Quick Update

Hey everyone! I had my teen class tonight, and we had a lot of fun. We turned out the lights, blasted music, and spent most of the class doing flexibility and strengthening exercises. It was so stress releiving and relaxing. 


I've gotten a few requests for a stage makeup post and a stretching post. One of my friends agreed to help me with the stage makeup, and we even discussed making a video instead of a post and, same for the stretching. What do you guys think about maybe doing a video? I don't really like to be on camera (I think my voice is weird), but I think I can suck it up if you guys are interested.


So tell me what you think!


Edit: Hey guys, my friend and I tried to make a make-up video, but unfortunately my camera lagged a lot and the video and audio didn't match up! We were really dissappointed that it didn't work out, and I'm sorry I couldn't get it up. I may try again when I get a better camera. Also, sorry for the lack of posts, I'll work on one sometime this week.

Flexibility Goals

Hi everyone! Hope your winter is going well! I'm just making a quick post to use as inspiration for myself and hopefully some of  you. As you guys might know by now, I absolutely love (LOVE) the Arabian Coffee dance from The Nutcracker. Like, I adore it. A lot. And you guys might also know, I am not flexabile. I am about 4 inches from my right split, and more around 7-9 for my left. I also have a bit to go for my center splits, which, if I do one against a wall, my body is 11 inches away from the wall (if that makes sense).


So here are my flexibility goals:


1. Stretch 4-6 days a week.
2. Get right splits by February 15th.
3. Get left splits by March 31st.
4. Get center splits by March 31st.
5. Get oversplits (2" min) by June 1st.


What do you guys think? Leave a comment about your goals for flexibility. 


*Just a note, videos on the blog really slow it down, so I'm going to start taking down videos on posts after a week and replace it with the link so it keeps the blog nice and speedy.

Quick Tips for Ballet Class

Hey everyone, I decided to come up with a list of tips for dance class.


1. Warm up before class. Try to get warmed up 10 minutes or so before class so you are in the mood to dance and don't get any cramped muscles. The warmer you are the more flexible you are, so that's good too. A simple warm up could be jogging in place, jumping rope, doing a jumping combination, or playing Just Dance (I love JD). When I'm running short on time, I do some gentle stretching in the car on the way to dance, usually just sticking my feet on the dashboard and touching my toes.


2. Focus in class. As hard as it is, try not to let your mind wander. In my classes at the academy, we go over combinations once or twice before doing them. If you aren't paying attention, you become so lost. My teacher might say something like, "We'll start in first, do two tondues, a tondu in plie, and another tondu, close in fifth. Repeat to the side, closing front first, and back. Reverse the combination. Then go to passe, close front, passe, close back, passe close front. Then do a circular port de bras. Plie releve, and hold." If your mind wanders, you might catch one sentence, resulting in a really bad looking barre combination. I have definitely done that before, and it is pretty embarrassing.


3. Don't eat an hour before class. It's ok to eat something light, like a granola bar, half an hour or so before class, but always try to time meals so you have an hour after finishing before ballet. Big meals plus ballet is not fun.


4. Put your hair up in a bun. It is so much easier to turn if your hair is up in a bun. Plus, it looks cleaner and neater.


5. Don't talk in class. This comes off as disrespectful to the teacher, and it's distracting to students. It's ok to ask for help, of course, and to talk during water breaks, but keep chatter in class to a minimum.

First Ballet Class

Hey everyone, I know most of the visitors to this page come because they are interested in starting class. I hear a lot of questions about what a first ballet class is like. Here is how my first ballet classes, one at each studio, went.


My first ballet class ever was a teen class at a small competition studio. The girls there had been dancing for many years, but it was the first or second year of ballet for most of them. They were mostly older then I was, around 15-17. There was one senior in high school, but most were sophomores. I was in 8th grade, age 14, at the time. When I got there, the girls were all sitting around talking in the waiting area outside of the studio. They were  stretching on the floor, putting on shoes, and just talking. I remember feeling kind of out of place. We went in the studio after the class before us ended, and then we went into the studio and told the teacher our names. We started in the center and went over the five positions, and then spent the rest of the class at the barre learning basic ballet things. I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed after class.

The first class at the academy was much different. I walked in and discovered most of the people there were much younger then I was, around ages 10-11. Since everyone already knew the basics, we went straight to barre work, and halfway through class switched to center work. The class was much larger with around 15people, opposed to my 8 person teen class.

Your first day at any dance studio will feel very overwhelming, but trust me, after the first month you will feel at home. My studios have both become my second homes (well I guess my second and third homes), and all of my stress just melts away in class.

Brag Post

I'm not sure if any of you have ever visited the website Ballet Talk for Dancers, but it's a great place to visit if you have any questions about ballet. Most likely, it's already been asked, and if it hasn't, then you can ask it. On the website, they have a Brag Board, where the members can comment about any progression, roles, compliments their teachers gave them, when they start ballet/pointe, ect. So I want this to be the "brag board". Comment below with anything you want to say, don't worry about being modest!


I'll start: Yesterday, I did my first ever triple pirouette on flat :)


Please comment! I love reading comments, it's my favorite thing about the blog.

PNF Stretching

A few days ago I came across something called proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, or PNF stretching for short. In this method of stretching, you hold a stretch for 10-20 seconds, and then tense up and contract all of your muscles for 10-20 seconds, and then relax them so you can go into a deeper stretch. I decided to try this out with my splits and have seen some progress. I've gone from about 5" off the floor to around 3". I thought I'd share this video with you. 

**Always warm up for at least 10 minutes before stretching and always cool down after stretching. Do not try this without permission of a dance teacher or doctor. Do not do PNF stretching more then 3 times a week. If it hurts, STOP. Your body knows what it can handle, and pain is it's way of saying it's too much.

First Ballet Class of 2012!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had nice winter breaks, I know I did. I'm just preparing for my first ballet class of 2012, and I'm so pumped. It's only been a week off but it feels like it's been a month! I have my teen class today, which is always very carefree and fun, so I'm really happy. Anyone else starting up classes again?


Just a few notes: The Capezio leotard I got in NYC is amazing. It has "BraTek", which is like a built in bra, so it's supportive for more busty girls. Also, it's so snug, which I like, and the color is really nice. Next note, I've been suffering a severe case of Nutcracker withdrawal (ask any dancer, it's real!), so I'm posting a Nutcracker poll. Just in case you were wondering, I voted for Arabian. I love that dance so much.


Here's a nice anaheim ballet video, I love them: