My Dance History

I started dance when I was about four years old. My first ballet class was surprisingly in school. At the time, I was living in London and going to school at a private school. All children, even the boys were required to take ballet class. I don't remember how many times a week because, you know, I was four. I started taking classes outside of school because I loved so much but  also because my mom wanted to get rid of me for an hour. Already, at such a young age dance was consuming my life. The school I went to was very strict. I remember we had to stand in perfect lines for role. The teacher would say our name and we would have to curtsy and say, "present" not "here", "present." Also at the end of class we would walk in a straight line one by one to our pianist and curtsy and say thank you. If we did not curtsy properly we would go back in line and try again. According to my mom this was a struggle for me because I could barely stand on one foot. The teacher would yell at me and apparently I would laugh because I thought she was being sarcastic?

Yes, that's me on the right. How embarrassing. S/O to Luiza.
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When I moved back to the United States when I was 6 1/2, I joined a local dance studio. They did all kinds of dance, not just ballet. I remember it was a very different environment than the one I was used to. No pianist, no taking role and no curtsying. I had also never done jazz or tap so that I was different. In the 4th grade, I changed studios to somewhere much far away. In my opinion, it was much more serious. They spent much more time on ballet because they understood how important it is if you want to be good in any kind of dance that you do.

Let's fast forward the end of August and the beginning of  freshman year, when I started my blog. I started my blog because of an assignment for english class. At first, I thought it was an awful idea because it was just one more thing to do. At the same time, it was kind of exciting because it was finally something in school that I could write whatever I wanted to and not in MLA format. Also, it was a great way to document my freshman year. Obviously, I was not the same person I was at the beginning of 9th grade. I feel that this year I have challenged myself grew as a dancer. I went to 4 summer intensive auditions and YAGP. None of these I have ever done before. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I have also become much more confident. When you challenge yourself you feel much more accomplished by completing the task. I made 3 of my 4 auditions and that is something that I would never see myself doing a year ago. Last year, I was terrified of even going to YAGP so I chickened out. This year I ended up going. Sure, I didn't get top 12 or top 24 even but I got on stage and did the best I could do. It's funny what a years difference makes.  As for the progress in my blog, do I even need to write anything? My first post sucked. I think I was shy about putting my thoughts out there. I'm just a shy person in general. As I started writing more post they started to get better. I wrote more personal things and maybe threw some bad humor in there. Of course I still have a ways to go. I can always improve, just like in dancing. Like Einstein said, "Life is like a bicycle. In order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.

  

How You Can Prepare for Your Summer Intensive

Summer intensives are not easy. They wouldn't be called intensives if they weren't intense. However, there are things you can do to make your first couple of weeks less painful. Last year was my first summer intensive and I did not prepare and oh, was it awful. So with summer coming right around the corner right now is your time to start preparing

The first thing you should start doing is getting your body in shape. The least you should be doing every night is core exercises, light stretching, and feet strengthening exercises. I have some good strengthening exercises in this post. 3-4+ nights a week you should do something a little more. My new favorite thing is doing Blogilates exercises. For those of you who are unfamiliar with who Blogilates is she is a woman who does pilates videos for basically any area of your body on YouTube. Pilates is really great because it strengthens and tones your muscles and makes your posture better. And a benefit is that you don't have to go to a pilates class outside your home, you can just do it in your living room. To stretch I do more intense stretching like super splits, back flexibility and strengthening, and tons of hip stretches. Finally, do more cardio. This I would say is not as important as the others. I aim for doing it 2 times a week. To get my cardio in, I ride my bike or use an elliptical. I am not a huge fan of running because it puts a lot of strain on my knees.

Recently, I have tried to change to change my diet to be more nutritious. Now, by changing my diet I don't mean going on a diet. That is never a good idea for young dancers. Eating a good diet is important because it will give you more energy. Don't think you will be more energetic if you eat healthily the day before your intensive. It will also be awful to all of a sudden eat only healthy things if you are used to eating more unhealthy things. So, try to ease into it. Start with not having a dessert after dinner. Or for breakfast instead of reaching for a sugared donut go for a scrambled egg and toast. You will definitely feel a difference in your body and energy.

The night before the your first day you should prepare some essentials in your bag:
• Small can of hairspray
•Tennis ball for rolling out your muscles
•bandaids- also there are these things your can get at Walgreens that are called Gel Corn Protectors. They are like reusable bandaids but provide a lot more comfort and stay on in your shoe.
•Advil
•Foot spray- only use this after class, trust me on this one.

My bae

Made by The Body Shop

•Ziploc bag for ice.
•Notepad for seminars
•All your shoes (obviously)
•Icy-hot if thats your thing
•lots of healthy snacks
•Chiffon skirt for variations

After your first day or two you will be in a big world of hurt. To fix sore muscles I freeze a regular plastic water bottle in the freezer. I then use this to roll out my muscles while I am running a warm bath. Once my bath is ready and my muscles are rolled I get in the bath and read a book or something until the bath is no longer warm. Next, I soak my feet in a ice bucket. If you are out of town or don't have a bucket just place ice packs on your feet. If it is your first time doing a ice bucket I would recommend not starting out with the coldest your can get the water. To get your self used to to cold I fill one bucket with cold water with no ice. In another bucket I have it full of ice. Once your feet are used to the temperature keep adding ice cubes until there is none left and your should be fine.

That is all I do to prepare and repair for my summer intensive if you have any pre/post intensive rituals you should leave them in the comments!

Extraordinary Dancers

There are dancers we look up to because of their beautiful technique and artistry. Then there are others that stand out from the crowd and do something extraordinary (and they are wonderful dancers as well.) These are the dancer that are truly inspiring and pave the way for dancers to come.

Now who has heard the song, "Take Me to Church" by Hozier. Ummm everybody because it was on the radio like every.other.song. Anyway, a ballet dancer named Sergei Polunin put the music behind the dancing and it turned out absolutely beautiful.

If you can't tell does not look like your average Joe dancer. What you don't see every day is a dancer  all tatted up. Now that isn't the only thing that makes him outstanding. He is the youngest ever to be a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet. He was only 19 and only 13 when he started training strictly ballet! He quit the Royal Ballet because he said he was so unhappy that the artist in him was dying. 

Lately, Misty Copeland has been blowing up in the media, and for good reason! Most people know her story, but incase you don't I'll give you a summary. She started dancing when she was thirteen. Thirteen! That is really late to start dancing. Yes she had incredible natural talent, but it didn't come easy for her. If you read her book, Life in Motion, it will go into more depth. Her family had financial issues with paying for the classes and her shoes and it was hard being accepted into summer intensives and ballet academies because she had colored skin and her body shape wasn't ideal for ballet. Through all that, she persevered and is now a soloist with American Ballet Theatre.

You can order her book on Amazon 
or at a local Barnes and Noble

   Today, a Russian ballerina, Maya Plisetskaya died at age 89. She joined Bolshoi Ballet at age eighteen and danced in the company until she was 65! Your heard me right, 6-5. (Fun fact: did you know that Bolshoi in Russian means best or great so it is literally called the best ballet.) For some time she wasn't allowed to tour with the company because of her family background with the Soviet Union. You are never too old to dance! 

She is 61 in this video. And look at her arms! 

Is it even human for them to move like that?

You can read more about her in this article

All the buns!

Are you tired of the average doorknob bun? Well, be glad you found this post because you will no longer be average and neither will you bun. In fact, you are already much cooler than what you were before you read my blog. Anyway, these buns look clean but also are super easy to do.

1. The classical ballet bun (aka cinnamon bun)

 Ok, so I know that I just said that these buns are not average but it is important to know how to do the basics. For auditions and stuff it is better to look professional than cool. I am also not talking about Cinnabon. Sorry. 

Steps

•Put your hair a ponytail. I good height is in the same line as your chin to your cheekbone

•Separate your pony tail into two sections. If you have thin hair, like me, you can tease the two sections so your bun can be big enough to actually be seen. You can also use more than two sections if you have thick hair.

•Now, take the farthest section. This is opposite piece to the way you twisting your hair so if you are twisting to the right you take the left section. Twist it around your pony tail a quarter to a half way around.

•Take the other section and start twisting it over the existing twist. I'm probably not making any sense. I apologize

•Continue to do these steps pinning as you go and it should look like this

Not my hair

Courtesy of: Pixgood

2. The Balanchine bun

George Balanchine wanted a bun that could be seen from the front as well as the side on stage. The bun goes down your head instead of you around your ponytail. This is personally my favorite. However, it will take some practice to get it right. I would also recommend using a hair piece if you have shorter hair. My hair is pretty long so I don't use one. 

Steps

•Put it in a high ponytail using the same rule as before

•Start out by twisting your hair around your hair like a regular bun once

•Put your finger on your hair and twist your hair around it creating a second bun

•Keep doing this down your head until you run out of hair. 

•Finally put a hair net around it so looks neat.

•It should look like this if you did it right

Again, not my hair :(

Courtesy of: If the Pointe Shoe Fits

If you are still confused which I'm sure you are watch this video by Kathryn Morgan who is a former soloist with New York City Ballet. She does a very good job at explaining it.

3. The French Twist 

This isn't exactly a bun but it looks very professional and looks good on all head types. Most people have heard of it and it takes  A LOT of practice to get it down. 

Steps

• Part your hair on either side ride above the arch of the eyebrow. I part my hair on the left so if your part your hair on the right the steps will twist your hair the opposite way.

• Now, spray your hair with water or use gel and slick it down to a low ponytail without actually putting a ponytail on it

•Hold your hair with your left hand and with your right hand use your index finger and hook your hair around it

•Twist your hair up to the crown of your head.

• Use tons of bobby pins to secure your twist

•Hairspray the hell out of it.

Courtesy of: Jillian Grace Salon

4. Rope Twist Bun

When normal people where this out it is usually pretty loose. However, this will not do for ballet class. It is the same steps just tighter. It is super easy.

Steps

• Put your hair in a high pony tail

•Take two sections and twist them around each other as tight as possible

•Twist the twist around your ponytail in the natural direction it wants to go. 

•Pin as you go 

Final Result :)

5 Reasons Why Ballet Dancers are Better

1. We turn out better (duh)

Not only is our legs able to turn out to 180 degrees which is impressive to the average joe, we are just awesome people. We learn discipline, manners, and good work ethic. These are skills we will carry on for the rest of our life no matter what career path we choose to take. 

2. We are Flexible

Not in our time because I don't know about you but I have dance almost every day leaving no time for regular stuff. The reason this makes us awesome is because we can reach things that fall off our bed with our feet in any position. I mean, why else would we stretch?

Look how heavy metal this is
Courtesy of: Pinterest

3. We are way more hardcore than you

We have to put all our body weight on our toes. Look me in the eye at tell that is not hard. So next time you explain to us that ballet is SOOO easy, we will cut you. 

4. Our makeup will look way better than yours

Trust me we have had plenty of practice. It can take hours to put on stage makeup. And those fake eyelashes. Don't even get me started. If you want to your makeup to be on fleek, I would consult a dancer not a makeup stylist. Have you seen the makeup they wear at Sephora? S

5. We basically know another language

Lets not forget that ballet terminology is all french. There are a bagillion terms that we know from the top our head. What does Jeté mean? Easy, to throw. Fondue? No not strawberries and chocolate it means to melt. You were close though. We are basically fluent. 

Check out this article explaining all the other things we put up with everyday

Dealing with Mean Teachers

I've had my share of mean teachers in my ballet career and probably many more to come. Sometimes it can be easy to get discouraged by their comments, but you can also turn it into a positive experience. I once had a teacher that the whole year she didn't say a single word to me. I was very upset but mostly confused. Am I doing good? What am I doing wrong? So in every class I tried my hardest to get her attention. It didn't work but her ignoring me actually help me improve in my mindset. It made me think, "I should be working this hard in every class."  So along with this one, I will give you tips on dealing with hypercritical teachers.

Apply their corrections- If they are always yelling things at you left and right try to apply them. It will show them that you actually care. Well, you should always care but show them that you care more than you usually care. It might get them to pay attention to you.

Ignore "The Favorites"- We all have a favorite in our group. Its going to happen and it really sucks when its not you. Sometimes it might even be for stupid reasons like they give the teachers spa treatment coupons once a month or something. Anyway, they are them and you are you so stop trying to be them. You will never be satisfied if you compare yourself to others.

I found a great article about dealing with favorites by Pointe Magazine if you want to check it out.

Suck it up!- Ok, this might sound a little harsh but if you are planning to be on a professional ballet company there are going to be directors that will be mean towards you and there is nothing that you can do about it. In the long run you will see how much you have grown mentally and physically.

Talk With your Teachers- If you feel that you are ignored or bullied by your teachers then ask them after class if they could talk with you for a couple minutes about. Maybe they didn't even know that you felt overlooked. It will be intimidating but you won't regret it.

Know when it is time to switch- Sometimes some schools aren't right for some dancers. Once you have done everything to improve your situation and still feel like the teachers aren't giving you feedback to help you improve it might not be the right place for you. Ballet is a subjective art and your style might not fit the style of the studio or the teachers

Courtesy of Ballet Classroom

My Daily Stretching Routine

We all stretch during our dance classes, but to make progress go much quicker it is important to stretch at home at least 4 times a week if not daily. Before you start be sure that you are completely warmed up. I do this by running five minutes of running on the treadmill or 75 jumping jacks.

 I like to focus on one or two areas at a time until I am satisfied and can move to the next area. Of course I do a full body stretch, just not so strenuous in the rest of the areas. At the moment I am working on my hips and achieving a flat grande jeté. These are the two most troubling areas for me because my hips are naturally turned in and even though my hamstrings are stronger than they are flexible making it hard for my leaps to be flat


After warming up a do simple stretches to prepare my muscles. I start out with a lung to stretch the hip flexor. Grab your back foot to incorporate the quad and deepen your stretch

I then loosen up my hamstrings just by leaning over with my feet parallel in front of me. I hold this stretch for a minute. For thirty seconds I flex my feet and straighten my back.

Now on to the hips. UGHHHHHHHH. I have to do it though. I start with three basic stretches

I look so done in this photo haha

When I am done crying I will get into some intense s**t. Not really.  I open my legs as far as they go which is not very far and lean forward and hold for 45 seconds. I do the same thing shifting side to side.

My dog really wanted to be in the photo

To wrap up the intense hip torture I hold a my middle splits for 30 seconds and wall stretch for 3 minutes.

I'll take a one minute to pull myself together and then do my splits which don't really hurt anymore so I will grab my back leg

To conclude, I will then do my super splits and back ups