First Pointe Class!

Hello all!  So yesterday I had my first pointe class!  I'm taking Pointe I at my school, once a week after school.  The class is an hour long, and it's pretty small, with only 10 girls.  Two of the other girls are in my regular class during the school day, but all of the others are middle schoolers.  It was homecoming week at our school, so the other high schoolers and I were all decked out in face paint and spiritwear, which was pretty funny.
In the first half of class, we warmed up in our flats, then we learned how to tie our pointe shoes.  Then we went to the barre and did a bunch of releves and echappes.  It was pretty basic, nothing too hard.  My toes hurt, but it was more uncomfortable than actually painful.  It was really fun and I can't wait for next week!  Here are some tips for you first pointe class:

1. Remember to cut your toenails!
2. Get to class a little early
3. Check and double-check that you have your shoes and your toe pads
4. Convertible tights are a must!
5. Don't stress about getting everything right.  It's your first class, you have the whole year to learn and improve.

Comment below if you're starting pointe this year!  Keep dancing!

First Pointe Shoes + Ankle Stretching Tips!!!!

Hey guys!  So....I got my pointe shoes today!!!!

Last Friday, two other girls in my class and I were approved for pointe!  Today, my teacher was at a local dance store to help us get fitted, so a girl in my class and I went.  We both got really lucky; she got the first pair she tried on, and I got the third pair I tried.  My biggest struggle was the padding; they gave me Jr. Ouch Pouches to try at first, but the seam across the toes bothered me.  They'd decided I didn't need a toe spacer because my toes are straight, but they gave me one to try to see if it would relieve the pressure on the seam.  It did, but not very much, so then I tried the Pillows for Pointe Super Gellows, which are seamless, with the toe spacers and it was a lot better.

The first pair I tried were by Mirella, not sure of the name, and they just looked wrong; the second pair were by Bloch but were too narrow; and the third pair were the ones I got: Bloch European Balance, size 6.5 XXX.  They make my feet look waaaayy better than they actually are, and they're pretty comfortable (I mean, for pointe shoes).  But I was really surprised by how much it hurt the first time I went up, but it hurts less every time.  It's something you get used to, I guess.

When I got approved, my teacher said that I'm strong, but my ankles aren't very flexible, so I might have trouble getting on top of my box.  And, as you can see, I can't quite get on top of the box.

That's okay though, she said if I stretch my ankles twice a day, they'll improve fast.  Here are some ankles stretching videos you all might find useful:

So, our first class isn't until late October, but I sewed my ribbons and elastics as soon as I got home today because I just couldn't wait!!  Besides these pictures, I'm not going to go up on pointe again until our first class...no use in getting hurt before class even starts.  Anyone else starting pointe soon?  Comment below!!  I'll update again after the first class, but until then, keep dancing!

Cinderella + More (Extended "Well I've been gone for 3 months" Edition 100th Post!)

Well, I've been gone for 3 months.  I actually thought I'd posted last month!  Anyways, a lot has happened with ballet since January so I'll try to summarize.

First, let's cover the show.  Last week was performance week.  We had two videotapings on Monday and Tuesday, then our four live performances on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  It was actually really hard.  We would leave our school classes and go straight to a ballet class (on Friday we were also dismissed from our last period class for opening night) and then we'd be there until around 9pm.  By Thursday morning's show, I was already super tired and ready for it to be over.  I'm also kinda upset that I missed a whole week of lacrosse practice and a game, but I did manage to make it to one practice and a game.  And we all have a ton of schoolwork to make up, since there was basically no time to study.

So before each show we had an hour warm up class taught by a senior, then dinner in the cafeteria, and then an hour to get our make up and costumes on.  Since I'm only in Act II, we also had the entire Act I (about 30min + 10min intermission) to get ready.  I ended up helping a lot of people with their buns; not counting my own, I did about five or six every show, before starting my make up.  So usually, I barely made it on stage on time.  Life is hard when you're the best in the bun game ;)

Friday night was our opening night, so before we had dinner, our teachers read us some emails from the alumni.  It's a tradition every year during the ballet, I've learned; dancers that have graduated write encouraging letters to the cast.  Everyone was crying and hugging and we all just felt like a family.  Then all the seniors in the ballet gave their speeches, since this was their last ballet with the school.  I didn't cry until one of the guys that was volunteering gave his speech, the last speech, and it was exactly what I needed to hear.  After the letters and speeches, we were all ready to dance.  The rest of the shows went great and even though I'm really glad this week is over, I can't wait for next year's show.

Oh, and tutus are a pain.

Now besides the show...we were selecting our courses for next year, and I chose to take Intermediate Ballet again.  I didn't ask my teacher if I could take Advanced because I'm not sure if I want to.  I can always change later, of course.  Here are the pros and cons of Advanced vs. the pros and cons of Beg/Int.
Advanced
Pros:
Honors credit
Kinesiology and dance history
New things to learn
Cons:
Actual tests (like with paper and a pencil)
Double period every other day
Much larger class
Choreography
Different (more strict) teacher

Beg/Int
Pros:
Same teacher
Class everyday
Familiarity with course (easier during a tough junior year)
Very small class
Only dancing/terms (no tests)
Won't get in trouble on days I don't feel like dancing
Cons:
Learning same things
Regular credit

Opinions?

Sometime last year, I posted about starting pointe next fall right?  Okay, let's just assume I did.  So I was talking to one of my friends who's planning to start pointe next fall too and she mentioned that she's going to start over the summer at her dance intensive.  I'm probably going to go to the same dance camp I went to last year, so I'm thinking I can probably start pointe there!  We talked about getting pointe shoes together and I'm super excited for summer!

So this is about it, the end of this never-ending post.  I hope my readers are still there; comment below if you've had a ballet performance recently, or about your pointe plans!  Or just say hi!

Oh, and funny story...I missed bows during the first recording.  Oops.  Keep dancing guys!

First Ballet Exam

On Friday, we had our first ballet exam.  It was just a quiz on the barre combinations we've been learning for the last week.  I think I did pretty well, besides messing up on battements.  I'm not sure when we're going to get our results, but soon, hopefully.  I got some new ballet slippers last Sunday that I finally finished sewing the elastics on, so I wore them for the exam and class on Friday.  They seem nice so far, they feel like my full-soles but softer and they fit better.  They are Bloch Pro-Lite II Hyrbid, I'll post a review of them in a few weeks.

This week, we have no school Monday, half day Wednesday, and no school Thursday so we only get to dance on Tuesday and Friday.  Wednesday is only half day, so the periods will be too short to have enough time to get changed and have a reasonable length class.  Instead, we're just going to stay in our clothes and learn the eight positions of the body.  I'm not sure what this is...we learned the first four positions last week, but I can't remember any of them (oops).  I'm going to try to stretch Tuesday and Thursday, even though I have class Tuesday.  Lacrosse tryouts are coming up in January, so I've started running to get ready.  Running can make you lose flexibility, so I'm going to need to stretch a lot more, outside of class.

So, it's like 1:30am.  I meant to write this post last week when I had nothing to do...but now that I'm trying to finish this physics assignment, it seemed like a good time to write it.  Good night (or good morning?) ballerinas!

Also, I extended the poll in case you didn't get a chance to vote!

First Class!

School started this week, as did ballet.  We started on Wednesday, but we only actually got to dance on Thursday and Friday, because the first day we just got our lockers and talked about the class.  At my school, we have nine periods which are 45 minutes each.  Since we have five minutes to change before and after class, that leaves us with a 35 minute class.  Not very long, no, just enough time for therapeutic exercises, barre, stretching, and a center combination or two.  I don't mind though because I feel like I'll improve more by dancing everyday, even if it's not a full class.

Since ballet is 7th period and I have 6th period free, I spend the first 40 minutes in the library doing homework, then I walk to the dance studio and change in the locker room with about 15 minutes left before class starts (including 5 min class-change time).  That gives me plenty of time to get dressed, stretch a little, and talk with my other classmates who have 6th free.

On Wednesday, we talked about what to expect in class.  We learn a new therapeutic barre routine and some combinations that we will repeat for two week, then learn new ones.  So we have 10 classes to memorize and perfect the combinations, which I really like.  We also have ballet exams.  I'm kind of excited about these, I feel like they will help me realize what I need to work on and I can improve even more!

The dress code is pretty simple; any solid color leotard, pink tights, pink ballet flats, no warm-ups (except Wednesdays, which are ballet skirt days).  I don't really like the "no warm-ups" rule, because since the class is only 35 minutes and the studio is freezing, I'm just getting warm by the time it's over.  But I like it too because this is the first time I've worn a leotard and tights without shorts over it and it makes my legs look longer and I look leaner!  If you've always wear shorts too, you should definitely try class without them one day!

I'm really glad to have the opportunity to dance here.  The teachers are amazing, and it definitely shows in their students.  I heard them talking about some of the summer intensives the students went too; Kirov, Joffrey, Atlanta, etc, and I just kinda choked on my water.  Like, whoa.  I thought this was just a school dance program.  But it's obviously waaay more than that.  I already signed up for Cinderella in March since the only requirement was to agree to attend every rehearsal (beginning in January, every Saturday from 9am to 5pm).  I had this nagging feeling as I signed the sheet that I was signing my life away...but anything for dance, right?  Keep dancing, ballerinas!  Comment below if you've started your fall classes already :)

Summer Dance - Day 4

Today's schedule
Floor Barre
Ballet Barre
Ballet Center
Lunch Break
Tap
Acro

So today was great!  It started off with floor barre, like on Monday, so I know I'm going to be hurting tomorrow.  I hadn't had the teacher we had for both ballet classes today in any previous classes, but I really liked her.  We got to try a lot of new things and she gave lots of corrections.  Also, there were only three other girls in class today.  I'm not sure what happened to the rest of them, there are usually between six and nine other girls, but not today.  Not complaining, I love smaller classes!

Today was my first time trying acro.  It was fun, but I don't think I'll keep taking it.  I mean, I might take a class occasionally, but not consistently or weekly.  We started off real small, with bridges and bridges on our knees.  Then we moved on to backbends.  I tried, but I had this feeling I was going to slip and crack my head even with a wall behind me and the teacher holding my back.  She said I didn't have to do it today if I didn't want to, so after a couple more tries I just stopped.  Then we did some stuff across the floor.  I tried to crab walk, but I half-failed.  But I half-succeeded too ;)  There wasn't anything I completely "got" until we did the side round cartwheels.  I'm not sure that's the actual name though.  Anyways, I loved those.  I also really liked teeter-tots and cartwheels.  My cartwheels to the right were good, but my left side was horrendous.  Oh well, practice makes permanent!

More Romeo and Juliet Pics!

I found some more pictures from Romeo and Juliet that some of the dancers posted on Facebook :D Some are from the dress rehearsal or backstage.

This is the balcony scene.  It was really pretty, but you can't see the stars here :(

The bedroom pas de deux.

See, I'm downloading random people's pictures from FB to share with you guys!  Cuz sharing is caring and friendship is magic ;)

Sorry for the lack of helpful tips in the last couple of weeks.  I've been working on this really huge post for you guys...I mean really huge :O  I should have it finished and up by tomorrow, or at least the end of this week :)  Keep dancing!  Btw, there's a new poll, please vote!

Romeo and Juliet

Saturday night was Romeo and Juliet!  I went with my mommy ^_^  I got some pictures of the theater before it started.  I realllllly wanted to get a picture of the balcony scene, it was so pretty, but I didn't think I could get a good pic without flash.

We got good seats, we were the first two seats in row N of A-Z.  The people in the two seats didn't show up until the first intermission, and didn't come back after second intermission, so we had a perfect view of the  stage.  The ladies in the seats next to us were really nice.  It was their first time at a ballet, too.

So, about the show...it was brilliant! :D  I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't Macmillan's choreo, but the music was by Prokofiev so that was good.  They had a former student (who is now with ABT) as Juliet, and a guest dancer from Houston Ballet as Romeo.  They were good (Romeo's pirouettes were fantastic), but Mercutio was amazing!  I almost started crying when he died.  Not because it was sad.  It was hilarious!  He kept getting up and grabbing his sword like "no, no, I'm okay...really, I've got this" and he'd start toward Tybalt dancing/walking like he was drunk.  Then he'd trip and drop his sword, and so he'd abandon it and go kiss one of the harlots.  Then it was sad when he actually died, because we didn't see him anymore :(  There were a lot of funny parts actually.  At the part where Romeo was kicked out of the Montague's party, Juliet goes up to her father, crossed her arms, and stomps her foot then runs offstage.  It was so funny, and it was loud too because of her pointe shoes.  And every time Paris would try to kiss her hand, she'd bouree super fast and stiff to the other side of the stage lol!  It was a really great show :D  A girl I know was one of the harlots, she did really good.  I saw some other friends there, too.  Oh, and I ended up wearing a sort of casual dress and heels.  Some people showed in jeans and t-shirts, even shorts.  Some showed up in suit and tie, and floor-length gowns.  Tell me about your first ballet experience!  Comment below :)

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!

Class Update

Class this week was sooo fun!  We learn some new things and did lots of turns, which are my favorite.  The classroom was warm, so we stretched before class instead of after barre.  After barre, we learned this new turn, but I can't remember the name at all!  It's super fun, it's like chaines only you bring the foot you're not turning on up to passé.  So it's like right passé, left passé, right passé, left passé, while turning.  Anyone know the name of it?  Anyways, we spent awhile working on our turns; we did pirouettes, arabesque turns, and attitude turns.  After that, we practiced our tour jetés and we learned fouettés.  No, not the turns, the jump.  But everyone was so excited when our teacher said fouettés, she taught us the turns too!  She said we would at least need a double pirouette to be able to stay up, and I'm the only person in my class that has consistent doubles yet, so I gave it a go.  And ohhhh my gosh!  They look really hard, but they aren't!  And they're so fun!  I only did two or three (I forgot to count...lol fail) but fouettés are amazing and I will definitely be practicing :D  After running through our holiday dance a couple times, class was over.  It was a really great class :)  I hope you guys are having great classes too!

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.

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!