December 16, 2013

A Job and Lessons Learned

I’ve been away from this blog a bit for a few reasons: last week I started working 3-days a week at my job (wahoo!) and it’s a bit tough mentally to be writing about ballet when you can’t actually do ballet. I’m still going to try to stick to about 3 posts a week–although I might not reach that goal until after the New Year. Normally, I’d prepare some posts, but seeing as how I’m a writer and we’ll also be doing the same thing for our publication at work I can see it not exactly happening.

It wasn’t until last Monday that I learned (for certain) that my internship was being extended into a part-time job. I’m super excited–although it made getting blog posts up for last week tough especially since I was struggling with some annoying headaches all week long (which getting about 3 hours of sleep Monday night will do to you).

Now for a stress fracture update–the end of this past week was the first time my legs truly started to feel better–probably because I stuck to wearing sneakers from Thursday on. It’s tough to do sometimes (especially when I do occasionally need to dress nice for work), but for now my best option is to be wearing sneakers as much as possible.

This week, I’ll have the usual Friday profile as well as a guest post on Wednesday from another elf, Renee, (from #Elf4Health) on running. We’re supposed to be sharing our expertise, so I’ll be over sharing about ballet on her blog! I’m also going to try and fit in both a 2013 recap and 2014 goals in the next few weeks too.

In addition, I’ll be starting a professional writer blog/resume website too, so stay tuned for that!

What has your December been like?

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December 13, 2013

Beginner Ballerina Profile: Rachel Hellwig of Clara’s Coffee Break

photo_me_3This week’s profile is  of Rachel Hellwig, who has danced since age 13 and runs a ballet-themed blog, Clara’s Coffee Break . Stone Soup magazine published her ballet story, Nutcracker Dreams, when she was 13. Last month, Dance Advantage published her article The Sci-Fi Origins of the Nutcracker’s Snow Scene and Other Fun Facts.

 When did you start doing ballet as an adult? I actually started at age 13 in a ballet class designed for older beginners, but I have never trained beyond recreational level. I’m now in my twenties and take class once a week, so I consider myself an adult ballet student.

Did you ever take lessons as a kid?

Not before age 13.

Why did you decide to take ballet as an adult?

I decided to take ballet as a teenager after I read the classic children’s book Ballet Shoes. The story really captures the magic of performing and being in a theater. It makes you want to be part of that magic.

 Where do you take classes?

Birmingham Ballet Academy in Birmingham, Alabama.

 What is your favorite part about ballet?

I love how ballet teaches you to improve your overall quality of movement and isn’t just about “learning steps”. It’s so neat how you feel stronger and lighter and have more “spring in your step” when you finish a class. I also love that ballet classes are done to classical music or music that has been arranged for the piano.

What is your least favorite part?

My least favorite part is the occasional physical pain. Although, one benefit of non-intense training is that you are much less prone to injuries and wear and tear.

 Who/What is your ballet inspiration?

Listening to classical music and soundtracks is my inspiration because it immediately puts ballet scenes in my head and makes me feel like dancing. I am also inspired by watching other dancers. My current favorite ballerinas are (not in order): Sara Mearns, Alina Cojocaru, and Diana Vishneva.

What motivates you to keep dancing?

If I had to narrow it down to one thing, I suppose it would be music. Whenever I hear beautiful or exciting music, I feel like dancing. It’s amazing how an arrangement of sounds can create that response within you.

 Do you take any other dance classes?

No, just ballet.

 What are your hobbies outside of ballet?

Blogging, writing, animation, listening to music and audiobooks.

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

Listen to your body and don’t push it too hard or take unnecessary risks. No one can master ballet, so settle in and enjoy the wonderful process of learning instead of making goals about how soon you’ll be able to do a double pirouette. I think that only ends in frustration and needless feelings of failure.

 Do you have a blog?

Yes, I have a blog, it’s ballet-themed. Here’s the link: http://clarascoffeebreak.wordpress.com/

 

Filed Under: Adult Ballerinas, Ballerina Profiles, Ballet, Interviews Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment
December 9, 2013

Help a Fellow Adult Ballerina Out In Vancouver, Canada!

Facebook

JenniferAnn recently left me a note on my Facebook page looking for a private ballet instructor in Vancouver, Canada since her previous instructor isn’t a good fit. She’s returning to ballet after 22 years away, so she thinks a private instructor is her best fit.

I’m not familiar with the area nor have I come across any studios or instructors in the area, but I figured maybe somebody who reads this blog could help!

She’s also looking to be able to take either her RAD or Vaganova exams, so she’s looking for a teacher who does exam work.

Know a good teacher or somebody who could help? Leave a comment here or drop a line on JenniferAnn’s question on Facebook (under comments by others). Or email me at adultballerinaproject@gmail.com.

Thanks for your help!

Filed Under: Ballet Tagged With: , , , , , , 1 Comment
December 5, 2013

And Here’s Another Post About My Injuries

I’ve probably written about a dozen or so posts about my leg injuries in the past year. It hasn’t been fun, and while I thought that physical therapy was finally my solution–apparently I was wrong.

My shin pain goes back to the beginning of October 2012, when I got out of a ballet class and practically had to wobble home because of the pain–I had to call my boyfriend to pick me up from the train station. It seemed to get better for a while, but running/walking on a treadmill was painful. I got it checked out, got an x-ray, was told to stay off it for a month or so with a diagnosis of tendinitis. I had a couple of bad cases of the flu and didn’t do a whole lot of ballet during the month of December and January with the holidays.

In February/March, the pain started acting up again when I got back into the swing of things. I had more x-rays and even a bone scan. But nothing. I stayed off it for 8 weeks. I failed at running a 5k thanks to my shin splints. I finally listened to my body and took it easy, gradually increased my running. Things were going well.

Then slowly it got gradually worse. My leg was moderately unhappy after doing the color run in old sneakers. There was an off week where it felt pretty bad, but a week off helped tremendously. But after the Rescue Run 5k I decided to go back to the ortho and was prescribed PT.

PT went well. Before my most recent ortho check up, I had a somewhat rough ballet class and my left calf and knee seemed really tight to me, so I mentioned it to my new ortho doctor (the one from September moved offices) and because of the pain he wanted to do an MRI. I wasn’t even sure I was going to get one, but when I got an appointment for the same day, I got it done. Then a week ago (the day before Thanksgiving–after fainting at a blood drive, no less), I got a call telling me I had stress fractures. One in my left leg, and the start of one in my right.

So now I’m off my legs again for 6-8 weeks while they heal.

Kudos to you if you’ve read all of that! For now, I’m looking for recommendations as to no- and low-impact activities I can do from home. I’ve already had some recommendations, so I’ll be writing a post about what I’ve come up with and tried soon. I’m also trying to read more, write more, and maybe even do some crocheting of some legwarmers to keep myself occupied.

What have you found to work for coping with injuries?

Filed Under: Ballet, Blog Tagged With: , , , , , 4 Comments
November 20, 2013

Updates, Updates, Updates–I’m almost PT free!

Why hello there!

I feel as if I’ve been awfully busy lately, between work and freelance work and Physical Therapy appointments and haven’t been updating on here as much as I’d like.

Finally, after about a month of PT, I should be just about good to go. I had my last appointment last Friday, and as long as everything still feels okay this week (my PT is supposed to be calling at some point this week to check in)–everything should be great. I have to go see my ortho again at the end of this week too–well actually a different ortho doctor considering my old one switched offices–but at least this one now is much closer!

I’ve been back to my (almost) full-on ballet schedule for about three weeks now which consists of two classes a week and it feels great–although sometimes it’s really tiring since I haven’t been in class a lot. We’ve been working on a Nutcracker combination in class that focuses on some of the steps we’ve been learning at the barre and center–which has been a lot of fun, but I can’t say I sad to see it go as we’ll be working on something new this week. Two weeks ago I was really exhausted from work and ended up having a terrible ballet class where I completely messed up the combination and got really frustrated with myself for messing it up. Luckily the week after I had two good classes in a row where I felt like I did really well.

The last step in getting completely back to ballet is to add Monday classes back . I thought about going this week but then I completely forgot about it until it was too late!

In other news, I’m still not running as much as I used to. I ran for about a week and a half when my PT said it was okay, and then I twisted my ankle (while walking–not running) and haven’t ran since. The cold isn’t helping to motivate me, but hopefully I’ll be back at it soon with more of a free schedule.

What has your ballet life been like lately?

PS. The studios have all been moved over to this URL, but if you notice something is broken–let me know! I was having some issues uploading them. If you’d like to add a studio, email me at adultballerinaproject@gmail.com

Filed Under: Ballet, Blog Tagged With: , , , , 4 Comments