A Dramatic Casting

Casting went up for the Spring show today! Before I tell you the dramatic story that lies ahead let me give you a little background information. At BWA the casting for the spring show is the only she where everyone is in it. The only way you can be taken out is due to lack of attendance or injury. We have been preparing all of our dances in Rep. from the begging of the year and casting would show who did what for the show. The ballet we are preforming is Don Quixote.  There are five possible parts I could have been. All of the parts are on pointe and have god costumes. The parts were Segadillas, Dyrads, Flowergirls, Le vevandiare or in Maypole. The parts I wanted were Segadillas and Dryads. Segadillas is a spicy spanish influenced  dance with fans and long skirts and Dryads is like a more fairy type dance with tutus. Now on to my extremely emotional story.

When I heard that casting had gone up I went over into the crowd of people around the list and looked for my name. I was really happy until I looked and looked and could not find my name.I didn't say anything partly because I was embarrassed and partly because I didn't want to be one of those pouty girls who cried if they didn't get the part. When my good friend Hazel got there I asked her what she was and she asked me and I told her I wasn't in it. She said that couldn't be right and I should talk to them. I was so scared because really who awkward would it be if they told me no you are not in it in front of everyone. After awhile I told more people and everyone agreed with Hazel so I went to find Ms. Heather who put up the casting. I went over and sheepishly asked her if I was not in the year end show. Her face was puzzled and then she said "I knew I would forget someone" as she banged her hand against her head surprisingly hard. Then she wrote my name in with pen on the list and it turned out I got both the parts I wanted.Then for the rest of the day the teachers were using me as an example of  how the forget people sometimes so to talk to them if you were left off, which was kinda embarrassing but, no one seemed to take it that way. In the end I got all the part I wanted and we started rehearsal in our separate groups that day. I guess I could turn this into a corny speech about speaking up if something doesn't seem right but I won't. I am just glad it worked out in the end. Needless t say the entire day was an emotional roller coaster but, Emmie and I got waffles with strawberries and ice cream after ballet which always makes everything better. I mean I only eat salad not junk food! ;)

Heres a picture of the segadilla part only they are doing it in character instead of pointe.

Photo by Poison Ivy's Wall

The Wonders of Epson Salt

After a long day or a long week the best thing ever is to relax in a nice hot bubble bath! When I make my bubble baths I put lavender everything. Lavender Scented bubble bath and lavender epson salt. It is very relaxing especially if you have candles and can just soak for a while. The thing about epson salt is it not only makes your bath smell nice it is actually used for sore muscles and gives you a better nights sleep. After dancing  your little heart out all the time it is very important to give your self a relaxing break pretty often or your body will always be sore and tired. That will not help your dancing and ultimately make you feel like crap. So remember on your days off t treat your self! You deserve it! Here is what I like to do on my one day off.

I like to go out to brunch with my friends. We usually go to the Eating Establishment or No Worries. Both of these places are in Park City and are really good. Breakfast food is defiantly a happy food! I also like to get my nails done or occasionally get a massage. I just like spa like things. I don't really ever want to do something that exciting because I am so tired and after all it is the day of rest. I also do some homework, online shop  and watch Netflix. Netflix is possibly the love of my life (next to online shopping of corse.) I have seen Every romantic comedy n there not to mention binge watching Friends and Gossip Girl. My proudest achievements are watching 10 seasons of friends in 20 days and watching 125 episode of Gossip Girl in 21 days. :) But back to my day off it usually has a lot of lounging around and eating sometimes I never even get out of my PJs. (Which is just what the doctors ordered). And then to end the day I top it off with a nice bubble bath. I love to dance with all my heart but man do I love my days off too. What ever you do on your day off make sure your enjoying it you only get so many! Next time taking a bubble bath with magic epson salts I promise you will love it!

Photo by Me

Four Tips For Turns

I realized that I have not done a tip or trick on my blog in a really long time so I thought what better than turns to bring it back. I am still trying t get better at turns just like everyone but I have learned some great tips about them through out my dance life and recently that I thought I would share with you. Turns are one of the most important components of Ballet. Usually you have a better side, mine is the right, but it is very important to work nth sides because when you are working in the core you do not get to choose what side you turn on individually because you all have to be the same. Also no company audition is only going to have you work things to the right, so you always have to be prepared for that dreaded sentence o when you finish a combination and the teacher yells out "alright now n the left" or "alright now reverse it". These can be really scary if you do not practice one side enough so make sure to even your training out even though it is definitely more rewarding to do your good side. Ok so now on to the tips, hope you enjoy and this held you whip out the best turns ever.


Tip 1~ Balance
Balance is the single most important part of a turn. I your balance is off you can not even begin to spin. Many people do not balance in their turns and those are the people you see spiraling out of control. It may seem simple to balance but it actually take a constant effort you can not go up and hope to balance you have to focus in every part of your body and keep still. A way that you can work on balance is to do the turn combo with out turns. This may seem crazy but you will see exactly where your alignment and position must be to balance from every position. If you really want to work on balance in general get a balance board. These are round and squishy at the bottom and you have to balance on top. These are not only great for balance but also for control.


Tip 2~ Spot
Spotting your head is also very important in turning. This helps to not get dizzy and to keep you in one spot. For your spot look at your self in the mirror or something at eye level. You do not want to look above or below this because then it throws off your balance. Your head is the heaviest part of you and if you let it out it becomes impossible. another thing about spotting is maker sure to keep it at and even tempo or rate. This will help with you musicality and will ultimately make or brake the turn. It give you force and speed when you need it to keep the turn going.


Tip 3~ Position
Keeping the position the same throughout the whole turn will not only look better but it will help you get around. You should have 3 separate positions throughout the entire turn.
1- fifth before you take off

Photo by Basic Ballet

2- The turning position

Photo by Dicas de Ballet 

3- Landing position. 4th or 5th

Photo by Bag of Ballet

When you take off don't hesitate the front foot or turn it in keep it in fifth it will make sure your leg travels straight up While in the turning position do not cross your foot over your standing leg.



Tip 4~ Finish
Remember to always finish! Time and time again I have heard teachers tell about if you land on the floor you get back up and finish. NO matter how bad your turn is finish it like it was the best one ever. The people watching do not know it wasn't and it always a good sign when someone finishes everything they do. Even if you didn't stick the landing fake it until you make it. It is good for your body to get into the habit of finishing each step no matter what. So whatever your turn looked like from your ending pose it should look like it was the best it could ever be. Walah!


I hope these four tips help in your future turning endeavors! Maybe now you will look like Beckanne Sisk.  Let me know what side is your favorite down below.

How to Stretch not Strain

When stretching it can seem like the only way to get extremely flexible is to go to town and stretch as hard as you can. However this can be counterintuitive because i you strain a muscle it will far less flexible than before. You see, your muscles are like rubber bands. It is important to not let a rubber band sit to long or when you try to stretch it out it will be crusty and just snap but, if you stretch it too much it will loose its elasticity. The balance between the to is key and not really that hard to do. Next time you stretch keep these things in mind. There are tools you can use to help. I you are stretching your feet get a Theraband! Do this a lot to strengthen you feet.


Don't over work one area.
I you do to many reps of something you can pull something remember to only do sets of 15 or 20 and only to repeat then up to 4 times. This will prevent you from overusing a muscle making you extremely sore.

Even out your body.
If you stretch one side do the other swell if you don't your body will feel lopsided and it will not be beneficial. Also do not focus all your stretching into one area because then your body won't look good. If your legs are flexible but you hips or back are not it will not make much of a difference from before.

Take breaks.
I you take a quick break in between stretches it will help keep you going long while not getting as sore the next day. A good way to do this is Stretch during commercial breaks. This way you have 2 or 3 minuets of stretching followed by 10 or 15 minuets of relaxation.

Photo by Shutterstock

Finally, Don't push yourself to hard.
Yes, you always want to push yourself, but know you limits. Do not force something that you can not do. Baby steps is the way to go. You will not gain anything but pain from taking it to far to fast.

I you keep these in mind while stretching you will see a increase in flexibility throughout your dancing soon! Be patient and always keep practicing. If you stretch every night you will make progress in no time! Always remember to warm up and cool down before and after stretching. Stay sea and have fun! See you next week.

What's in my Dance Bag

A trend on youtube is to post what is in your bag videos so I thought why not have one here. I have a ton of stuff in my dance bag with me because you never know what may happen. Also if you read my post about my schedule you know I have a lot of classes and they all require different clothing or props. For this post I am putting a list followed by what it is for.

To start my dance bag that I use is vera bradley large duffle in pretty in pink.

Photo by Bonanza

Flat shoes: these are for class obviously.
2 pairs of pointe shoes: for rep., variations, pointe class, and any other time I need to be on pointe.
Skirts(Black and Burgundy): For pointe class, rep., and variations or any time I am on pointe.
Extra tights: Because why not.
Extra leotard: *see extra tights*
Character shoes: for character class.
Character skirt: for character.
Hair Brush, Bobby pins, hairnets and hair spray: for doing my hair in the car.
Theraband: Conditioning class.
Point stuff( ribbons, rosin, stitch kit and toe pads): You never know when you will need to resew.
Black tights: to put on for modern and conditioning.
Fan: this is a prop for rep.
Icy Hot: I get hurt a lot!
clear nail polish: incase I get a rip in my tights.


As you can see there are many things in my dance bag. When I was going through my bag there was also a lot of trash and other weird things. I feel like the list above is pretty standard for a dancer to have but at some times I have had a lot more and since my bag is very big I can get a lot of stuff in it but it starts to get extremely heavy and having to lug it all over town and down to Salt Lake makes me clean it out ever once and a while. Closer to shows I also have show make in my bag. I actually just got around to taking my Nutcracker Makeup out but I will have to put it all back in pretty soon with the Year End Show looming and coming up quick. I hope you enjoyed this inside look into a dancers bag. Feel free to comment whats in your dance bag below.

Joffrey Audition

I auditioned for another Summer Intensive! :) This one as I am sure you can tell by the title was Joffery School of Ballet. I went to this audition last Sunday with one of my good dance friends Hazel.  The class was really fun and the teacher was great. It was held like many auditions at the University of Utah State campus. I didn't do my very best but I still feel good about the audition. In the hallway everyone was warming up and there was this sense of competition. It is like an unspoken thing when you go to a ballet audition you are always trying to inure out who is more flexible and all of that. It is actually kind of interesting to people watch when dancers get ready for an audition. Some girls arrive hours early. Each person has their own routine. My pre audition routine goes a little something like this..

  First I wake up
  Then I shower and make the best ballet bun ever.
  After putting on my leotard and tights I eat breakfast (usually I have a smoothie)
  Then I head down with plenty of time.
  Once I arrive I check in and get my number
  I pin it on and look around this is what it looks like

Photo by Me

As you can see there are a lot of moms.
  Then I start to warm up my body by doing light stretches and pliés using the wall as my bar
  After I am pretty warm I stretch out completely (this is where I win the little competition I was talking about)
  Then I like to keep warm until we are ready to line up and go inside.


The audition was an a sand half class it was separated into three parts 45 minuets bar 30 minuets center and 15 minuets pointe. I do not really like when auditions are like this because I like a full length class and bar on pointe. However the audition was pretty easy going since there were no staff or anyone watching you but the teacher. This year was the first year I was put in the older age group mine was from ages 15 to 25 but, there were no 25 year olds in the audition and most of the people seemed about 17. Over all this was a very fun audition and I would love to attend Joffery in the summer.

Uniforms

At Ballet West Academy we have a extremely strict dress code. Each level is assigned a color. That is the color of your leotard and skirt and everyone has the exact same skirt and leotard in that level. Everyone in the entire academy has the exact same tights and depending on which section of the school you are in, (Upper school, or Lower school) you have the same shoes. The only thing that can differ from person to person is pointe she's. That is because point shoes have t be chosen by foot shape and size for the best look, and the all are basically the same looking when everyone has them on. There are many rules. One of the rules is no colored nail polish. I accidentally break this rule a lot. We also can not wear flowers or bows in our hair. The reason for that is to look more professional. The other thing that is not allowed is large r hanging jewelry the only type we can wear is stud earrings.On Saturdays we get to wear what ever color and style leotard we want but everything else must stay the same. I usually wear this one. Back to the leotards when we got a new studio they also decided to do a lot of this differently like the levels names and what the wear. For the most part the uniforms stayed the same except they now has BW embroidered on the hip. My uniform is maroon/ burgundy.

Here is a picture

Photo by Me
*Sorry for all the wrinkles*

The rest of the uniforms go like this:
1- Light Yellow Tank, No Tights,  No Skirt
2- Light Pink Cap Sleeve, Tights, No Skirt
3- Light Blue Cap Sleeve,  Tights and Light Blue Skirt
4- Lavender Camisole, Tights and Lavender Skirt
5- Royal Blue Camisole, Tights and Royal Blue Wrap Skirt
6- Navy Blue Camisole, Tights and Navy Blue Wrap Skirt
7- Dark Purple Camisole, Tights and Dark Purple Wrap Skirt
8- Burgundy Tank, Tights and Burgundy Wrap Skirt
9- Black Tank, Tights and Black Wrap Skirt
Trainees- White Tank, Tights and White Wrap Skirt

The uniforms actually took an extremely long time to be made so for the first seven weeks we got to wear what ever leotard and skirt we wanted.