November 28, 2012

Guest Post: Profile of Susan Attfield from Pretoria, South Africa

Today’s post (Adult Ballerina Project’s first guest post!) is brought to you by Susan Attfield, who owns her own ballet studio, Dance Hub, in Pretoria, South Africa. You can read her blog, Ballet for Adults in South Africa, here. Enjoy her post about being an adult ballerina and going on to open her own studio!

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I started dancing just more than four years ago. I did two years of modern dancing when I was about 15 years old, but always want to do ballet. I had no prior experience in ballet till 2008 and never did ballet as a child.

Prior to starting ballet myself, I have not even seen a ballet or a live ballet performance on stage ever! I have always known that I wanted to do ballet, even as a child. My mother however, believed ballet was too expensive to take on as a hobby and wanted me to rather excel in athletic track events, which I did.

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Filed Under: Adult Ballerinas, Ballerina Profiles, Ballet, Interviews Tagged With: , , , , 4 Comments
November 26, 2012

What was it like to get your first pair of pointe shoes?

Bloch Signature Rehearsal pointe shoes with a ...

Within the next couple of weeks, I’ll be going to get fitted for my first pair of pointe shoes at a store nearly everyone recommends in Philadelphia, The Rosin Box.

I’m not going to lie, I’m terrified. I’m worried they’re going to tell me I’m not ready. Or none of them will fit me. Or I’ll somehow spectacularly fail at something as simple as a shoe fitting because I’ve never worn pointe shoes before and I’m 21 years old. (Okay, I’m a worrier.)

So I want to know, what was getting your first pair of pointe shoes like? Were you nervous? Anything wish you’d done? I’ll be posting the answers in a separate page for future adult ballerinas to read and get your advice! Make sure you include what your first pointe shoe was!

Filed Under: Ballet, Ballet Class, Info Tagged With: , , , , , 17 Comments
November 24, 2012

Catching Up on Ballet and Real Food Barres

I’ve been MIA lately, I know. With two cases of strep throat in three weeks (yes, two) I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with school work and haven’t made it to ballet in a while. The last class I made it to was a Tuesday night between both cases of strep–and that was only for barre. Hopefully this week will be at least 2 (hopefully 3) classes.

Other than that–I plan on finally starting my next 30 Day Stretch Challenge as I described in my last post tomorrow. How is your split coming? Is it where you expected it to be? Any suggestions for those who might just be starting out?

P.S. Has anyone tried out real food barres? They were developed by a professional ballerina for dancers. I just ordered one of each today because they have free shipping today for Small Business Saturday and I plan on having a review up once they arrive! I’ve yet to find an energy/snack/granola bar I really like. If you have one you like, what is it?

 

Filed Under: 30 Day Stretch Challenge, Ballet, Info Tagged With: , , , , 2 Comments
November 14, 2012

A Different Take On Stretching

I’m not going  to lie, I failed at keeping up with the 30 day stretch challenge. Between my injury and not being able to attend classes (which killed my motivation)–stretching for a full 30 minutes didn’t happen everyday.

split rock pose : sutro baths, san francisco (...

split rock pose : sutro baths, san francisco (2012) (Photo credit: torbakhopper)

Yesterday, when I talked to my boyfriend after his Tae Kwon Do class, he mentioned how his instructor said that instead of stretching for just one period a day, you instead should stretch for shorter intervals multiple times a day. This allows your body to get used to being stretched several times and not just being exposed to it once a day. This gymnastics article also says that “short, repeated exposure to stretching is more productive than a single intense or long bout of stretching.”

It’s better to stretch for 10 minutes a day than 70 minutes once a week–which is what I would end up doing because I’d avoid stretching and then try to make up for it

So for the next 30 days, my plan will be to try to stretch for still 30 minutes total a day, but in three segments: 10 minutes when I wake up, 10 minutes during my lunch break, and 10 minutes in the evening.

How are you working on becoming more flexible?

Filed Under: 30 Day Stretch Challenge, Ballet, Ballet Class, Info Tagged With: , , , , , 4 Comments
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?

Filed Under: Ballet, Ballet Class, Clothing and Gear, Info Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , 21 Comments