April 24, 2015

Adult Ballerina Profile: Pinky

When did you start doing ballet as an adult?

I started ballet Fall 2014.

Did you ever take lessons as a kid?

No, I [and my two sisters] was so involved with sports that there was no extra time to take dance. We did gymnastics so we received a lil dance training for floor exercise, but other than that all dancing in our home was self taught.

Why did you decide to take ballet as an adult?

I’ve always wanted to take ballet and a friend of mine, who grew up dancing, mentioned she still attends dance class as an adult. That got me thinking, “Hey, I bet I can find a beginners class somewhere”. I also found this blog and it made me realize I wasn’t the only person interested in adult ballet.

Where do you take classes?

Adagio Ballet

What is your favorite part about ballet?

The clothes. Haha, just kidding. I mean, I love my tights, leotard and skirt, but there is so much that I enjoy about ballet. I love the beautiful lines in a simple plie or in a jete, ballet is just so clean and precise. However, my favorite part of ballet is mastering a new move and knowing you’ve nailed a combination that’s previously given you trouble.

What is your least favorite part?

The flexibility and foot control. I have bad ankles from years of soccer and it makes releves hard to master. My balance normally is pretty stellar, but on releve I’m extremely wobbly. I am also incredibly INFLEXIBLE so my movements aren’t nearly as beautiful as I’d like them. Oh and my tight hips, yeah they don’t really help either.

Who/What is your ballet inspiration?

This blog was a big inspiration. Adult ballet was on my mind for awhile and when I stumbled across this blog it was like the go ahead I needed to try a class. The Nutcracker and Swan Lake are my other inspirations. I’ll never get tired of watching either ballet.

What motivates you to keep dancing?

The desire to get better and the high of nailing a new combination or receiving praise from my teacher. Sometimes I’m dragging at the beginning of class and my plies are just blah. But, by the end when we’re going across the floor I find myself wishing for a longer class because I’m having so much fun. I enjoy the challenge of something new every class.

Do you take any other dance classes?

No, unless you count the occasional Zumba class. I took beginners modern, jazz and ballroom dancing in college and those were some of my favorite courses.

What are your hobbies outside of ballet?

I still play coed soccer, am on multiple kickball teams, run, play tennis, workout at the gym and sporadically attend yoga classes. [Squats don’t really come in handy when I’m trying to plie, my teacher calls me out all the time for an untucked tush]. I also love to read, blog and cook in my spare time.

What advice would you like to give to those who want to start ballet or have just started?

Take the plunge and just do it. Even if you’re scared you’ll look silly, in a beginners class everyone is new. Remember to take each class at a time and that Rome wasn’t built in a day. You’ll have good classes and challenging class but don’t give up.


Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m just really happy I took the plunge and attended a class. It is such a fun activity and I love ‘playing ballerina’ once a week. I’m not very good and I have so much to work on, but I truly enjoy the challenge.

Do you have a blog?

Yes, my lil piece of the internet is http://pinkypersistence.blogspot.com

Filed Under: Adult Ballerinas, Ballet, Interviews Tagged With: , , , , Leave a Comment
April 20, 2015

How to Make The Perfect Bun By The Washington Ballet

Have you seen The Washington Ballet’s videos on how to make the perfect bun? I love that they have videos for short (which my hair currently is), long hair, and thick hair. Here are the videos:

The third video (thick hair) is available on The Washington Ballet’s Facebook page.

Do you have a specific trick to get your hair into a perfect bun?

I like to use a hairnet on days my bun needs to be perfect. I also like to use Bunhead hair pins and having my hair wet or damp really helps too. I also have occasionally using a sock bun (or in my case, I made it out of tights).

Filed Under: Ballet, Ballet Class, Info Tagged With: , , , 2 Comments
April 12, 2015

Ballet Blog Update: More Classes and Pointe

It’s been a really long time since I’ve shared any type of personal update here. But things have been going extremely well. I’ve been making it to three or four classes a week (a lot compared to what I used to make it to) and a lot of the times, two pointe classes a week. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for writing and blogging.

But the good news is, both HQ and I have been improving a lot. Pointe, especially, has been going really well for me. I used to dread pointe class, but now I’ve been really looking forward to it. My legs and feet have started to become less sore after class (except this week after missing a few classes due to Easter and an unpleasant stomach bug).

We’ve started a little bit to work on our performance for the summer, which I’m really looking forward to. I really enjoy it when we work on combinations from week to week.

Blog-wise, I really want to start working on some how-to posts, but I’m not sure where to start. I definitely want to rework ABP’s How to Build a Barre post (it’s a little bit confusing). If you have other suggestions of what you’d like to see — let me know and I’ll get working on them.

Filed Under: Ballet, Ballet Class, Ballet Class Recap, Info, Outside Class Tagged With: , , , , 1 Comment
March 25, 2015

MealEnders Review: Ending Late Night Snacking

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Disclosure: I received four packs of MealEnders in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I have a huge problem with over-snacking, especially as I get home late at night from ballet class. While I usually try to enjoy healthy food after class — that’s not always what ends up happening — and sometimes I ended up snacking on sweets. For instance, Trader Joes just released some pretty awesome cookie butter cookies, which while awesome, are pretty easy to binge eat.

The thing that’s nice about the MealEnders, is they just offer a touch of sweet designed to get you over that sweet-tooth craving (in a sweet outer coating) along with an inner hard candy that offers a tingling sensation to curb cravings. Here’s some more information about how they work from MealEnders:

MealEnders consist of two components: a sweet, outer reward layer and a cooling/tingling inner core. The outer layer provides a measured dose of “dessert,” usually associated with the end of a meal. The inner core engages the trigeminal nerve (the nerve that senses “taste” sensations in the mouth) with long-lasting cooling/tingling sensations to cue the end of eating and clear the palate. By keeping your mouth and mind occupied for up to 20 minutes (the Overeating Zone—when you are full, but often continue to eat because your brain has not yet received the “fullness” signal), MealEnders naturally transition you away from the desire to overindulge, giving your body’s natural satiety process time to catch up and let you know your full.

My favorite flavors were definitely the chocolate mint and the mocha — the chocolately-ness of both were just what I needed to curb that need for an after class sweet. The citrus and cinnamon flavors seemed awkwardly creamy to me in their outer coatings — but if creamy tastes are your thing, you might like them better than I do.

MealEnders has offered to do a giveaway for my readers, so to enter, just fill out this form!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you end up not a winner or don’t want to take your chance,  all “runners up” for the giveaway will be able to purchase MealEnders at 30 percent off.  Just enter coupon code WINNER-TOO at checkout. To place your order and learn more about the product, visit www.mealenders.com.

Disclosure: I received four packs of MealEnders in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

 

Filed Under: Ballet, Reviews Tagged With: , 2 Comments
March 20, 2015

Adult Danseur Profile: Sean

sean nutcrackerWhen did you start doing ballet as an adult?
About 3 years ago.
Did you ever take lessons as a kid?
 
HA – I did – as a child I was incredibly clumsy.  The local ballet studio gave free classes to boys, so I took lessons.  Can’t say it helped me be any less of a klutz, but I did learn to love it.
Why did you decide to take ballet as an adult?
 
I started up again for a couple of reasons:-
-A coworker told me she’d always wanted to take a ballet class – but she was sad now b/c she was too old to try.  Thats a pet peeve of mine – saying ‘I’m too old to do xyz’, if you’re not dead yet, you’re not too old.  You might never be the greatest, but thats ok, you can still have fun.
-The second reason I took classes was because my elder sister had majored in theatre and dance, but as she got older she got a ‘normal’ job and has let those things go out of her life.  I told her that I’d take a ballet class if she would…
Where do you take classes?
I take classes wherever I can – these days I take classes primarily at Gainesville Ballet (http://gainesvilleballetcompany.org) – It is a great school and the teachers are outstanding/encouraging and extremely professional.  My only complaint is that I can’t take more classes there 🙂
What is your favorite part about ballet?
I love the structure, that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things – I love that for all the artistry and expression, there is a set of rules, movements, etc – that must be learned and perfected.  I may never do a perfect tendu, but I know that such a thing exists – at least hypothetically.
What is your least favorite part?
petit allegro and I have a love/hate relationship.  I feel like I’m just incapable of moving as fast or jumping as high (and definitely not capable of quickly jumping high) as I would like to.
Who/What is your ballet inspiration?
Since beginning adult classes I’ve gone to a number of schools – I have to say that one consistent thing is that the teachers are all amazing people – I don’t mean only that I find their dancing beautiful, but their kindness and patience is incredible.  Every teacher I’ve had has done a fantastic job in showing me the right way to do things but also at showing me their love of ballet.
What motivates you to keep dancing?
That I might someday get any better at it 🙂
What are your hobbies outside of ballet?
I used to be a long distance runner but have taken a rather long break from that – I desperately need to get back to running, if only to get rid of my growing gut.
What advice would you like to give to those who want to start ballet or have just started?
Turn out starts at the hip, don’t push stretches too hard – you can hurt yourself that way, if it feels natural you’re probably doing it wrong.
What advice would you give to other guys who want to take ballet?
As a dude, you might worry that people won’t be accepting or that they will be judgmental – generally I’ve not found that to be as true as I would have thought.  Reactions from others range from complete disinterest to full-fledged curiosity.  Reactions from class mates vary, I have found that there is usually a class or two period where I’m not sure that my class mates are cool with the strange, ugly, bearded dude in class. If you work hard though the other students will accept you and it is a nice feeling when you feel like you’ve been accepted into the class – note of warning though, once you are accepted you may hear all kinds of conversations that you were never ready for.
A second note – as a adult student, clothing/uniform restrictions are generally more lax than they are for the younger students, so no, you probably won’t have to wear tights (although you could if you wanted to), and while almost everyone will ask you if you wear a tutu b/c EVERYONE seems to think thats a hysterical joke, as a dude (unless you’re a trockadero) a tutu is definitely out.  A dance belt is a good idea though. . .
How as a whole can we encourage more guys to take an adult ballet class? 
Well – I don’t really have an answer for that – I guess I have two thoughts on this:
On the one hand, I think the issue is that men see ballet as feminine, ‘artsy-fartsy’, and just generally not for men – or that the men who do it are weird.  Ultimately I think men just need to be exposed to more ballet. Thats really the only way they can learn to appreciate the athleticism and precision.  Outside of that, I think inviting a male friend to a class couldn’t hurt – I can’t lie, a man might go to his first class thinking it’ll be easy (or thinking it’s an easy way to meet women) but once class starts, I think that nonsense would drop out. . .
On the other hand, ultimately how to get more men involved is the same problem I feel ballet at large faces – how to get more people involved… I think the way to get more people involved in ballet is to educate the public, but that costs money that the smaller local companies and schools don’t want/can’t afford to spend on outreach, but unless the audience/enrollment grows then the budget won’t grow – in my humble opinion, it’s a problem for ballet – not just for appealing to men, but to American participation/viewership at large.
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