Tutu Tuesday

okay. close your eyes. think about your favorite tutu that you have worn. for me, it was this costume (me in the pink): 

i was a pretty snazzy stepsister, if i do say so myself.

pretty decked out, huh?

ANYWAY. Tutus are a very important part of ballet. Ballet is telling a story without using words, and costumes help us tell that story through theatricality. Many ballets requires specific costume for variations, the Sleeping Beauty ballet being one of them. The Bluebird variation requires a blue tutu with feather accents to insinuate bird-likeness, and Carabosse must wear dark clothing to signify evil. In Don Quixote, Kitri wears a Spanish tutu, usually red and black, to culturally match with the story.

There are many different kinds of tutus, such as Balanchine, Romantic, and classic Pancake.

Romantic Tutu

Long and flowy, this ankle-length ballet skirt reflect it's time period. The tulle tutu is bell-shaped and free falling to emphasize lightness, and are in dark ballets such as Giselle and La Sylphide.

Pancake Tutu

This short, flat skirt is very full at the top, yet stiff with wires and hand tacking near the bottom layers. This kind of ballet tutu is used in countless variations, including the Lilac Fairy, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and many other principal parts.

Bell Tutu

Bell tutus are one of the less common tutus, but are very popular at some old-fashioned dance companies. Slightly longer that a pancake, it is of the same construction but without wiring, kind of a cross between pancake and romantic. These tutus are often seen in paintings by Edgar Degas, as the one above.

Balanchine/Karinska Tutu

(Middle) Originally designed for the ballet of George Bizet's Symphony in C by Barbara Karinska, the "powder-puff" was often used by George Balanchine to extenuate the long legs of his dancers. With a similar anatomy of the pancake tutu, the Balanchine tutu has less layers of tulle than the pancake tutu, and no wiring, giving a flowy, soft look that expresses the length of the dancer's legs.

Platter tutu

Platters are almost exactly like pancake tutus, except they are completely flat and less full at the top. These tutus are often used for ballet class.

Just by researching this topic I learned so much! I hope that you expanded you knowledge on ballet apparel :)

If you liked this, see my post on Ballet Leotards.

Tuesday's Tips: "Timing" Your Pointe Shoes with A Dancer's Days

Today, we are revisiting a former Tuesday's Tips post, featuring BallerinaBlogger from A Dancer's Days!

BallerinaBlogger from A Dancer's Days wrote an article on "Timing" Your Pointe Shoes. It was something I had never thought about before. I had thought about keeping them from wearing out, but never preparing for when they wore out. Here is the article:

"Timing" Your Pointe Shoes

That title is probably boggling your mind right now. :-)



No really, it's important to "time" when you wear your shoes and how long you wear them. Especially during summer camp.



Your shoes typically last a few hours. Mine have been lasting longer and longer as my feet have been growing stronger. It's important to know how long it takes for your shoes to "die" so by the time your shoes are dead, you have another pair ready to go. Believe me, you don't want to end up with a pair of extremely dead shoes and brand new ones. Can you say "ow"?



Ridiculously enough, that is EXACTLY what happened to me this week. Save yourself the trouble of learning this the hard way and take my advice! :P



Keep a notebook that tracks how long your shoes are lasting. Record every time you wear a specific pair and how long you wore them. Also put in notes about how soft/flexible they are. I would do this for about four pairs of shoes to know for sure what the average time-line is.



By doing this, you'll know when it's time to start breaking in a new pair of shoes. When it comes to pointe shoes you ALWAYS want to be prepared! I'd keep at least three pairs with you at all times. That gives you plenty of options depending on what your feet need or what would work
best with the dance you're rehearsing.

BTW: BallerinaBlogger wrote this article HER blog for HER readers, not specially for this blog. I had nothing to do whatsoever with the article.




BallerinaBlogger has been very kind and has answered these questions that I put together. Thanks so much BallerinaBlogger!

When did you get your first pointe shoes? Were you aware of the dangers you could put them in by leaving them in a plastic bag, or not airing them out after class, or were you super careful?

I got my first pair of pointe shoes almost five years ago. I was ten years old and was super excited! I was aware of those dangers as the teacher putting me on pointe had taught us a lot about pointe shoes before taking us to buy our first pair. And plus my mom had spent some time doing research about pointe shoes in order to know how to properly take care of them. I'm so glad my mom had gotten so involved with my dancing and although she herself never did ballet, she knows practically just as much about it as I do.

When you started summer camp, did you realize a change in your pointe shoes, they were wearing out faster, hurting your feet and ankles? Is this what gave you the idea to write this article?

The first summer camp I had ever done en pointe, I immediately noticed them softening faster and the many changes in their shape as they softened. Now that I have been dancing/doing summer intensives for so many years, I know what to expect and how to deal with my many shoes. I actually made the mistake of not lining up very many shoes before beginning my summer intensive and ended up with a pair of extremely worn shoes and brand new ones. They KILLED my feet! I was so frustrated and wanted to precaution everyone to come prepared like I use to. Really dead shoes tend to be more dangerous because you have much more flexibility in your shoes and it makes "rolling" over your ankle much easier. That could lead to so many different injuries.

Define "Your shoes typically last a few hours". By "dying" do you mean becoming soft, and the box begins to wear down? If so, when shoes "die", are they "dead" or are the done for the day?

Haha! Your pointe shoes "dying" is a term that dancers use to say "my shoes are getting very soft and worn". When shoes are "dead" they are DONE. AKA: it's time to store them away or put them in the trash. I personally like to keep my old shoes in a giant chest; it doesn't feel right to throw away something so special... And expensive! When I say "your shoes typically last a few hours" I literally mean that. I once had a pair of shoes that only lasted me 4 1/2 hours. It depends on how long you're wearing your shoes, your brand of shoes and the moisture they're obtaining. I couldn't tell you how long a certain brand of shoes lasts because every situation is different and every foot is different. It's impossible to know until you've worn a single brand and size for a fair amount of time.

Can you suggest a way to organize your pointe shoes in you notebook? (i.e. filing under brand, type, or feel)

When I organize the information (Which I don't really need to do anymore because I am so use to my shoes) I would write it out kind of like this:

Brand: Russian Pointe (Example)

Length:

Width:
Original shank hardness: (Pointe shoes typically come in soft, medium or hard shanks)

Shoes have been worn for: (Record how many hours shoes have been worn. You can record your hours each day and then add them up when your shoes have fully died)

At what "point of pain" do you suggest to start breaking in a new pair of pointe shoes?

Firstly, if there's a lot of pain going on down in those feet, I would get them checked out! There's a clear line between the "ow" kind of hurt and the "oh-my-gosh-I-think-I-just-broke-something" kind of hurt.

Breaking in pointe shoes is all about their hardness or stiffness. It also depends on how many pairs you want at once. If you want two pairs to wear at once, then I would break in a pair until they got getting slightly soft. So they're flexible enough to dance with in the center but still on the newer side. That's when I would start to wear the brand new pair at the barre.

It's really a process that you have to figure out on your own. That's why it's good to know how long it takes for your shoes to break in/what their lifespan is. Then you'll know right when to start breaking in the next pair.

Thanks for answering all of these questions. I've found the information really useful. Do you have any final words for budding ballerinas?

My last piece of advice for the day is to experiment. There is no harm in trying something new to find exactly what works for you. I myself have tried countless different brands of shoes. (No joke) Ask your instructors for advice/tips but always remember that it's your dancing career, your life and your body.

Thanks for all of the info, BallerinaBlogger!


And lastly, I have a surprise tutorial for you........

Pointe Shoe Notebooks!

*Supplies*

Unused Composition Book
2 pieces scrapbook paper
Mod Podge
Old Paint Brush
Ruler
Scissors

Find an old composition note book.

Measure it across the top, and down the side. Make sure that you measure from the edge of the black tape.

mine was 6 3/4 x 9 3/4 inch. your is probably about the same.

Cut 2 pieces of scrapbook paper the same measurements as the notebook. Set the scraps aside.

You can use pretty much any kind of Mod Podge........I used Outdoor because that was the only kind that I could find in our basement ;)

Paint your Mod Podge onto the cover with the old paintbrush. Use smooth strokes, and cover the entire thing. Right before you lay the paper on, smooth out all of the gluebumps with the paint brush. Lay to paper on. Rub the paper starting at the center and working outwards. Smooth all of the bumps out. Over-glazing is optional, I went without.

Trim the edges and round the corners. Do the same with the back.

Rip up two pieces of the scrap paper. Note: If you want to write your name on the notebook, do the smaller piece in plain white, not pattern.

Put Mod Podge on the back of the larger piece, and stick it to the notebook, wherever you want, smoothing it out from the center, to the corners.

Put Mod Podge on the back of the smaller piece, and put it ontop of the bigger piece. Once again, over-glazing is optional.

There you have it!

Your pointe timing notebook is ready to go to Ballet class!

If you liked this tutorial, check out Mod Podge Rocks! and Paint Me Plaid

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

Tuesday's Tips: Take Time to Smell the Roses and Bake Some Pumpkin Bread

With all of this running back and forth to school, to ballet, to gymnastics, to your little brother's football game, things can get a little crazy. Time to wind down. Bake some pumpkin bread, brew some tea, and sit back and relax.

Here is our family's recipe for delicious pumpkin bread!

Ingredients

* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

* 2 cups packed dark brown sugar

* 2/3 cup white sugar
* 2 cups pumpkin puree
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 2/3 cup coconut milk
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 2/3 cup flaked coconut
* 1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, white sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, coconut milk, baking soda, salt, ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon. Mix until all of the flour is gone. Fold in the nuts and flaked coconut. Pour batter into the prepared pans.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cover loaves with foil tightly. Allow to steam for 10 minutes. Remove foil and turn out onto a cooling rack. Tent lightly with the foil and allow to cool completely.


Recipe courtesy Allrecipes.com.

Tuesday's Tips: Staying Organized

ps: Did you enter the No Tricks - Just Treats Giveaway? If not, scroll down or click here to enter.

This week, I am going to share with you about keeping organized. As you begin ballet lessons, it is not too important, but when you start formal dance training, it plays a huge part in building your career.

This may sound crazy, but do you know how I got back to staying on top of From Plies to Pirouettes? FlyLady. I'm not kidding. Now, us dancers definitely do not have enough time to make it to classes and school on time and be able to clean the house. But it is a HUGE help to your mother. Once you have a good day, and everything is organized, take notes on how you managed your time, and use the same schedule everyday.

Now, I am going to take you step-by-step through instructions to get started on a balanced ballet life.

Go to www.flylady.com and scroll down until you see How To Get Started. Click on the link, and then select Join FlyLady Here!. Read through the email group contents, and click on the Bigtent link. Click on Sign Up and follow the steps to create an account. Don't worry, it's free.

After completing this, you will be at the FlyLady homepage on Bigtent. You can browse around for a bit, and then click on the Files tab. Here, you will see a list of Control Journals. The Student Control Journal is the best for me, but you can pick any one you want. Click Download, and print it out. You can choose to staple it, bind it, or what works best, put it in a binder. Now you have your Student Control Journal set up!

I can't take you through every page, so read this and start doing whatever is scheduled for the day. I love this because we can write our dance schedule in it!

Next Step:

This is optional, but since it's cutting so close to Christmas, I printed out the Holiday Control Journal and put it in the back of my Student Control Journal. Now you are on your way to be organized!

Tuesday's Tips: Changement

ps: Did you enter the No Tricks - Just Treats Giveaway? If not, scroll down or click here to enter.

I don't know about you, but I have been struggling a lot with changement jumps. If you don't know what changement are yet, click here and look up changement.

I have something I call CDPD. I know, the name isn't that attractive, but it sure helps you with your changement here's how it goes:

C heck Position. No thirds, demi-fourths, or sixths positions.

D eep Plie. Note: "Deep" does not mean grande plie. It means to go down into the deepest demi-plie you can. Really feel those tendons stretching.

P oint Your Toes! As hard as you can! This will give you height, and gracefulness in your changement.

D eep Plie. Land with one of those deep plies I mentioned above.

Note: This system can be used with almost any jump, faille, assemble, entrechat, etc.

I hope you liked Tuesday's Tips! Now, go practice those changement!

Tuesday's Tips: 10 Tips to ROCK Auditions

Alright, Let me get straight to the point (pun intended)

AUDITIONS ARE NOT SCARY UNLESS YOU ARE A SISSY!

And none, NONE I SAY!, of my readers are sissys, right?

Right?

Alright, I'm kidding ;) But I do have some tips for you to work on so that you can rock your auditions!

*
**
***
****
*****
******
*****
****
***
**
*
One. It's a ballet class. Say to your mind that it is a ballet class. NOT an audition. kapeiche?

Two. Go with your gut. If the panel asks you to be yourself, DO IT! Don't try to be the most appealing to the judges, be yourself! Read my story at the bottom of the post ;)

Three. Imagine yourself doing well. I know you have heard it a million times, but I mean it!

Four. Before the audition, zone out with your fav tunes! No better way to calm down than listening to your own music! Some dancers force themselves to listen to Classical music, to tune themselves to the surroundings, but that never works for me.

Five. Picture yourself a lot older than you really are. Trust me, it works.

Six. Dress the BEST! Wear a cool cardigan or a breezy skirt over your dancewear to put a bucketload of confidence in you pocket!

Seven. Be fresh. No Make-up unless it is required. Nothing on your face whatsoever. Do up a super-sleek performance bun, too.

Eight. Don't muscle your way to the front. The way auditions are organized, EVERYONE will be seen and reviewed. And don't hide in the back either ;)

Nine. Imagine the part you are trying out for. This helps a TON!

Ten. Wanna know my secret? I always eat a granny smith apple right before I go to bed the night before the audition. Don't ask why, but it works!

Go to DanceAdvantage.net for 16 Audition Basics and Pointers For Keeping A Positive Perspective

TTFN! (ta ta for now)

Rebecca

ps: Ok, here is my story from Saturday about going with your gut. One of the judges asked us to walk across that floor, just walking, and act like our favorite dwarf from Snow White. I am the very last person in line, so I have some time to think. At first I wanted to do Doc. But sure enough, almost everyone did Doc! So I changed my mind to Sleepy, and I had a brilliant plan to woo the panel with my wittiness (I wasn't going with my gut and guess what happened) So it was finally my turn, and I get this weird feeling in my stomach. It felt like someone was crumpling newspaper inside of me. I couldn't make any facial expression, so I decided, on the spot, to do Grumpy. So I stomped across the floor about halfway, and stuck my tongue out at the judges and shook my hinee. They started laughing, and I immediately felt better! After the audition, someone said to me that I was the most expressive of all of the "dwarfs". I felt uuubbbeeerrrr good bout that ;)

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!

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!

Tuesday's Tips: Winging Your Ankle

If you look closely at this dancer's foot, you will see that her ankle (in the air) is angled like this: _/

Do you see?

+


Let me go into a little more detail on the feet.

Here is a diagram of my feet that tells you what your foot is pointing like. Note: I pointed with my feet turned in, so you could see the positions better.

Sickle Foot:
The worst you can possibly do on pointing. Sickling can create a messy line in arabesque and tendu.

Regular Point:
This is the ideal point of the foot. This position is used in pretty much all battements, the foot isn't winged in these.

Winged Foot:
This position is tricky, and you probably won't be able to do it within your first year of ballet. Winged feet are generally used in arabesque, attitude, and other large steps. The feet appear to be like this:

/
|

or

_/

If you have any questions, comment or email me at abitofbecca at gmail dot com!

Come back tomorrow for Wednesday's Ballet!

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!