March 18, 2013

Inspiration is Everywhere: Silver Linings Playbook

Over spring break I both read Silver Linings Playbook and go see the movie. Jennifer Lawrence (famous for playing Katniss in The Hunger Games) plays Tiffany, the love interest of Pat Peoples (Bradley Cooper). In both the movie and the book, Tiffany builds a small dance studio in her apartment after the death of her husband so that she can start dancing, something her husband would never do with her while he was alive.

http://www.kcconfidential.com

http://www.kcconfidential.com

I was extremely jealous of this studio: it had nice hardwood floors, a wall of mirrors, and even a ballet barre.

She’s essentially an adult beginner dancer and so is Pat after she ropes him into practicing for hours at a time for a competition in exchange for Tiffany’s delivering of letter’s to his exwife Nikki. I won’t spoil the ending for you–but both versions of the competition (it varies between the book and the movie) were very inspirational for adult beginners of any style of dance.

Have any other movies or books inspired you to be an adult dancer?

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March 16, 2013

Everything is Beautiful at the Ballet

midsummer ballet capture

Last Thursday, my boyfriend and I went to go see the Pennsylvania Ballet‘s performance of Midsummer Night’s Dream to review for thINKingDANCE, my internship. I loved it and it made me want to go back to ballet even more (I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to go back Thursday!)

pa ballet tweet

You can read my review here.

What performances have inspired you to dance?

 

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March 13, 2013

Yoga, Pilates, Running and More!

It’s been really tough to keep up with this given that I haven’t stepped into a studio in awhile–but I should be back relatively soon. Lately though, I’ve been trying to get into better shape over my spring break with a little bit of pilates, some stationary biking, and some yoga. It’s been tough, but I’ve been feeling a lot better lately. I’m looking forward to both getting back to ballet and getting into some running (I just bought a fancy armband for my phone!)

yoga

 (Photo credit: GO INTERACTIVE WELLNESS)

Check out Do Yoga With Me for just about any yoga routine. I did their Runners Injury Prevention one this morning and it was awesome.  It was just challenging enough to help stretch out some of the issues I’ve been having.

What are your favorite activities to do besides ballet?

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February 27, 2013

Oops…

…I’ve been neglecting this blog again.

It’s really tough to write about ballet when you can’t do any of it, and that’s been one of the reasons I’ve avoided blogging. Good news is, I don’t have a stress fracture, but my leg still has its moments when it hurts like hell–especially after some speed walking I shouldn’t have done to get to a meeting on time on Sunday. I have another ortho appointment a week from today.

Does anybody have any recommendations of good yoga video online–I’m in desperate need of SOMETHING to do. Sitting around doing nothing has not been good for me.

The other reason I haven’t written here in a while is that I’ve been busy. I’ve been writing articles for local dance publications like crazy–I’ve had three published in the last two weeks and I’ll be writing another about a performance this Saturday.

Passion Ignites Kariamu and Company

Review: Hold Me To This, Temple University MFA Thesis Concert

Review: An Evening of Duets

In addition, I saw a show at Bryn Mawr College Saturday and then had a workshop with the wonderful Claudia LaRocco from the NYTimes and ThePerformanceClub.org. I was truly a great experience, and I learned a lot about writing.

And, because you’ve probably been missing some ballet advice here’s a few articles to read until I get my act together:

On Balance: How to Nail Long Balances

The Ballet Bun: Best Practices (okay–it’s meant for parents–but that doesn’t mean it’s not helpful).

And not ballet advice, but if you’re a Bunheads fan, here’s an article from Times Magazine on why the show is important:  On the Importance of Bunheads

Please fill me in on what you’ve been up to!

 

Filed Under: Ballet, Ballet Class, Blog, Etc., Info Tagged With: , , , , , 2 Comments
February 18, 2013

Yikes! A Stress Fracture

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been having some ankle/lower leg issues that I thought were just really bad shin splints/tendonitis. So when I went to see an ortho specialist, I was just expecting a “stay off it for about two weeks, ice/heat regularly…blah blah blah” and I’d be back to ballet in no time. So turns out, it could be a stress fracture in my upper shin (it’s all swollen and stuff) and I’m in a walking boot and schedule for a bone scan for Wednesday (which takes like 5 hours). I don’t know when I’ll see the inside of a ballet studio next.

photo (4)

My super cute Valentine’s date outfit.

I’m going to try and keep updating this blog on a semi-regular basis (there’s only so much a girl feels like writing about ballet when she can’t actually do it–and I’m currently looking into floor barre, thanks Janis for the local suggestion!) but as always, I’m looking for guest contributors to get more conversation and other viewpoints on the blog. Check out these great posts:

Different Teachers, Different Perspectives

Advice for Men in Ballet

Profile Of Susan Attfield

If you’re interested, you can shoot me an e-mail at adultballerinaproject@gmail.com

Filed Under: Ballet 4 Comments