June 2, 2015

Pick the #AdultBallet Twitter Chat Time + Suggest Questions!

adult-ballet-twitter-chatWe’re looking forward to restarting the #adultballet twitter chats we held a while back. Chats typically last an hour, and typically the hosts ask about 6 questions that everyone and anyone is welcome to answer!

And if you want to suggest a question that should be asked during the chat, add it here:

We can’t wait to talk everything relating to #adultballet on Twitter!

Join in on the #adultballet Twitter Chat!

Click To Tweet

(P.S. If you’re interested in co-hosting this chat, or another one, get in touch at aballerinaproject@gmail.com!)

Top oimage modified from Flickr User Kryziz Bonny with Creative Commons Permissions

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June 1, 2015

Hello Blogathon Day 1!

Given that I currently have a decent amount of free time on my hands, I’ve decided to participate in Freelance Success/WordCount Blogathon. As part of the blogathon, I’ll be posting every day in the month of June. I plan on keeping up with my normal blog activities (profiles, videos, how-tos, reviews) as well as some more blog-style posts.

I hope it’ll be a jump start to get me back into blogging. I hope that some of my fellow dance bloggers join me (you can sign up here!)

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Image via Flickr User Joyce Bettencourt

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May 29, 2015

The Big 1,000 Facebook Like Giveaway

giveaway Thank you to everyone who has supported this blog in some way, including liking the Facebook page and joining the Adult Ballerinas Facebook group. To thank everyone, I wanted to do a big giveaway. Thank you to the sponsors (who donated products to giveaway), including Terez Rose aka Classical Girl,  RubiaWear, and La Bella Boutique Leotards! Here’s what you can win (with the widget to enter each right below it!). We’ll provide more information about each one of the giveaway items in the upcoming week, but for now — start entering!

A Copy of Off Balance (Ballet Theatre Chronicles Book 1), a ballet novel by Terez Rose

9705802 This book is awesome (and I’ve got a review and Q&A coming up with Terez Rose soon, too!) If you win, you’ll have the choice between a hard copy of the book (if you live in the US) or a digital copy (if you’re in the US or elsewhere). a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Coupon Code for a Pair of RubiaWear Legwarmers

 

Seriously, I love these legwarmers, and they’re perfect for doing pointe work in a cold studio (especially if you’re feet tend to cramp up when they’re cold like mine!). Thanks to Ashley for supporting us! a Rafflecopter giveaway

$50 Gift Certificate to La Bella Leotards

Screenshot 2015-05-28 12.36.48 Thanks to Katie for providing this gift certificate to her leotard store on Etsy. I can’t wait to share with everyone my review of her leotards in the near future, too! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Ballet, Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , 13 Comments
March 1, 2015

March Goals — Day 1 of #CityFitGirls March Instagram Challenge

February was a brutal month–it’s been freezing cold here in Philadelphia. I pretty much lost my way as far as getting any cardio in at the gym given the weather. However, for the most part I’ve managed to consistently get to two or three ballet classes a week, which I consider to be a pretty huge accomplishment.

Here are my basic goals for March (which is part of City Fit Girls March photo contest on Instagram):

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Expanding on them a bit more:

1. Stretch more: I’ve been trying to stretch for a good 20-30 minutes on the days I don’t already have ballet. So far, so good.

2. Become more flexible: One will help get me there. I’d also like to become more flexible person in terms of my personal and work relationships, too.

3. Strength train: I want to work both on my foot and core/leg strength. I want to incorporate more pilates, too.

4. Eat Healthy I started off 2015 eating like crap. I started Whole30 a week ago (more on that soon!) but even when Whole30 is over, I wanted to be eating better.

5. Take more photos: Given that this is a photo challenge this should be easy! I want more photos of me doing ballet, too.

6. Write more: I want to be writing more both for this blog and for other purposes. Even though it’s my day job, I want to do more of it.

7. Have fun: Have fun while doing all of this, and change my goals if it’s not fun.

What are your goals for the month of March?

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February 13, 2015

My Ballerina Story: Vince Svitak

100_1022First, let me say that ballet has been a passion with me since I was a kid. I remember going to Radio City Music Hall in New York for the first time on a field trip in school to go see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. I thought to myself that I would like to dance like them one day — that’s when my passion for dance began. Ever since the show, I have had dreams of dancing en pointe and performing.

But being the shy kid that I was, I never followed that dream to take classes. So as I grew up, I just put dance in the back of my mind and went into the Navy.

What made me want get into dance as an adult?

Unfortunately, I got the chance to start ballet after a second chance at life after having an accident in 2012, when I was T-boned in my car. I was able to get back on my feet cause of my experience in the Navy, I was trained to get back on my feet without the help of physical therapy, but something still didn’t feel right with me and felt weak from the accident.

I wanted to do something, but going to the gym wasn’t something I wanted to do. Going to the gym, you do the same exercises over and over again. So that is when I  decided I’d check into ballet classes because it was something I always wanted to do, and I knew you always were learning something new when you go to class.

20141217_143959Even though I knew ballet wasn’t going to be easy and I knew may not become a professional, like my two favorite dancers, Polina Semionova and Mikhail Baryshnikov, I am finally following a dream I wanted to do.

Now, that I am taking my classes, I have finally found the happiness that I’ve been looking for since I was a kid. So, if people want to look at me and judge, that’s fine because ballet is something I want to do and enjoy. Even my teacher says she sees the hidden ballerina in me come out because I have the passion for ballet when I come to class and sees me getting better every class!

Since I started going to ballet, I advanced in November ’14, to go en pointe, and have slowly progressed in my classes. Ballet has opened me up to feel the happiness that I was missing in addition to the great exercise it gives me to keep fit and to enjoy life more.

I’m here to say, if you have a dream, don’t let anyone stop you from following it cause then it may stop you from finding the happiness that you were looking for!

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