Versatile Blogger challenge!

Maria was kind enough to give this to me :) Thank you so much, it's my first one ever!

So, it's actually an award - but a challenge at the same time, as there are some tasks to go with it. And here they are:

1. Name 15 fellow bloggers.
2. Tell those bloggers (in their blogs) about it.
3. Write 7 facts about yourself.
4. Thank the blogger/s who named you.
5. Remember to add the Versatile Blogger -photo in your post :)

 Sooooo, here we go, some facts about me and my life!

I - I'll be 32 this December. Old.

II - I'm 177,5 cm tall. More than enough!

III - My hair has been brown, red, more red, very dark brown, almost black, black and red, very blonde, brownish, red and black again... (Now it's all bright red!)

IV - I hated pink as a kid (not anymore).

V - I've got 3 brothers (2 of them younger, 1 older than me).

VI - One of my favorite summer activities is playing croquet! (Although I'm usually the loser... :D)

VII -  I lost a dear friend to breast cancer in April. It changed me a lot, even more than I've yet understood. 

(Bonus - Favorite movies -> Amélie and Memoirs of a Geisha.)

 I think 15 is a bit much (and less is always more, right?), so I'll name... 5! And please remember that you can do this in any language you want ;) Maria had it in Finnish. I'm hoping Johanna, Nina, Vilja, Laura and Riina have fun with it :)

***

p.s. For some stupid reason Blogger is highlighting some completely random parts of my posts. Would be nice if it stopped...

Old dog, new trick!

32 x a certain pirouette, I think every ballet-inspired human knows what it is.

Fouetté en tournant

Last week we started doing a simple routine for prepairing them (barré), on Wednesday we did the routine in the center/middle floor! Woooooow and yikes x million! But I managed to keep my balance there, though there IS a lot to do with my core department. And the knees. And the balance... Anyway, yesterday we did the routine in 2 groups, standing around the "playpen" (a square-ish barré one can set up in the middle of studio). 2 x balance, then turn, balance (1), turn, balance, turn, switch sides. All in all, we/both groups did 2 rounds on both sides. And as the other group was in action, us others could just watch or practice by the side barrés (I chose to practice :)).

Let me tell you: I've tried fouettés only twice before and both times it was just like "let's try this for fun girls..." And it was not a pretty sight! :D This time (yesterday) my 1st round was miserable, 2nd much better! I did grab the barré too quickly after turning etc, but there were some almost clean turns. And our teacher saw them, gave immediate feedback (positive, yay). I'm hoping we'll keep them in repertoire for good, as they'll run away very quickly without practicing. And I'm Not dreaming of doing the turns in center for a while, I'm very happy & satisfied with the preparatory routines. Also the quantity will probably eventually be maybe 2 in a row, haha... :P 


To close this post, I'll present one of my favorite ballet bits via youtube. And it's my favorite because of the magnificent ballerina, Nina Ananiashvili. Her energy is unbelievable. It was amazing to see her live, even just sitting in the audience as a ballet competition judge! :D Unfortunately these particular videos can only be shared as a link, but do watch them. It's worth it.

Odile variation

Black Swan coda

p.s. 

My pirouettes en dedans & en dehors were quite clean (singles) yesterday. I've really tried to pay attention on the speed, knees, core and spotting. It seems to have worked, at least a little! :) Shall try to keep up working on them. Turning is so much fun!

Molding Me - with Ballet

So, another year has passed - but it was sure different! Today - just like in January 2011 - I started this diet made by pro-trainers. It includes a programme for gym or if you're like me (and don't do gym), a programme to do at home. And of course the actual diet. Women and men have both their own lists. It's a free thing, all in the internet. One just has to registrate and follow the instructions. I've participated now 3 times (last year), so this is my fourth round. And it has worked quite nicely for me, even though I wasn't The Most Enthusiastic person.

I'm not sharing the actual measurements, but here are some facts. During 1 year I've lost a lot of things. For example...

• 8 kg's
• 11 cm's from my cheast (but it doesn't make my boobs smaller, which is annoying!!!)
• 7 cm's from my hips
• 15 cm's from my waist :)
• 5,5 cm's from my thigh (right side)
• 3,5 cm's from my calf (-//-)

...but NOTHING from my biceps!!! Right side has even grown 0,5 cm's :D

I guess all of this is good. At least it has made me feel good. I'm looking for similar losses this year - or even more. I was supposed to have a year of 4 x ballet and 2 x jazz per week, but now I'm having only 2 x ballet and maybe 2 x jazz. Have to "maintain" that home-workout more.

At the moment I actually enjoy seeing myself in ballet gear! :) Well, it doesn't yet include a leotard so often, but there are tights/leggings, tight shorts, tight shirt. So one really sees the figure. I know I'm still somewhat bigger than others in class, but it doesn't bother me that much anymore.

Before... (haha! :D Found via weheartit.com)

Some day I may post before and after photos, but Just Maybe. And it'll take many more weeks. Or months. Or year(s). At the moment I'm very eager to see our Christmas Performance video :D My pants weren't the best, but it was a fun coreography! And the local paper called it "one of the night's gems" even! :)

...and after! (also from weheartit.com)

That's it for today. Soon off to sleep, or maybe Jersey Shore first... Yes, I do watch it. I think it's hilarious! :D

Found via weheartit.com <3 :D