All things pointe shoes

Once you reach the intermediate levels of ballet you go on pointe. To anyone who is not a dancer yes, this means you dance on your tip toes. Once you get your first pair of pointe shoes there are a lot of things to know for the many that come. 

First, Pointe shoes are expensive! The average pair of pointe shoes cost around $90+. Then you have to buy all the necessary supplies like ribbon, elastics, rosin, toe pads and etc.. 

Photo by Meres Flares

Second, not only are the expensive but if you stick with it you will use A LOT of pairs. Most beginning pointe dancers only go through one or two pairs their first year. This rapidly increases on a personal level after that. The better a dancer you get the more pointe shoes you will go through in any given amount of time but it also depend on how strong your feet are because then you are putting less strain on the shoes. I have gone through 13 pair in my 2 and a half years on pointe. 

Photo by Wikimedia

Next, Sewing!! :)Just kidding sewing pointe shoe is horrible! At the academy you have to sew your own pointe shoes. They are so specific abut how you sew them that they give you a course when you first go on pointe. Here are some quick step to sewing them properly; start by marking where you want the ribbons to go and which foot is which. Then sew the elastics. I use one elastic place pretty far back near the heel.Click here for a stitching pattern to follow.  Then move to the ribbons, repeat the same sewing pattern that was used on the elastics.  Finally you burn the end of the ribbons to prevent fraying.

There are many necessary supplies when it comes to pointe shoes. You need to get elastics and ribbons, how ever usually they come with the pointe shoes. You also need a stitch kit; stitch kits have the proper thread and a needle made for sewing pointe shoes. You can get this at any dance wear store. Probably the most helpful supplies are spacers and toe pads! These will save you from bleeding and prevent bunions. You also need rosin to help them not slip while you are dancing.

WARNING:The pain of pointe shoes is not exaggerated! Pointe doesn't hurt that much at first but after your amount of pointe classes increases so does the pain. After a long saturday rehearsal you can almost not feel your feet anymore, and that comes as a relief. The pain of pointe shoes is really painful especially if your toe nails are too long or too short. The worst is without toe pads though. Once I forgot my toe pads in the wash and I had to go without any thing except a cheap paper towel. It was probably one of the most painful two and a half hours in my life! For the last 30 minuets I was dying and definitely looked horrible. After class I took my pointe shoes off to find blood and blister and purple toes. After that experience I always triple check to make sure I have my toe pads. It took me three weeks to fully recover and do pointe without wanting to cry. It really is true what they say about ballet causing blood sweat and tears!

So all though Pointe causes pain and costs a fortune thats what defines a dancer. Getting your pointe your first pair of pointe shoes is so exciting and it gives you a great sense of accomplishment! Pointe shoes are worth the suffrage they cause and there defiantly is a lot of suffering going on.

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.

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! :)