November 8, 2012

Are you a bunhead?

The one thing I can never seem to manage is to get my hair into a perfect bun for class (I have the thickest, curliest, most unruly hair in the world).

One of my best “bunhead” days, and it still looks kinda crappy.

While it’s by no means a necessary part of ballet, sometimes it just makes me feel more like a ballerina, when I manage to do an okay job at (and my ballet instructor always comments that I’m officially a bunhead now!)

So what are your tips for doing your hair in a bun? I have to do my hair when its sopping wet with lots of hairspray (sorry environment!) and a ton of bobby pins.

And if you don’t do your hair in a bun, how do you keep your hair out of your face for class?

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October 16, 2012

Better Pirouettes

Here’s a post from a fellow blogger on pirouettes! How did you perfect your pirouettes? What advice would you give to beginners?

I can’t wait to get back to working on pirouettes!

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October 8, 2012

Have you ever been to a workout ballet class?

Here in Philadelphia (and in lots of other cities), there are a variety of ballet workout classes, from Pure Barre classes, to classes mixing ballet and pilates to Ballet Xtreme (the class that’s offered at Philadelphia Dance Fitness, where I have a membership). Lately, it seems ballet is becoming a way to become fit through both ballet classes as well as ballet workout classes (especially the Ballet Beautiful series).

While I wasn’t the biggest fan of Ballet Xtreme (rapid ballet movements and jumps done to hip hop and pop music), it was definitely a workout. But when I find I really need to work on perfecting my technique, the class focuses on doing rapid movements, focusing more on the movement and not technique. I definitely want to try it out in the near future (once I spend a while working on technique–which I am in 3 to 4 classes a week) and after I work on strengthening my ankles (all the jumping in the Xtreme class just killed them–so I ended up skipping most of them).

I do, however, want to try out a Pure Barre workout (because they focus on barre work and are supposed to be gentle on your joints, as they contain no jumping), but at $23 a class, I can’t really afford them right now on my current schedule. So, I plan on just doing more workouts from my Ballet Beautiful book (I’ve only done one so far–woops) and attending ballet as usual.

Have you ever tried out a ballet workout  class? Would you recommend them for beginners?

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October 2, 2012

Streeeettttttttttcccccch!

One of the most difficult things I’ve had a problem with getting myself to do for my ballet is stretch. I’ll go through streaks where I work really hard at my split stretches for a week or so regularly but then I get too busy, forget, or just plain old don’t feel like it, but I know I’m going to have to do it regularly if I ever want to actually become more flexible.

When I do remember, I usually focus on split stretches doing these stretches as well as this one because it really seems to stretch out my hips a lot. I plan on adding some barre split stretches that I found this morning since I recently built my own barre (more on this in a later post, but check out Leotard’s and the Buns in Them’s post on it if you want to build your own ASAP).

I know I need to increase how often I stretch and stretch more of my body than I now do (I could really use some back flexibility!) so I want to know:

How often do you stretch?

What stretches do you do?

In about a week or so I’ll compile a list so we can have a complete ballet stretching guide!

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October 1, 2012

Ballet Etiquette

Knowing what to expect when you walk into a ballet studio is one of the most important things to know if you’re going to start ballet classes. Some studios will be more lenient than others (I take classes at both Philly Dance Fitness and Koresh Dance Studio–Philly Dance Fitness is a lot more laid back than Koresh is). Don’t let that scare you, it’s not really terrifying as it seems as long as you know what you’re doing.

I can’t really say it better than they did, so check out Grown-Ups at the Barre’s Balletiquette post for a good do’s and don’t’s list for ballet studios.

The 3 most important things I grabbed from the article are (that I wish I would’ve known when starting):

1. Make sure you tie you ballet shoes and tuck in the laces (as opposed to tying big bows on the front of them). I have tied mine and cut off the ends so they don’t stick out.

2. Leave enough space at the barre for the person in front and behind you. Some instructors are great when you’re new and will help to make sure you have enough space. If they don’t, it’d be best if you have enough room to swing your leg out in front and behind you. When doing center work, leave enough space between you and your neighbor, and make sure you leave “windows” so the people in the line behind you can see themselves in the mirror.

3. Expect Corrections. This was probably the toughest thing for to get a handle on because I’m such a perfectionist, but everyone is going to get corrected. You’re instructor isn’t picking on you, and everyone was a beginner at some point. You’re there to learn.

What do you think are the most important ballet etiquette rules are if you’ve been in classes before?

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