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!