Spring Show!

Hello! Last Thursday I had a fun rehearsal for the Spring Show Finale. Our show is Le Corsaire, which has to be one of the coolest ballets, considering it's about pirates. Talk about awesome, right? Here is a synopsis, if you're interested.

Anyway, the rehearsal started at 4:00 with an average 90 minute ballet class, with everyone from level 5-7. Total, there were about 20 girls from 11-18, so it was packed in the studio. I almost wiped out doing left double turns en pointe, but we'll just pretend like no one saw ;)

After class, we sat around in the dressing room while our ballet master (yep, that's really his official title!) choerographed a trio for the show. Around 6:30 level 5-6 was called in, including me, to go over a corps type piece for the finale. We mostly dance in the background while the soloists dance in the spotlight, but we do have a little section to ourselves, which is pretty cool. This will be my first ever performance en pointe, so I'm super duper excited and nervous.

Anyone else prepping for Spring shows or recitals?

Balancing Ballet and Life

Hey guys! Obviously I haven't posted in a while. Partly due to studying for two AP classes and multiple honors classes, working 3-5 nights a week, taking part in two clubs, and, of course, ballet, I have virtually no spare time. I'm trying to reorganize my life so everything fits and I'm not up until midnight doing chem homework, which happens all too often.

As for dance, I am now taking two, 2 hour long classes a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. They are usually composed of 35 minutes of barre in flats, 15 minutes of barre en pointe, and the rest of the class is center en pointe. The Spring show is soon approaching, in June, but I haven't heard word of our costumes, song, or routine yet. The ballet Coppelia is the show's inspiration, all of the music and routines will be variations on the ballet.

Oh my gosh, I really have writer's block right now. I'm gonna go brainstorm post ideas. If you want me to write about anything in particular, post in the comments!

I'm Back!

Hello! It's been months since I've posted, due to ballet, my intense class schedule, and my job as a waitress taking most of my time! But I'm still dancing and loving every second. Stay posted for many updates over the next few days!

Variations!

Thursday I learned my first variation! It's the Giselle variation from Act 1. We started with a 90 minute ballet class, and then did 30 minutes of variations. We did most of barre and all of center en pointe, and due to my dead shoes, I was pretty burned out by the time we started the variation. We did the actual variation in flat shoes though, because otherwise we would be doing hops on pointe (which are preeetty hard). Hopefully I'll be able to get fitted for gaynors this weekend, but I'll have to take a bit of a trip to get to the store that properly fits them.

Sylvie Guillem

Any professional dancer could tell you who Sylvie Guillem is, and most students probably could too. She's a beautiful dancer, handpicked for principle at the young age of 19. She dances flawlessly, and after seeing a great mini documentary on her, I found out she is also involved with an extreme environmental group that I kinda love (Sea Shepard--Whale Wars anyone? No? Didn't think so...).

So here's that documentary I mentioned, I really recommend it!
Part 1
Part 2

New Teachers

I am a pretty shy person, so nothing scares me more than being in unfamiliar situations. That may have been why I was having an internal meltdown when I realized my dance teacher on Monday was going to be a teacher I'd never had before, a former principal with the Cuban National Ballet, and a dancer in New York Companies like The Harlem ballet and Alvin Ailey. She. Was. Awesome.

First off, I have never had a teacher teach in sweatpants and funny colored socks. She speaks english as her second language, so sometimes when going over combinations, it was a little hard to figure out what she was saying. But oh my gosh, I learned so much. She could tell I was lacking in flexibility and didn't push like other teachers tend to do, but she helped me work with what I have. Certain teachers just click with you, they explain things in a way that makes you see something totally differently and clearly, and that's what she did for me. If you ever get the opportunity to dance at a different studio, take open classes, or take a master class, I urge you to try it. A new set of eyes on your technique can pick out certain things (like my less than impressive arabesque), and rearrange or re-explain to make things look and feel better, so now my arabesque doesn't  look so...blah.

Motivation

Hey bunheads, it's been a while! I have some good news and some bad news, bad news first. No Nutcracker for me this year. It's tragic, I know, but the newish owner is completely changing everything about it, from location to costumes to choreography, and I guess the random 17 year old on stage doesn't fit his vision, haha. I'm okay with it though, my classload is ridiculous right now.

Now for the good news! My class is starting variations! Normally, we'd have a combined class with level 5 and 6 on Monday for 2 hours, and a normal class on Thursday for an hour and a half. However, considering there's only 3 people in level 5 and only 5 in level 6, they combined Thursday's class as well, and tacked on an extra half hour to fourty-five minutes so we can learn variations! I'm so excited, none of my normal friends get it, so hopefully one of you out there will get my glee. It'll be great.

The reason this is called Motivation, is because before I found out about variations class, I was close to being done. I was falling behind in class because the other girls in my level take 5 classes a week and I take 2, and I was dissappointed about lack of Nutcracker. I didn't really get why I was still dancing, my feet and muscles hurt after every class and I have hours of studying to do before and after dance to keep up with my advanced and college level classes (ap chem, astronomy, and ap US government and politics, ouch). Not to mention, I'm working 15+ hours a week (including Friday and Saturday nights, goodbye social life) to fund my expensive hobby. The only light at the end of the tunnel I could see was that next year as a level 6 I'd get to preform variations. And now that that has come a year early, so I'm staying in the game. I'm more motivated than ever.

Unfortunately, I'm missing the first variation class (can you believe my luck?) because I'm helping run a safe Halloween at my high school, and it's the same day.

My russian pointes have one foot in the grave. I just can not find a pair of shoes to last me more than a few months, from Blochs to Russians everything dies in a month. The amount of jet glue I use is unbelievable. I'm going to go for grishkos or gaynor mindens next I think, or possible a different fit and shank on russians. Any suggestions?

I'm going to add a bunch of variation videos in the Video tab up there ^^, so look at them and tell me your favorites!

Fouettes Scare Me

So, on Monday I had my first ballet class of the year with our studio owner, who gives notoriously difficult classes. It was a combined class, my level 5 and level 6 both attended for two hours, 6-8. There was 7 of us total, so even though it was combined, it was just like a typical class size.

We started with barre on flat, no problem! But then, we put on our pointe shoes and practiced fouettes at the barre. Holy crap. Guys, I can barely do fouettes on flat, not to mention, I can't even do double pirouettes on pointe yet. I was scared outta my mind, and I fell out of my fouette hard. The thing is, I realized I don't really have to be afraid of them. If I was nervous to do pirouettes en pointe, I was sloppy and landed abruptly, but if I was calm and just acted like it was a normal pirouette, it went much better. I guess the moral of the story is don't be afraid of what you don't know, just have faith in yourself (talk about cheesy).

Anyway, I ordered 2 new leotards off Discount Dance.com, and they finally came. Our uniform colors are white and plum this year. For plum I went with a leotard I know and love, the Capezio Dancelogic with Bratek in Plum. I already own it in black and burgundy, but I'm just not very fond of the purple. I think the color just isn't as flattering.

White was much more difficult. If you have no experience with white leotards (or bathing suits), you may not know that they are often very see-through, and very unsupportive. I browsed, read reviews, and googled opinions for hours before deciding on the Shirred Front Tank Leotard with X-back by So Danca. Upon trying it on, my first opinions were that though it was a little smaller than I would've liked, it wasn't too see through (though my tights line was visible) and it was pretty flattering. Plus, it held everything in place, so no need for a pricey dance bra. The pictures below show the back (in blue) and the front.

First Class of the Season!

Hello everyone! Thursday was the first ballet class of the 2013-2014 season! There is only three (yes, THREE) girls in my class this year, including me. It feels practically like a private class, it's so awesome. We started off with regular barre (boy, was I rusty after 3 months off!) and then did pointe in center.

I love the small class because we got to do a bunch of things one at a time, instead of in groups of two or three. This way, we get more corrections, and more time to fix mistakes.

Our uniform this year is plum leotards for Monday, and white for Thursday. I'm off to Discountdance.com to browse for some leos! The money that this site has gotten in ad revenue will pay for part of my uniform, so thank you for reading!

Monday is my next class, and it's always going to be a combined class with my level 5, and level 6, since there are only 7 girls total combined.

5th Day of Stretching!

For everyone that wanted to do my quest of stretching every day in August, how are you doing!? I feel like I can already see an increase of an inch or two in my develope's!

Stretch!

Hi guys! It's been a while. I'm not dancing this summer (sadface) because I'm working a lot. It's a double edged sword, because more work means I can keep taking dance, but the more I work the less time I have to dance. It looks like I'll be taking two ballet classes this year, 90 minutes on Monday with level 5 and 6, because they're both really small levels (4-5 people each), and 2 hours on Thursday with just my level. I'm excited, to say the least. I'm thinking of asking my dad if I can take a solo class at my old studio twice a month, but I don't even know if they'd let me do that, and how much it would cost, ect. I would love to learn a lyrical solo, or even a ballet solo.

Anyway, I've decided to do something I call, "Stretch Everyday in August!" where I stretch...everyday...in August. Pretty self-explanatory, really. It's my second day, and I decided to warm up first by attempting the Odette/White Swan variation (but I did it on flat). It's a really pretty, really simple variation, so I watched a few videos, and put my own spin in some places, and got warmed up. Now I'm sitting here, stretching as I type.

My goals:

• Stretch everyday, if it's 10 minutes or an hour and a half
• Get right split
• Get closer to left and center split

So what do you think? Anyone who wants to join me definitely should! We could all comment on this post to stay motivated, and accomplish your own flexibility goals, whether it's to touch your toes or to nail your oversplits!

Quick Pointe Shoe Video

Here's a video by the Australian Ballet about the pointe shoe fitter/ artistic co-ordinater. I know I would kill for a pair of custom pointes, wouldn't that be amazing?

Tell me in the comments if you've found your perfect pointes, what are they!?

New to Ballet?

Hey guys! For anyone out there who hasn't taken their first ballet class, but wants to, now is the perfect time to start looking! Summer classes usually end in mid-August and then the dance season starts, so look around for local studios!

As for me, next week (I hope) I'll either be taking lyrical or ballet, and probably am going to continue until the end of August.

How are all of your summer sessions going?!

Ballet Intensive: Days 3-5

Hey everyone! My ballet intensive ended on Friday, and I've been super busy so I haven't gotten to post. I've recently gotten a job (yay!) at a cafe, so I've been working most evenings, and on Sunday I worked almost 12 hours.

The last few days of the intensive were much like the first two. My pointe shoes broke in very nicely, however, I've discovered some flaws. They put a lot of pressure on my big toes, and the elastic drawstring is too tight so it digs into my heels very painfully. Ouch.

Something weird happened on the third day though. Our studio is located on the 4th floor in a big building that used to be a factory, and was turned into a building dedicated to the arts. So, there are a lot of art studios, glass blowing studios, wood shops, music studios, and our dance studios. On Wednesday, some people were walking around our floor (probably browsing art studios) and stopped to watch our class. For like, half an hour. It was strange, because they weren't bashful about getting right up to the windows. I actually appreciate an audience, because I know it makes me dance and perform better.

On Friday, I actually did some halfway decent fouettes! I got 5 or 6 turns and actually landed it, and it didn't look too bad.

Anyway, my dance classes are pretty much done for the summer, but I'll post some informational posts so stick around!

Intensive: Day Two

Hey guys! So yesterday was the second day of the intensive. It started normally with a 90 minute class, but before we put on pointe shoes, our teacher said she wanted to try something. Fouettes. Eeek! Yesterday was the first day I ever attempted fouettes, and oh my god, they're difficult. I have no idea how the girls my age in the company do them perfectly en pointe. On the right I managed to turn about 4 or 5 times, and then I fell out and had to start over.On the left...well, let's just say I am not a left turner. I can barely even do double pirouettes to the left.

After that we did pointe barre, and I got to try out my new shoes! I really like them, but they put more pressure on my toes than my old shoes did. I'm hoping all will be well when they break in. We also did some chaines across the floor on pointe. My right chaines were fine, but once again, my left turns are not too great.

Over all it was a really fun class! I love that there is only three people, because we get more time to try combinations. Like, yesterday we did petite allegro 4 times before we got everything right. Normally we would stop after 2 just because of time constraints.

Intensive:Day One

Oh my gosh guys, I love ballet. I didn't realized how much I missed it until I started barre. It's only been a little over a week! So, I was expecting at least 4 girls from my studio, plus a few others that usually come from other studios. There was only three of us. Three. That's practically a private lesson! We got so much individualized attention and we got to do a ton more combinations than usual because instead of having three of four groups of people do each combo, we only had one group, or else we all did it individually.

After a normal 90 minute class on flat (barre, center, across the floor), we put on our pointes and did about half an hour of barre and half an hour of center/cross the floor. We started with the basics, releves, eschappes, and passes, and ended with pique turns, arabesques, and pirouettes (eeek!). I didn't wear my new Russians because I wanted my teacher to check them out before I added ribbons and elastics, and she gave me the okay. However, that meant I had to wear my old shoes, which are dead as a door nail. Don't get me wrong, dancing in dead pointe shoes is kinda fun because they're so soft and flexible, but when I went up for left pirouettes (and my lefts on flat are pretty bad) my shoe gave out right under me, creating the scariest .5 second of my life.

I literally just got home, and will begin to sew my pointes right now!

New Pointes!

I just got my third pair of pointes! They are Russian Pointe Rubins, and I love them. My Capezios tended to pop off my heels, and they died too fast, so these should fix both of those problems. I'm not going to sew them yet, because I want my artistic director to check them and make sure everything is okay. I'm a little nervous because Russian Pointes tend to be less pink, and more silvery than most pointe shoes are, and my studio likes uniformity. When I get the okay, I'll sew them up and get pictures for you!



I was even thinking of making a "How to Sew Your Pointe Shoes" video, but I don't know yet, let me know what you think!

Recital!

Hello everyone! My Sleeping Beauty Show went very well! I arrived at the theater at 4, went in the back entrence (fancy!) and only got a little lost on the way to my dressing room. I was one of the last girls there, but the show didn't start until 5 and my piece was number 5 or something so I had time. I did my makeup, put on my costume, and stretched with the other 16 year old in my level while the other girls prepared and preformed modern. Then the two of us helped the girls change quickly in the Green Room (no one can be modest in shows, if you have to change in one number you're stripping backstage!), and we went to the wings to wait for our song. I think the 3-5 minutes spent waiting in the wings is the most anxious time of the whole day. You're back there, frantically marking your dance and practicing steps you're nervous about (for me it was left spot turns!). Then, your music is about to start and you take your place in the wings, you hear your cue, and without hesitation you step from the shadows onto the stage, big smile on your face, and hope to God that you don't mess up. We got through the whole dance without any mistakes, and then went backstage, stretched a little to keep warm, watched the other pieces on the TV, and practiced the finale. Soon it was about time to go for the finale, and we all filed out into the wings. In the 10 minutes or so we spent waiting, everyone in the company quietly marking in the wings, I became really thankful. How many other girls my age get to be apart of such a professional preformance? I mean, the costumes were brilliant, the venue was beautiful, and the dancers were amazing. And sure, I can't afford the company, or modern classes, but I get to be apart of this amazing conservatory, and that's amazing in its self.

After finale, we went on for bows, changed, and talked a little before we left. I was so sad to find out two girls in my level won't be returning! That brings our class from 6 to 4 people!

I don't have any more classes until the 24th, when my 5 day, 2.5 pointe intensive starts!

Tech Rehearsal!

Hey guys! Today was my tech/dress rehearsal for the Sleeping Beauty Recital! I went to my studio at 4 for an hour long ballet class. There was so many people, everyone from level 4-7, so probably at least 30 people. After class we walked over to the performance center, which isn't even a block away, and settled into our dressing rooms. Levels 6-7 shared one room while levels 4-5 had the other. They were fairly small, some girls had to double up on mirrors. Outside the rooms there was this nice common area, with a table with snacks, a TV that showed the stage, a couch, and two single bathrooms. The modern dances were first, and since I don't take modern, I chilled in the dressing room with two other girls who aren't in the company. Then I got dressed for my piece, and after sitting around for about 2 hours, we finally rehearsed our piece. Then we went back to the dressing room for another hour, then practiced the finale and bows, took pictures, and finally around 8 we went home.

The theater is actually really neat. It's newer and smaller than the one for Nutcracker, I could only find an outside picture!


And this is our costume (that is not me):

Drum roll please... New Autumn Show!

Hello guys, I'm super excited to tell you some news! Our company has been making a bunch of changes recently, such as a new location and no orchestra for Nutcracker (meh), and continuing the old tradition of having three shows a year! This means we will begin preparing in August for our new show, which is.....Alice in Wonderland! I am so excited, because I thought that the ballet would just be for company members, which I am not, but our teacher wants to incorporate the conservatory students as well!

Here's a video I've been obsessed with even before I knew we were doing Alice, a behind the scenes look at rehearsal:

Yay!