Seasons change but some things stay the same

I have 1,5 weeks of Summer vacation left before flute stuff continues, but today's the day that I'm going back to the barré! Yay :)

Last season (school year 2013-2014) was quite tough, lots of work and travelling. It all made me very tired often, but I managed to take Most of my ballet lessons. There was one on Monday & Friday evening, Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. Weekends were a bit difficult with all the flute gigs I got, especially during Spring. Well, I Love playing so it wasn't that bad in the end, but still it's annoying when one has to give up one of the two passions. Even for a while... ;)

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Winter was lovely, snow and Christmas and all. We had an "all white" number at the Christmas recital with the Monday-Friday class. Something I feared beforehand but something that turned out nice! :) Even bigger worry was the fact that none of the tutus at our school's costume wardrobe fit me... That's what you get for being tall and chubby. Luckily for me, they were going to order 3 new ones Anyway, so one of the new tutus was a bit bigger - my problem solved.

For the Holiday recital I had to get a white leotard. Seemed like a problem again, but eventually the answer was Porselli's webstore and WearMoi's Tamara -leo. It's a comfy model for someone a bit bustier, like me.  You'll find a picture here -> https://dancewear.co.uk/products/details&prodid=3057

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Spring recital was the 30th Anniversary of our school. It didn't have a clear theme at first, but then it became "The Wonderland of Dance". So, there were all sorts of numbers... Ours was about the seasons of a year. We had 4 small groups, 3 trios and one duo, which was our Autumn duet (with E). It was my first time on stage en pointe since I quite dancing as a teenager, but I felt much stronger than ever. Well, before the actual show at least. It didn't go as smoothly as the rehearsals (for me), but it's really no use mourning about it anymore. But in my defence, I had some issues with my shoes in general rehearsal & performance... :P

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Summer started with an intensive dance week, first ever in my hometown! I took pilates in the morning, samba & chacha in the late afternoon and ballet in the evening. It was Mon-Fri, lovely weather and happy people - not to mention the great teachers also. After that week our "summer regulars" continued = ballet on Mon & Wed evenings. But I got a problem with my right leg & there were some flute gigs (again), so I couldn't take all them classes.

Aaaaaanyway... July's been Super Hot in Finland. I mean really. I've found a Summer person inside meself, although my appartment is almost too hot to stay in during daytime. This week is supposed to be still with some 25 up to even 30 (celsius) degrees, but I'm still going to enjoy it. Autumn is soon here with the darkening days and rain etc.

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So, in 3 hours I'll be at the studio, with my dance gear on and (large) waterbottle by my side. It's going to be hot, sweaty and, most of all, fun.

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p.s. I got a new (used) phone from my brother and joined instagram & twitter. You'll find me in both by the name iepukka.

instagram.com/iepukka

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.

Some slippers

Right. I've had now 5 ballet classes and met all my ballet teachers for this season. I was glowing (apparently dancers do not sweat) during all of them, enjoyed myself very much. Madame P.S. has the most challenging routines, but I like it. She also has pointe work in the end, so I've now tried the new gaynors for real. And found out that the suede platform squeaks on the dance mat we have. It feels even a bit tacky, when we did stuff in the middle. So I'm guessing it'll take some time to get used to them. The sole is lovely, getting over the box feels easy (and as madame said, it looks that way too). I still Might want to try the sole that's a bit harder. But that would be after a year or so. Or even later than that.

Couple of posts ago I showed some photos of my "tune-the-slippers" day. I thought I'd present the results, too. So, here they are :)

Under the toes.

Under the heel.

Tiny stiches :)

First make a double knot, then cut the drawstring. Finally some tape and voilà!

Seems neat on the outside :)

This is what I usually use, good strong cotton thread  (actually meant for buttons). Not Too strong, but just perfect :) And the color couldn't be better!

The thread in action. 

There'll be a post about the gaynors later on. And yay! Tomorrow there's a class again :) 

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To do -list

Summer classes are over, not happy me. But there were some other ballet related things I had to do, to get ready for Autumn. Here are some clues.

One inner sole piece ripped off, also the smaller one was  to be replaced.

First there was some superglue, but it's not here :P Then some thread, needle, scissors and tape.

Another pair of softies, in desperate need of elastics. As they had only one piece with them and I like to have 2 pieces (crossed over the foot), I put some black that I had left from other shoes. Not pretty but okay for classes.

New babies needed elastic And ribbons. Loving the sole here already ;)

Not my own living room :)

Stuff. (Recycled ribbons!)

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Tomorrow I might take one tourist class. Not sure yet. Will report on that later! :)

Mine mine all mine!

I feel childish happiness because of these pointe shoes. They fit better than any of the previous models I've had so far. It does take a while to get used to them, but already I am very good friends with the sole. Love it. Sincerely.

The only thing I don't like about them is the toughness of the fabric - when I have to sew the ribbons... Mission is now accomplished but my fingertips are still a bit tender! :D

Some photos now of the shoes as a brand new pair, not yet attacked by me and the needle.

Here's also my cool doormat. And a map of Moomin Valley. And Viuhti.

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Until next time... post! Tuned some soft slippers, too, over the weekend. So some glue-ribbon-needle-photos coming up :)

One Pink Bag

They're brand new and MINE. 

They came in a hot pink pouch, with a same color small tote bag. 

The code is 10M/4-221-22.

With suede tips. 

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I got very lucky yesterday as I went to Footlight dance store to ask for a fitting appointment later this/next month. Just guess what the salesperson said! "We can do it right away, if you want. I'm the other fitter in our store and there are no reservations for today." And then I was like, OKAY! :D

The process itself was interesting and gave me new thoughts on pointe shoes in general. Also before we started, I got to check out some shoes that were cut in half, so you could see the inside materials (the profile). There was also a traditional shoe to compare with.

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I'm of course talking about gaynors. My camera's battery just died, so it takes a while to load before I'll get the photos on the computer. But later there will be many to see! :)

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Marimekko ♥ National Ballet

Yesterday went by too quickly, so now's the time to post some photos from Friday's first event - the traditional Marimekko's fashion show! This year the models were a bit different from the usual, they were dancers from the Finnish National Ballet. Which happens to celebrate it's 90th anniversary this year. What a coincidence... ;) Theme of the show was a certain Finnish tradition, this kind of a "barn dance". Except that we don't actually dance in a barn, but it's usually a building that contains a huge dance floor (called stage, in Finnish) and a stage for the band. And a bar, of course... :D Waltz, tango, polka, everything like that.

Coreography was by Johanna Nuutinen (dancer herself also at the FNB), fun, lively, captured the spirit of Finnish summer so well. There was a live band, too - drums, accordeon and double bass. They played some "golden schlagers", the sun was shining and everyone seemed to be in a good mood! :)

There are some amazing and fabulous photos of the show in the internet, by some real photographers (google them or find for example Mikael Rantalainen Photography on facebook). But here are some of mine - not so sharp and great, but I still had fun taking them, yes sir!

The directors... :)

Minna Tervamäki herself, grace and elegance.

The kids were so sweet.

Girls got the meet and perform with their idol!

Wouldn't mind dancing there myself :)

Up in the air!

Jamming with the kids again! :)

One of my favorite dresses.

Smiling... :)

Loved her short hair-do!

Who gets the boy? ;)

The Shoe.

The Shoes.

One of my absolutely favorite things in the show was the fact that everyone was SMILING. All the time. Fashion doesn't always have to be so serious, you know... :)