Class Music

I love when the teacher plays good music in class.  Last week, our teacher played an instrumental version of 'That's What You Get' by Paramore while we were doing tendus.  It's one of my all-time favorite songs.  She also once played an instrumental of 'My Immortal' by Evanescence, also a favorite.  What are some of your favorite songs your teacher plays?

Washing Dancewear

I washed my leotard and tights for the first time today!  Exciting, I know ;)  I heard that washing dancewear by hand helps it last longer.  I couldn't find a bucket, so I used a pretty big bowl.  Which probably looked weird...a girl walking around with a wet leotard in a bowl...haha.  So first I put a squirt of laundry detergent in the bottom of the bowl, and filled it with warm water.  I put my tights in and squished them around for like 5 minutes, then rinsed them.  I did the same with my leotard, except with cold water.  Read the tags, they will say whether to use cold or warm.  To dry them, I squeezed the excess water in the sink.  Only squeeze, don't wring or twist.  Then I laid them on a clean towel, folded the towel in half, and squeezed them some more.  After I couldn't dry them anymore with the towel, I hung them to dry.  But don't hang your leotard by its straps, or they will stretch.  Lay it flat, or hang it by the middle.  Same with your tights.  And that's it!  Any other dancewear care requests?  I'm working on ways to deodorize shoes next.

Hellooo..? *echoes*

Is anyone reading this?  Is there anyone out there?  I kinda feel like I'm talking to myself...which I actually do a lot, now that I think about it O.o  Anyways, I just wanted to share something with you guys.  If there are actually any of you guys.  It's called KBM Talent.  Look them up on YouTube, or I'll put a link below.  They have lots of super helpful videos!  Comment what you think!  Or comment anything lol.

Here's the link, go check them out: http://www.youtube.com/user/KBMTALENT/videos

Some Splits Tips

I just stretched for the first time in a week.  I usually stretch every night, but I hurt my left hamstring last week so I thought I'd give it a break.  Thankfully, it wasn't anything serious, so with rest and BioFreeze it's all good again!  Since I hadn't stretched in seven days, I thought my muscles would be tight, but I was actually more flexible than usual.  I don't really know why I'm telling this story...the pointe is that I was thinking about tricks to slide into your splits, so I'm posting my favorites.

1. Warm up and do some easier stretches first.  You guys probably know this one, but it's the most important so I added it again.  I like to warm up with some changements and jumping jacks after a hot shower.
2. Put a stack of books (or something else sturdy) under each hand if you're not quite to your full splits.  It will keep you from leaning forward and stretching incorrectly.  If you aren't that close to your splits, use two chairs.
3. Take a break sometimes.  If you have a stretching plan, but you don't feel like stretching some days, go ahead and skip!  Your muscles can probably use the break, and taking a day or two off isn't a big deal.  Also, if anything hurts (not like stretching pain, more like "omg my femur just snapped" kind of pain), take at least two days off.  Ice it, see a doctor if it seems serious, please just don't get injured.
4. Do your splits on a straight line.  This will help you keep your legs straight and your hips squared.  We have wood floors in my house, so I can just line up with one of the planks.  If you don't have floors with lines, just put a stripe of duct tape on the floor where you stretch.
5. Hold it.  Try to stay in your splits for at least 30 seconds, but not more than a minute.  It hurts at first, but it will get easier if you keep with it.  If you can't stay in your splits for 30 seconds, hold it for 15 on each side, then do them again for another 15 seconds.

That's all I have for now.  Please just remember, none of these tips should go above what your teacher says.  If your teacher says to do something a certain way, he/she is right and you should listen.  If you have a question, comment, or concern, please comment ;)

New Dancewear!

So today I got some dancewear!  Just a leotard, tights, and shoes, but they're my first so it's really exciting.  It took foreeeverr to find a leotard!  I tried on at least 15 leotards, and it was between a black Capezio twisty-back camisole leotard and a black Capezio BraTek.  I'm a bit overweight and I've got a big bum, so it was hard to find a leo that fit right and looked good.  So I ended up getting the twisty-back one.  I also got BodyWrappers pink transition tights, and they're really soft lol.  And my shoes, ohhhh I love my shoes.  They're Bloch Dansoft flats, and they look and feel soooo perfect!  Even the lady who was measuring my feet was like, "Wow, those look really good on you."  I love them :)  I'll post my reviews on them in a couple of weeks.  So, what are your favorite leotards/tights/shoes?  Comment below!

First Class

So I had my first class last night!  I just switched to a different studio, back to the studio I went to when I was little (before I quit when I was 6).  I'm in their Teen Ballet, and I looooove it!  I can't wait until next week's class!  I didn't know what to get, so I didn't have any dancewear, but the teacher was cool with me wearing leggings, shorts, tank top, and socks.  She told me what I need to get, so I'm going shopping this Sunday ;)  So, we started at barre, and we did plies and battements and....lots of stuff I can't remember lol.  I'm still working on my spacing at the barre, I accidentally kicked the girl behind me :O  Next, we each chose a place against the wall and did our middle splits.  Then we did a leap combination, but I didn't get it.  And we did some pirouettes and arabesque turns.  Then, we did piques and arabesque turns across the floor.  Our teacher said my piques were good :)  They were learning a Halloween dance, so before class ended we ran through that a couple of times, and I actually picked up most of it.  So, yeah, it was really fun!  Everyone was super nice and friendly.  That's mostly what I hated about my last studio, they were sort of cliquish.  So, tell me about your first class experience in the comments!

First Post And Introduction

Hi, everyone!  My name is Jordan, I'm 14, and I love ballet!  In this blog, I'm mostly going to be posting about my classes, and I'll post some tips and product reviews.  My first ballet class is this Wednesday.  So, wish me luck, and I'll be posting again later this week :)