Nutcracker recovery

After a long 4 days with 8 shows I am as tried as can be but the next morning at 8 Am I got on a plane and went to Minnesota. It has been 6 days since nutcracker and I am still recovering. I have been sleeping until 1 pm then at 3 I take a nap and then go to bed at 11. I guess you can say my sleeping squeal is pretty messed up. It has been pretty rough since I am not home and I can't recover how I normally would, so I thought I would share some ways I relax after performance weeks. Oh, and by the way I hope your holidays were wonderful and not full of to much nutcracker music. I got a turn board! The best way to recover is pretty different than you would think. First you should get a normal amount of sleep. (not what I did...) Then have one day to relax. I like to take a bubble bath and try to get all my make up off but chances are the eyelash glue will be stuck for months.Washing your face and hair a lot is good because they will probably be pretty ruined from all the harsh make up and hairspray. I also love watching gossip girl and drinking lemon tea.(This is pretty much what I look like.)

Photo by Sunny-Rainy-Day

You should also eat healthy because it will help you not feel like crap.  Then a pretty important step is that after your one day you should exercise. Not super hard core, and doing something other than dancing really helps to not make your muscles sore. Some fun things you can do are hiking or even just walking around. It is better to do something outside because chances are if your show schedules are like mine you will have not seen the sun for 4 days. After this you can pretty much return to your daily routine with out feeling very tired but as I learned this break if you just sleep and never do anything it makes it so much worse. Happy recovering everyone!

Nutcracker Show

I am exactly in the middle of Nutcracker Hell at the moment. I am in B cast and we have four shows in eight days. This basically means we don't see the sun for four days. You come in at 10 for call time and leave at 9:30 with one break at 5:30. If you have ever wondered what goes on in a dressing room the day of the show it goes a little something like this; put on your make up do your hair and put on your costume then you wait. While were all waiting for our time on stage we play cards, talk and put on more makeup. In the case of this year our dressing room is in the basement with no signal which means we can not use our phones at all except for music. Today was when the boredom kicked in and some of us, me included, tried to sleep on the rolled up rug in the corner. Once the ladies in waiting put their costumes on they can not sit down so we all put our costumes on 15 minuets before we go on. That how ever does not help when we are waiting for our second appearance. It depends which cast you are in how many shows you do and how long they are spread apart. A cast is the most spread out with some shows at a different theater. Needless to stay I am not in A cast.

Picture by Me

 If you don't know the story of the nutcracker here is a short summary. For a full summary click here. Clara receives a toy from her godfather and it is the nutcracker. This toy is magical and her brother breaks it. Then she goes through the magical journey through the lives of her toys. There are several trials and final they win and get through all of the different lands. The nutcracker is a very beautiful ballet and possible the most well known in the world. The best part to dance as a child dancer is young Clara which is typically given to a short girl ages 8-12 around 5 feet tall which is the same height as the solders.  I am a lady in waiting which does not do much. Actually we do absolutely nothing. We walk and twirl in a long pink dress with charter shoes on. If you don't know what charter shoes are they are dancing shoes with a small 1 inch heel. The nutcracker is fun for a lot of parts but this is not one of them. I should probably get some sleep because I have yet another show tomorrow morning.

Ballet on the Beach

For thanksgiving my family does it a little different. Every year we travel around the world to tropical place to avoid the first signs of winter. This year we decided to go to Jamaica. When ever you travel you can spot the dancers right away because usually they are contorting their bodies on the beach or doing tricks for a camera. As you can guess I am also guilty of this.

Photo By Me

Dance is pretty much like an addiction. Once you start you can not stop. I commonly find myself dancing in my living room, in the grocery store and pretty much everywhere I go. So although my training hours add up to about 19 hours a week I am dancing 24/7. On my break from dance I went on many adventures. I went river tubing in the black river and zip lining in the forrest. I also went hang gliding and on a bike tour. I was supposed to go scuba diving and parasailing but the weather took a turn for the worst leaving me to tan at the beach and pool in the rain. Normally I hate rain but this was the warm tropical type of rain that was really refreshing. My favorite part was the swim up bar with piña coladas. (non-achaholic of course)  Being a dancer and being in shape really helped me be able to complete these activities easily. I still stretched everyday to make sure I wouldn't fall behind the curve.

The week after a break is usually pretty difficult but there some ways to prevent that. Here are 6 tips to stay in shape over break.

1. Exercise of the break.  Even if you are not dancing you can still go for a run or do an activity. This really helps because then you still have stamina when you come back. If you just sit around you become lazy and getting back into the swing of things much harder.

2. Stretch as much as possible. Flexibility is weird because some thing you loose easily that took a long time to get. The less time you have been able to do something the quicker it goes away.  Just make sure a week away doesn't effect you the week back.

3. Balances. One good easy way to stay on top of your game that doesn't require a ton of space is to practice balancing. If you are in your room or on the beach you can practice retiré and extensions.


4.Harm up your feet. Stretching your feet is so important because when you come back you don't want your feet to cramp up. Some stretches you can do are just rising up and calf stretches. If you have a foot stretch for your class this is a good thing to go over a couple times.

5. Eat healthy over the break. You can kinda let your self go on break but don't eat so unhealthy that you feel sick. Keep in mind it takes three days for your weight to adjust from your eating patterns so stay healthy!

6. Catch up on your sleep. This last one is possibly the best one. Sleep in! If you are a dancer you are probably sleep deprived and this will help you feel better than ever before. Make sure you don't oversleep though or your schedule will be really messed up.

So, over all have fun over break and let loose but remember that Ballet never takes a break from your life. Even if you don't try to practice dance it probably will happen so just relax and look for the other dancers next break and keep up.

The Perfect Bun

If you are a dancer then you know how important it is to master the perfect ballet bun. At the Academy everyone pretty much has it down by level 6. I have heard teachers and professionals say that they can tell how well a dancer is going to dance by how well their bun was done. This statement is harsh but it is also pretty true as well. if you think about it you are going to put the same amount of effort into class they you put into your bun. If someones hair is sloppy they also can not go full out because of the fear that it will fall out. Anyone who has ever been in a ballet class knows that having your hair fall out in class is the worst and most embracing thing possible. At ballet west if your hair keeps falling out the ask you to go redo it in the bathroom or sit out and watch. So, now that you know how important proper hair is here are the steps and some tips on how to make a perfect ballet bun.

Photo by Me 

What you need:
Hair brush / comb
Round hair brush
1 Hair tie
5 or 6 large bun pins (you can purchase these at almost every dance store or click here.)
Small bobby pins
Clips
Spray bottle (filled with water)
Hair nets
Hair spray
* Flower or Bow optional*

Step #1
Making a pony tale. When you are making a pony tale you should aim for it to be right where your head curves. It helps to get rid of bumps if you wet your hair before you start. You should hold your hair in the position you would put the hair tie in and brush/comb through it several time until it is very smooth and has no bumps. Use the round circle brushes for this. Then put the hair tie in. If there are and bumps or sagging pieces you can secure them with a clip or bobby pins.

Step #2
Twist the hair tightly together, then wrap that twist in a circle following the same direction you were twisting. Use the large bobby pins to secure it. You want your bun to be as flat as possible.


Step #3
Cover it with a hair tie and the secure with small bobby pins.

Step #4
Us hair spray to secure any whispy hair and for a long lasting hold.


Depending on what the policies for you school are after you finished you can add a flower or bow for styling. Ballet west does not allow these like most professional schools, so keep in mind for auditions and programs at schools like these you look more professional without any extras. If you follow these steps you can make a perfect ballet bun. Just remember to wash your hair afterwards  so it stays healthy!

*BlOG CHANGING*

I have decided to switch up how I write my blog. Instead of giving an update of each of the three topics I am just going to share all the thoughts and tips I have about ballet and what is going on in my daily ballet world. Hope you like it.

Safe Stretching in Expensive Leotards

Upcoming shows at Ballet West:

The Nutcracker starts December 5th it runs until the 31st at the Capital theatre and in ogden November 28th and 29th . Come see the classic Christmas Ballet full of dancing dolls and wild parties. Personally I think you should go during December 18th to the 20th then you can see me. The nutcracker is fun for all ages and a great ballet. I have seen it over and over again not to mention from back stage and I never get tired of it even though the songs get suck in your head for ever.. This is good for the whole family and really gets you in the mood for the holidays. So, come enjoy the annual nutcracker at Ballet west. If you buy your tickets now they are 40% off. 

Photo by DC Metro Theaters 

Reviews:

Photo by Yumiko Berlin

Yumiko Dance wear. This review is on the one and only Yumiko. If you do not know what Yumiko is it is a dance wear company that makes very cute yet equally expensive leotards. A single leotard can run upwards of $80! They are an international company and their website is in 6 languages. All though they are expensive they have good quality and hold for a long time not to say how they are very stylish and have great ballet fashion. The website was easy to navigate and gave a very in depth selection. Once you have chosen the style you like you can chose a different trim and color and sized exactly to your needs. This is because they are all hand made. That is probably one of the reasons they are so expensive. I personally do not have one but it may be on the way soon for a holiday or upcoming birthday. (fingers crossed) Over all Yumikos are a great brand that everyone loves just not the price.

Stretch of the Week:
Good stetting techniques are necessary so you do not get injured. Here are 3 things to always remember when stretching. Before you stretch a muscle you must warm up. A good way to do this is by doing a plié combination or just getting you blood pumping. That can even be done by jumping jacks. Also do not jump into splits right away you could tear a muscle. Warm up properly before hard stretches. Another tip is that over stretching is worse than not stretching because you can pull a muscle and be hurt for a long time. You should not stretch your splits for longer than 2 minutes at a time then you can go back and do it again up to 15 times in one sitting but you need to give your body brakes in-between. When doing other stretches that come in reps like leg swings only do sets of 15 at a time and repeat this as much as you want but do not do more than 15 at a time. You may think it helps with endurance but really it just weakens the mussel and trust me you will be sore. Finally make sure to stay in your boundaries no matter what if you try something to far out of your comfort zone you will get hurt. An example of this is over splits. Over splits are when you elevate your leg then do the splits. I can do over splits on a chair but some people are not that flexible and no matter how warm they are they will get hurt. Work at your own pace and don't care about the people around you. 

Lots of rehearsals and Summer Programs Audition Preparation

Upcoming Utah Ballets:

Photo By University of UtahDepartment of Ballet

The University of Utah Department of Ballet 
The Utah Ballet will be performing November 13th -15th and November 20th -22nd. You can purchase your tickets through kingstix. The Utah Ballet's performances continue to impress me. I expected them to be good but last year I went to a couple performances with some girls from dance and we were very    surprised on how well the dancers are trained and how well the choreography was excited over all extremely well done.

 Daily Dance Days:

Along with nutcracker rehearsals we are already preparing for summer auditions which are in January. My teachers are telling us that it is right around the conner. This year I will be auditioning to several companies for a spot in their summer intensives. I will be auditioning for ABT American Ballet Theater, SAB School of American Ballet, NYC Ballet, The Royal Ballet

, Joffery School of Ballet and The School at Steps on Broadway. All of these are internationally recognized ballet companies and schools. All of them except for the Royal Ballet are in new york. The Royal Ballet is in London and is very hard to get into. Not only do they have summer programs but they have a boarding school that is year round. I would love to go there because I love London! We are working hard but got a break for UEA that was much needed. With Nutcracker rehearsals my weeks are reaching 28 hours and 45 minuets of Ballet! Saturdays alone are from 9AM to 6PM! I can say that I am very tired and sore to say the least. At least I love what I do.

Photo by Ballet West Blog

Reviews:
Dancewear Solutions
Dancewear Solutions is an online dance wear company that sells everything for every dancer. They have every thing from tights and leotards to tap shoes and costumes. I love this site and have probably spent way to much money on it..  Its not expensive at all in fact they have such good deals that I you could get 4 leotards for the price that you you could get one on a lot of other stores. If you are as obsessed with online shopping as I am you will really appreciate this site! Also there website has tons of selection. Sometimes I will find dance clothes that I really like but they are super expensive and almost always if I type it in to the search bar I can find it here for half the price. I go on this site all the time and defiantly would recommend it to friends. It is a great place to look for cute leotards for that one class a week where you get to wear your choice leotard. Ours is on Saturdays. They have tons of styles and colors to chose from. Dancewear Solutions get a great rating from me any day.

Stretch of the week: Frog

Photo by Different Steps to Ballet

The "Frog" has many names but what it is, is a stretch that helps loosen up your hips. This helps with turn out and basically every dance move you will ever do. All you do is lay down on your stomach and put you feet together and knees out, Try to get you feet and knees flat on the ground with out arching your back. This is a great stretch for all levels! After doing all of your other stretches your hips get tight and to make sure you have maximum range in your hips and to increase flexibility you need to loosen them up again. Plus it feels really good. At first most people can not get there feet any where near the floor but after doing it almost everyday it gets pretty easy and you end up like the girls in the picture. Depending on how flexible you are the can stretch a lot or a little. This is in almost every bar stretch at the end.

Long Days, Long Weeks and Long time Classic Shows

Upcoming Dance shows in Utah:

Thriller by Odyssey Dance Theatre September 1st to November 1st

Photo by Odyssey Dance 

Every year Odyssey put on thriller it is a halloween show filled with comedic and horror dances. They go all out on costumes and props. They tour around Utah and most people have seen it but it is always a good show and I don't mind seeing it more than once. From the 10th of october on they will be at Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake.Tickets start at $25 and go up from there. I went to one a couple years back and had a lot of fun! Aways exciting and engaging. Even though it is not a ballet I still enjoyed it just as much. 

Weekly schedule:

This week I decided to tell you my weekly schedule. I dance for Ballet West Academy. I am level 8. I dance 6 days a week. Every day but Sunday because yes, we do live in Utah. It gets hard at time to get everything done and be able to socialize as well, but I make it work and wouldn't have it another way. ON monday and Fridays we have technique for 1:45 and then Pointe for 1 hour this starts at 6:30 and ends around 9:15. On tuesdays and wednesdays we have a 2 hour technique class then variations that is a total of 3 hours ending at 9:30 On Thursdays it starts at 4:30 with conditioning then a 2 hour technique class and Pointe. That is a total of 4:30 minutes ending at 9. Finally or longest day is Saturday. We start at 8:30 and end at 6:30  . The classes are Technique, Pointe, Repertory, Modern  and then rehearsal. It all adds up quickly! I love dance but even I know that is a lot. 

Photo by Life of a Dancer 

Stretch of the week: 

Bar Stretch! Bar stretch varies from studio to studio and even from teacher to teacher but a I will tell you a basic stretches done in bar stretches. At my studio we have to remember anywhere from two to four different bar stretches. The first thing I think that is important is putting your leg on the bar in second or to the side. You put it on the bar and stand as close to the bar as you can so that you're also stretching your turn out and rotation. Then you can reach towards your leg and away several times. You then also do this to the front turn slightly angled towards the bar and make sure you are staining straight up the repeat the reaching from before. Finally you do this to the back it is the same as the front but with your leg behind you. When you reach toward your leg twist you spine for an extra stretch. This is good for warming up all you muscles! Make sure to be warm when stretching always stay safe and have fun stretching! 

And Nutcracker has Begun Yet Again

Upcoming Ballet West Performances : Giselle November 7-16

Picture by Ballet West

This is a classical ballet that is not only a love story but a ghost story. A drama about a poor peasant girl and the prince who lies to her. This is full of many exciting scenes and will keep you interested. This version is produced by Artistic Director Adam Sklute.



Daily Dance Days: Nutcracker casting

  Nutcracker is one of the most famous ballets to many people around the world. The Nutcracker started a long time ago and the tradition still stands. Auditions for the Nutcracker were held in the middle of September and Casting began last week. There are many parts for children that audition for the Nutcracker. It is all based on height then audition. At the smallest height you are a buffoon and then you move to Party Girl then to solider and young Clara. From there you are solider page and Lady in waiting. This year I was Cast as a Lady in waiting.  Nutcracker has 4 cast A-D. I am Cast B. Nutcracker rehearsals have just begun but are in full force. Everyone is busy getting ready for the premier in early December.



Reviews: Pat's Dance wear

Picture By Cinnamon Tree

Pat's has a verity of dance wear from Jazz and Tap to classical Ballet. They have a great selection of leotards, tights and shoes. When you go to Pat's for a point Shoe fitting you have to call in advance. When you get there they are very helpful and have a very good range in shoes to choose from. You pay a $10 fitting fee but they are good and know what they are doing.They definitely have all your dance wear needs at Pat's. Although it is a little pricy but most Dance Wear stores are.  I love Pat's and make the drive down there whenever I need pointe shoes.


Stretch Of The Week: Splits

When Stretching you want to make sure you warm up at a good pace. A good stretch to do once you have warmed up is your splits. Not everyone knows how to do the splits properly. To properly do the splits you first should warm up your hip joint, you can do this by doing lunges. Then you can slide into your splits. Extend both legs one in front one strait to the back. You should hold it for about 30 seconds- 2 minuets. Then if it isn't hurting a lot you can try leaning forward and backward. The splits are a very common stretch for Ballet and help increase flexibility for tilts and extensions. It also helps with leaps and jumps. Have Fun! :)