Christmas Spectacle

Okay, now my official classes for this Autumn-Winter season are over. We had the recital this evening and everything went well, in my opinion :) The only "negative" thing was that our number was only 1,5 minutes long (or short). The stage at Verkatehdas is so wide that we really had to take loooong steps to get in right places (running ballerinas). But it was Such Fun! I really miss the days when we had more numbers, 2-3 with the ballet class, then a jazz number, also a contemporary one... *sigh*

Btw, our music was "Ballet dancer" by Adlan Cruz, a lovely piano piece. You'll find it in Spotify, if you're interested :)

I wanted to get some new things for the performance, even though I Could have managed with the old ones... Anyway, this web store called Zalando happened to have dance gear from Bloch in their selection, also they didn't have any mailing fees. Aaaand the delivery was supposed to be 4-6 working days (and it was!). So, this is what I got:

Endura -tights by Bloch

Sissonne -leotard by Bloch

...the backside...

Also I ordered a pair of Zenith-slippers, the new model made of strechy canvas. And I can tell you, they are Very comfortable. And they do strech. The heel has some reinforcement, like the Pump model. Split soles, both inside and outside. And there's a piece of rubber band / elastic between the inner sole patches, with gives the arch kind of support (or at least it looks nice). Didn't wear them to the recital though, wanted to have something I was more familiar with. So I had my Pumps on :)

Our dress was a dress/tunic from GinaTricot, fabric was very light tricot in color of choclity brown. Short sleeves, not too low neckline. The hem was shorter in front than in the back, knees were visible (front). It was actually quite nice to wear and looked pretty on stage, flowing with the movement :) I tried to find a photo, but there's none. Have to wait for the photos from the dance school. And the dvd, yikes... ;)

Here's one shot of my head piece, which was a bit worn out :D But still I think they looked very nice. Notice the "Greek style"... :P

Wear Pink Today!

For me, October is the pink month. It is the breast cancer awareness month. This year even more than before. I really miss my friend, who passed away in April.

I did Not like pink when growing up. As a kid I hated it! :D These days I maybe even Love it. Funny how these things turn out. Pink ain't my favorite color, I don't think I have one. But it's one of the favoriteS.

I have the pink ribbon all year round in my jacket, on my bag etc. But today is October 12th, a day of really wearing pink! :) Well, at least there's that event in Facebook... My ballet friend gave the idea to wear pink in class, so that's what I'm going to do. And here are the stuff I'll put on - some dark colors too, but we won't notice them ;)

The pink cat is for my friend, she loved them (in all colors) :)

The top was a suprise sales find, perfect for today :) The shorts were a buy-something-for-class-in-a-hurry-find some 2 years ago or so. They've been excellent.  

Silhouette slippers by Sansha. I like the shape and outer soles, but the sizing is weird. I had the same size Pro's and these are definitely smaller, even though the width is the same, too. Trying to wear these out soon ;)

Pointe shoes, some white fabric tape for toes (Leukotape, works for me!), Ouch-Pouch juniors and the pink bag :)

My trust-worthy water bottle and the tiny towel. 

These are my pink things this time. Btw, the legwarmers are Old. I got them as a birthday gift when I turned maybe 11 or 12, I think. There was also a crocheted bun pouch and some other small things that I've forgotten :) My godfather sent them. The black shrug was a sales find, too. It's a tad too small (I've got long arms), but it does it's job. What else... Hmm... The black top - I don't wear leotards too often (quite seldom, to be honest), so there's always a tank or camisole top under the outer shirt/top. And a sports bra, but those won't get their picture published! :D Oh, and the pink leggings used to be tights. Just cut the toes off. Nice long leggings there.

A bit too much materia here. But the main point is that I do care. And hope that others would, too. If I were "a rich man", I'd donate to the Roosa nauha -säätiö, which is a breast cancer foundation in Finland. There are so many things needed for the patients getting treatment, also after it. And the research work! It's so important.

Women. Feel your boobs. Go to the doctor if there's something wrong, also if you Suspect there might be something. Demand to be taken seriously. We are worth it.

Recently in the studio

I haven't been writing too much about my classes lately, but I sure have taken them. To put it short: we haven't practiced fouettés after the couple times nor the variation I mentioned, but there has been a lot of other useful stuff.

For example...

I've noticed a definite improvement in my flexibility, compared to last summer. The splits aren't a random success anymore, more like a yes-I-am-able-kind of a thing. They don't go all the way down so that I could just sit there comfortably, but quite close :) Have to specify that I'm talking about splits with one leg in front of me, the other behind. Sideways they are still far from the floor - but closer than last year!

Keeping the previous observation in mind, the grand battements are higher than Ever. Seriously. They didn't fly this high even as a teen. Definitely yay! Not close to my face/ear/back of the head, but I'm very happy about them.

After one class with Signora G. (teacher @ Footlight in Helsinki) I've started to get a new kind of grip on my developpes. I still do _not_ like them (nor fondues), but there's a thought of finding new muscles for the lifting part and keeping it turned out. This is something I have to constantly think and remind myself about. (Not that I would be all excited about it all the time, nope. But it makes the movement more interesting.)

I'm better at pirouettes. Biggest points (insights) have been the amount of speed, straight knee on the supporting leg and good & better & more better turnout on the working leg. Had to mention speed first, as it was the most important (or that's how I feel). As I wanted to figure out the clean single turns. I had always been taking waaayyyyy too much speed, then got troubles of all sort. But now it's quite good - if I remember the leg observations... And still last week I (we all at Señora S's class @ Footlight again) got a simple, yet so amazingly good, advice ->
When you're going to make a single turn, you must think about only 1/2 or 3/4 turn, then already about finishing the turn. When you're making doubles, it's 1,5 (or 1,75) turns and then finishing it. If you think of one full turn and after that finishing, you'll go over it and it won't be clean. Same thing with doubles.

So, in pirouettes - keep calm and (still) be quick. That's what S. said and she knows the stuff.

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Have to continue later, there are more things I want to make notes about. Now it's time I pack some things for the weekend, a friend is getting married tomorrow and the wedding goes on for 2 days! :) 

via weheartit.com

New Year

Happy This Year everyone!

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Thanks for my middlebrother for swishing with the sparkly stick :)

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Notice the 2 different colors! :D

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