Tuesday's Tips: 10 Tips That Will Let You Slide into the Splits!!!!!

Have you ever read Beginner Ballerina's 10 TIPS: Make Splits MUCH Easier To Do? Well, I have, and I was inspired to make my own list!!!! Here you go!


1. They key to being able to do a split is being able to touch you nose to your knee, or pretty close to it. Practice this every day, and then you will be able to do full splits!!!

2. Stretch with you muscles warm. Right after you jog, get out of a hot shower, or stretch with legwarmers on. Muscles don't stretch as well if they are cold.

3. Before muscles begin to adapt to the new length, you have to hold the stretch for at least 90 seconds. WARNING: When you start stretching every day, begin with 30 seconds, then 60, and work you way up. My muscles went into "shock" because I held for two minutes of my first try.

4. Before doing splits, do what I like to call, "fouette stretches". I stretch en qua...... or in a cross. First, stretch to the front by putting you legs straight out in front of you, and bend down. Second, bend one leg, and extend the other to the side, and bend down. Last, put your legs behind you and do a seal stretch.

5. Like Beginner Ballerina said, watch TV or read a book. This distracts you from your stretching, which is good. My ballet teacher says to imagine yourself eating an ice cream sundae, but that doesn't work for me.

6. Set up some home-spa stuff on your desk counter, or wherever you are stretching. Give yourself a pedicure or facial afterward, so you have something to look forward to.

7. Visualize yourself doing a perfect split. I you practice everyday, you will have one!!! It's only a matter of time and diligence.

8. Plan a banana split party!!! You could invite several friends over to practice splits once a week together. Once you all have your splits, have a banana split party!!

9. Make a split section! Section off a part of of you room, the basement, or wherever you stretch, and customize it to your stretching. Keep legwarmers, water bottles, spa stuff, timer, and anything else you need there. Call it, Cassy's Cool Corner, or Sammy's Split Slide!

10. DON'T THINK ABOUT IT! Just don't.


I hope you liked today's Tuesday's Tips!

Monday's Blog Brag: StuffDancersLike

Ok!!!! it's time for Monday's Blog Brag!!!! Today I am going to brag about my newest follower[s], ConnectionsDance!!!! Two girls named Anne and Brianna call themselves ConnectionsDance, and have a blog called StuffDancersLike. Let's take a look at a few of the things they post about:

Exercise Tips




Advice




Amazing Videos


Go check them out, and come back tomorrow for Tuesday's Tips!!!

Note: If you want you blog featured on Monday's Blog Brag, become a follower and blog about me!

Revisiting: Recital Coming Up? No Problem!!

Packing List:

Hairpins
Hairbrush
Hairspray
Fine-tooth Comb
Hairnets (snoods)
Hair elastics
Any other hair supplies you need
Make-up
Make-up remover
Costume
Performance Tights
Clear Nail Polish
Hairpiece (if you have one)
Nude camisole
Ballet/Pointe Shoes
SNACKS!
3 water bottles. No Gatorade or juice. Water is the best for you.
A BIG bag. I used my suitcase to carry everything and I still had to hook my poofy costume onto it.

Tips:

1. Do your performance bun and make-up at home. This will make your life a lot easier. You still need to take hair things and make-up because you might need to re-apply make-up or fix your bun.

2. Go to the high school/theatre/studio with your practice clothes on. This will keep your costume neat and clean.

3. DON'T LEAVE THE PLACE BEFORE TELLING YOUR TEACHER! I left to go get lunch and everyone was looking for me.

4. Own 2 pairs of tights. 1 pair for practice. This pair will be only for classes. 1 pair for performances. This pair will be kept clean and no holes will be in it. When you start your new year of classes, buy a new pair of performance tights and use the old performance ones for practice.

5. Take clear nail polish with you. if you have a rip in your tights, dab a little bit on it and it will fix it.

6. Buy a nude camisole, like this one. These are great for wearing underneath your costume for more coverage or warmth. Even if you do not need it with your costume, still bring it.

7. If you are bringing pointe shoes, take at least 2 pairs. You never know what might happen.

8. Bring a pair of clothes to put on afterward. I suggest a dress to air out your legs from the tights.

9. Bring healthy snacks to eat, I got very hungry. Bring things like carrots, grapes, celery, etc.

10. Do all of these things and pack all of the same things for the dress rehearsal. Pretend like it is the Recital. That's why they call it a dress rehearsal.

Weekly Q and A - 8/29/10

It's Sunday, so let's get right to our Weekly Q and A!! This week is about auditions.



1. Have you ever auditioned for a huge company production?


2. If so....... do you have any advice for young ballerinas?


3. On a scale of one to ten, how do you rate auditions?
(i.e. 10, I love them!!!!, 1, THEY SCARE ME OUT OF MY TIGHTS!)


4. How do you relieve the stress of auditions?


5. Last of all, do you have any shows coming up this winter? I'd love to hear about them. I, myself am performing in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!



Hope you liked my Weekly Q and A!!!! Come back tomorrow for Monday's Blog Brag on an excellent and amazing site!

Friday's Finds - 8/27/10

Black Beauties

1. Check out this gorgeous tutu
2. How would you like to come home to this bed after class?
3. How about this beautiful plate to keep pins and hairnets in?
4. Sport this awesome clip to class.
5. Wear this sweater to class when it gets chilly.

Thursday's Inspire

+

Wednesday's Ballet: Giselle

The ballet begins in a village, where a young girl named, Giselle is living with her attentive mother, Berthe. The village gamekeeper, Hilarion is madly in love with Giselle, yet Prince Albrecht comes into the spotlight. He is bored with his everyday life, and wants to escape from his fiance, Bathilde. Upon seeing Giselle, he disguises himself as a peasant named Loys, and approaches her by buying the cottage next to Berthe's, and begins showering them with gifts.
As soon as Hilarion gets wind of this, he is infuriated. He sees that Giselle is madly in love with Albrecht, so he mistakes that they are getting married.

That night, Berthe has a dream that Giselle will become a Wili, a bride who dies the day before her wedding. Every night, the Wilis emerge and trap any men who lurk their premises. Meanwhile, Hilarion finds out that Loys is not who he says he is and reveals his identity and fiance, Bathilde. Giselle is heartbroken, and dies that very night.

At the tomb of Giselle, the Wilis appear to anoint Giselle as one of their own. But soon, Albrecht comes to visit her tomb, feeling guilt and remorse for her death. Hilarion is soon found doing the same. The Wili queen, Myrta, orders her Wilis to dance around them until they die of exhaustion. The Wilis try, but they are unable to break the invisible bond of true love between Albrecht and Giselle. In the end, Albrecht is saved, and Giselle returns with the Wilis for eternity.

Come back tomorrow for Thursday's Inspire!

Product Review: Ez Buns

Alright, I promised you that surprise review.......................... Ez Buns!

I wore Ez Buns for my "Day of Dance" at my studio. To tell the truth....... I was worried whether or not it would fall out. But it didn't!!! It stayed in the entire time! Because we had so many different classes, I decided to wear the double bun (see below), so that I can take the bottom half down for contemporary, conditioning, and modern classes, while leaving it up during ballet and pre-pointe classes.

If you are planning on wearing this for ballet classes, it's best to put it up while wet. It makes the bun very smooth and it hold better. Ez buns are great for post-performance dinners or parties. I mean, you have to have the perfect Hollywood updo when you get handed that beautiful bouquet of roses!

Ez Buns come in many many many different colors!!!! I would suggest getting two Ez Buns the same color as you hair (ie. creme for blonde, red brown for brunette, etc.). If you want, you could get two more in crazy colors for everyday use! I would get two leopard ones! I happen to have two black ones, even though I am a brunette, they work for me. My over-all results of this product were wonderful.

The value of Ez Buns are excellent. They are made of velveteen fabric that stays in your hair and won't slip. They stay in all day and it takes less than a minute to throw it in my hair. Especially during the summer, my hair would get so frizzy, and would stick to my neck. On non-ballet days, I keep one in my purse, so if I get hot, I can put it up easily.

The only down side to this product is that when my hair is super tangly, and I'm too tired to brush it out (or I don't have a brush) it tugs at my hair. It will tug on random clumps of my hair, and it's pretty painful. But the solution is to reach for the pinching spots, and tug at the hair gently. this will loosen that spot of hair and it won't hurt anymore. But who knows, maybe I'm putting it in wrong!

This product is great for busy ballerinas, especially ones that are going onto pointe. All of the extra classes, late nights, early Saturday mornings........ you could use some help. But if you are more comfortable with the old pin-and-hairnet bun.......not for you.

Ready to order? Go to www.ezbun.com to order.

Tuesday's Tips: Lopsided Bun

Ever had one of those days where you throw up your bun because your late for class and it turns out totally lopsided? Well, this tutorial might solve your problems. Here is what you need:

a 12-inch piece of fabric or ribbon
A large hairpin
hot glue gun

Put a little dab of glue on the curved part of the pin. Before the glue cools, tie a knot around it, like this:

Finally, tie it into a bow. Add a little drop of glue here and there to secure it. Stick it into you bun to balance out proportions and you're ready to head off to class!

I hope you liked Tuesday's Tips, come back tomorrow for Wednesday's Ballet!

Monday's Blog Brag: Ballet NEWS

Alright, I do believe it is time to brag about the amazing, Ballet NEWS! Ballet NEWS is a website run by an amazing journalist who pulls only the finest of news strait from the scene for us to know and hear about.


Here are a few of the things that she posts:



Ballet Reviews


"Cupcakes and Conversation" with Famous Dancers


Short Films

And of course, Ballet News!!!



I hope that you liked this week's Monday's Blog Brag! Come back tomorrow for Tuesday's Tips

News-

Um........ Weekly Q and A is going to be a little late this week........ I can't get to the files on the laptop :( . But they will be up soon!

Revisiting: Class Etiquette

1. NO TALKING!!!!! Talking is for before and after ballet classes, not during the combination. The only thing you should say, is "FIRE!" if you have to =)

2. Don't correct other people. Don't say "Psss. Lift your arm higher!". 2 things: 1) It's the teacher's job to correct, and 2) You might be lifting your own arm too high!

3. Hold your finishing position until the teacher says to relax. Even though the music has stopped, your teacher might want to walk around and inspect everyone's finishing position. This especially applies to barre work.

4. If you are in line waiting for your turn to do a combination, don't skip ahead and cut because you know and love the combination. It is respectful to stay in line where you were the entire class.

5. Don't ask questions in the middle of class. Come to the teacher after class and ask about the combination or step.

6. If you have to leave early in class, 1) inform your teacher at the beginning of class, and 2) don't ask him/her what time it is. It's impolite.

7. If you won't be there the next class or so, tell the teacher that you won't be there. Just this week, someone didn't tell my teach that they wouldn't be there, and we had to start class late.

8. Turn your cellphone off. Most of your friends know not to call you at a certain time, but I have gotten wrong numbers and service calls during class because I didn't turn my phone off.

9. Listen to the teacher. If you don't know if you heard 6 or 8 frappes, too bad. It's not polite to make the teacher repeat it.

10. Don't complain or groan. Believe me, he/she will pile more work on your plate.

It's only fair for me to say that I have learned all of this from my own previous experience ;)

Friday's Finds - 8/20/10

Cutting Edge Ballet

1. Tarzan Dan, Cutting Edge Ballet Photography
2. Pointe heels!!!!! What next?
3. The Black Swan, coming out in December
4. Ballet Inspired Wedding Fashion
5. Geometry and Grace, a new kind of ballet

Tons Of Product Reviews Coming Up!!!

My birthday is tomorrow, so I got a gift certificate to Discount Dance Supply!!!!! Here are the things that I ordered (they arrived yesterday ;) ).

Bunheads Heavyweight Performance Lashes


Leotard


Bunheads Super Heavyweight Exercise Band


Bunheads Refreshing Foot Wipes


Sure Foot Foot Rubz Massager


I-FLEX Jr. Stretch Unit


Capezio Convertible Tights


Bunheads Toe Tape


Dr. Roth's Arch Band Supports


Body Wrappers 27" Black Stirrup Legwarmers

I will probably be reviewing all of these for you guys! And, I have a surprise review that I have put together! Here is a sneak peek:

Thursday's Inspire: Tarzan Dan

Promises, Promises

Ok, as a token of my affection to you, I am up at 6:30 in the morning writing up the blog posts for this week. I don't know about you, but 6:00 a.m. in the morning is pretty early for me. So you will finally have something to read! For now, I will be sorting through my 1000+ items in Google Reader, to inspire me.

Ok, Here is a trailer for The Black Swan!

WARNING: THIS IS NOT FOR THE LIGHTHEARTED. DON'T SUE ME IF YOU FAINT.

Exciting Things

So Sorry that I haven't been blogging for a while......... especially the tutorials and questions..............But I have had relatives in this week, so I have been busy. I will probably be taking a two week break from blogging, this week to get back into the swing of things, and next week because both school and ballet start on Monday : |

Friday's Finds - 8/6/10

Turquoise Treasures

1. Find these teal leotards here
2. These mason jars are awesome to hold pins and hairnets in at home
3. These colorful Ouch Pouches are perfect for those turquoise needs. ;)
4. Sport this beautiful mint rosette clip to class this fall.
5. Check out this beautiful performance dress

Thursday's Inspire: Ballet Ads

+


+


+


+


I love this one! +

I hoped you liked Thursday's Inspire. Come back tomorrow for Friday's Finds

Hmmmmmm.........

Well, I was thinking about changing the background of my blog, but I couldn't decide which one. I picked out my favorites, and decided to let you choose. Here you go:


elaine #5


dance.those.blues.away


Ballerina 8-Liminate


Dancing


Learning How To Dance

Wednesday's Ballet: The Jungle Book

This week's ballet is a different kind of ballet.......one you probably haven't heard of. The Jungle Book is a beautiful fairytale story told through dance.

+



+


+


+


The ballet opens in the thick jungle of India, where a panther named Bagheera is roaming the premises. He comes across an abandoned boat, and finds a small baby inside. Taking pity on the baby, he takes him to a family of wolves that adopt the man-cub, named Mowgli.

Ten years go by, and Mowgli has adapted to being a wolf, despite his differences. Word goes buzzing through the jungle that Shere Khan has been spotted, and everyone runs for cover. The wolf pack knows of Shere Khan's hatred for man, so they decide to send Badheera to take Mowgli to the nearest man-village, which happens to be quite far away.

They set out on their journey in the middle of the night, and fall asleep in a tree. They are soon interrupted by Kaa, a python who tries to hypnotize them both, before being pushed out of the tree by Mowgli.

In the morning, Bagheera and Mowgli are woken up by "The Dawn Patrol", a brutal and brawny pack of elephants, leg by the even more brutal and brawny Colonel Hathi. Mowgli plays with his son, and decides he wants to become an elephant. and refuses to travel with Bagheera. They separate, frustrated with each other.

As Mowgli sits on a rock and sulks, and a care-free bear, Baloo, comes along, and cheers Mowgli up. The two dance a lively dance together, and Baloo promises Mowgli that he can stay with him in the jungle. Bagheera hears their commotion and rushes back to Mowgli, thinking he is being attacked by Shere Khan. He is dismayed when he finds Baloo and Mowgli dancing, but sticks with them to complete the journey.

The party comes across King Louie, the lord over some ancient ruins. King Louie thinks that Mowgli can help him make fire. He captures him, and send Baloo and Bagheera away. After a frantic escape, Mowgli, Baloo, and Bagheera continue on their journey.

That night, Bagheera tells Baloo of the danger of keeping Mowgli in the jungle. Baloo reluctantly agrees to take him back, but when Mowgli find out that he can't stay in the jungle with Baloo, he runs away.

On his escape, Mowgli encounters Kaa again, and is hypnotized by the python. Kaa is about to eat Mowgli, when Shere Khan appears, and Kaa quickly hides Mowgli, and continues to have a conversation with the tiger, while hiding the fact that the man-cub is nearby. By the time the tiger has disappeared into the jungle, Mowgli has come out of his trance and escaped.

Mowgli comes upon a group of vultures, who are willing to adopt him to become one of their own. Suddenly, Shere Khan appears, and the vultures scatter. All except for Mowgli. Mowgli simply states to the tiger that he is not afraid of him, and Shere Khan becomes very angry. As he is about to pounce upon the man-cub, Baloo appears, and attacks the tiger first. The tiger makes a great claw at the bear, and Baloo falls to the ground. Mowgli ties a burning stick to the tiger's tail, and because he is spookish of fire, the tiger scatters frantically.

Bagheera and Mowgli approach Baloo, who appears to be dead. Suddenly, Baloo rises, and all is not lost......yet. Bagheera tells the group that the plan to get Mowgli back to the man-village has failed, a beautiful song wafts through the air. The party walks towards the source, and they find a beautiful little girl appears. Mowgli follows her into the village, in a trance from her beauty.

Baloo and Bagheera disappear into the jungle, and who knows what adventures they had then.

I hope you enjoyed the witty story of The Jungle Book, come back tomorrow for Thursday's Inspire.