My life as a whirlwind

I'm back after having not written for a while.
Literally my life has been so hectic, these last two weeks have gone by in a flash.
  We haven't had a day off for a while because we put together the show for the Dance Centre. It was very stressful because we barely had three weeks to put an hours long show together, also two days before the show one my friend's back was too injured (she could barely walk) so we had to take her out and put new people in. On top of which we have been having overbearing Nutcracker rehearsals like crazy. On top of which I had shin splints, a ton of tutoring jobs, no time to go work out or relax really, on top of which my stomach problems started coming back and a million other things.
    On Wednesday we had rehearsal until 9:00 at night, on my way home I fell asleep on the bus and missed my stop (that is how tired I wish). Thursday (yesterday) we had the mini-show, we got to the Dance Centre at 9 to warm up. There was a lot of confusion as to where we were supposed to be and what we were supposed to be doing. The show was SOLD OUT and I had about 6 people coming without tickets! So I had to organize getting them on the waiting list during my warm up time. Blocking/ lighting was a bit of a catastrophe. We didn't have enough time to block all of the dances. By the time we were finished blocking it was only half an hour to the show. I didn't know if any of the people who were coming were able to get tickets. My stomach was a mess. I didn't have my eyelashes/ all my make-up on. Or my costumes sorted out (most of us had 4 quick, complicated changes and not very much space). And I didn't feel warm because I hadn't even had time to put my pointe shoes on to warm my feet up. I hadn't stretched and much as I would have like too. Ahhhh!!!
   Anyways everyone just put their head down and did what they needed done.
The show started and from then on everything went pretty seamlessly. I felt very content with most of my numbers and the best part was that my dad and Grandpa and our family friends managed to get in and see the show. A wave of relief flooded over me when I spotted them in the audience.
   I managed to do the Grand Fouettes in both of the pieces I had to do them in. I was so happy about that because they are a tricky step in general, a couple of months ago I would not have felt comfortable doing them. Especially in the theatre we performed in where it is very difficult to spot because it is all black.
   My turn were good though, I think sometimes I just have to relax into them and they work better.
   In the end I was happy about the show despite all the pre-stress. Actually I was super happy, because it went 1000 times better than how I expected it to go.

After the show we had to rush back to the academy and have our scheduled contemporary class (we had half an hour from the end of the show to get there).

After that I went home. Had 15 minutes to relax before I started tutoring.

Finally when my day ended I had a relaxing time with my family.... and I got to sleep in this morning =).

Rehearsal starts at 5:00, I think I will go swimming before then.

I'm sorry I haven't updated as often as I wish I could have... but as you can see, my life has been a whirlwind!

Eat Sleep Dance

Literally my schedule this week is packed yesterday for example:

10:30-12:00 Technique
1:00-2:00 Tutor
3:00-4:30 Snowflakes
4:30-5:30 Opening
5:30-6:30 Finale
6:30-7:45 Waltz of the Flowers

I went home and went straight to bed with four icepacks.

Today

11:30-12:00 Private !!!!
12:00-1:30 Snowflakes
1:30-3:00 Party Scene
3:00-5:30 Act 1 Runthrough
5:30-6:45 Mospigel (Neoclassical piece)
When I get home my parents are having people over for dinner.

Monday

9:30-11:00 Technique
11:00-12:30 Rehearsal
1:30-2:30 Gym
3:30-4:45 Rehearsal
5:00-6:00 Tutor at library
8:00-9:00 Tutor at home

.... ahhh

Random Things That I Like

One of my favourite websites to look at when I am wasting time on the internet:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ballerina-project/22455674948?v=wall

 http://ballerinaproject.blogspot.com/
They have a facebook page but also a little blog, the pictures are absolutely stunning below is one of the one that turned up on google but there are sooo many to look at. I could literally spend hours just clicking away.

Also I love my leotards my friend got me from China, the brand is Vivgio. I wish I could understand the website so that I could order more =) www.vivgio.com

Also I love my Gaynor Minden pointe shoes. Mainly because they are the only shoe that even fits my feet, but also because they always arrive exactly the same and you don't get random bad pairs of shoes! They are reassuring, that said Gaynors don't look very good on a lot people's feet because they tend to go way to far over  the entire time. I wouldn't really recommend them to most people unless you are like me and have tried almost every brand in the book.

Ok, random post tonight.... must be all of the Waltzing I have been doing lately in Nutcracker rehearsals! <3

All of these rehearsals!

  Well I have been sick with  cold which is why I haven't been posting as much, as well as the fact that ever since google yanked my adsense account. Now I am not making money from my blog,  so I don't have as much of an incentive to write = (. Stupid I know, don't get adsense.... hmmm
    I have been extremely busy as usual, I had one day off yesterday for Thanksgiving which was nice. We have a small show in 16 days that we are getting ready for at the moment as well a Nutcracker rehearsals. The show will be at The Dance Centre downtown on Oct 28th at noon, tickets can be purchased at www.ticketstonight.ca . They are quite cheap only $10 for adults and $8 for students, we will be performing a mixed bill of all kinds of dance including but not limited to ballet, contemporary, chinese dancing, and character.
     I am just stretching my feet right now and have decided that I need to start stretching way more again. My hips, knees, hamstrings, things, calf muscles e.t.c have all become very tight from all the ellipticalling that I have been doing and I am having trouble pulling up through my legs.
    I have to do my theraband exercises now, goodnight <3

Good day!

Today I had another great day although morning class was not one of my finest!
Anyways I'm happy <3

Injury prevention, long days and hard work

   Well the season is coming up in full force now. Class, rehearsal, rehearsal, class, rehearsal (sleep? eat?). It is all ok but I feel like I have barely had much time to write anything... or much energy for that matter. First couple of twinges in my ankles e.t.c. so I am being careful by icing and massaging a lot. I will write a little bit about injury prevention here.

Foam roller,  you can get them from
most physiotherapists

     For me most of my injuries occur because my muscles get too tight. The best things for me is massage therapy but seen as it is quite expensive (and time consuming) I try to do the best I can at home. I use a foam roller for my IT bands when my knees start to hurt and a foot roller if the bottom of my arch starts hurting (plantar fascitis) and my hands when my calf muscles are tight.
   Always warm up well before class or rehearsal, I usually take half an hour (but preferably an hour) before class to get warmed up. I stretch everything (calves, back, turnout, feet, hamstrings, oversplits, hips, neck, shoulders), roll out my IT bands, and do theraband exercises. Skimping on warm up is a really, really, really bad idea. If you ever do not feel warm enough to do something DON'T do it.
     If I do find that I am having problems with something in class I will try to limit painful movement to avoid exacerbating the problem. If something hurts a little that is fine but if something feels like it is going to snap, or is really painful I will cut it out. Because most of my injuries are usually in my lower legs large jumps are usually the first to go.
    After class I will massage the area that is hurting. I find it easier to massage everything in when I use skin cream while I am massaging. Other things I find are really helpful are Traumeel http://www.traumeel.com/, it is a godsend, it is an anti-inflammatory cream/ gel that helps a lot. Or Tigerbalm http://www.tigerbalm.com/, I don't like Tigerbalm as much because it smells very strong and is a little bit more aggressive the way it works but it is also a natural remedy so I use it every now and then.
   Hot baths are good and ICE, lots of ice. Never before rehearsals or exercise, but always after I have stopped dancing. Sometime I sleep with (not too cold) ice-packs on, that works well for me.
    If something is persistent I will help it by getting a brace to help stabilize it. If it is terrible, really swollen, gets worse or doesn't heal that is when I go and see a doctor.
     Those are all of the things I do when I am worried about injury, or injured. Hope some of it helps! These are just my experiences with injuries, every one's body is different. If you are injured please go see a physio, doctor, massage therapist a.s.a.p. A lot of minor sports injuries just take time to heal but there are always exercises and things that you can do to make them heal much faster! So do your research and find out what works for you. <3

Julie Kent in Balanchine's Apollo, another one of my all-time favourite dancers!!!