Mother’s Day - ‘She Laughs without fear of the Future”

 

She is clothed with strength and dignity,
 and she laughs without fear of the future.

Proverbs 31:25

Chateau de Chambord Greetings for Pat of St. Augustine, Florida

 

Happy Birthday to a dear friend Pat who is celebrating her 80th birthday.  She is receiving a Birthday card with Chateau de Chambord art print.  Pat lives in St. Augustine, Florida.

Make Music to Him with Timbrel and Harp

 Inspirational Dance Card by Crystal Expressions of Crystal Michelle Fallin modeling a Lyrical Dance costume that she wore at an International Dance Competition, I Love Dance.  Inside Card is Bible verse:

"Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp."

Psalm 149:3 NIV

Encouragement Card for Linda of St. Augustine, Florida

 Encouragement card of Hope using Sisters of the Sea art print for Linda of St, Augustine, Florida.  Her brother has cancer and going through treatments.

Valentine Cards for Moultrie Creek Nursing & Rehab Center

Delivered 12 handcrafted Valentine Cards to Moultrie Creek Nursing Home and Rehab Center in St. Augustine, Florida.  Six cards for ladies and six cards for men who don’t have visitors and or alone.

In the Land of the Snow “A Brilliant Crystal Snowflake” - Nutcracker Ballet

 Crystal Michelle Fallin as a Snowflake in the Land of Snow, Nutcracker Ballet 1993.  She is pictured second to the left on the back row. Crystal was a member of the St. Augustine Premier Ballet Company and performed the ballet at the Flagler College Auditorium.  She was 9 years old in the fourth grade.  This was her 3rd year dancing in the Nutcracker Ballet.

Nutcracker Ballet Children Party Scene

 Crystal Michelle Fallin as a party girl in the 1992 Nutcracker Ballet performed by the St. Augustine Premier Ballet Company at Flagler College Auditorium.   Crystal is in a yellow dress in the center of the picture.  She is 8 years old and in her second year of ballet.

Little Soldiers Cast Nutcracker Ballet

 Crystal Michelle Fallin and the cast of soldiers posing with the Nutcracker in the 1991 Nutcracker Ballet.  The St. Augustine Premier Ballet Company performed the ballet held at Flagler College Auditorium.  Crystal is center in second row.

French Cabaret “Can-Can” - Ports of Call ‘97 Show

The Academy of Performing Arts Presented their annual Show “ Port of Call” on June 1, 1997 at Sebastian Middle School Auditorium.  The Tap Ensenble performed the French cabaret dance Can-Can. The Can-Can is a high-energy, physical demanding dance that became a popular music-hall dance in the 1840s, continuing in popularity in French cabaret.  Crystal was 13 years old, an 8th grade student at Trinity Christian Academy.

 

Dance Capades - Gems of Avenue C

Crystal Fallin was a trained dancer in ballet, modern/lyrical, jazz and tap genres.   In 1993, her tap group performed  Gems of Avenue C at Flagler College Auditorium in “Dance Capades” presented by the St. Augustine Academy of Performing Arts.  She was a 3rd Grade student at Hartley Elementary School.  In the photo below, her jazz group performed to the music of “Friends”.  

MacArthur’s Park Suite - A Lyrical Dance

 

Crystal was a member of the La Mirage Jazz Club and the group performed a modern/Lyrical dance to the music of MacArthur’s Park Suite on Saturday, June 3, 1995 at Flagler College Auditorium.  The dance was part of the ‘Back to Broadway’ show which also showcase The Theater Street Express choir.  MacArthur Park is a song written by Jimmy Webber and first recorded by actor Richard Harris.  The disco version MacArthur Park Suite was recorded by Donna Summer in 1978 with over ten minutes of music.

“Spring was never waiting for us,
It ran one step ahead 
As we followed the dance

Between the parted pages and were pressed 
In lover’s hot, fevered iron
Like a striped pair of pants.”

“ You Don’t Lose Someone Once”

 

 

YOU DON’T JUST LOSE SOMEONE ONCE

You lose them over and over, 

sometimes many times a day.

When the loss, momentarily forgotten,

creeps up, and attacks you from behind.

Fresh waves of grief as the realization hits home,

they are gone.

Again.

You don’t just lose someone once, 

you lose them every time you open your eyes to a new dawn,

and as you awaken, so does your memory, 

so does the jolting bolt of lightning that rips into your heart,

they are gone.

Again.

Losing someone is a journey, not a one-off.

There is no end to the loss,

there is only a learned skill 

on how to stay afloat,

when it washes over.

Be kind to those who are sailing this stormy sea, 

they have a journey ahead of them,

and a daily shock to the system each time they realize,

they are gone,

Again.

You don’t just lose someone once, 

you lose them every day, 

for a lifetime.

 

By Donna Ashworth

“Spring Waters” Ballet - International Championship Award

On July 17, 1997, Crystal and her dance team, Carrie and Katie won 1st place for ages 15-17 for Ballet of a duo/trio at the I Love Dance International Championships in Orlando, Florida.  It was held at the Peabody Orlando Convention Center.  The Ballet was entitled "Spring Waters" and choreograph  by Libby Johnson.  For the ballet, she wore a modern ballet costume with black leggings and black pointe shoes.

International Championship First Place Trophy for Ballet in age Division 15  - 17.

Crystal Michelle Fallin

In Loving Memory 

Waltz of the Snowflakes

Crystal Michelle Fallin danced as a Demi-Soloist in Waltz of the Snowflakes in the St. Augustine Nutcracker Ballet at Flagler College Auditorium, December 1997. 

"From winter's breath she came

Twirling and dancing in the chilled air;

Through the forest and the fields

The wind whispers her name,

Brilliant and translucent...Crystal

The maiden of heaven's white veil."

(Excerpt from The Snow Maiden)

Waltz of the Snowflakes 

The Choreography

The Waltz includes sixteen dancers working in concert to present a unified dance and music experience. The dancers work together weaving about to create a huge rotating ice crystal on the forest floor. They split into groups of four making smaller snow crystals, and fly across the stage in solo leaps. Twirling and swirling and twisting and turning as the snowflakes fall to the earth or as the solo dancers move around the stage. In the last third of the Waltz, the dancers work solo and flash across the forest floor in a repetitive barrage of leaps. The dancers enter from a back-stage corner and move to the opposite front corner. Each dancer following another as the previous exits stage right or left. They leap or perform jetés midway through the stage. The dancers leap is free and flowing much as the wind tosses stray snowflakes from the top of a fence post piled high with newly fallen snow.

Your Wings Exist All You Need to do is Fly!

 Crystal Belle at age 4 (left) trying out the controls of a airplane.  She had magical wings and she loved to fly.  She was adventurous at a very young age. As a baby she bounced  up and down the stairs.   She started jumping on a trampoline at age 18 months and kept jumping higher and higher.  Laughing with joy and delight at the new heights she could reach. She always had wings and was fearless.  Her parents had to run from side to side around the trampoline to catch her.  She giggled and laughed with pure joy as she flew from side to side.  She definitely had the kiss of God on her face.

 New handcrafted card from the Little Belle series painted in watercolor with inspirational quotes.

Theater Street Express and Musical Theater “Stage Door Players”

Crystal was a member of the Theater Street Express, a youth choir, and the St. Augustine Academy of Performing Arts musical theater ensemble “Stage Door Players.”  The ensemble members help bring the world of musicals to life by performing intricate dance parts, adding their voices to full-company musical numbers, and acting out background parts. She performed in musicals such as Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Robin Hood, The Chorus Line, and 42nd Street.  The Theater Street Express performed annually at Washington Oaks State Park on Earth Day and on stage at Flagler College Auditorium.

Crystal Fallin as King Richard in the musical "Robin Hood".

Crystal Fallin as Tweedle Dum in "Alice in Wonderland."  Tweedle Dum is a character in an English nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice found There."  In 1951 Tweedle Dum appears in Disney's animated film Alice in Wonderland which is what the theater version is based on

In 1994, she was a cast member (2nd row, center) in the musical Cinderella’s 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration. The story was an adaptation of the children’s tale of how Cinderella and Prince Charming fell in love.  The musical theater ensemble performed the play at the Osceola’s Elementary School Auditorium. 

“Dance is Movement and Movement is Life” - A Dancer’s Biography

 

Crystal Fallin had eight plus years of dance training and was a member of the St. Augustine Academy of Performing Arts Competition team.  Dance competition is a sport and the physical demands on the body gives it equal status with recognized sports like football and soccer.  It involves physical exertion, skill, and dancers compete against each other either individually or as a team.  Dance requires stamina, flexibility, and endurance, and dancers have to be in excellent physical shape.  Crystal spent hours after school attending classes 3 to 4 days a week and weekends rehearsing for performances.  She attended summer dance intensives and master workshops to improve her skills.  She never complained and was always excited about performing.

Dance is Movement and Movement is Life

The picture above is a collage of Crystal Michelle Fallin's dance roles throughout her life.  She took dance lessons in all genres:  Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Modern/lyrical Dance.  She was a member of the Premier Ballet Company and performed in the St. Augustine Nutcracker Ballet for seven seasons.  She was a senior member of the Academy of Performing Arts competition team and La Mirage Jazz club.  The competition team completed annually in International Championship “I Love Dance” competitions in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, Florida and Columbia, South Carolina.  They also competed in "Dance Troupe, Inc.'" Champions of Excellence competitions in Daytona, Beach.  Crystal and her team members won multiple dance awards in ballet, jazz and modern/lyrical dance in major categories by age division:  Soloist, duo/trios and large group ensembles. She received top honors for ballet and modern/lyrical dance.

Crystal’s International Dance Championship Trophies and awards

A Mirliton Dancer

Crystal Fallin as a Mirliton in the Dance of the Mirlitons or as “Dance of the Reed Pipes”, or “Marzipan”, this is one of the most famous numbers from The Nutcracker Ballet.  Flagler College Auditorium, presented by the St.Augustine Premier Ballet Company.

Cards for Kindness - Inhale the Future

New Handcrafted card of encouragement painted in watercolor for Cards of Kindness Program.  Mailed to scrapbook.com Gilbert, Arizona to be distributed to one of the not-for-profit organizations they sponsor.

Crystal Belle age 4 in her blue leotard exercising, inhaling and exhaling with her best friends Jessica and Marsha having fun.  

 

A Magical Butterfly Fairy

 

Crystal Belle age 3 as a Butterfly Fairy with her magical wand and pink wings and fluffy sleeve fairy dress in October 1987. 

“Believe in the magic as fairies do and they will appear to watch over you.  They dance in the flowers and they sing songs of love, spreading joy and laughter from the stars above.  They skip through the forest in the bright moonlight, childhood memories of pure delight.”