have Anna and I done this lovely week together? Well, time has been restricted by the fact that Anna has been dancing all day everyday at Sydney Dance Company (more on that shortly), but in between, we've made muffins (and successfully been able to protect them from Bronson, who has recently begun to steal the odd thing off the worktop...hmmm), been to see Hannah Montana the Movie (one good song and one fun dance, and that's about it - but don't tell Anna I said that...), and been to see Harry Potter at the Gold Class cinema (film fairly good but marred by a group of cackling women at the back who laughed like drains at anything that was even mildly amusing - god alone knows what sort of a state they would have been in, had it been a comedy...). We've snuggled up on the sofa watching tv, shared my bed, and held hands around the shops. We've had our hair done at my hairdressers, which was a very special treat for Anna, as I feel that even when I go there it's a bit of an indulgence - this is the salon which did the hair for Nicole Kidman's wedding and the owner recently travelled around the world with Hugh Jackman doing his hair for all the press junkets for Wolverine. It's been gorgeous. I've had a day doing a bit of naughty retail therapy in the city too, so pretty much it's been a perfect week. We've received regular updates from our boys, who, by all accounts, seem to be having a wonderful time too, even if they haven't been so lucky with the weather.
And to cap it all off, today I"ve been to Sydney Dance Company to see the winter intensive course showcase. Anna has danced from 10am to 5pm every day this week, being taught and choreographed by some of the most respected people in the Australian dance industry (some of whom we've become familiar with when they have choreographed for 'So You Think You Can Dance') and dancing with a group of 11 - 14 year olds who all also live and breathe it. They've covered lyrical contemporary, Broadway jazz, hiphop, jazz/funk/hiphop, classical ballet and jazz (I think that's all of them) and Anna has loved every moment. She's been to one other workshop at SDC, but this winter is the first time she has been old enough to attend one of their youth intensives. She was a bit nervous at first, as they recommend that the participants have at least 4 years experience to attend (Anna has been dancing for just about 18 months), and she didn't have anyone to go with. In the event, from what I could see, she was able to keep up with the standard, and she made lots of new friends. She is already nagging me about the spring intensive.
The actual showcase was really pretty impressive. There were some children there who were particularly talented, but overall the standard was pretty high. I'll try to get some of the video I took on here, and you'll see that for the amount of time they had, and the number of kids in the class (50!), they all did pretty well.
So Anna is on cloud nine. And not only because she has danced herself dizzy this week, but also because 'her' issue of Total Girl is out. She has a picture on the front cover, and a double page spread on the inside.
Imagine you are an 11 year old girl...it probably doesn't get much better than that, does it?
PS I've added a feed from YouTube which should allow you to see any videos I upload. It's on the left there. Yes there - on the left...well done...
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Its Anna!!
Hi everyone its Anna,
Yes ok, i haven't put much effort into this blog nor mine. I have forgotten my login details for both my old and new accounts.
So from now on
I will use the family blog as mine (partially). I am actually pretty busy so i will struggle to post a constant blog entry every day, so i will probably do a weekly 'its Anna' post. Anyway whoever is reading this now is probably getting pretty bored of me blabbering on about how busy i am becoming so i'll start an actual interest now.
As you all know Dad and George are away on George's being 13 celebration holiday, so me and mum are being able to spend some quality time together. So far we have watched TV, gone on a picnic at the beach, seen the new shopping mall in Balgowlah - pretty cool, had a coffee at a nice cafe and then finally watched the 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2' in our pyjamas.
I am exited today even more because we are going to see the new harry potter movie in a gold class cinema!
Hope its good,
Bye
Yes ok, i haven't put much effort into this blog nor mine. I have forgotten my login details for both my old and new accounts.
So from now on
I will use the family blog as mine (partially). I am actually pretty busy so i will struggle to post a constant blog entry every day, so i will probably do a weekly 'its Anna' post. Anyway whoever is reading this now is probably getting pretty bored of me blabbering on about how busy i am becoming so i'll start an actual interest now.
As you all know Dad and George are away on George's being 13 celebration holiday, so me and mum are being able to spend some quality time together. So far we have watched TV, gone on a picnic at the beach, seen the new shopping mall in Balgowlah - pretty cool, had a coffee at a nice cafe and then finally watched the 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2' in our pyjamas.
I am exited today even more because we are going to see the new harry potter movie in a gold class cinema!
Hope its good,
Bye
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Social Networking...
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I've got myself into a bit of bother.
You will have noticed, one would hope, that there has been a distinct lack of updating going on with this blog.
The thing is, someone introduced me to Facebook. And I'm hooked. Once I found that I could while a way an hour or so looking at people's photos, catching up with old school friends, and throwing sheep at them, there was no hope for me.
There is only so much time in your life for your computer, and I'm afraid that as a result, the blog has suffered.
However, it seems some people have taken note of its absence...which is pleasing.
Course - there have been other mitigating circumstances. For a start, it seems that for my post grad course they do expect me to complete quite a few assignments. Then there is the constant taxi service I provide to facilitate the burgeoning showbiz careers of my children. And on top of that - the computer gave up the ghost and had to have its hard drive replaced (at enormous expense - and thank God for the external hard drive and the wonderful Time Machine...).
No doubt you are dying to know what we've been up to, so I will do a quick summary....
The business they call show has been keeping us busy lately. First of all, Anna filmed an advert for Westpac (a big Australian bank). This involved spending the day in Brighton (yes Brighton) watching her run up and down behind a pretend icecream van with some other children. It's showing on TV at the moment and you can see one of Anna's legs. She is bitterly disappointed, but as I told her, she got paid....Then she got a modelling job for Total Girl magazine - a pre teen publication to which Anna actually has a subscription. Much excitement, much playground kudos. The issue comes out in August. Then George auditioned for a TV commercial for SOLO, the leading lemonade soft drink here. After a couple of call backs, he got it, and the ad also comes out in August. SOLO is sponsoring the Australian football team in the World Cup, and all the matches will feature this ad which also has Harry Kewell in it. Further playground kudos for the Pettifer children. And then Anna got a Sultana Bran advert, which will also be screening this August. So it seems both of them will be all over the telly in a few weeks time.
In sporting terms, Andrew continues to play old man football and to spend most of every Saturday afternoon and Sunday recovering from his various aches and pains. I do believe they recently won their first match, which caused enormous excitement. The team is a nice bunch of people, many of whom are from the UK. George's basketball team made it through to the semi finals, only to be beaten by a team which they had thrashed the week before. Having played brilliantly throughout the competition, this was a blow to them, especially as the winning team seemed to have found a few giants we hadn't seen before just in time for the finals. The boys in George's team seem to be pre-growth spurt, and rather than being outplayed, they were simply towered over. As I said to George, in six months to a year, the other teams won't still have that advantage and then it will all be about talent and skills. For netball, Anna's team remain undefeated, and are getting a real reputation as a team who cannot be beaten. This has led to some rough matches - even 11 year old girls start to get a bit pissed off when they are losing by up to 40 goals. The girls really need some proper competition now, but it's pleasing to see how Anna's game has improved with confidence. She is also playing for her school team, and has been asked a couple of times to play for the year above her, which has also served to boost her confidence.
George has completed another term at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, where he is studying their Acting for Screen course. He has his whole life all mapped out - he will go to drama school, then move to LA with his best mate Jack, where he will become a film star and Jack will become the world's first internationally renowned white Australian rapper. Hmmm. The back up plan is that Jack will still be a rapper and George will write computer software. We're all keeping our fingers crossed....
Anna is still all about dancing. She did her Grade 5 ballet exam this weekend - the preparation for which has been quite challenging, as she only started ballet 6 months ago. The other girls in her class have been doing it for 6 years. However, she worked really hard, and we are expecting a good result. She also danced in her second ever Eisteddfodd at the weekend, and her group came second. They were so excited, and looking forward to their next chance to get on stage.
Through school, Anna took part in the Junior Rock Eisteddfodd, which is a competition between public (state) schools. The schools create a dance performance to a theme of their choice, choreograph, make the sets, costumes and arrange the lighting, then take it on stage to compete. It was a fantastic evening - I couldn't get over the standard...there is a website where you can view the performances, and when I get the details I'll post it so you can see what the public school system here can do with the arts.
Oh - nearly forgot - we also had a fantastic holiday on Magnetic Island! We've also had some visitors - Kodl and Krystina from the Czech Republic - who we know from Milford, and Andrew has made a secret visit home on business and provided a lovely surprise for both his parents and his best mate Ally.
Other big news was that George became a teenager, which in our family means you get to chose a holiday to go on with your Dad, so on Saturday Andrew and George head off for their boys own adventure, flying to Melbourne to see an AFL match, then hiring a car to drive the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide and then getting the Indian Pacific train back to Sydney. Watch out for photos on here. Anna and I will be having a girl's week while this is going on, although Anna is dancing all week at workshops at the Sydney Dance Company.
The biggest news by far though, is that we are now looking at houses with a view to purchasing one when we become permanent residents in the New Year. We've known for a long time that we won't be coming back to the UK, but now starting to complete the paperwork relating to our permanent residency, it's all a bit more real. We really do love it here, and it's really not that far away. It will be a relief to have our own home, and some more stability.
And there will be plenty of room for you too, when you come to visit....
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