Daniel Cloud Campos (aka B-Boy Cloud), is one of my favorite dancers and in my opinion the greatest b-boy ever. Very unique, original moves and great musicality. You might have seen him in Step Up 3 (he was Kid Darkness) which is where I first saw him :D
I'm going to put some of his videos below and if you like them, check out his channel. There are TONS more! He's not just a breakdancer; he's also a choreographer, actor, filmmaker, and more. He's just an all-around artist.
Brilliant, isn't he? This is this week's motivation. I know it isn't the type of motivation that makes you want to work toward your splits or better turns or whatever, but I was hoping it would inspire you to find your artist. Don't forget that dance is an art too. Try to freestyle a bit-- no choreography, not thinking about technique, and just feel the music. Be unique and keep dancing! :)
Also, Happy National Dance Week! This week, I'm choreographing my own dance to Lovely by Sara Haze to celebrate. I might upload a video of it if I can find my camera when I finish it!
I'm going to try to do a new motivation post every week from now on. This week's motivation: Hannah Bettes. She is unbelievably talented! She was born to be a dancer - hyperextended knees, high arches, natural flexibility, long legs, etc. And not only is she naturally gifted, she also works extremely hard. There is a video of her in the last motivation post.
Hey guys! So this week was picture day for recital. It was really crazy...I'm a little disappointed. I really hope my pictures turn out good. I wasn't really ready when they told me they were ready, so I forgot to pull my costume down so my leotard wouldn't show. My mom noticed my leotard straps sticking out just before the head shots, which was after all the posing. And my smile didn't feel right, I was nervous and it felt kinda fake. *sigh* So I really hope they turn out nice, I'll get them sometime in May. They had the picture stuff set up in our classroom, so there was no class :( We just ran through our recital choreo in the next classroom with two other classes and the company. I'm kinda sad that we didn't do much, but we got to see the advanced class and oh my gosh they were awesome! There was this one girl, maybe 10 or 11 years old, and she was doing these triple fouettes things, she was amazing! I also learned this pique/emboite/fouette type turn from watching them, it's really fun.
Can't wait until class next week! I need to start my weekly challenge, I've been too lazy this week to start. I already decided on turnout exercises for this week. Also, I think the Turnboard is helping my turns! I've been landing triples pretty easily lately which usually only happens on really good days :D
No post this weekend, sorry, I'm going to be away. I'll probably have a new post up by Sunday night or Monday though. Keep dancing! :)
This week I got a package from Discount Dance and All About Dance. They both had some sales going on last week, so I decided to get some things I'm going to need for recital and this summer. My mom also got me some Soffes at Sports Authority last week, they were on sale for $20 for three so I'm really happy :D From Discount Dance I got a Turnboard and a camisole leotard to go under my costume. From All About Dance, I got two pairs of my favorites tights. They were on sale, for about $5 each (plus, All About Dance has free shipping on everything, no minimum! Joy!). Hopefully I have enough tights now to last me until fall ;) I'll post full reviews later, but all I have to say for now is: OMIGOSH!! I loooooove the Turnboard!!!! It's soo much fun, my record so far is 11 pirouettes :D
If you want to see any particular type of post, just comment :) I have some motivation posts coming soon, but let me know if you want any about flexibility, nutrition, turnout, etc. Keep dancing guys!
Hey guys! A lot has happened since my last update post! :O I guess I start at the beginning-ish....
Tuesday I went to a lyrical class, the same one I went to for winter break make-up. Some of the girls remembered me from last time. The teacher didn't ignore me like the one in the last make-up class I went to, and said I could stand in the back and pick up what I could (no one was absent). I already knew part of their dance, and I got about 10 more steps or so after what I remembered. The girls were so cute though! When I told them I was 15, they all started talking about how I should be on our studio's competition team. They were really surprised when I told them this was only my first year in ballet and lyrical. I thought it was really sweet that they thought I should be on the team :) Ballet on Wednesday was good too, we only have like 20 seconds left of our dance to learn. Picture day is next week, I can't wait! Does your studio do pictures? Have you had yours yet?
I completed my challenge from last week. I stretched everyday from last Tuesday to this Wednesday, so I actually did eight days in a row and I'm really proud of myself :D This week's challenge is going to be turnout exercises, I'll probably start tomorrow.
I've got most of my summer plans ready. I'm (hopefully) going to volunteer at a camp this June and the beginning of July. The studio I'm going to for summer just released their official summer dates and rates, so I decided to do two weeks in July; four days the first week, five days the second week. I'm waiting to be accepted as a volunteer before I register. Some of the classes they have on this year's schedule are Tap, Acro, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Pilates, Lyrical, Conditioning, and of course ballet. I'm really excited to try all of them! I don't have anything planned in August yet...I'm probably going to be visiting a lot of studios and trying out classes.
Anyone else super excited for summer? Do you have any special plans? Keep dancing :)
This is a review for two tights: Theatricals Convertible Tights and Body Wrappers Low-rise Tights. So first, the Theatricals.
I loooove them! They're only like $6, they're comfy, they appear to be durable (I've only had them like two months), and they're the right shade of ballet pink, so what's not to love?? They're soft and the waist is perfect. My new favorite tights :D
The Body Wrappers tights are basically like my other ones, except low-rise. I like the low-rise because I don't have to roll the waist down when I wear my open back leo. The waistband doesn't make an awkward fat bulge around my hips like I was worried it would. It has a v-waist, so if you don't a flat stomach, it will roll and stick out. There was a tiny hole in the V, so I just inverted the seam and it's all good now.
Class this week was alright. We didn't do barre, we didn't stretch, we didn't do center or across the floor. We worked on the recital dance the whole time. We got our costumes! Only five of the eight of us are in recital. They're trying to get a costume for the new girl, but she came too late for them to order one. So we tried on our costumes and they're gorgeous! They fit us all perfectly. They were supposed to drape from our arms, but there's only one elastic instead of two. I suggested we just put hair elastic around our wrists and pin the fabric to it. We ran through the dance a couple of time while wearing the costumes, then we took them off so they wouldn't get dirty (they're white). We were also officially assigned to our spots. I was center in the beginning line, but then Ms. Athena realized there were six of us, not five (there is a girl in another class that is with us) so I have to move left a bit to split center. I'm a bit disappointed; last year I was in all the middle/back rows in our groups. I really like the routine and song though, and I'm so excited! This is our song, btw.
Ms. Athena said she would tell us more about stage makeup later, so I don't know how we're going to look :O After class, I asked her if I could use the Pro-Arch foot stretcher and she said "Sure, anytime," so I'm going to use it as much as I can before recital :D I stay every week after class because my mom has to pick my brother up from soccer at the same time, 20 minutes away. I usually have about 30 min, but this week his practice ran super late so I had about 45 min to practice. Since we only had the choreo in class, I did a short barre, some feet exercises, turns, and some turnout exercises.
I did all these stretches and exercises, and I think they work. My hips and thighs were sore, so I guess they were good lol.
Have you guys gotten your costumes yet? When's your show? Keep dancing! :)
Hey dancers! I'm starting a new goal schedule. My deadline for my last one was the end of April, but I already completed the first goal (sorta lol) and the second goal I'm trying to avoid since fouettes can hurt my ankle. My new set of goals I want to achieve by recital, which is June 1st. That's nearly 3 months away, so this is going to be a bigger list than usual :3
1. Both front splits
2. Backbend
3. Consistent clean triple pirouettes
4. The wall stretch
5. Full rises
And I don't have a specific goal, but I expect to see notable progress in my feet and turnout (my two worst areas).
I'm also challenging myself to one week challenges. Seven straight days of practicing something consistently, and if I don't make it all seven days then I have to restart from zero. Right now I'm going to work on easy stretching every day this week (Tuesday and Wednesday already down, yeah!), and when I finish I'm going to do week challenges for these:
Theraband exercises
Releves
Turnout exercises
Pirouettes
...probably not in this order haha.
I've also had a change of diet. Instead of less carbs and processed foods, I'm trying to eat smaller proportions. I still eat much less bread, pasta, chips and such, it's become habit. Also, I am in looooove with my new water routine! When I get to dehydrated or need to drink more water for whatever reason, I cut up an orange into smallish cubes and put it in my bottle. Then I fill it with cold water, so it's about 1/6 full of orange and the rest water. Shake it a bit, then leave it for maybe 15-20 minutes and it's pure deliciousness!!! Keep hydrated, and keep dancing :)
I know that spring break is over for most of us now, and if you were pretty inactive over the break (like me...guilty lol) it can be a bit hard to get back into the flow of things. But a couple videos of amazing dancers and you'll be right back to the Theraband ;)
Her feet. O.o
I know I posted this video before but it never gets old! Amazing choreography, incredible dancer!
If you need a seriously major boost (like I did teehee), I found the full movie of First Position on YouTube this morning! :D Also, I found a website I think you guys might like. They have a lot of nutrition tips and exercise tutorials, check them out! Fit4Dancers
I've been looking at skirts for a while. I think it's time to be a big girl and graduate from Soffes lol. I bought this skirt last week, and it arrived Saturday. It's super pretty, but the waist isn't as elastic as I thought it'd be. It fits....if I pull it on over my head. Ain't nobody got time fo dat! XD I'm returning it, and maybe I can get something more elastic and maybe less sheer this time. I don't think I'd like wrap skirts; I like the flowy, swishy skirts, like circle skirts, and I think I'd rather wear it at my hips. I've been looking at pull-on skirts and these are the ones I'm considering. Mirella Pull-on Skirt Body Wrappers Roll-down Waist Skirt Watercolours Pull-on Skirt
I originally wanted this one in Nightime Floral, but Body Wrappers discontinued it in that color :( I'm still thinking about getting it in Luscious Blooms instead, but I don't know if the M/L is the same as the M/T (which was the size of the skirt I'm returning). Body Wrappers Circle Skirt
Please help me choose! Tell me if you've tried any of these skirts, or if anyone you know has one! Or you could simply offer your opinion haha ;) Also, if you were looking for a skirt too, I found these gorgeous wrap skirts on Etsy. Soooo pretty :D Thanks guys, keep dancing!
