Cinderella Rehearsals and Semester Projects

Rehearsals for Cinderella started on the 11th of this months and are every Saturday.  They run rehearsals from 9 - 5, but we only need to go for the times for the rehearsal of our parts.  The schedule changes every week, though, so we highlight our schedules for our times, and we also need to know where (Studio1, Studio2, Auditorium, or Lower School Studio).  They have two warm-up classes in the morning, one at 9am and one at 11:30am, and we go to the one before our first rehearsal.  So if I have an 11am rehearsal, I'd go to the 9am class.  If I have a 1pm rehearsal, I'd go to the 11:30am class.  I'm a court lady, and we're only in two scenes, so we have a lot of time between classes and rehearsals.  We mostly do homework, sit in the hallway and talk, or watch other rehearsals.  Yesterday, we had an hour and 15 minute break, so even I bought my lacrosse stick and practiced a bit!  Yesterday's rehearsal was also the first rehearsal for the court men too, so we finally got to see how the court dance is actually going to work out.

For second semester, we have two projects.  The first one is for this quarter, and we have to make up at barre and center combination and teach it to the class.  For next quarter, we have to choreograph a 1 - 2 minute routine to any song of our choice.  I'm really excited/nervous about this one!  I'm still working on choosing a song; I'm trying to narrow down my list from about 30 songs.  We're allowed to mix ballet with another style too, so I'm probably going to do lyrical/ballet.

Lacrosse season is starting up next week, so posts might be less often and shorter.  Hopefully I'll learn some new stretches or exercises to share with you all, though.  Keep dancing!

New Year Goals and Workout

Happy New Year!  At the beginning of last year, I posted my goals for 2013.  I didn't complete all of them, but I did make good progress in certain areas.  Some of them I did complete, but then lost because I didn't practice consistently.  So my goals for 2014 are to keep motivated, keep practicing through the summer, and to work hard to get as strong as I can before I start pointe in the fall.  Comment below what your goals for this year are, and what goals you finished last year!

To start off this year, I did a workout today with these two videos.  It was really fun, but hard.  If you want to try it, do the cardio video first and then legs video, and if you really want to challenge yourself you can do the cardio video again after legs!  Let me know if you try it!  Also, Blogilates has a ton of other workout videos so check them out if you're interested.

Happy New Year, and keep dancing!

Bloch Prolite II Hybrid Slipper Review

Just after classes started this fall, I got the Bloch Prolite II Hybrid ballet slipper, so I've had them for maybe 4 months now.  They are leather and split sole with a canvas arch insert.  At first, I didn't like them so much, but now that I've gotten used to them, I love them!  They're not too different from the Bloch Dansoft full-soles I'd been wearing.  I like them better than the Dansofts because the leather is a little less thick, so the pleating under the toes isn't thick and lumpy (which was really uncomfortable to relevé on).  It also clings to my foot better so you can actually see that I'm pointing!  So if you're looking for a new pair of flats, I totally recommend these!  A few other girls in my class also have these and we all love them!

2013 Wishlist

Exactly last year, I posted my dance wishlist.  This is an updated version, my wished-for items of this year.  It's a lot smaller than last year's; some things I have now, and some things I've found a cheaper alternative.

Dancewear:
Wrap Skirt from JanetsStore
Gg Skirt
Capezio Camisole V-Back Leotard 
Bloch Satin Trim Halter Leotard
Sansha Alicante Halter Leotard
And you can never have to many tights, am I right?  My favorites are Theatricals Convertible Tights and Body Wrappers Low Rise Convertible Tights.
My friends have been teaching me some little tap steps, so I really want tap shoes
Other:
First Position Ballet Documentary
The Ballet Companion by Eliza Gaynor Minden
Girl in Motion by Miriam Wenger-Landis
I-FLEX JR. Stretch Unit

What are some of your most wished-for dance items this year?

Winter Break

So much has happened since I last posted.  I didn't realize that the last time I posted was in October...it feels like it was just a couple weeks ago!  I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.  This post is going to be a giant catch-up post, and I'll try to remember everything that's happened since I last posted.  I'll try to keep it in chronological order!

They put out the cast list for Cinderella!  I'm a "lady of the court", not sure what that's supposed to be, but I'm really happy that I got cast for both the A and B showings.  Rehearsals start sometime in early January and we've already been fitted for our costumes.  Our costumes are a bright pinkish-purple with romantic tutus and sequined corsets, really pretty (and fluffy hehe).  Some of my friends are also court ladies, and I convinced one of my guy friends to sign up, so rehearsals are going to be super fun!

We had our vocab test, which included a performance section that I did not know about.  So it was the day after the written test, and my teacher hands me a piece of paper and says, "You have a few minutes to practice, I'll come get up when it's time!"  And I was just standing there like "what is this."  Apparently we were supposed to learn the combination that was on the paper then perform it.  For not knowing what I was doing, I don't think I did too bad; 94% overall for the written and performance tests.

So that was all good, but I kinda pulled my hamstring.  Again.  Did I post about that last times I pulled my hamstring?  I don't know if I did, but this is the 4th time it's happened since I started ballet (left three times, right once).  This time, it happened in class, during an exam.  One of our combinations was a barre stretch that ended with split.  I went into the split and it was fine until I tried to sink a little lower, but then my hip sorta popped.  When I talked to my teacher about it later and mentioned how it's a rather common occurrence, she recommended that I go talk to the athletic trainer.  We have an athletic trainer on campus (one of the many things I love about my school, they have everything on campus), so I went with a friend to talk to him.  He said I've been overworking by hamstrings by stretching so much, so I need to work on strengthening them and stretch them less aggressively (not exactly what he said, a shorter approximation).

Not really ballet related (meaning: you may skip this paragraph if you're on this ballet blog to read about ballet), but I finished my first semester of school ever!  Well, not ever, but does 1st grade really count after 9 years of homeschooling?  I took my first midterms last week, and they were surprisingly fun.  By the time we had to start studying for midterms, I was like 510% done with it all, so I just reviewed for Physics, since it's pretty much the only class where I care about my grade.  It actually turned out pretty well.  While most other people were stressing and doing all-nighters to cram, I just got lots of sleep and watched a lot of Doctor Who.  The tests were soo easy, I'm glad I didn't waste time studying.  I got an A on my Algebra II midterm (my first A in that class!!), but I'll have to wait until Winter Break is over to see how I did on the rest of them.

I know this was a really big post, but I guess we're all caught up now!  I'll probably be posting like crazy for the next couple of days.  I'm really sorry that I left for so long, and I don't want to stay away for so long again, no matter how mad life gets.  I have a personal goal to post at least once a month, if not more, and I plan on sticking to it!  Ballerinas, comment below, tell me what's been going on, how your classes have been going!  Is your studio starting recital prep soon?  Keep dancing!

Big Exam Grades, Pointe, and Cinderella Update! And Tip for Fast Improvement

Last week we had the big ballet exam.  The BIG one.  It was written and physical, over two class periods.  We needed to know the 8 positions of the body, the pas de bourrees, the Cechetti and Vaganova arabesques, the Cechetti and Vaganova walls, the 5 things that make a step happen, and the 3 types of releases.  Being a master procrastinator, I didn't get around to learning or memorizing any of this until two days before the tests.  Oops.  I did very well though; 96/100 for my written and 48/50 for my physical.  This boosted my class grade about 4 points.  Yay!

So a few weeks earlier, I was talking to my ballet teacher about pointe classes.  They aren't a part of the ballet classes, but an extra after school class.  She said I could have joined the pointe class this year but I missed the time to sign up, so I can sign up next year.  So guys, pointe next year!!  Unless I decide to join my friend's dance class outside of school this year-- they're starting pointe, too.  I'll have another update about what I decide sometime later.

This Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we didn't have class because the teacher's were at a convention.  But on Monday and Tuesday we did have class, and the people who signed up for Cinderella got fitted for costumes.  I don't know when they're going to decide the cast, though.  Our teacher mentioned that they needed extra boys (not to dance, just sort of like props), so I've been trying to talk all my guys friends into signing up.....that hasn't been going too well. *sigh*

With class every day, I noticed how fast I'm improving.  Practicing every day, stretching every day can help a lot.  Even just taking 10 seconds to touch your toes every day and in just a few weeks you'll see the difference.  So here's my challenge to you; pick one thing that takes less than five minutes, that you can do anywhere, and do it every single day.  It's so easy that you don't have any excuse!  Let me know if you try this, and keep me updated on the results!  Keep dancing!  :)

Exams And Grades

Hey guys!  I know, I've been gone for a while, but things are so busy.  I won't be able to post as much this year as I used to :(  So anyways, we had our first ballet exam about 3 weeks, and another last Friday.  They were both on the barre routines we'd been learning. I got my grades back; 84% on the first, 86% on the second.  I'm kinda disappointed, I thought I had done better, but I'm happy that I got feedback too.  Here's some of the corrections I got: "Don't forget to cross your 5th esp. to the back.  Your arabesque need to be "up" as well as forward - keep shoulders square."

We have a really big exam coming up in October, a written test this time.  We've been learning the eight positions of the body, and the pas de bourrees.  For the test, we need to know the names, how to do them, and the definitions.  It's all a lot to process!

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!