Archives for January 2015

January 21, 2015

Ballet Blog Roundup: January 21 Edition

Just some ballet related stories (and blog posts) from around the Internet this week. Feel free to add to the list!

1

Why ballet?

Jan 20, 2015 - loveballet89.wordpress.com - 96
I've known for a while that I'm not exactly a guy who lives inside the box. Most men my age who are active do things such as softball, golf or maybe bowling. Some are a little bit bolder and still play some soft of sandlot football ...
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2

No really, City Councils should get on this.

Jan 20, 2015 - adultbeginner.wordpress.com - 101
Took a class at Heartbeat House the other day, but before I talk about that I wanna talk about this other thing. Ok, Heartbeat House has this deal for new people. First class costs five dollars, and all the other classes you take within your first week keep on costing just five dollars.
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3

Ballet is Boring

Jan 20, 2015 - atthebarre.net - 88
Ballet is Boring
A friend and colleague recently posted a quote on her Facebook page and it got me thinking. Mr. Balanchine once said: "If you don't feel challenged, it's because you're not doing enough. Ballet should never feel comfortable. Comfortable is lazy! If you're comfortable when you dance, you're not pushing yourself hard enough.
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4

Mariinsky Ballet in 'Cinderella,' Under Alexei Ratmansky

Jan 20, 2015 - nytimes.com - 90
Mariinsky Ballet in 'Cinderella,' Under Alexei Ratmansky
The differences between danced versions of Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" - a mainstay of ballet repertory - tend to be relatively subtle. The Capulets and the Montagues usually meet in Renaissance Verona, and the individuals tend to quarrel, laugh, fall in love and die at more or less the same passages in the music.
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5

Sharing Stories

Jan 20, 2015 - dancewell.wordpress.com - 88
Hey guys, I'm looking for stories. Your stories to be specific. See, one of the things I love about dance is that it's different for everyone but there's no right or wrong way to be a dancer. So I'm interested in your stories of being a dancer.
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January 20, 2015

Video: Ballerinas By Night: Improving Low Arches

ballerinas-by-night

If you haven’t already checked out the Ballerinas By Night Youtube Channel–do so now! They’ve got everything from how to improve low arches (video below) to practicing cambres and more.

Thanks Lisa for posting these in our Google+ group!

Check out Ballerinas By Night’s awesome YouTube Channel!

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What’s your favorite ballet YouTube Channel?

Filed Under: Ballet Class, Info, Outside Class Tagged With: , Leave a Comment
January 19, 2015

Updates: Nutcracker, Back to Basics, Friends in Ballet

Back in December and early January, my ballet class was working on choreography for the Spanish dance in the Nutracker, which was really fun. My instructor even brought in fans for the final classes we practiced it in the first few days of January.

Soon after that, we dove back into the basics for the yearly crowd of newcomers as the new year began. Surprisingly, it’s been really tough going through the class relatively slow (tough but good). The first weekend of those classes I made it to three classes in one weekend and was super sore. This weekend I found myself sick and barely made it through two classes.

This weekend I did make it to a pointe class, too, despite being sick. That was tough, especially since my last class in December was really tough and painful (I’m still not sure why).

I’m happy that in this weekend’s class I managed to keep my pointe shoes on for the entire class (and not have switched to flat slippers), but I know there’s still a lot of work left to be done there. I’ve tried to keep up with strengthening exercises everyday at home and trying to make it to every class that I can.

I’ve also had one of my coworkers join me for a class, and I’m looking forward to her joining me for more. I love bringing new people to class.

How’s your first half of January been? Please share updates in the comments–I love reading them! 

Haven’t taken the reader survey yet? Check it out here.

Filed Under: Ballet, Ballet Class Recap Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment
January 18, 2015

2015 Reader Survey

Last year around this time I ran my first reader survey. I received a lot of great responses that were really helpful to me in figuring out what type of posts I should be writing. You can check out some of the results here.

This year’s survey has some of the same questions and some new ones as well, so I’d appreciate it if you could take the time to fill it out again.

Take the 2015 Adult Ballerina Project survey to help them decide on content for the next year.

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Filed Under: Ballet, Blog Tagged With: , , 3 Comments
January 16, 2015

Beginner Danseur Profile: Vince Svitak

100_0904Vince started taking ballet in February 2o13.  He says that while ballet was always a passion of his, he wasn’t able to start as a kid. But now that he’s an adult, he says, “it doesn’t matter to me what people think cause ballet is something I love and wanted to dance!”

When did you start doing ballet as an adult?   

I first started taking adult ballet in February, 2013.  When I first started taking classes, I didn’t feel I was keeping up with the class, so I decided to take private lessons to help build up my technique and stayed with it. Since taking my classes, I have progressed to pointe, so I have come a long way since I first started, but still more to learn and experience as I go to class.

Did you ever take lessons as a kid?  

No, I never went to lessons as a kid.  I was too shy and as a kid, the boys would get ridiculed for taking ballet instead of doing sports, so it pushed me away from taking classes.

Why did you decide to take ballet as an adult?   

I started taking ballet as an adult for a few reasons. First, ballet was always a passion of mine and wasn’t able to start as a kid. But now that I’m an adult, it doesn’t matter to me what people think cause ballet is something I love and wanted to dance! Another reason is because I was in a car accident, back in 2012, and wanted to get back into shape and the gym just wasn’t my style cause it is always the same repetition all the time and ballet you learn something new every time you go to class and it gives you a better appreciation for dance all around! But after class, it gives me more confidence and I feel better about myself cause I started a passion I love!

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Filed Under: Adult Ballerinas, Ballerina Profiles, Interviews Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment