Non-Dance Activities

My first lacrosse practice is tonight!  I'm really happy to have another non-dance sport going on again.  When I'm dancing or at the studio, I feel like dancing is the only thing I do.  But I actually have a lot of hobbies.  Way too many to afford, honestly hahaha.  I loooove music, and I play 'ukulele and guitar.  And I love to read, watch movies, hang out with friends, and go to the beach :D  Comment below, readers: what do you do outside of dance?

Also, my mom said yes to lyrical tomorrow.  Yaay!  Do you take any lyrical or contemporary classes?

Class Update

Class last night was really small.  There were only three other girls, so we got a lot more corrections.  We were going to learn some of our choreography for recital this week, but since there were only four of us so our teacher said we would start next week.  (I kinda feel weird say "my teacher" or "our teacher" all the time.  So I'm just going to call her Ms. Athena from now on, 'kay?  Not her real name btw)  So we kinda reviewed some things and spent a long time on pirouettes.  Fine by me ;)  Also, sometimes we stretch before barre and it huuuurts, so I decided I'm going to stretch before I leave for dance.

I'm going to try this routine next Tuesday.  My class is on Wednesday, so why Tuesday?  Because.....I'm going to a lyrical class next Tuesday!  Ms. Athena said I could take whatever I want for make up classes, so I chose Intermediate Lyrical as my second make up from winter break.  I'm really excited guys!  Do any of you take lyrical?  I've taken like two, but I was mostly in jazz and hip hop before ballet.  So this is actually my first lyrical of this year haha.  I can't wait, I don't know what to wear, and I'm not sure if my mom has said yes yet, but I'm excited!!

Also, I put a new poll on the blog.  Go vote, and keep stretching! :)

Class Update - First Make Up Class

This Monday was the intermediate class I took as a make up for winter break.  Now, I was a little disappointed.  I was expecting the class to be our age because we're grouped with them for recital, but they were little.  Like, 9 to 11 or 12 years old little.  And then I was expecting them to be a higher level, too, but our classes seem to be about the same level.  With the intermediate class though, they had more of a mixed levels class.  Like with our Teen Ballet, we're all about the same level, learning the same stuff.  With their class, some of them were could developpe to their ears and knew how to spot well, while others were still learning to maintain turnout.

So the class wasn't particularly challenging, but it was different.  This is actually the very first ballet class I've taken outside of Teen Ballet :D  Barre was really interesting.  We did everything from first position, instead of fifth.  While we were doing tendus and battements, I kept closing in fifth by accident!  We also did degages, which I love but we rarely do in our class.  My favorite part, though, was releves!  For like 2 minutes!  We faced the barre and did a mini-plie then releve over and over again, super fast, until the teacher said we could stop.  Let's just say my legs are still sore now, two days later.  I will definitely be doing those at home.  Embrace the burn!  After a short barre stretch, we moved on to center.

Center was interesting too.  We did some chaines, then pique passes.  Pique passes are when you kick you leg out (straight) and then passe.  The teacher said they haven't done it in as a turn yet and pique passes are an exercise to build up to that.  I liked it, it was good to go back to basics and realize what we're really supposed to be doing.  During water break, I did some turns with a friend from Teen Ballet, who was taking the make up class too.  The floor has been perfectly slippery since last week, so it was perfect for some fouette practice ^_^  After water, we did some grand jetes and we finished class with a review of arm and feet positions, then reverence.  Reverence...that is what it's called right?  We did a plie to one side, then the other.  We've never done it before in our class, so it was cool.

Overall, it was a pretty fun class, and I learned a lot.  The teacher was super nice, too.  I would go back next week for my second make up class, but lacrosse is starting the same day, at the same time.  I'm going to ask my teacher if I can take a lyrical for my second make up.

Remember, embrace the burn! ;)

Motivation, Again Minus Pointe

Lately I've been looking up choreography to my favorite songs on YouTube.  These are some of my favorite songs and choreo that I just love!

Do we have any hip hop dancers reading?  These are brilliant!

I loooove the guy in the white shirt.  I click the video to 1:00 and I just watch him....I can do this on repeat for several hours lol!

This is not actually one of my favorite songs lol.  This is at Gotta Dance Atlanta.  I went there this summer (not this class though) while my family was on vacation, and it's the best place ever!  If you live in/near Atlanta or you might visit, try it.  And omigosh, the guy in the plaid shirt.  He killed it :O

I hope you guys enjoyed these!  I might make another post tonight, after class.  Yep, today is my make up class....SO EXCITED!!  So I'll try to update you guys tonight :3

Class Hairstyles Pt. 2

This is a tutorial on how to do fancier hairstyles for class.  I love CuteGirlsHairstyles on YouTube, they have lots of, well, cute girls hairstyles hahaha.  Any of their styles that use only the front part of your hair can be pulled back into a bun.  Some of the ones I like are the knotted headband, braid combo (into a neat bun), triple braid tieback, ribbon accent braid, pin curls, and double knots.  If you try these, just make sure to secure them with extra bobby pins!  There are more on their channel too.
Here are some more different buns.

I loooove this one.  I actually wore this one to prom last year.  It's super pretty!

Any Hunger Games fans out there??  Also, you can just put the two french braids in a ponytail and bun it like normal.

And the carousel.  Totally amazing right?  If you have someone who is willing to help do your hair.....lucky!  ;)

I hope you guys like these!  Tell me if you try any :)

Class Update

Class yesterday was soo much fun!  At barre, Little Things by One Direction came on and I found out that there are Directioners in our class!  Any Directioners reading?  Also, my favorite song at the moment came on during rond de jambes, and it's one of my teachers favorite songs too, so that was cool.  After barre we did single, single, double piques across the floor.  It was our first time doing double piques, which was really fun.  And we got to practice our pirouettes.  Big announcement guys.....I landed my first triple pirouette!  I did a couple of really good triples :D We learned inside turns too, which we'd never done those before.  While we were turning, Little Things came on again, so we talked about the boys.  I'm the only one who wants Zayn...yesss...no competition >:)  One of my classmates bought cookies, so we sat and ate cookies and talked about school and homeschool (another girl and I are both homeschooled).  We waltzed for a little while, then class was over.  It was a really fun class, and we learned some new stuff.  And I have another announcement......I have two classes next week!  Since we have two classes to make up for winter break, some of the girls in my class and I are going to an intermediate class this Monday.  They're the class we're being grouped with for recital, so our teacher recommended it.  Did I mention it's an intermediate class?!  I'm so excited!!  I love a challenging class, I can't wait!  Also, we were on the topic of skirts in class.  Two of the girls have skirts and they're sooo pretty when they turn.  I really want one; do you have any recommendations?

I hope your classes are going great too :)  I have another class hair post coming soon.  Keep dancing!

I Like Men.

Well, this is my first motivational post that won't include pointe shoes.  Enjoy!

This.  I have no adjectives...it was just so beyond, I can't even..... 

"I don't think Baryshnikov became Baryshnikov sitting around trying to be Nureyev."  Ahaha love it ^_^

I realized that though I love male dancers, I've never added any videos of them.  One of my best friends reminded me.  I like men.  This was for you Goldilocks XD

A Healthier Ballerina

I really want to go en pointe.  Like, really REALLY.  I've had soo many dreams about dancing in shiny pink pointe shoes, I stopped counting after the 4th or 5th.  But recently I've been rethinking it.  I've heard that it can mess up your feet, and many dancers eventually get arthritis in their feet.  Now, in my family, we were taught to take care of our feet.  Breathable leather shoes, good support, good fit, all that stuff, because you will need your feet for the rest of your life.  When I hear dancers talk about their ugly feet from pointe, sometimes I don't want that.  But then I think about the beauty and rewards of dancing en pointe.  When my time comes, I think I'll try it.  After all, we only live once.  I don't want to one day regret choosing to dance en pointe, but I don't want to regret not doing it either.

Also, you're holding your whole body weight on your toes.  The heavier that weight is, the worse it is for your feet.  Besides being nowhere near ready for pointe shoes, I'm quite overweight.  I want to lose some weight before I'm ready for pointe.  Like, 25 pounds.  So I'm going to start a diet.  Already started, actually.  A low-carb diet, I guess.  I'm just eating less bread, pasta, potatoes, and crackers, that type of stuff.  Since I only get moderate exercise two or three times a week, I was eating way too many carbohydrates for my body to use.  Basically less carbs, more fruits and veggies and nuts. I'm going to start running, too.  My city has this huge annual 5K, and this year's is coming up in a few weeks.  I'm not going to run competitively, but I want to run in it to motivate me to train.

I guess that's kind of all I'm doing for right now.  My goal is to become stronger and healthier.  Diet, running a couple times a week, and my usual dance exercises.  And lacrosse is starting up soon too, I can't wait!  Do you guys have any personal health goals?

Back to Class

Tonight was our first class back from winter break.  It was kinda fun.  I wore my new leotard.  I like it, but I probably could have gotten a smaller size.  It's a bit baggy in the bottom and back, with extra fabric bunching up.  The bra part of it fits great though, a lot more support than my other leo.  It's weird though; when I tried it on in the store back in October (same leo, same size) it fit perfect.  I don't know.  Anyways, class!  Barre today was really challanging, so awesome.  At barre, our teacher was getting on us about pushing our 5th.  Well, mostly me.  I'm pretty much the only person in class that doesn't have fabulous turnout.  *Sigh* I'll be working on that I guess.  Anyone know any good stretches for turnout?  So, I was disappointed because we only did attitude turns and piques, no pirouettes or fouettes.  We also didn't do any tour jetes.  Oh well.  We got a really good stretch, middle splits against the wall then partner stretching.  And....we learned how to waltz!  Polka and waltz actually.  I didn't quite get the polka, but the waltz was fun.  I think of it as like a floating fairy step lol ^_^  So yeah, class this week was a bit boring but we learned a lot.  Also, we learned that we're going to be doing our recital dance with one of the intermediate classes.  I don't understand...is that normal, to put two classes together for a recital performance?  I'm sort of confused, because we're different level classes too.  Huh.
Who had their first class back this week too?  How'd it go?  Feel free to comment below ;)

New Dancewear! And Other Updates

I got some new dancewear!  I ended up getting the Capezio Dancelogic Bratek leotard and the Capezio Hipster shorts, both from my Wishlist.  They just got here, I've been stalking the mailman since like 3pm XD They seem really nice so far, and I'll write full reviews on them in a couple weeks.

My winter break ends this week, so back to class!  Yesss...I would have died if break were any longer.   I've started to think about summer plans, and most studios are coming out with their 2013 summer information about now.  I don't know if my studio has summer classes or a camp, so I'll have to find out.  So far my plans are to volunteer for a music camp I went to as a kid for the early summer, then go to a dance intensive camp at a nearby studio for a couple of weeks later in the summer.  For the weeks in between, I can go to walk-in jazz and contemporary classes at another studio.  How about you guys?  Anyone auditioning for an intensive?  I've got my eyes set on Joffrey or Atlanta for next summer ;)  Haha no, I wish :P

I got this idea a little while ago...I live less than an hour drive north from a very famous ballet company and school, and pretty close to a smaller company.  I checked out their websites, and they both have open ballet for teens/adults.  Hopefully, I can talk my mom into a little trip to go to a beginner's class :D  Chances are there is a dance company near you, too.  Go to their website and see if you can attend an open class.

Also, I put a poll on the homepage.  Please go vote!  And that's all for now :)  Make summer plans and keep dancing!

Work Dat Core

I found this video earlier, thought it was pretty helpful :)

Have you guys heard of Sophia Lucia before?  If you haven't seen it, go look up the video of her doing like, 56 pirouettes!  Well, I'm going to go do some crunches.

Class Hairstyles

I love making my bun before class.  Like, seriously, I start doing my hair half an hour before I even need to start getting dressed.  In my class, a bun is not required and some girls wear ponytails or braids, but I just love buns.  So here is my tutorial on buns.  What you need is a brush, bobby pins, and hair elastics.  A lot of people like to use hairnets and bun pins and hair gel/spray, but my hair doesn't usually fly everywhere so I've found I don't need them.  Here are two ways to do a basic ballet bun:

Using the two elastics to hold it in place works really well when it's a high bun.  To mix it up, try doing a low bun.  You would make the bun the same way, but use only one elastic for the low ponytail.

My hair is thick, so doing the single twist around makes it really high, not classical.  I do the double elastic high ponytail, then a cinnabun.

One way to change up your look is to braid the ponytail before wrapping it.  If you like the cinnabun method better, then make two braids.  When you wrap it, make sure the braid is flat.  You can do the same thing with a fishtail braid or twisting it (I don't know what it's really called...you take two pieces and twist them together.)  If you have bangs and don't want to leave them down, twist or braid them back then secure it with some bobby pins.

I hope this helped!  I'll make another hair post later, one with fancier buns :3  Keep dancing!

2013 Goals

Happy 2013!  Ahhh I can't believe 2012 is over!  :O  It's a new year, and I know most people have some kind of resolution.  I never have one big goal at the beginning of the year, so I just make lots of little ones as I go through the year haha.  These are some things I want to accomplish before March:
1. Both front splits
2. A backbend
3. A triple ballet pirouette and a quadruple modern pirouette

I don't really have a deadline for it, but I really want to learn a variation!  I haven't decided on one yet, maybe Blue Bird? :)
Also, without any specific goals in mind, I really want to work on my extensions, ankle strength, turns to the left, and turnout this year.

Do you have a resolution or goals this year?  Please comment below, I'd love to hear about them!  Happy New Year and keep dancing!