Tips and Tricks #2

So this is a tip that I am still trying to master myself... SNACKS IN THE BALLET BAG! It seems so easy, and possibly unnecessary, but I tell you what, there have been so many times that I wish I could take a quick bite of a granola bar in between technique and pointe class. My hunger during class might be more than some, because I go to ballet straight from work and usually have no time for a light meal in between. Which means that when I get out of class around between 8 an 9 pm, I am practically starving. There have been times that I am so hungry right after class I will race to the nearest Whataburger or Wienerschnitzel (fast food  joints) and stuff myself full with burgers and hot dogs...Gross, I know! But I can't help it. 

I vow to the world now, that I will never again forget to put a granola bar or fruit in my ballet bag! 

Male Leotards

Ooooooook, ladies, I think we can all agree that it is fun to have some boys/men in class with us. First of all there is a very slight chance to practice some minor partnering skills (this does not happen often at my studio because they have a separate pas de deux class) and second it is just exciting to see some of the different jumps and spins that men do! A co-ed class just has a different feeling to it.

There are two guys that come regularly to the Adult Ballet classes that I attend. One of the guys wears a white t-shirt and black shorts. The other guy, however, wears what I can only describe as a male loetard! Please understand that I am not trying to make fun of or criticize him; he is an extremely nice guy and a wonderful dancer! I just want to share.

He has the same style of leotard in a couple of color variations, but the one he normally wears has large vertical purple and grey stripes all over! The shape/style of the leotard reminds me of wrestling uniforms? Thin tank straps and a really low front that definitely exposes chest hair and the occasional nip slip, if you know what I mean. Maybe it is an old wrestling uniform and not a leotard at all! Anyways, who ever said that only the girls can have pretty things to wear in ballet! More men should express their personal sense of style in ballet! Unless, of course, there is a dress code at your school. Then you should definitely, ALWAYS,  adhere to the dress code.

At my studio the adult ballet class has no dress code so there are always lots of colors and skirts and leg-warmers! It is like walking into a pastel rainbow. All of the other classes require black leotards, pink tights, and no pretty skirts. Personally I hate  not wearing a skirt, but I understand that it can be easier to make sure you have proper alignment and everything with no skirt on.. so I'll take my skirt off for those technique classes. 

P.S. I have been drafting up a lot of posts over the week, but just haven't had time to finalize them because I have been so busy. My goal is to get them all up this weekend! =)

Be colorful!

Quote of the Day

Tips and Tricks #1

Try Spin Pins
I don't know about y'all, but I always take pride in trying to have a pretty ballet bun. I especially like experimenting with different parts, braids, and accessories! I might be twenty-two, but I still love to wear a bow in my hair. However, I always struggled to  make a bun strong enough to endure any number of pirouettes in class. Even after stuffing my bun with what felt like 1/2 pound of bobby pins, my hair would still fall out in the middle of class!

Finally I decided to spend a few extra dollars on these crazy looking spiral pins and I am so glad that I did! I bought Goody brand, blonde 'Spin Pins' at Walmart for $3 or $4. Only two pins come in a pack, but after figuring out how best to use the pins, two is really enough! Granted, I still us a few regular bobby pins with the spin pins, but my bun hasn't fallen out once since I tried them! 

So this is generally how I make a quick and easy bun for class:

1. I pull my hair into a tight pony. I like to used 2 elastic bands to hold my hair up because it is pretty long and thick.

2. Twist the pony tail to the end. (not too tight though)

3. I wrap the twisted pony around the elastics to make a cinnamon bun shape.

4. Holding the cinnamon bun shape with one hand, I us the other hand to place a hair net over the bun. 

5. I pull the slack and looseness out of the net and wrap all of the extra tight around the bun. 

6. I put one spin pin at the top of the bun and one at the bottom of the bun. 

7. I use 4 or 5 regular bobby pins around the rest of my bun. 

Finally, if I am feeling particularly fancy, or frizzy, I use hair spray to clean up all the fly away hairs. 

Practice

Lately I have been trying to go to yoga classes to help relax and stretch my body. The yoga teacher said something while we we holding a downward dog position (isn't that the most awkward name for a pose?) that kind of stuck in my mind and resonated with me. I hope you find it as insightful as I did. She said that 

"This practice is not for mastery. This practice is for practice. Mastery comes later." 

At first this didn't sound quite right to me because growing up I always heard people saying:

"Practice Makes Perfect" and "Perfect practice for a perfect performance!"

But demanding perfectness from everything is impossible and exhausting! The next night at ballet classes I approached the combinations with the idea that my yoga teacher talked about. I wasn't as hard on myself when I messed up and I wasn't worried about every single step. I found that I was able to relax a lot more and really dance! Not to say that we should all go to class and not try at all, but that we appreciate practice for being what it really is... just practice.

practice:

1.

  a. carry out, apply

  b. to do or perform often, customarily, or habitually

2.

  a. to be professionally engaged in

  b. to train by repeated exercises

 So , I guess what I am trying to say is that we should all be a little easier on ourselves in class. Every practice does not need to be perfect and mastery (or as close as you can get to mastering ballet) comes slowly over time. I know that a lot of y'all figured this out a long time ago, but it really helped me feel good about myself and all of the progress I have made in ballet. 

Lillian

Blue Bird Variation

Whew! My entire body is so sore! Tonight I had a 1 1/2 hour technique class followed by 1 hour of pointe/variations class. It was a very small class tonight (me and two other girls) so we got a lot of individual attention. We learned the Blue Bird variation from the Sleeping Beauty! I've never learned a variation from a classic ballet before! I really enjoyed the light and airy nature of the Blue Bird solo. I can't wait to practice it again.

Ballet Bag Explosion

EVERYTHING from inside my Ballet Bag!

Technically, if I'm honest, I don't actually keep all four of my leotards in my ballet bag. They are usually in the laundry hamper. However, this is a mainly a list of all of my ballet related items that I usually take to class with me. And, YES, this all fits in the seashell bag!

Seashell bag:

• 4 leotards
• 3 ballet skirts (the blue one is my favorite)
• 1 pair of ballet slippers
• new pointe shoes (Russian Pointe Almaz V-cut size: 37)
• old pointe shoes (Grishko 2007 size: 4 1/2 XX)
• 4 pink tights 
• 3 thera-bands of different strength
• 2 sets of leg warmers 
• tiny rolling pin (a much cheaper option for "rolling out" sore muscles than The Stick. I think my little rolling pin cost $3 at the grocery store, which is great compared to upwards of $20 you could spend on The Stick.)

Smaller Fish bag:I keep this bag inside of the other bag to keep all the little items in one place

• nail clippers
• oragel (for when I have bruised toenails)
• extra bobby points, hair ties, hair nest, ect. 
• tampons/pads (we all need them ladies!)
• 2 sets of toe pads
• 1 set of toe spacers

Chasing the Nutcracker

I want to keep this first post short and sweet, so I'm going to dive right in. Ballet has always been a passion of mine, but I was never able to take classes consistently when I was younger. Being a bit of a late starter to ballet, I'm not letting my age stop me from accomplishing my dream of being a dancer in The Nutcracker. I want to use these posts to document my journey as I push towards my goal. Nutcracker auditions typically happen in September, so let's start the countdown! 

T-minus 2 months, give or take a couple weeks.

Happy Dancing,
Lillie