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!