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!

Summer Dance - Day 5

I realize that Day 5, Friday, was several days ago, yes.  Unfortunately, I got sick on Friday afternoon and have been pretty useless all weekend.  I started feeling it sometime after lunch, but I stayed through contemporary and hip-hop because it was just a sore throat at first.

Day 5 Schedule
Stretching/Recovery
Ballet
Lyrical
Lunch
Contemporary
Hip-Hop

Stretching was very interesting.  We learned a lot of different ways to stretch and which stretches with help with certain things like turnout, arabesque, etc.  I also learned that I have really loose hamstrings (I find that hard to believe...but don't argue with the teacher), and a well-streched psoas.  Therefore I should have no problem with high extensions, right?  Wrong.  Gotta work on that leg strength.  Also, the only thing holding me back from my front splits are my hip flexors.  I always stretch them on the sides, but not much in the front.  There's so much to fix!

Ballet and lyrical were really fun!  We had the same teacher a room for both, so we did barre for around an hour then center for about 15 minutes, then we learned some lyrical choreography in the remaining time.  I was really proud of myself, the choreo remembering part of my brain was on!  I remembered most of the routine we learned in lyrical, then after lunch in contemporary, I remembered most of choreography we learned there too!  In contemporary, we learned a piece to an instrumental song, which I've always wanted to do :D

Overall, it was a great week and I really hope I can go back next summer.  I feel like a better dancer, even in just the five days.  I loved trying other styles and learning my strengths and weakness.  I have a whole new list of things I need to work on now, but that's good.  Having small goals to work toward and specific things to improve are why I love ballet.

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!

Summer Dance - Day 3

Today's schedule
Conditioning
Ballet
Zumba
Lunch Break
Contemporary
Hip-hop

Not much to say for day three.  We had just gotten to our second activity, ballet, but I wasn't feeling good so I called my mom to come pick me up.  I'm not really sure what happened, but I didn't really have enough energy to move anything.  I sat out of ballet and the first 15 minutes or so of Zumba, but I was feeling a bit better so I finished the rest of Zumba.  Zumba was really awesome and fun, so I'm glad I didn't have to miss out on that.  Conditioning was really fun, too.  We had about 12 different strengthening activities set up around the room, and we all had partners.  Every two minutes, we would switch activities.  It was really good, I'll do a post later about some of the exercises I've learned.

My mom picked me up just as Zumba was ending and took me home.  I felt a lot better after I showered, ate, and slept, so I'm going to try going tomorrow.  I'm really excited for tomorrow too, because we have two hours of ballet in the morning and in the afternoon I'm doing acro for the first time!

Also, does anyone have a type of ballet slipper that they really love and recommend?  I'm looking for a new pair, so if anyone has recommendations that would help so much :)  I got some new leotards too, so I'm going to put together a few reviews next week.  Keep dancing!

Summer Dance - Days 1 and 2

Well.  The last two days were my first two days of dance camp.  Let's just jump right in and start this post off with how sore I am.  Yesterday, we started off with floor barre.  That was yesterday at 9am.  Today, 11pm and MY ABS ARE STILL DYING!!!!  Seriously, if you ever get the chance to take a floor barre class, you better jump all over that!  So our schedule for the last two days has been as follows, each an hour long:

Monday
Floor Barre
Ballet
Jazz Hip-Hop (Jazz teacher was absent so we had hip-hop instead)
Lunch Break
Contemporary
Hip Hop

Tuesday
Pilates
Ballet
Tap
Lunch Break
Leaps and Turns
Jazz/Lyrical

In ballet, hip-hop, contemporary, and tap, they're getting ready for their summer showcase next week.  I really like how they are teaching here; they don't focus too much time on the routine, and when they're working on it they encourage the girls who aren't in the showcase to still participate.  Some of the teachers have even retaught it from the beginning for us new students.  I hated my last studio during recital time because the entire class would become rehearsal and the girls who weren't in it were just sitting bored.

Plus, I really love the choreo we've been learning for hip-hop, contemporary, and tap.  In hip-hop, we have Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke (that's my jam!), and in contemporary we have The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice (also a favorite).  In tap, I don't know the song and I don't have tap shoes, but I did it in bare feet and it was still really fun.  I might even have to invest in a pair of tap shoes ;)

So yeah, it's been really fun!  I'm still terrible at hip-hop, but better...slightly better.  That makes me happy :)  I still have trouble remembering choreography, but I'm working on it.  I just really need to focus.  Three more days of camp!  I'm exhausted already, but I'll try to make the most of it.  I can't wait until Thursday when we have 2 hours of ballet :D  Has your summer intensive ended already, or is still going?  I'd love to hear about your summer dance, and good luck with whatever goals you have!

Summer Dance And More News!

Hey guys!  It has been a long time since I last posted, I know, but there's been so much going this summer and not much dancing. Buuut, my summer dance camp is starting tomorrow! :D  I'm so excited to get back to dance, I haven't really danced since recital back in June :O  During my occasional stretching sessions, I noticed that I haven't lost much flexibility.  I'm still just as close to (or as far from, depends how you look at it) my splits as I was during the dance season.  Yay!  I really hope to close those last two or three inches on my front splits this week.

I originally planned on doing two weeks of dance camp, but I was volunteering as a counselor at a music camp and was having so much fun with the other counselors that I decided to volunteered for two more weeks than I'd originally planned.  I have some plans in August that I can't change or work around, so I can only do one week of camp :(  That's only five days, but I'll take what I can get.  I start tomorrow, and I'll try to post updates everyday during this week.

Also, if you've been following my blog for a while (I saw I had some new followers, welcome!), you know that I am homeschooled.  And you also know that I didn't really like my last studio and was looking to change after recital.  Now you're probably thinking, "Yes, Jordan, we know....but what do these have to do with each other?"  Well, I applied to a private school in my area, and I was accepted with a scholarship.  I love homeschooling, but I've been homeschooled for almost 10 years and I think this would be good for me, so I'm going to do it.  The best part is that the school offers ballet classes as an option for Physical Education!  I might be taking ballet everyday and getting credits for it!  *fist pump*

That's all the news for now, but I'll hopefully have another post tomorrow.  Keep dancing!

What Happens When You Don't Practice....

Hey there, ballerinas!  How's summer been?  I hope you've been practicing more than I have...I tried to turn a pirouette today and failed.  Miserably.  It's been 4 weeks since dance ended and since I've really practiced.  I was getting quads, now I need to work on my singles again *sigh*  And it's been 3 weeks since I last stretched (sat in my right split that night woohoo!), and now touching my toes almost hurts.  Take me as an example, keep practicing!  Don't lose everything you've worked for!

This week was my first week of volunteering as a counselor at camp, so I've been really busy!  I'm at camp for 9 and a half hours every weekday so I'm still trying to work out where to fit in dance and lacrosse practice around it.  I really love it though, so I signed up for 2 more weeks!  I have dance camp the week after it ends, I cannot wait ^_^  Next week, I want to start doing a couple of Pilates workouts each day and stretching.  I hear Pilates is really good cross-training for ballet, and you can never stretch enough right?  Getting my splits is on my summer bucket list and I plan to finish the whole thing!  Happy summer and keep dancing :)

Recital, Summer, Life.

So, as you've probably noticed, I haven't been posting as much.  That's for two reasons: it's the end of the dance year, and summer is starting.  So here's a really quick update about dance, summer, and life.

This week in particular I won't be on much.  As I've said before, I am homeschooled.  But I've decided to apply to private schools for next school year.  I've been studying tons of math (my weak spot) so I can hopefully pass the entrance exams.  Until all this is through, I won't be online much.

For summer dance, I've decided to do one week instead of two.  I'm paying for it myself, which is going to take a chunk out of my savings.  So by cutting off one week, I have about $150 to spend elsewhere this summer.  Which I'm going to need, since my best friend and I decided to write summer bucket lists!

I'm probably not going to be posting much this summer :(  I will try to keep up a few motivation posts and stretching tips over the summer, but I can't promise that.  For most of June and July, I'm volunteering at a camp, which is all day and every day for 5 weeks.  The rest of my time is going to lacrosse practice, schoolwork, and finishing that bucket list.  But if anything significant in the dance area happens, I will post.  Also, if you need to ask me something, or just want to chat, kik me! @totorosfriend82  I'll reply as soon as I can :)  I will be posting the entire week that I'm at my dance intensive, sometime in late July.  Updates everyday then, plus all the tips and corrections that I receive!  I'll also post more in August, when the dance year gets started again and I'm trying out other studios.  And when fall comes, things will be back to normal :D

Well....I guess this is goodbye.  Just for the summer D:  But I will post this weekend about how recital goes.  Keep dancing, ballerinas!

Update(s)

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 :)