November 22, 2013

Contribute to ABP!

It’s that time of year again–I’ve almost ran out of subjects for profiles! I’d love for you guys to submit yourself or others using this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18bU12tBQE84mbEB079ss_mGfBTNnoDOThk-VnCR7GII/viewform

I’m also still on the hunt for more studios to list in the Studio Directory, so submit them here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1IGwiQWhbCnI8EzS7UiZc051x_I_lLxv2cxbJtdW54t0/viewform

If you’ve already completed a profile, recommend somebody else–like a dance teacher or a friend! I’m also looking for writers to write short posts on their experiences more in-depth as well as different informational articles about ballet for adult beginners. Contact me at adultballerinaproject@gmail.com if you’re interested!

Filed Under: Ballerina Profiles, Blog Tagged With: , , , Leave a Comment
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
November 18, 2013

ABP is Back Up and Running!

After working on the site for a few hours…Adult Ballerina Project is just about ready to go!

What the site first looked like when I uploaded my new design!

What the site first looked like when I uploaded my new design–a mess!

A few notable changes that I’m testing out:

Social Media Icons: You can now find out all of our social media accounts at the top of page to stay in touch with ABP across multiple channels.

New Mobile Theme: The web design will be visible on mobile devices, too.

Disqus Comments: Allows users to use their social media accounts to comment rather than fill out a form each time.

And lastly (although it’s not finished yet): the studios are moving back to the main site. I’m still working on making this all happen, but I’ll update when they’re up. You’ll be able to find links to them in the sidebar, too.

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November 13, 2013

Why are dancers so clumsy?

whyaredancers

What comes up when you do a search for “why are dancers so…”

Dancers are supposed to be graceful, so why is it that so many of us seem to be so clumsy when out of the studio? Not that I’m exactly uber graceful when in the studio either–but I’m certainly a klutz outside the studio. I’ve been resting the past few days after slightly twisting my ankle while carrying stuff to my apartment on Sunday.

There are lots of different theories on why dancers are more clumsy:

The Dance Project lists a few reasons: dancers lack ankle dorisflexion (flexing their feet) and dancers tend to develop  thoracic outlet syndrome.

There’s also a popular Dance.net forum topic dedicated to different theories. My favorite is this joke:

“If a 2X4 is laying on the floor of a stage an actor will trip on it, a stagehand will step over it, and a dancer will trip on the spot where the board was long after it has been put away.”

Are you clumsy outside of dance? What do you “blame” it on?

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November 11, 2013

Dance Magazine’s 7 Deadly Sins

dancemagazineI’m a little bit ashamed to admit I’ve had to correct quite a few of Dance Magazine’s 7 Deadly Sins throughout my short time as a dancer–most notably rolling my feet in when forcing my turnout (a big no-no, I know) and generally because I have flat feet.

I’ve also given into hyperextension before I really knew better than not to do so. Thanks to Physical Therapy, I’m slowly but surely working to correct both of these bad habits. I’ve also used too much tension, as well, as I get nervous about some things in ballet class like small group work.

Which of these haven’t I dealt with?! I’ve been stuck in a rut, too–although that’s been an easier “habit” (if it even really is a “habit”) to break.

How have you been working on breaking old habits or avoided getting stuck in a dance rut?

 

Filed Under: Ballet, Blog Tagged With: , , , 1 Comment