Semaine 15

This week's schedule is probably only going to be the Monday class, since Jeff and I have to go back to Ohio on Thursday to collect our repaired car from the 8/27 accident. If he and I make it back into town before it's too late, I'm going to try to make it to class. Jeff's coworker Vihao, who has been taking ballet at a studio closeby, wants to join me in class to see how my studio is, so hopefully we make it back into town so he and I can go together! In his words, we will try to do a "student exchange" program, where I'll take a class at his studio (Kintz-Meijia Ballet Academy), too. It's always good to try out different studios I guess, to see if one fits your needs better, and it also would help to see where my technique is at in comparison. His classes are Beginners on Tuesdays and Intermediate on Wednesdays. Right now my schedule won't fit in with his, since I work on those days, but I think every now and then I should have a day free to drop in!

Anyhow, this Monday's class was great. It was led by Shu-Chen, the Gin Dance Company founder and artistic director. She was fantastic! She has beautiful beautiful feet, was funny, and had challenging exercises that were all doable but took some getting used to. Constance Walsh was out of town for some ballet conference thingy I think. But it was definitely a pleasure to take class from Shu-Chen and I hope she comes back some time soon!

Pictured: Shu-Chen

Today I did a goofy thing... and it stems back from when I did the LAST really silly dorky nerdy goofy thing. I bought pointe shoes. I know. I said it. I did it. I went to the dance store nearby and got fitted for pointe shoes, telling the manager/fitter that my "instructor gave me the go ahead for the Spring" <-- not true. I guess I COULD say that Saki is my "other instructor," and she would've told me to just get fitted so I can see what brand works for me so that when the time COMES, I would know... so I went based off of that. Plus, what's another 5 months after when I told the lady I'd start pointe? =P So anyway, I tried on Bloch, Chacott, Grishko, and Russian Pointe. The best fitting pair were a pair of Bloch Serenades, 3.5C. This wasn't terribly off of the Grishko 2007's that I got off of eBay back in my early blog entry, since I ordered a size 3 back then I think, based off a size 6 street shoe.. However, the lady went by my ballet slipper size (6.5) so a 3.5 was the best fit. I guess ballet dancers have real narrow feet sometimes, because I'm considered a C width and I have pretty narrow/regular feet in my opinion.

Click here to see the Serenades on Discountdance.com, here's a pic though:

OMG aren't they pretty? These (both photos) are the exact ones I got, a 3.5 C =) Preeeeettty pointe shoes. I got 'em on eBay for $35 with Free Shipping, woot! 

Rolling up to pointe in the Blochs (and all the pointe shoes I tried) was actually really easy and was a LOT MORE COMFORTABLE than I expected! It was easy to go to susu (closed fifth position en pointe or demi pointe) without holding onto the barre. I didn't passe in them in the store but it was so fun to wear them and roll up to pointe and not feel like I was torturing my feet! Fun Fun Fun! Can't wait to get 'em so I can take some pictures and practice some controlled moves in them...muahahaha... I know this is somewhat disrespecting the art of ballet, but I'm way too impatient to wait until next Fall. At $35, I don't mind getting re-fitted in a year and getting different shoes. 

...So now I'll need to get some elastic, ribbons, and lambswool toe pads. =P

Bloch makes an Elastorib ribbon (Right) that has elastic positioned where the ribbon would wrap around the achilles' tendon, which reduces the occurrence of tendonitis, a common problem with ribbons tied too-tightly around the ankle. On the left are pictured lambswool toe pillows.

My goodness, I am just hanging my head out of shame for myself. Hahah... 

New Term this Week: 

pas de cheval: 

"step of the horse," where the dancer does a coupe then a small developpe and tendu back into the starting position. 

Semaine 11 (Part Two)

I got my new swag in from Discount Dance Supply! I'd been lusting after some nice legwarmers and trash bag shorts for ballet class (originally mentioned in Semaine 5).

I got some new tights (I'd been wearing my light pink ones this whole time), so I got two new pairs of Slimz convertible tights that are super super soft. I got light tan ones and black ones. In addition to the 27" stirrup thigh-high Body Wrappers legwarmers (I got them more of a function of keeping my right ankle loosened up for some good grand plies) and Body Wrappers sweat-awesome trash bag shorts (well, they're really called rip-stop shorts), I got a new pair of ballet flats! They're Grishko's Ultimate split-sole canvas ballet slippers. I'm not sure if I need to be a size 7 in them.. Both the Capezio's and Grishko's recommended me get a 6 1/2 (half size larger than my street shoe size) which is perfect for my right foot, but my left big toe is a TINY bit smushed in both of the 6 1/2's. I'm sitting here stretching the left one out with a rolled up sock in the front. I already tried warm water on the toe and wearing them around the house to stretch 'em but no luck so far.

Anyway, to burn some extra calories, at around 2 pm today I'm going to go to the gym and do some cardio with my trash bag shorts on haha. Then tonight's 6:15pm class with Carmen Perez, last BBFNB class of the summer! I'll have one more punch on my card, I wonder if I should just use it for Basic Beginning on Tuesday or if I should just save it for the Fall class. Extra classes are now $16 for me since I'm enrolled, and the class card makes each class out to be $18/class, but if I already bought it, I may as well use it for a class I'll get more out of, right? I think Basic Beginning is a bit too easy now (SO SO SO glad I can say that now!). Advanced Beginning Ballet, here I come next year! =P Maybe next Summer??

Walk-In Week is coming around the corner! With $10/class, I'm already adding two classes to my schedule!

Monday August 27 @ 6:15-7:30 pm
Thursday August 30 @ 7:30-8:45 pm

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Tonight's class was great! We had Carol Clark as a sub since Carmen Perez was at the beach this week, but it was a nice replacement! Everyone loved her, she is probably my favorite instructor out of everyone I've ever had (Carmen Perez, Irina Wunder, Leisl Swogger, Silvia Burnstein, and Carol Clark), she was lighthearted and the most real of all of them. I think all the instructors at BalletNova are wonderful, but my favorite is Carol.

We had some challenging fondu floor/halfway/90 degree exercises, and my favorite centrework exercise was a pirouette prep one (starting in Fifth with hands on hips, plie-passe x 3, then plie to pirouette and finish behind, then switch feet). We did about 3 sets of that exercise. We did some first/second/changement jumping exercises where I need to learn to turn out less so I don't keep landing on the balls of my feet unbalanced.

Since my Bunhead Buddy wasn't with me tonight, I didn't have anyone I wanted to nerdily ask to record a clip of the corner exercise. Today was a chasse, degagé with attitude exercise which was fun. We did it first with arms in Second and head front, then we did it with arms in arabesque position with head straight, then we did it with arms in arabesque with head facing the acting leg, then with hands on hips. Hands on hips was awkward. The other exercise was a chassé-grand jeté exercise which was a lot of fun. Here's a video of a grand jeté (though honestly she looks like she's performing a developpé):

I debuted my new gear tonight, but Kelly wasn't there to laugh with me in the trashbag shorts...

Trashbag shorts, leg warmer on the bum ankle, and new canvas slippers. I'm officially a fan of canvas slippers over leather. They don't stick annoyingly to the studio floor when trying to do dégagés. 

Studio C, where class is held every week

Beautiful portraits line the walls of the studio's hallways. This is one of my favorites, because they're the kind of photos I'd want to have taken of myself when that ONE DAY COMES! :)