Michaela De Prince

 

This beautiful book about her.  Get it here.

 

 

 

 What a shock when we heard of her oh so young death. 

An un-diagnosed heart condition. 

 

What sadness. I don't know what else to say.

 What did you feel when you heard?

God bless us all.  

A beautiful tribute.

Are Ballet Workouts Effective? The Top Two

Are Ballet Workouts Effective?

That is a question I get a lot from friends. Including older or senior peeps.

The other question I get is:

Which Ballet Workout Benefits Do I Need The Most?

That is a good question, because it leads to why someone would pick a ballet workout over a non-ballet workout.

The ballet body, or the ballerina body, is known mostly for long lean muscles, not a bulked up shape associated with weight lifting and body building.

I discovered Classical Stretch by accident one morning many years ago. I woke up earlier than usual and switched on the television. I had left it on PBS the night before. 

I saw a slim woman using a chair as a barre, and going through some long and stretchy movements. "Oh cool, I could really get into that" I thought. 

I had been doing Yoga (and I still do) but wanted something more challenging. 

As a retired dancer/ballet teacher, it is easy for me to put a good barre workout together, and just do, right?

Yet, ballet is class oriented, with a group, voices, and music. Ballet class in isolation is difficult.

As the shot zoomed in on the woman, I could see it was Miranda, a classmate of mine at The National Ballet School of Canada. No wonder this was so stretchy looking and easy to follow.

That led to me buying my first Classical Stretch DVD, and doing the ballet workouts every few days.

I liked the several DVD's I chose, because they combine shorter and longer workouts, some standing, using a barre, and some mostly mat work.

Here is the first one I got:

The photo is mine, shown with a three pound weight I use. 

This DVD is shown on Amazon (CLICK HERE if you want to view it) and has a pretty high "collector's" price, maybe?

I also got  "Classical Stretch - The Esmonde Technique: 30 Minute Express Workouts" .

These are well timed shorter workouts.

A Ballet Workout For Seniors 

These days the Essentrics line of workouts is prominent, along with Miranda's "Aging Backwards" book and DVD's, and here is one with 30 episodes, a whole series.

Click on it, you'll go to Amazon to see it, and more. You will see a boxed set of two, which covers posture and bone building. 

A single DVD focuses on mobility and bone strengthening. 

One of these may match your goals, time allowances for workouts, and your budget.

Bone strengthening and mobility are lead goals in ballet workout benefits, good for seniors and anyone who sits a t a desk job. 

Essentrics offers some rigorous workouts. This one is very popular:

Ballet Exercises For Beginners

A ballet workout for beginners could include something like this:

I recommend this for beginners who have started taking an actual ballet class, or for anyone who wants to get started with fitness workouts. These two workouts target muscle strength and mobility. One is standing, one is mat work. 

Ballet is difficult. Yet, it offers:

1. Strength and mobility
2. A sense of grace and elegance
3. Balance
4. Joint Strength
5. Improved reflexes
6. Mental challenge
7. Emotional fulfillment

Stretching and toning can give you most of these benefits. I'm happy with following the DVD's at home, and sometimes share them with a friend.

You will do what suits your personality, and it is great to have these choices.

 Ballet Barre Pure Barre The Bar Method

"To say the barre trend has heated up in the last 10 years is an understatement. Barre has morphed from a class for nimble dancer-types to become the workout of choice for fitness fiends everywhere—and studios are springing up in droves across the U.S. (and internationally). In fact, Pure Barre has almost 300 locations, while The Bar Method just opened its 82nd studio. Several brands, including Barre3, Beyond Barre, and Physique 57 also offer online streaming and on-demand videos. Basically if your neighborhood doesn’t have a barre studio, it’s safe to assume it will soon." - Greatist

Ballet Workouts To Lose Weight

The Barre has much written about it and some of it is controversial. One benefit  stands out in the many articles I found about this routine, and there is much mention that it is one of the best ballet workouts to lose weight. 

Yet (one of the controversies) it gets mentioned by fitness experts, that this ballet-imitating class has very limited cardio. 

Traditionally, cardio has been considered the best weight loss form of exercise.

And that too has been challenged. Proponents of interval training and Slow Burn or Slow Motion exercise insist that engaging the fast twitch muscles causes muscle building and increases metabolism.

You need to be a real seeker these days to find the best workout for you! 

(When I read the description of The Barre workout movements, I think back to Callanetics, which I first did in the late 80's. The tiny one inch movements in those exercises seem to have been adopted by the popular Barre routine.

Over 300 reviewers give Callanetics a 4.7 Star Rating on Amazon. People who have been doing the routines since the 80's.) 

However the exercise that works is the one that you do! I think that statement was attributed to Edgar Cayce.

Both Essentrics (Classical Stretch) and The Barre (Bar) exercises can be found at many locations throughout North America (and perhaps beyond, I haven't looked that far). 

Short workouts can be found at Youtube s(CLICK on that to see a sample) o you can try many parts of the workouts to see how you like them.

What is your favorite workout? Please do share, just leave your input below. 

How To Get Abs Exercises Right For Ballet

How To Get Abs Exercises Right For Ballet

I remember years ago explaining to my eight year olds how not to suck their belly button in, but to pull it upwards. 

I didn't try to explain the concentric (shortening) , eccentric (lengthening) and isometric (sustaining the muscle position) contractions to them.

For dancers, here is a video demonstrating the lengthening contraction, even though at first glance at the physio ball portion,it may seem this trainer is doing crunches. 

 To emphasize this lengthening of the abdominal muscles to the younger girls and boys, I would also have them sit on the floor with a straight back. 

Their legs could be comfortable, as I wanted them to feel the isolated abs, with their pelvis in neutral. I also wanted them to feel the pelvis unchanging, in other words, feel their Sit bones on the floor while they pulled their tummy muscles UP.

Deborah Vogel, author of The Body Series newsletter, explains this well to a ballet teacher HERE.

With the children sitting on the floor both I and my assistant could see immediately which of them were doing a crunch instead of a pull-up movement.

The kids could also easily feel that their bones were moving on the floor, and could sense how to pull up without their bones moving.

That made it easier for them to feel their pelvis staying neutral when they stood up, and pulled up.

We were in a studio with only one mirror, in the back corner, which I think is fine for younger children.

This correct use of the abs also helps children to use their turnout muscles without gripping and pulling their buttocks down and in. 

 Advanced Students

When they become advanced, they will then be able to alter their hip placement with deliberation when doing high leg extensions, rather than just losing it, and crunching their abs shorter.

Here is an article on grand battement,  and you'll see while reading that, how the elongated abs will stabilize you in many ballet movements.

Here's a wonderful dance video for seeing great abs control!

If you have to go to youtube to see this, here's the link:

 https://youtu.be/oMcWhGCvHe4

Enjoy your dance classes!

How did you learn about abs in ballet? Please do share!

 

How Many Calories Should I Eat In A Day

How many calories should I eat in a day to lose weight?

If you're a teen, please don't ask yourself that question - ever!

I have written a lot about healthy diets, especially for teens, teens in ballet training.

Healthy weight control diets don't involve restricting calories.

 Eat The Right Calories 

Don't bother counting them,

I was delighted to read an article in Pointe Magazine about delayed puberty in dancers.

" During puberty, you may have to adjust to inconvenient changes: normal weight gain, a bigger chest, wider hips, acne, pubic hair, body odors, plus a new clumsiness that can suddenly emerge as your body develops. In addition, dancers' bodies are under extra scrutiny, as late adolescence often coincides with their first auditions or early career."

Weight control is different from weight loss. You are inevitably going to gain weight as you grow as your bone mass increases, your muscles grow to catch up with your bones, and your hormones fluctuate.

As a teen ballet student, you should focus on nutrition. You don't need to count calories if you eat plenty of:

• High quality protein (fresh meats/fish)

• Fresh vegetables and salads

• Omega 3 fatty acid bearing nuts for snacks and "the crunch factor"

• Butter and cheeses

If you can get organic and pasture-fed sourced foods, all the better. Herbicides and pesticides are hormone mimickers and can throw your balance off.

What you can restrict is:

• Breads

• Crackers

• Sweets

• Pastas

• All grains

Notice I said restrict, not deprive!

If you are chubby and can't stay slim, get some blood tests for your hormones. You may be hypothyroid, or have some other condition that you can fix.

Puberty isn't easy. You go through growth spurts - and yay! "Im losing weight!" 

Then your growth will wane for a while and suddenly you realize you're a little rounder.

That is when you can restrict the calorie-laden breads, sweets etc. Puberty is

 " The process is dictated by hormones that affect both your body and mind. While these hormones may be vilified for increasing the curves of your body and altering your moods, they make it possible for you to build up adequate bone mass and eventually bear children."

You can read the whole article HERE.

When I was a twenty year old teacher at the National Ballet School I had a dancer friend (also twenty) who was shocked to find out she was pregnant. She got that way not through carelessness, but because she had never had periods. So she wasn't using birth control.

She ended up miscarrying because she didn't have the hormone levels to complete the pregnancy.

She also had gone through puberty while training intensively and staying very thin.

I am also happy to see that Candace Thompson, the author of the Pointe article mentions calcium and Vitamin D supplementation. These are important for bone building.

Please teens, stay healthy!

Effective diet habits will keep you as thin as you want to be, with healthy hormones and no danger from stress fractures.

Eating healthy fats will also contribute to your brain power and good moods.

Eating well will contribute to a sustained career in ballet, and for you young ladies, healthy pregnancies when you're ready for those.

To your health!

D. Buxton is a writing partner with Vone Deporter, of The Sedona Series, about a surfer girl in pointe shoes.

Follow us on Pinterest! 

 

 

Brain Memory Processing Speed And Dance!

Brain Memory Processing Speed And Dance!

According to a post at the Sharpbrains blog dancing helps preserve brain function!

You can read it HERE. 

source.

So let us all keep dancing peeps!

That's all for now - just wanted to mention their post.

Best Fats For Weight Loss

 Best Fats For Weight Loss

In his new book Fat For Fuel, Dr. Joseph Mercola outlines how a ketogenic diet, tells you dancers how to use the best fats for weight loss. This diet is very low in carbohydrates and high in healthy fats, is the way to optimize the biochemical pathways that suppress disease and support healing.

When mitochondria (our energy producing cellular factories) become damaged in large numbers, it is impossible to stay healthy.

Specific to teen dancers, I wrote this post today about

How Many Calories Should I Eat In A Day

Benefits of A Ketogenic Diet

• Treat or prevent serious illness

• Boost your brainpower/mental clarity

• Increase your energy

• Help you lose weight and keep it off

• Keep your biochemical pathways operating at top efficiency

Get Your Copy!

 Don't Wait Decades For This Eating Style To Become "Metabolic Therapy"! 

It's just eating, right?

As you read this book, you’ll learn in clear, rational terms how your body works at a molecular level.

You’ll finally understand the type of fuel it’s designed to burn in the most efficient way possible.

You’ll find detailed guidelines for starting and sticking with a ketogenic eating plan.

And you won’t have to wait a decade or two for metabolic mitochondrial therapy to make its way into the mainstream. You can build a healthier body and brain at the cutting edge of this exciting new discipline, starting right now.

Check out the editorial reviews here:
  

• Christiane Northrup, M.D

•  Thomas Seyfried, Ph.D

•  David Perlmutter, M.D., F.A.C.N.

•  Leo Galland, M.D.

•   Ron Rosedale, M.D

And many more uber-qualified doctors, and medical journalists.

This is brand new but I expect the good reviews to be rolling in soon!

I've written about Keto Diet Meals HERE.

I also recommend Dr. Mercola's Effortless Healing.

source.

  To your dancing health!

 D. Buxton is a writing partner with Vone Deporter, of The Sedona Series, about a surfer girl in pointe shoes.

Follow us on Pinterest! 

Wear Demi Poine Shoes?

  "Should I Wear Demi Pointe Shoes?"

Lisa Howell, author of The Perfect Pointe Book, weighs in on the benefits of demi pointe shoes.

"My personal preference is actually to use broken down pointe shoes of the same style as they use en pointe, rather than specifically designed "demi-pointe" shoes. For instance, one a student has broken down the shank of their first pair, the shank may be removed, and this shoe used for parts of their normal class. This helps them gain more proprioceptive feedback about what it is like to stand in those particular shoes".

source.

I was trained to use worn out pointe shoes as soft shoes. It was very economical, but also good for the foot muscles.

I mean, when are your feet strong enough, if ever?

I remember pulling the shank out of many pointe shoes, and sometimes having to pull out a nail or file down the grainy glue with an emory board. I could also press the fabric cover of the shank back in.

The Benefits Of Not Using Demi Pointe Shoes

 Ultimately, the shank can be left in if you want to really challenge those foot muscles.If you value progress over the immediate ease of "pointing your shoe", you will.

Why throw away a piece of your shoe that's going to make you strong?

Lisa Howell  brings up a good point about 'claw toes' or toe curling in the ballet shoes. Wearing satin, slightly stiffened quasi-pointe shoes can hide from your teacher exactly what your toes are doing in the shoe.

Curling, instead of lengthening the toes and following the line of your arch, prevents the development of good forefoot muscles.

I wrote in detail about the forefoot muscles HERE.

I would discourage students from wearing split sole shoes. Why? Again, you've removed a piece of the shoe that requires extra effort from your foot muscles.

I honestly think that demi pointe shoes are a marketing issue. Dance is so huge now. When I was performing it was still a subculture.

I don't disparage the glut of dancewear and choices in pointe shoes for all foot types, no not at all. But I'll repeat myself - (click HERE for the full article) you must get your feet in charge of the shoes, and not the other way around.

And don't forget that extra sole-of-the-foot strength and forefoot strength will improve your allegro too!

Here's a video showing how to use the correct muscles when you point your feet!

D. Buxton is a writing partner with Vone Deporter, of The Sedona Series, about a surfer girl in pointe shoes.

Follow us on Pinterest! 

Creating Your Brand As A Dancer

Creating Your Brand As A Dancer

Or as a teacher, a studio, a company, a free lance group, a choreographer, a dance writer...I'm about half way through the book The Artist's Compass:

The Complete Guide to Building a Life and a Living in the Performing Arts by Rachel S. Moore.

Released May 3, 2016, it has three reviews on amazon.com, all five stars. I will add mine when I've finished the book, but I want to write about it here first so I can say Get It Now!

Did I ever need this book thirty years ago! And you young dancers, even if still in High School, you need it now!

Your parents need to read it too!

Chock full of great advice from years of experience! From early dance training to joining a company, dealing with unions, agents and...sadly, injury, Ms. Moore went on to study and work in arts management. To quote her -

"While performing artists have many educational opportunities to perfect their craft, they are often on their own when it comes to learning the business skills necessary to launch their careers. At the end of the day, show business is, well, a business."

Click on the book to read the rest of the description and about Ms. Moore's fascinating bio!

As a retired dancer and now writer (working on a series of novels about a surfer girl in pointe shoes, more here) with a writing partner, I need this book now, too.

Learning all about Social Media and how to work it and apply it properly and generously every day is gruelling! When will there be time to write?

If I were still teaching I would feel the same way - when will I do those class plans? Choreograph? Take the girls to a pointe shoe fitting?

Not that I haven't been using social media for years, but no plotting and planning has been involved. 

This book is suitable for anyone who needs branding for any reason - peeps in the Fine Arts, film, writers...anything! 

I'll add more to this when I've finished it. Get yours!!

Oh - I almost forgot! Please use the Share buttons below!

Pictures - Ballet Pointe Shoes

Recently my sister Jayne North sent me some pictures - ballet pointe shoes!
She had seen them in a thrift store in the southern Ontario countryside.

She emailed me to ask me if I could read the writing on them.

I could! They were autographed by Veronica Tennant! Former prima ballerina of The National Ballet of Canada.

There have been many occasions when a ballet fan might have received those shoes. A school tour?

A "Meet The Dancers" after a matinee show?

Just two days ago the Boston Ballet tweeted that autographed shoes were available in their shop and you can see those here.

When you're a young aspiring ballerina a pair of torn, stained, worn out pointe shoes with the autograph of a prima ballerina is a wonderful talisman.

The details - look how she darns the platform of her pointe shoes! Where she sews her ribbons and elastic...a spot of rosin stuck, danced into that leather sole. And is there a shoemaker's mark or initials (as there is on Freeds)?

I remember when Betty Oliphant and Lucy Potts returned from their first visit to Russia in the USSR days. They brought autographed pointe shoes from Bolshoi dancers and Mrs. Potts translated the names for us.

What on earth did I do with the pair I had? Those pointe shoes were so different from ours (we only had Freeds and Gambas then). A pale almost lilac pink - very low vamps, tapered boxes and a V shaped point in the material over the forefoot.

They were all the same - there was no variation in the widths or shapes. I took note after that, while pouring over photos , of the extra supports sewn in by dancers like Ulanova and Maximova who had high domed insteps and flexible ankles.

Yet they didn't always have elastic sewn into their vamps so they must have had very strong feet!

Now the choices in pointe shoes are mind boggling. It is worth a trip to a major center to try many on, if you don't have a well stocked pointe shoe shop locally.

If you're longing to get into pointe shoes - here are some foot exercises to help you out!

Here is Ulanova in 1956 - she would have been 46  years old.

D. Buxton is a writing partner with Vone Deporter, of The Sedona Series, about a surfer girl in pointe shoes.

Follow us on Pinterest! 

Can Teachers Be Wrong?

What a great question! A dancer asked me this at allexperts.com recently. And this was my answer:

"Having trained with Royal Academy, Cecchetti, French and Russian teachers I experienced contradictions in training. Yet I never felt any of my teachers were wrong.

When I started to teach, I chose whatever worked for each student, according to their physique. Unless, of course I was teaching Cecchetti for an exam."

The Perfect Pointe Book

I went on to remind her that classical technique defies anatomical norms. It is important that ballet instructors understand (whatever style) basic technique well enough to show students, individually, how to prevent injury on their physique.

Student can lose trust in a teacher because of the incorrect perception that a teacher doesn't know how to teach properly.

Some teachers are happy to state that their competitors teach technique incorrectly.

A kinesiologist will say most of ballet is downright harmful!

Another factor is that teachers may not express what they really mean very well.

Any student (of professional or recreational dance)can study the different ballet styles, and decide how they would apply the instruction to their physical type.

I advised her to get:

  The Perfect Pointe Book - which demonstrates basic ballet movements

Tune Up Your Turnout - from a kinesiology perspective

Inside Ballet Technique -Separating Anatomical Fact from Fiction in the Ballet Class


Written by therapists and kinesiologists these are excellent guides as to what is "right", sans any style.

Every body is different, even the ones that are "creme de la creme" models chosen from among the "rest of us" at professional school auditions.

You need to know, and can find out, what is best for you.  You want to achieve strength and grace which I wrote about in my article "Ballet - Ocean Waves - Fluidity".(It has a great video of fluid movement).

Enjoy your dancing!

Arabesque Means A Line

Arabesque the line in classical ballet.

ar·a·besque

ˌerəˈbesk/

noun

noun: arabesque; plural noun: arabesques

1. 1.
   an ornamental design consisting of intertwined flowing lines, originally found in Arabic or Moorish decoration.
   "arabesque scrolls"
   • Music
     a passage or composition with fanciful ornamentation of the melody.
2. 2.
   Ballet
   a posture in which the body is supported on one leg, with the other leg extended horizontally backward.
   

How did 1. get to 2.?

Many years ago I read in a dance dictionary that arabesque was so called because it was "a line". In art, arabesque - from the Arabic - was a style of lines, because in the practice of Islam artists could not draw images of the human form.

In ballet the leg is behind - and arms have a variety of placements. Yet, they

source.

should continue the line of the leg and the back and the neck.

Ballet has the best of both worlds - the lines, and the human form. 

In grand jete - most often a 180 degree line to the legs (a split), the upper body can be lined in first second or third arabesque, or rounded arm positions.

 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:From_the_ballet_Coppelia_cropped.jpg

The dancer can arch backwards and bend the back leg with arms arcing back toward the back foot, almost making a circle. It's a beautiful line.

Yet, the back thigh is still in a 180 degree line continuing from the front leg.

Extreme overstretching exercises.

If the front leg can raise upwards breaking that straight line, and the back leg 

does as well, there is now a shallow V shape. Or bow shape.

If the front and back arm are not parallel to the legs, it looks very odd.

In fact if they are parallel to the front and back leg, it still looks very odd!

It doesn't fit in any classical ballet!

Do I just sound like I'm complaining because I don't like it?

Yes, that's what I'm doing.I mean...take a look! 

D. Buxton is a writing partner with Vone Deporter, of The Sedona Series, about a surfer girl in pointe shoes.

Follow us on Pinterest! 

Ballet - Ocean Waves - Fluidity

I was watching ocean waves recently and tuned into the rhythm of the flow.

I started to think about dance movement and the ebb and flow of tension.

Can A Late Starter In Ballet Achieve Fluidity?

source.

Perfect control is the control of tension.

A dancer learns how to be tense...then not tense.

There is a pas de deux between positions and movement. Ballet positions are practised for years!

Whether they are Vaganova, Cecchetti, R.A.D., or some other newer system, they are positions integrated into almost every class, exam, choreography...

The student dancer imitates, for years, the positions.

Yet ultimately all those positions are -- movement! In adagio, allegro, grand allegro -- it's all movement.

I learned the most about ballet from non-dancers.

True! I learned the most about dance from a friend whom I'd given tickets (back in the days when I could) to not only ballets but to a few progressive choreographic workshops danced by professionals and senior students.

"She moves like water." A remark about Karen Kain way back. This dance observer saw her in Swan Lake, and then in a workshop where she danced "Emily" choreographed by Anne Ditchburn.

Years later I got a good review from critic Deidre Kelly who remarked that in my choreography the dancers' arm movements never came to rest, but defied positioning in a constant flow.

When I started to write this blog, and found myself describing plies, tendus, and ronde de jambe exercises, I found myself careful to repeat that tension in barre exercises, is fluid.

Muscles must be held, as strong as a muscle can. At the top of a jump, at the height of an arabesque.

And, let go immediately! If needed, or if not, gradually, according to the need of a safe landing, or to stay in time with the music, or for a dramatic moment.

The ocean reminded me of this. Every wave is unique. The tension of the waves interact with other waves flowing in or out from different directions. Intercepted by undercurrents, blocked or augmented.

And dance is like that. Every performance is different with new energies, new tensions, new joys. Ditto for the musicians.

And isn't that great? Every show is like "you had to be there".

The audience is not aware of the dancer's incredible control. The audience is mesmerized by the ebb and flow of the tension, and release, in the technique and the artistry of its presentation.

I don't know why I'm thinking all this tonight. Maybe it was the booming crashing thunderstorm I woke up to this morning.

Here is one (in a million) example of that fluidity.

  

Concussion And Dancers

When I think of concussions, I think of football players. Who, to non sports fans, are kind of crazy guys (some of whom earn millions a year) who slam themselves into other crazy guys to forward a ball...a few yards?

I was stopped in my digital tracks when I read the article on The Dance Current about dancers and concussion injury. 

Recently I've talked to two people who saw the movie "Concussion:" with Will Smith. One loved it and the other didn't like it. But it is an important issue.

It's football. I get it. And casting Will Smith.

But what about dance? And concussion? I've worked in a chiropractic office, and yes, concussion IS a big deal.

I can't add anything to the movie trailer or the article in Dance Current.

Whether you are a ballet dancer, break dancer, ballet teacher, adult ballet beginner -- or a high school football player, I hope you'll read this article and expand your awareness.

I searched "ballet concussions" and came up with nothing. But please don't let that discourage you from thinking about this.  

Trapezius Muscle Pain

And wow did I ever have that yesterday -- trapezius muscle pain and stinging -- like a swarm of bees stung me!

I don't know how else to describe it. Burning, smarting stinging in my left trapezius!

source.

 I had never experienced that in a muscle before. Usually a strained muscle would ache, spasm a bit, and respond if I used a sports ball or roller. Relief!

Not this time! I was in the middle of a task - with some repetitive motion involved. And I'd had a sensation of tightness in the muscle for few days -- or is that weeks?

You know how time flies when you're busy!

I put some Bio Freeze on it - I had the roll on or I couldn't have reached. I contemplated getting ice, but I didn't want to stop what I was doing. I could have!

Yeah, I'll fix it later right? Typical dancer think?

Anyway today I got the chance to get a half hour massage for the stinging -- which was a little better than yesterday's killer bee swarm affect - and while I was telling Shirley Martin about it I reflected on my ergonomic computer workstation at home.

O.K., I confess right now it's my couch. The Ouch Couch. I have a table set up too -- but isn't the couch more inviting most evenings?

And the ergonomic workstation design at the office? The area was built in 1999 when no one had any idea what would be required for a good layout once everything was digitalized. I've reconfigured it as best I can. But the rebuild of the room hasn't been approved lol.

So back to the couch -- I am now supported by a Sobakawa pillow and am facing forward (eliminating the twist to the thoracic spine) (oh, and neck!) and thinking how silly I am to let it get to the point where I got such trapezius muscle pain!

Here's a video by Kai Wheeler showing how to relax the trapezius - using a ball.

This type of tension release is for experienced dancers and athletes. It is not meant to replace a person consulting a chiropractor, a physiotherapist or a medical doctor.

Misty Copeland Ballerina

"African American ballerina" -- "Misty Copeland Ballerina" -- raw talent live some say!

As a phenomena, yes, but raw talent - no, that never applies to ballet! Even the twice a week recreational dancer knows that!

"Ballet" and "raw" do not go together - not with the five to ten years training required. Yet there are exceptional talents, those "born to dance" but they too have to work very hard to perform classical ballet.

Reverence Is More Than A Curtsy

Any dancer will tell you that reverence is more than a curtsy, or bow, done at the end of class.



The reverence acknowledges all the good work, the sweat, the effort put forth by the dancers, the teacher, and the pianist too. This easy and powerful read by a young ballet student in the 1940's, who is both taught and dances with the "ski's" and "ova's" from the Ballet Russes, Balanchine and American Ballet Theater is a page turner.



I read it well into the wee hours, eyes burning and feet pointing in my dreams all night. Sometimes I wake up with the Charley Horse calf cramps, which means I've been dreaming about ballet - again! (I have just come back here to add -- if you're not able to even spend $3 on a Kindle book --yes dancers go through that -- check your local library. Often books are in ebook form and you can read through your free Kindle app on computer or other device!)

Misty Copeland Tale On PBS And Netflix

A Ballerina's Tale

 Here is the link to the trailer:

This ballet documentary covers her working through an injury, retraining after surgery, and continuing to expand her career.

Her achievements in the world of ballet don't need repeating here. It is wonderful to see her reaching into television production. Ms. Copeland will be teaming up with Tracy Oliver for a dance drama series on Fox.

I look forward to more material created by real ballet professionals and not the fluff imagined by someone with no experience in the training and day to day lives of real people.

The pain, the emotional abuse, the supposed deprivation of a dancer's life can be easily "romanticized" meaning overblown and melodramatized.

There is a real history to all mentioned above, and I reflect back to "Ballerina: Sex, Scandal, and Suffering Behind the Symbol of Perfection" by Deirdre Kelly.

The book  is an excellent read and Deirdre Kelly gives us some reflections on the history of the extremes ballerina's have been subjected to in this film, regarding body image.

And with Misty Copeland comes -- more ballet!

Dancers Knew What Scientists Learned

"Dance is now being studied as a pathway to enhance learning.  And, scientists say, educators and parents should take note of the movement."

That is the opening to a blog post at sharpbrains.com.

I wrote about this subject myself way back in 03/12/2008 in a post about dancers getting higher SAT scores.

I am glad to see this fact being investigated -- here's a little more from that article:

"Scientists are turning to dance because it is a multifaceted activity that can help them—and ultimately educators and even parents– demystify how the brain coordinates the body to perform complex, precise movements that express emotion and convey meaning".

I follow Sharp Brains and enjoy all their posts, but I'll admit I don't get a chance to check them everyday.

Here's a snippet with Mark Morris, (who spoke at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience), in an interview "Notes For A Dancer" and with some rehearsal footage.

Low Calorie Dessert For Young Nutcracker Ballet Kids

I'm planning this gluten free low calorie dessert for an upcoming holiday dinner and thought I'd share for the seasonal young Nutcracker ballet kids.

Most young dancers aren't worrying about weight gain - but for those who are, or for their teachers or dance parents, here is a tasty treat.

Any lower calorie fruit could do but you know what they say about apples!

Choose organic so you can keep the skin on - for all those vitamins! Slice and bake or boil a 2-5 lb bag of apples, depending on the size of your dinner party and family.

Serve with whipped organic heavy whipping cream.

Don't underestimate how yummy this is! It's basically Apple Pie without the grainy crust. Gluten free!

This can be served hot or cold, and drizzled with maple syrup, or a pinch of dark brown sugar.

Zero calorie organic Sweet Leaf liquid stevia can be used too -- it comes in plain, Vanilla Cream, English Butterscotch and other flavors.

For Dancers - White Chocolate Made With Stevia

Yes, I was just searching on line for a recipe for white chocolate made with Stevia.

And that would be the organic stevia -- because the non-organic is made with solvents and we don't really want to eat those chemicals.

One of my best friends has asked me to bring this to Thanksgiving dinner. (US).

White chocolate, to avoid the high oxalate content of dark chocolate.

Stevia sweetened, to avoid the carbs and stay in Ketosis, or fat burning mode.

So here's the skinny (all dancers want to be skinny right?).

You need coco butter. Don't worry, it is a mid chain fat and won't store on your body.

You need sugar or stevia.

You need powdered milk, not a lot.

And vanilla extract. The real thing. Why? Because artificial 'vanillin' is made from petroleum. Euew!

This may be the only dessert on the table! But the guests may consider it a desert. You know, dry and empty! (Of calories).

So I will try to make it good! As in yummy, super Vanilla and zero calorie sweet!

If you're a dancer, I know you're with me on this!

Here is a good recipe page.

Here is a sugar to Stevia conversion chart. For whatever you may want to make.

Here is a video to help -- and be forewarned, this cook is a real character!