Friday's Finds - 7/23/10

1. Freed of London is the most popular brand of pointe shoes.
2. The Pointe Book by Janice Barringer and Sarah Schlesinger
3. Tips on Pointe Shoe Fitting
4. Breaking in your Pointe Shoes
5. Pointe Readiness and What to Expect

Thursday's Inspire

Sara Michelle Murawski. Photo by Gene Schiavone. Via www.principaldancer.com

Revisiting: Student Shoes

Here is a very useful list of student pointe shoes from The Pointe Book by Janice Barringer and Sarah Schlesinger

Angelo Luzio NO5z
Bloch Aspiration
Bloch SO105 Aspiration
Bloch SO130 Sonata
Bloch SO131 Serenade (I have several friends who use this shoe)
Bloch SO132 Sylphide
Bloch SO141 Serenade V
Capezio Pavlowa
Capezio Plie I
Capezio Plie II
Chacott Coppelia II
Chacott Elvira
Diamond Pointe
Freed Studio I
Freed Studio II
Gaynor Minden
Grishko 2007
Leo's Pas de Deux Pointe 1
Mark Suffolk Solo
Prima Soft Gala
Principal D
Principal F
Russian Pointe Polette
Sansha Lyrica
Sansha Partenaire or Partner
Sansha Recital
Sansha Soprano
So' Danca Advance
So' Danca Performance
So' Danca Equilibre
So' Danca Special Line
So' Danca Danseuse
So' Danca Cinderella
So' Danca Marie

Remember, this does NOT replace trying on pointe shoes. This is a list of shoes that are better suited for beginners.

Wednesday's Ballet: Petrouchka

I was reading Behind Ballet, a website that is really useful for a budding ballerina who wants to learn about ballet from around the world. They feature a lot of modern ballets, and ones that aren't your standard Swan Lake. Anyway, I was reading, and they did a feature about a ballet called Petrouchka.

The Ballet begins in Maslenitsa, a Russian carnival. Suddenly, the drummers announce he appearance of the Charlatan. The Charlatan introduces three lifeless puppets, a ballerina, a moor, and Petrouchka. He catches the crowd's attention when he casts a spell on the puppets with his magic flute, making them come alive. The puppets jump up, and begin to do a happy dance for the amazed crowd.

Back in the little theater, after the show, Petrouchka was kicked roughly into his cell. As Petrouchka is a puppet, he still feels human emotions, like sadness because of his abuse by the Charlatan, and love for the ballerina. Petrouchka is reminded by the Charlatan that he is only a puppet, and, out of anger, tries to escape from his cell, but fails. Petrouchka leads a dismal life behind the curtains.

As the ballerina enters the room, Petrouchka admits his love for her, but she rejects him, and quickly leaves the room. She enters the moor's room, as he has a much better "life" than Petrouchka. He had a spacious room, comfy couches, and exotic flowers. The ballerina is attracted to the moor, and begins to dance with him.

Petrouchka finally escapes, and finds the ballerina dancing with the moor. Petrouchka attacks the moor, but he soon realizes that he is too weak. The moor begins to chase him, and he beats up Petrouchka. He soon escapes from the moor, but only by running out of the theater.

Petrouchka runs out through the carnival, with the moor in hot pursuit, this time, with his sword. The crowd is horrified when the moor slays Petrouchka with on stroke. As the police start to crowd, they question the Charlatan. The Charlatan lifts up the lifeless body of Petrouchka, and shakes him rapidly, reminding the crowd that he was only a puppet.

The crowd begins to disappear, and the Charlatan walks back to the theater with Petrouchka. Suddenly, a ghost appears on the roof of the theater. It is the ghost of Petrouchka, and the Charlatan is so terrified, he runs away, leaving the audience to wonder, who is real, who is not.

I got the information about today's ballet at this website.

Perricone Giveaway

oh, hello friend is giving away these 3 items from Perricone! These 3 European face products are on Perricone's most popular list. A $150 value!



As ballerinas, our appearance is just as important as our face. An acne-covered face can distract a crowd from a performance, as well as distracting classmates in class. It's important to have a fresh face for ballet, no make-up either.

Go enter the giveaway for a chance to win these 3 products!

Tuesday's Tips: Bag Organization

Today, I am going to tell you a little bit about Bag Organization. As ballerinas, we need to keep or bags neat and clean for ballet class. A messy ballet bag might spill out things and take you a while to find your shoes.

I just bought some fabric to sew a ballet bag. Here are some swatches and the pattern:

outer

lining



pattern



via

Like it? It's supposed to be a diaper bag.............but since it's so organized with all of the pockets and all, why couldn't it be a ballet bag? I loved these fabrics for the fall. In case you were wondering, the pattern is Amy Butler's Everything Bag from Little Stitches for Little Ones.

I also want to make a couple of water bottle holders with the matching fabric.



To make sure you have everything before you leave for class, and to make sure you never leave anything at the studio, make a little list and attach it to your bag, or leave it inside your bag.

Hair Bag
Small Towel
2 Water Bottles
Ballet Shoes
Pointe Shoes
Mesh Bag and pointe accessories
Change of Clothes
Notebook (just in case)

Now, let me go into detail:

Hair Bag: this is a small bag to keep random things in like

Hairbrush
Comb
Pins
Clips
Deodorant
Cellphone
Hair-ties
Bun covers
Chapstick

Small Towel: for sweat

2 Water Bottles: It is important to drink water and only water in class. Not some Gatorade Orange Power-Drink.

Ballet Shoes: If you have 2 pairs, take both. You never know what could happen.

Pointe Shoes: same

Mesh bag and pointe accessories: Mesh bag is for shoes at the end of class. These bags let the shoes get aired out, if sweat sinks in, it will ruin the shoe. Pointe accessories as needed.

Change of Clothes: A lot of dancers like to change their clothes after ballet class, which is what I do. I hate wearing tights, so I normally bring shorts or a sundress to put on to let my muscles breathe.

Notebook: You might find something that you have learned from class that you want to post on your blog.

There you have it! Bag Organization!

A few last tips:

Remember to pack your bag before you begin to get dressed for ballet. That way, you can just head straight out the door.

As soon as you get home from ballet, refill your water-bottle halfway with water, then stick it in the freezer. That way, the day of ballet, you can fill the rest up with water, and the already-frozen water will begin to melt, and become drinkable water, and still be cold!

I hope you liked today's Tuesday's Tips! Come back tomorrow for Wednesday's Ballet!

Eden's Wake Giveaway

oh, hello friend is giving away a $40 gift certificate to Eden's Wake!




How pretty is her stuff? So elegant and vintage.............my favorite ;).


This is my favorite, the Mint and Ivory Clip

Go enter the giveaway, and then come back and tell me what your favorite item is!