Examinations

So today during class, Ms. R( I'm not going to give her name out)  came to examine us. I was a bit worried because I haven't been taking classes there for very long, but she didn't make us do anything too difficult. Because of the Examinations there were at least four more girls at the class than usual. There was barely enough room at the barre for all of us! We did more center work than usual which I liked. I also like the way Ms.R teaches a little better. She even assigned us homework, which is to work on assembles. At the end of the class we worked on our hula hoop dance for the recital that I still don't know anything about. Oh, and today i decided i should get black tights like the rest of the girls in my class, because after we do our stretches, my tights have black smudges on them from being on the floor. I just hope i get to the next level (I'm currently on level 3) but i don't know if Ms. R is coming back next week with our results....? Everything is still a bit of a mystery and I hope I can get more information about our recital. At least we got our first 8 count figured out today! :)
DANCE ON!! 

Tuesday Class

Yesterday i had my class which is now divided into three parts: Warm-up, Ballet, and Rehearsal. We are rehearsing for the recital that i know almost nothing about at this point.  We haven't started serious rehearsal yet, which we will do next week. We are not doing a real ballet dance because none of us are that well trained. We are doing a dance with hula hoops (not really sure how i feel about that) and there are only about four of us in the class. And we are just coming up with stuff on the spot. I know absolutely nothing about this recital we are practicing for which i hope our teacher will explain more of next tuesday. I will hopefully be back with more information about the recital next week.

Ballet Wish list

Ever since i started taking ballet ,there are things I've wanted to do, ballets I've wanted to see, and goals I've wanted to reach. Here are a few I could think and i will probably add more as time goes by

• See a live Ballet                                      I have never seen a full ballet preformed, and i would love to see one live someday!( I would love to see Swan Lake, Serenade, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. I would also like to see NYCB and ABT.) 
• Go on Pointe                                             Even though I just started, i dream about the day that I get my first pointe shoes, and dance en pointe.  
• Preform in a Ballet                                Since i take classes at a community center and not a real studio, we do not do real ballets. I'm actually saving up so that i can go to a real dance studio, although not many have classes for beginning teens. (My dream ballet to preform is Swan Lake, but I would gladly do the Nutcracker at christmas time.)
• Do an awesome Pirouette                   In the class that i take, we almost never do center work, and i really want to work on my pirouettes, assembles, and pique turns.
• Do The Middle Splits                               I can already do my right and left splits ( I'm like a centimeter off the ground on those) but I suck at my middle splits.
• Meet Misty Copeland                                And Tiler Peck. And Lauren Lovette. Or any of my ballet idols. :)
• Take the thursday class                       At the community center, there are classes twice a week. I only take the Tuesday class at the moment, but this will probably change very soon.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Leave a comment of anything on your ballet wish list and keep dancing!

Late Bloomers

I know it may seem discouraging at times when you start ballet as a teenager, but you are most definitely not alone. Here is a short summary of a few dancers that also started in their teens.

    Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland is my personal idol.She started dancing at the age of 13 at a Boys and Girls club. Misty was able to pick up and imitate movements very easily. She is not only a late starter but is also the first African-Ameican soloist in 20 years at the American Ballet Theater. 

      

Kristi Boone
Kristi Boone also started ballet training at the age of thirteen. She is a former dancer also with ABT.
She recieved a scholarship to learn at the Chautauqua Institute at the age of 15. She was a junior in High school when she was asked to join ABT's studio company and joined the main company in 2000.
 
Patricia Zhou 
Patricia is also one of our ballet dancers that started at the age of 13. She attended the Kirov academy of ballet in Washington DC. Patricia has stunned the ballet world and even made it into her dream company, The Royal Ballet.
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Misty Copeland- http://www.mistycopeland.com/home.html
Kristi Boone-http://www.kristiboone.com/
Patricia Zhou-http://www.patriciazhou.com/

I hope you found this encouraging to know that you are not alone. Dance on!

Your first Class

The day you have been waiting for has finally come- your first class!! It can be an exciting experience, or in my case, a very nerve-racking one. I want you to be confident and have fun in your first class, so here are some tips to have a great time.

1. Find a good studio
    I know this sounds obvious, but you need to find a studio that you feel comfortable in, and has a class you can keep up with. I remember the very first studio i went to claimed it was a beginning class, but everyone had to have been dancing for some time- some girls were even en pointe! I was completely lost and left in the dust.  In other words, it was a nightmare, so don't end up like me. Also make sure you are able to afford these classes, and that the teachers know their stuff.

 2. What to wear
     For your first class you may be able to just wear a t-shirt and shorts with ballet flats, or the studio may have a specific dress code. You should be just fine in a plain black leotard, pink tights, and ballet flats with your hair out of your face in a bun or ponytail. You may also choose to wear a skirt as i did, but check with your studio first.  Reminder: Don't spend a bunch of money on a hundred leotards for your first class. You may not even like it, and you'll be stuck with leotards you will never wear. I would suggest getting your clothes from a dance store- i get all my clothes from a Discount Dance Supply store near where i live.

  3. What to expect 
        I can't speak for every studio, but definitely expect a workout! You will probably want to work on core exercises such as planks and sit ups. You will also need to be quite flexible and will probably work on the splits. Your class may be split into two parts- Barre and Center Work. At the barre you will work on things like plies, and tendus, and during center work you will do things like pirouettes and pique turns, (i am not guaranteeing this is what you will do in your class, i am just giving examples) Always remember to stretch and warm up before your class!!

Good luck!!
     I hope this helped you in anyway, and i wish you good luck in your first class. Have fun and dance on!!  http://www.discountdance.com- My dance store

     

Hello there!

So, my first post, (yay!) At this moment I have been dancing for about a month, so i guess i'm still pretty new to ballet. However i really love it, and i spend nearly all of my free time practicing and looking at ballet videos online. Although i have never been to see a real ballet before, i hope to change this very soon. :)