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!!