Susie Ferrara

Latest Author Features

Contrology | A New Way To Move

After the frothy eggnog bowl is drained and the last Christmas cookie eaten, the results of neglecting physical activity during the holidays become a reality — a cold one. The New Year brings new beginnings, clean calendars, fresh starts, and a renewed dedication to health and wellness. If you jumped on the scale after holiday splurging, it’s time to weigh your options on how to get moving and burn some calories. I can hear you groaning, but just hear me out. The Dilemma COVID-19 restrictions impacted fitness facilities and numerous sporting events, which forced many to return to basic outside activities such as running, walking, and riding bicycles. The weather

The Nutcracker | An Iconic Christmas Tradition

For many, Peter Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is a holiday tradition that kicks off the holiday season. When the music starts, you can close your eyes and allow visions of sugarplums, snowflakes, flowers, and an enchanted place enter your imagination. The Nutcracker is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s popular 1816 story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” The idea to use the story as the basis for a ballet came from the impresario and director of the Russian Imperial Theaters, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, who had conceived of The Sleeping Beauty. Vsevolozhsky and the ballet master Marius Petipa, who had choreographed The Sleeping Beauty, wrote the libretto, or story line, for The Nutcracker and

Cosmic Bake Shop

“Relationships! We all got ‘em, we all want ‘em. What do we do with ‘em?” Jimmy Buffett’s catchy tune ‘Fruitcakes’ brings some truth about relationships and pokes fun at us as human beings on this planet. When the barometric pressure drops with my beau, I often take to the internet to explore relationship Band-Aids or tidbits to promote harmony. Like a good fudge brownie recipe, I thought I’d share from my recipe box to help you turn up the flame when cooking together for a stronger relationship. (Feel free to clip and save — more ingredients are listed below. Know yourself. To create a healthy, lasting relationship, two people often

A Wellness Movement | Life Balance in the New Year

The Christmas Tree is out of the house, the holiday lights packed away, the garland removed, and the last Christmas cookie has fallen victim to a spontaneous snacker. As resolutions begin to swirl, like frosting on Aunt Viola’s Yule Log cake, it’s time to face the facts — the party is over! The post holiday munch weight gain is here. I must admit ordering the video-link indoor fitness bicycle is tempting, but if my renewed exercise commitment wanes by the spring, that nifty bike will quickly turn into a clothes rack. Not to mention the financial penalty for cancellation (listed in very fine print). As a fitness enthusiast over the

An Enchanting Story | A Beginners Guide to The Nutcracker Ballet

It’s Nutcracker season, but what is a “Nutcracker”? Don’t ask a ballerina or you are likely to get a look of shock. The Nutcracker is to the ballet world what the Super Bowl is to professional football — a tradition. So when our publisher, Ladonna, asked me to write about the ballet, I decided to write a cheat sheet for the novice theater goer or ballet newbie. The Nutcracker, a classic Christmas story, is a fairy tale ballet in two acts centered on the Stahlbaum family’s Christmas Eve celebration. The story centers around a young girl’s Christmas Eve and her awakening to the wider world and womanhood as her nutcracker

A Family Tradition | Far-Flung Family Keeps Holiday Traditions

There’s a Christmas quote I like that goes, “In the eyes of children we find the joy of Christmas; in their hearts we find the meaning.” Holidays are fun and exciting and it’s a special time of year to share traditions and create lasting memories with our children and loved ones who live near or far. I claim my two nephews,Thomas and William, as my “adopted” children. As the first grandchildren, they often visited Aiken during Christmas with my sister Nancy and her husband Jeff. Nothing brought me more joy than to have the kids for the holidays. When my two nieces were born a couple of years later, it

Dracula, The Ballet, Takes Flight

Dracula kicks off the Aiken Civic Ballet’s 2019-2020 season with a dark, thrilling ballet perfect for Halloween. The ballet, inspired by Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic horror novel, tells a dark love story. Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania on business—he’s supposed to meet with a nobleman named Count Dracula to help him buy three houses in London. Count Dracula is an undead, centuries-old vampire and a Transylvanian nobleman, who inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains near the Borgo Pass. He is handsome and charismatic, with aristocratic charm. Harker is having a great trip until he realizes that the Count isn’t quite human, and shares the castle with three undead

Tutu School

As students head back to school, one Aiken mom is leaving the classroom for her sewing room. Costume designer Emily Raynor recently completed a week-long seminar to learn how to create one-of-a-kind tutus and improve her costuming skills at Tutu School. “It was great to be with so many people who love to sew,” said Raynor. The author of the sewing pattern was there to answer questions and give her insights from years of sewing. “The ruffling technique I learned will make a world of difference,” said Raynor. Every little girl in dance class dreams of wearing a tutu, but when did it first appear? Marie Taglioni, the Swedish Ballerina,