I got my exam results back..

..and I passed with honours!

So that's 81%, and honours is the top range you can get! It goes Standard not yet attained (0-39%) Pass (40-49%) Credit (50-59%) Commended (60-69%) Highly commended (70-79%) and Honours (80-100%) 

I did not expect the results to come in so soon, and I also did not expect to go so well! My friend who also took the exam is only 13 and she got 100%!! She's incredible! But I am proud of myself for passing my exam and achieving something! And I'm also proud that I got 100% in theory, that's what I was aiming for, because I knew that my allegro would be lacking! I wish I knew what I lost marks for in barre, because the examiner didn't say, but anyway. That's one New Year's Resolution I can tick off for sure! 

This was just a quick update, I hope you're all going well! 

To be or not to be (an all-rounder dancer)

As probably evident from the content of this blog (and the title) I'm primarily a ballet dancer. I do contemporary as well and at school I take dance as a subject and I'm in the performance company. But at school every now and then I find myself having to attempt some other styles of dance. The other morning during rehearsal we were learning "All that Jazz" from Chicago with the original Bob Fosse choreography for a performance in a few weeks. Anyone who is familiar with his choreography knows it's bent knees, on the balls of the feet, hips parallel with lots of movement of the hips and it's very sensual. My part of the piece had main focus on the hip rolls and because I've never done this style of jazz before it was quite alien to my body. My teacher was going through them with us but then even though I was getting the hang of it she singled me out and was all "I'm putting you in another part of the dance I don't have time" and the girl that replaced me did them no better than I did. Ugh. Even though the part I'm in now is actually slightly better I was annoyed that I was singled out and made to feel inadequate. This is not the first time this has happened in this class either. I wonder if  the roles were reversed and we were learning a difficult Balanchine piece and all the jazz girls didn't know their plies from their pirouettes would the teacher treat them the same way? Most definitely not. Because ballet is rarely performed in schools and the like because of the specific difficulty of the art form.  And also I feel there is often a bit more hierarchy in that class then I really care for, and I seem to cop the brunt of it, no matter how hard I work.

But the reason I've brought this up is because it has made me wonder maybe I should stop using ballet as an excuse for being crap and broaden my horizons from just ballet and contemporary. To me, dance is dance and I actually really enjoy all aspects of it, and it's great to be able to do this, it's boring if you only focus on one style!  So maybe some jazz classes might be taken sometime in the future! I've also actually never taken a tap class in my life so that's also on my bucket list!

So dance at school has been hard on me these past few days, I'm not going to lie! I hope you're on the other hand are going well!

What to do when your schedule decreases

So I did my exam last week! I really hope I went well, now it's time to wait anxiously for the results!

However, this exam session has meant that a whole lot of people (including myself) move up a level, but I've got myself in a situation where normally I would take the next level up but because the girls in the level above me (Adv. 1) are now all in Adv.2 there is no Adv 1 class and Adv 2 would be too difficult. So now my schedule has dropped from 5 days a week to 3 (which still isn't that bad, I'm grateful I have that opportunity). I know that this is probably the best time for me to spend less time on ballet and more on studying but it is a little hard to get used to.

I think you should always try to take any class you can before accepting a not-so-hectic schedule. Ask your teacher if there are any classes from the level above (great challenge!!) or even the level below (focus on technique!!) you can take. Believe me, I thought of every class I could take, even the adults class which is mainly the mum's of my classmates and is allegedly very basic! But there was nothing I really felt comfortable taking.  In my mind, taking an adults class is a great way to work on my technique, but when I really think about it, I felt I would be intruding on the class, or somehow demanding my teacher's attention when she is trying to teach the basics to first time dancers. I really don't know. So then I tried to find classes from other studios to take. If you can afford to do this, and travel is not a big issue then it is a good idea, because it's a solution for anyone who doesn't have access to a studio with amazing schedules! But I of course with me, doing this would be expensive and too much hassle!

But I know so many people have trouble affording the dance schedules they desire. If your ballet schedule is not that busy, that means you have more time for a job and if you save up, then maybe the following year you can increase your classtime! Remember there's no time limit, don't go all "But I have to train insane NOW to make up for lost time" like I did! If you really love to dance, you'll find a way to incorporate it in your everyday life, whether it's class or cross training (pilates! it's my fave) and stretching at home! So that's how I'm looking at it, I'm saving money so after I finish school I would love to focus on dance and working in a part time job for awhile before I head off to uni!

I write a lot about these sort of topics in this blog, maybe I should focus more on quality of training and not quantity! But in my defence, it is very relevant in my dance life, this learning to accept what I can get. Last year I had freak out over freak out because I would read certain ballet forums who tell me that anything less than a pre-professional school is 'insufficient' training and I would follow these pre pro students on Instagram and I would feel the need to be like them. Ballet was the escape from some pretty icky things going on my life so I held it in such high regard and just HAD to do it all the time!

But now I know that there's nothing much I can do about it at the moment. I'm pretty sure next year the schedule will fall into place for me a little better!

Stretches for the feet!

I'm just quickly posting a video on here for reference, as I needed some new exercises to stretch my feet!

This girl is a ballet video blogger, and she's relatively new to youtube! I'm always out to discover new ballet video bloggers, watching these videos are my guilty pleasure!

Don Quixote!

Last Friday was my birthday, and on Saturday, my dad was kind enough to take me to see the Australian Ballet's Don Quixote at the Sydney Opera House!

The performance was incredible, my eyes were glued to the stage the entire time! I was not very familiar with Don Q before Saturday, I didn't really know what to expect. However from the start  I fell in love with the mixture comical aspects and the magical/classical dancing. If you ever get the chance to see a production of Don Q, I would surely recommend!  

I have to say, seeing a live production of a major company is really inspirational, because the next class I took was a really good class, maybe I was channeling my inner Kitri?

Snippets of the program

Dinner at the Opera Bar just before
the performance, spaghetti and champagne!

Sorry, this post is later than I wanted, I did mean to post it earlier! On another note, I've started doing cardio (30 min treadmill, 10 mins spin) and pilates (about 40 min) to get into shape for next week's exam. I'll see you then with a post on how I went! Hope you're all well!

Time to get Toning!

At the end of last year I stumbled upon this great Pilates and health blogger, who regularly posts Pilates workout videos and also posts workout calenders, telling us what videos to do on each day. This month I decided to follow the calender for April and it's been really good, I suggest you check it all out!

Blogilates

Doing just 10-20 mins a day after ballet and before stretching has been a great way to warm up as well as strengthen my core and inner thighs!

I'm also planning on including cardio in my routine, now that I have more time because I'm off from school for the next two weeks and that it's as good a time as ever to get my fitness levels into shape as my exam is in just over 2 weeks!

You only need to be better than yourself!

Dancers often tend to develop quite competitive nature over time. When your body and physical ability is being examined more then most people would feel comfortable with, it's hard not to let your ego get in the way of why we started dance in the first place. I know I have many times!

I have to say, one of the main forces for my said competitiveness are the 'naturals', in particular the naturals who don't appear to work as hard, or just don't have the passion I or my other classmates have. This sounds very conceited, but I'm sure many dancers can relate. Not many other things are as discouraging as someone doing seemingly nothing and yet getting more recognition. 

I mentioned briefly in one of my hastily written summer school posts the girl with so much drive but surprisingly little technique. My heart broke for her, because she worked so hard but didn't end up getting a solo for the end of week demonstration. But we were so in sync, because not many other people are in the same situation as me, and have such similar views on ballet as I do! The thing I admired most though is that she obviously had such a passion for it, and that's why we dance isn't it?

The thing is, no one is working from the same tools, meaning human bodies are not all the same blank canvases. Someone may just have better turn out, feet, flexibility or the ability to pick up combinations! That's why goal setting is so important, it reminds you of what you have achieved! It's also important not to set time limits for yourself based on others, set time GOALS but if you don't achieve that goal within say 2 weeks or whatever then that does not mean you are not good. I'm sure you've read countless things on accepting your body and abilities, but accepting yourself is such a fundamental thing to do in order to get the best out of dance! 

I hope you're all well and you all enjoy your Easter break! We seem to be suffering from an elongated summer over here, ugh I hate this hot weather ruining my favourite season! I just want to bust out the ridiculous amount of warm-ups already! Also, my ballet exam is literally almost a month! I went to a rehearsal on Sunday and I was fine beforehand but as soon as I walked in and had to practice introducing myself to the examiner I got so nervous and it all just dawned on me OH GOD!!

Not sure where I should go with this blog.

Sorry I haven't written a post in a shameful amount of time! Truth is though, I have rather mixed intentions of what my content should be about! I'm still keeping track of my corrections and what not, but I do so by scribbling notes in a journal I take around with me. Doing things purely with technology obviously wasn't working for me so I decided to rep it old style!

However I decided that simply not posting is not going to help me decide what content this blog should produce, I think I need to continue experimenting to see what fits.

So while that happens, I might just give a quick update! One of my goals for the year was to pass my Grade 6 exam, and I will be taking it in the last week of April! At this point in time, I am not nervous, instead I am rather excited! Before I do my exam, I'll turn 18, which is quite an alien concept, to actually be an adult. I still feel like I need to grip onto my childhood (especially being a late starter in ballet and wanting to be perceived as younger than I am to blend in) but now I look forward to beginning this new chapter of my life. I've stopped hushing my classmates when they try to discuss how old I am ("ancient" has also been used to describe me. They're 3 years younger then I am) and started to embrace it! I had no trouble excitedly claiming to my contemporary teacher "I'M 18 NEXT MONTH OMG WHAT?!?!"  and I'm sure my ballet teacher will soon be hearing about it as well!

I'm looking forward to the coming months, this year has been pretty good so far, I'll will try to post often, even if at the moment it is just updates like these!

Ballet vs. Life

This is a very scary year for me, being my last year of high school. Where I live, a lot pressure is put on students doing their HSC exams. When you realise that passing every subject can often still mean you don't receive a high enough mark for University strikes terror for most students. It's a pretty big year. And I start to wonder how much time and money I should be investing into ballet.

I've written a post touching on this briefly before, but every now and then I have a small freakout and think I should be doing over 20 hours a week. But not only is it difficult to obtain a mere 10 hours a week in my situation ( meaning my location and level of training coupled with age) but it's expensive, in terms of money as well as time.

Then I tell myself to chill and just go with what I can get. The girls in my class don't do more than I do. But I can't help but want to take as many classes as possible following the 'make up for lost time' philosophy. Part of me wants to take this new adult class that my teacher is offering to work on breaking some bad technique habits, but the other part is telling me I may just not belong or it'll be too basic or I don't know.

In contrast, part of me wants to attend the advanced pointe class so I can do more pointework, however the other thinks it'll be a breeding ground for bad habits.

Many people are suffering from having to choose between friends and ballet. However my issue is choosing between having money or ballet. I have to choose between ballet or part time work. Ballet or having a car. Ballet or saving up to move out. Ballet or having lots of nice clothes. It's hard to find the middle ground.

Back on track after a weird week!

I'm back to posting normal posts! I was unable to post normally during summer school as I had no computer, only my phone!

Unfortunately I fell off track this week following summer school, but in my defense it has been a weird week. I went back to school on Wednesday and then from Wednesday evening then throughout Thursday I was sure I was getting a cold; fever, sore throat etc. but today when I took the day off from school I feel fine! I don't understand my body, I really don't. So all this has thrown a spanner in the works, plus I don't go back to my ballet studio until next week.  I'm sure once the school week begins properly and I have ballet as normal, everything will fall into place.

I did most of my routine tonight after about a week's break and I have seemed to have not lost a lot of flexibility, like I expected. I'd hate to have all my hard work done for nothing! But hopefully I'll return to where I was before and continue to improve it. I'd consider OSEIJ successful because I have seen a good amount of improvement in my flexibility, but most importantly an improvement in my motivation to stretch. Even if I didn't actually stretch everyday, I tried to stretch, whenever it was possible, because I knew I would have to document on here whether I did so or not. I think this month I do need to document when I fall off track and the reasons why, even if they are petty. It'll encourage me to complete my routine each day more.

Goals for the month:
-focus on main corrections from ss:
weight forward in turns
no arched back
eyes up
use of plies in allegro
-maintain stretch and strength routine
-work on double pirouettes

And I'll add some more when class starts! :)

Off to Summer School!

The regularly scheduled Sunday ballet babble is not going to be too fascinating, as I'm leaving for Summer School in about in hour. Classes start tomorrow, wow!

I will however do a quick update tomorrow about how my first ballet class in too-long-of-a-time went, and if I can adapt my stretch routine to my new surroundings and schedule.

Goals for this week:
-concentrate on relaxing my upper body, using my back in port de bras
-practice and focus on releve-passes en pointe
-do the splits at some point everyday
-get back into focusing on my back flexibility, doing the exercises everyday
-take note of corrections and work on applying them

Bad photo, but all packed and ready to go!

Dance Wear On a Budget

We all know how expenses build up when you're a serious dancer. And the high prices of dance wear doesn't help. So here's just what I do so save money when buying dance wear!

I buy almost all of my leotards from America on Ebay. Even though it does take about 2 weeks for them to arrive, the shipping prices are reasonable and the actual prices of the items are low, so all up it costs significantly less then to buy one off the rack here in Australia. But one thing you certainly have to be wary of is that you know the brand of the leotard. I wouldn't recommend buying a no-name brand leotard, because in my experience, so matter how good it looks in pictures, the quality/fit of the leotard is not good. If it's Bloch/Mirella, Capezio/Harmonie, Sansha etc. then go ahead. You can always look up the brand if you're not sure. The only exception to this would probably be tights, just because the no name brands seem to work fine with me. I also like to look up the style number if it's provided to get possibly some other images of the product and sometimes look at the sizing chart if I'm not sure. I've discovered that I'm a medium in camisole leotards, and a small in cap sleeve/tank leotards. But if I'm really unsure, I'll get a medium, that way if it's to big I can take it in to make it fit without having to send it back.

Also keep in mind, some sellers don't accept returns, so if they don't, double check to see if this is really what you want to purchase! I made that mistake when I brought some tights, and didn't realise they were 'ballet pink' and not 'theatrical pink' like I prefer. I received them, then went to see if they accepted returns and they didn't.

Please, never buy pointe shoes from ebay, or any online store if you are new to pointe. This should be self-explanatory. If you do buy flat shoes, it is essential you know the brand is good quality. Again if it's Capezio, Bloch etc. and you've worn that style before and you know what size you are in that style then that's fine, but no no-name brand shoes! It's harder to return shoes because you need to wear them in class to know if they fit properly or not. Once you've worn them in class, they're not refundable.

Some things you need to save up for and spend the money on. Some things are cheap for a reason! Just learn how to know how to buy good quality items and save money at the same time, and know what can be brought online and what can't!

Operation Stretch Everyday in January: Day 11

I'm back on track!
Today I felt really good about my stretching. I tried my new stretching technique for splits and saw some improvement!

I am however itching to go back to class because there are many things I know I need to work on but don't have the facilities at home to do anything other then the basics. Especially pointework. Another thing I should focus on this year is releve-passes and echappes on pointe  (in the center). And doing the quarter pirrouette exercise on pointe.
However, my summer school is in just over a week from now and I'm so looking forward to it!

Operation Stretch Everyday in January: Day 10

Yesterday (Day 10) was unfortunately a complete off day, because I felt (and still feel) like I'm coming down with something. Sore throat, headache etc. so I thought it was best to have a rest night and not to overexert myself if I am getting sick. I feel the same as I did yesterday today, I really don't know what's up, but I'm not happy anyway. The last thing I want is to be sick yet again and have a major curve ball in my goal. I don't mind having a few off days as long as I make up for them in February, like pay my dept, and the idea of this project is to just keep myself on track with stretching. I just don't want to lose any flexibility I've gained.

Operation Stretch Everyday in January: Day 8

Yesterday (day 8) was my first 'off day' thanks to the extreme weather conditions. It got to 42 degrees  in Sydney and by midnight it was still 37 degrees. Which is just insane. I did manage to do a quick barre of plies, core strength work and some simple stretches and my splits routine, but despite the warm temperature, it did not have an affect on my muscles as it was to hot to move/warm up properly and concentrate on my flexibility. However I am proud that I did manage to stretch somewhat even if I didn't feel like it at all, which is an improvement in itself!

It'll be much cooler for the rest of this week so I'll be back to normal routine tonight!

Operation Stretch Everyday in January: Day 7

First week of 'OSEJ' is done and I have been successful in stretching everyday this week!

This week I'm going to try a different approach to splits, doing the same preparation but instead of sitting in splits for 60 seconds I sit in my full split for 10 seconds then release slightly then go down again a couple of times then hold that for maybe 30 seconds or so. I hope I'll see some more improvement with this method, especially with my left leg.

I'm also going to practice middle splits more.

Everyday-during-break Technique Schedule

Some exercises I plan to do everyday during the rest of my break to help refine some troublesome areas of  my technique!









-Pirrouette exercises:
Turn in coupe with barre
Quarter turns

-Port de bras (first, second, third, fourth)
ensuring arms are extended and soft and are lifted through my upper back muscles.

-Allegro
16 slow jumps in first ensuring correct alignment
making sure to roll through the feet and to use plie

Honesty

This post is going to be a little different, however it is something I was up at 3am last night thinking about, and I want to write about because even if I don't have an audience, this is something I need to remind myself of every now and again.

One of the things I'm most insecure about is my age coupled with my level. I haven't been doing ballet consistently since a young age and often I feel like I'm the only one who is as driven as I am is in the same situation. But I'm not. I'm not going to be a professional classical dancer. I may not even make some sort of career out of this. All I can do right now is work as hard as I can at this point in time. I get told on forums that my schedule isn't sufficient. But it is difficult to acquire a  schedule that is 'sufficient' (i.e daily 1.5 hr classes, daily pointe classes plus variations, comtemporary etc. total of like 15-20hrs a week) in my situation. I live away from the city and I go to an already good studio, it just doesn't have the pre-pro schedule. I'll be overjoyed if I manage 10 hrs a week over 4-5 days a week. Even if I only do like 7 hrs a week. I'm in my last year of high school, my education is my main priority now.

I can go away into the city and do full time ballet for a week or so during the breaks, but I have to keep my schedule modest during the school terms, because I need to be focused on my studies so I can do well in my HSC and go to University. That's the reality of it.

Because I've started 'late', when I compare myself to others I feel really bad because I forget that I only been at it for 3 years. I feel like I should be at their level, otherwise I'm not 'good'. But I have the passion and the love for ballet, and I work as hard as I can. But someone who's older and who doesn't have the muscle memory/naturally flexible body of a young child who works as hard as she can for 3 years cannot physically attain the same result as someone her age who's been working as hard as she can for 10 years. So all I can do is work as hard as I can right now. Look forward to the future, don't regret the past.

I don't like the term late starter. Because unless you're Misty Copeland and started when you're 13 and became a professional, you're not late for anything. Most people who study ballet don't become a professional dancer. Even those who have been studying it since they were young. It's never to late to dance because you love it. We all know that. But it's also never to late to dance and become good. I'm sure whenever the topic of 'late starters' arise, Vanessa Sah from the Anaheim Ballet Youtube channel pops up instantly. She's not a professional, but she started when she was in college, and she's a good dancer. She may not be at a professional level, but she still trains hard. And because of this she inspires me. I hate the idea that you can only be a good dancer if you train at a pre-professional level. There is such a thing as serious yet recreational. You don't have to succumb to training once or twice a week just because you can't be a professional. If you love to dance but can only do it 4 times a week, you can still be a good dancer. There is no time limit, work as hard as you can and progress in your own time.

I started this blog so I can set goals and track my progress. It's working and it motivates myself to work hard , because I'm tracking my progress. I have to remind myself the little things and the big things I've achieved after only 3 years of ballet. I have to remind myself why I dance in the first place. I dance because being connected to movement and having my mind completely focused is so therapeutic. My friend said once "Some people have therapy, I have dance".

You need a pre-professional schedule and life to be a professional. But you don't need it to dance.

Exercises for stretching and strengthening the back

The most common back stretch is the bridge/backbend. You can either do it from standing, where you arch your back until your hands hit the floor, or you can start by laying on your back and pushing up on your hands. You can gradually improve your bridge by pushing your hips up higher, straightening your arms, and walking your hands closer to your feet. Straightening your legs will also stretch out your legs more:

If you have your right/left splits down, there are lots of stretches to help with your arabesque/scorpion/penche/etc. Make sure your hips and shoulders are square and facing the front and arch your back so your head is pointing towards your back knee. Try looking at the ceiling or the back wall. You can also try to grab your back leg (if you can balance) with one or both hands, kind of like a scorpion on the ground.
Now do all of that in the oversplits if you can^ just place a box (yoga blocks work wonderfully) underneath your front foot or have someone lift your front leg up for oversplits.

Another back exercise is basically the inverted version of the bridge. You lay on your belly and push up with your hands (like Ariel the mermaid.) Try keeping your legs together and arching your back until you can see the ceiling or back wall. Or try touching your toes to your head. 

To strengthen your back,
you can do the mermaid stretch^, but take your hands off the floor and try to maintain your arched position while keeping your arms out to the side (second position) or holding them above your head (fifth position.) 
Having somebody hold your feet down or sit on your feet will help you in the beginning. Gradually progress to being able to do it on your own though!
If you can hold your torso upright easily, try lifting each leg at a time and holding it at a 30-45 degree angle from the floor and your other leg. 
Once your back is pretty strong, hold onto a barre or something at chest level and lift your back leg up into arabesque or attitude. You can hold it there OR take a deep plie in your standing leg and pulse your back leg higher each time. Maintain a steady beat and do NOT bounce! Instead try to lift your leg higher each time and not let it just bounce back down!
Try do work on both sides of your back equally. Uneven backs suck because then one leg is so much stronger and more flexible than the other

From: http://ballettips.tumblr.com/

Turn out and rotation exercises

Clams! Tie a resistance band around your ankles and lay on your side with your knees bent and your shoulders, hips, and ankles all in one straight line (I like to do these with my back against a wall to ensure that they all stay in a straight line). Open your top knee as far as you can away from your bottom knee and as slowly as you can, and control your knee coming down to meet the other one. Repeat 15-20 times and do the same on your other side (with the other knee coming up). To strengthen your turn-in, do the same but have the resistance band around your knees and lift your ankles up.


Plies! Always be sure to really engage your rotators while doing plies. If your knees are not directly over your 2nd or 3rd toe, they are not engaged. In order to engage your rotators really well, your alignment needs to be good. A totally untucked pelvis isn’t going to engage your rotators. Make sure you’re pulling your pelvis to a neutral position with your abdominal muscles.
Sit on your bottom with your legs about 90 degrees apart in front of you. Actively use your rotators and your HIPS not your knees/ankles to rotate your legs, trying to get your pinky toes to touch the floor, with your knees completely in line with your toes. As you get better and better at this exercise, increase the angle between your legs, closer to a middle split.

                                               Butterfly! Sit on your bottom with your back straight. Bend your knees and

make the soles of your feet touch, so your heels are as close to your crotch as possible (and your knees open like butterfly wings!). Relax your rotators and your butt. Lean forward as far as you can and hold for 30-60 seconds when you feel a good stretch. Remember to breathe! Your muscles need oxygen! You can also gently push your knees down with your elbows/hands when you lean forward, but if you feel pain (especially in your knees) don’t! Just stick with leaning forward. Some feel pain in their knees/ankles when they push their knees down, so be careful. 

 Froggy! Lay on your stomach with your knees bent and the soles of your feet together. Try to get a stretch in multiple positions. Start with your knees just barely bent to where you can feel a stretch and hold for 30 seconds. Bend your knees some more and hold that stretch for 30 seconds. Bend them where your heels are 2 feet behind your crotch and hold for 30 seconds. Bend to 1 foot, and just behind (you can also do this with butterfly).

 Lay on your stomach in froggy. Bring your torso up off of the ground (keeping your spine straight and pevlis in a held neutral position) and bring your knees in the same line as your hip bones (so your left knee to your hips to your right knee should be a straight line). Make sure your lower legs are at a 90-degree angle to your thighs (this is another one I like to do against the wall with the bottoms of my feet on the wall). Hold for 30-60 seconds.

Middle splits! Make sure when stretching your middle splits that your knees are going in the same direction as your torso is. So if you’re trying to get your crotch to touch the ground and the top of your head is facing the ceiling, make your knees face the ceiling. If your front is on the ground, make your knees face the same wall as the top of your head. If your back is on the floor and you’re stretching your middle splits against a wall, make sure your knees are facing the same wall as the top of your head.

From: http://ballettips.tumblr.com/

Arabesque Exercises

You are on the floor on your stomach. Now you push your upper back up with your arms as far as possible. Please do it careful. Then do the exercise without using your arms just with your back muscles. It is really hard and at the beginning you can't hold it for a long time, so don't worry. Now you are in the same postition, but your head is touching the floor and now your lift up your legs, first left, then right and at the end both. (Like an arabesque on the floor) Hold it as long as you can and try to go as far as possible. Then search some furniture or whatever that has the height of your foot when you are doing and arabesque. Place your foot in it and do an arabesque. Now bend gently backwards with your back, Repeat the other site.

Refining pirouettes.

       

I want to do the first two exercises everyday in order to refine my pirouettes, and get my clean doubles. 

Operation Stretch Everyday in January: Day 1

Operation stretch everyday in January has begun! My right leg splits are almost flat already, so this is good motivation.

My goals for this week is just to continue with my new splits routine and hope to see more improvement!