It has been said, “the audience watches the dancer from the waist up.” While this may be a bit of an exaggeration, there certainly is an emphasis on the upper half when it comes to the layperson enjoying ballet. For this reason, we look at the port de bras. Quick fact: port de bras literally means “carriage of the arms.” If you’re reading along and … Continue reading The Perfect Port de Bras
Happy birthday Altynai Asylmuratova! When the former Mariinsky Theatre prima ballerina was appointed director of the Vaganova Academy, she gave an interview with a quote that I found very interesting. “When you watch a video tape of dancers of the old generations, for instance Galina Ulanova, Marina Semyonova, or a bit later Natalia Dudinskaya, you can see a certain coordination of body and arms, a … Continue reading Singing with the Body: Altynai Asylmuratova
CREATING AND KEEPING HEALTHY NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS I’m…not waify. I fall right at the cusp of the healthy weight range. I have hips that have the natural spread of any woman who has given birth, a fleshy stomach, and a heavy top. I do not have the lithe, ultra-slender body type of a typical prima ballerina. I don’t like the F-word: the word, “fat.” To … Continue reading The F-Word
The pirouette. The signature of ballet. If anyone ever pictures the dance, they imagine beautiful ballerinas twirling on their toes across the stage. Almost every little girl has danced across her kitchen floor, spinning around in stocking feet. After trying for a while to really hit the pirouette (and frankly, not really knowing what I’m doing), I went to YouTube to dissect its parts. I … Continue reading Beginner’s Pirouette
After doing a lot of research on “How to Do the Splits in a Month,” I compiled and tested some of the best stretches and yoga asanas I could find. I was able to do the splits in not just a month, but less! Here’s how I did it. (Obligatory disclaimer: I cannot promise you will have the same results. If you have any questions … Continue reading How I Did the Splits in 20 Days
MY STORY OF FINDING BALLET IN MY 30’S It was the late 80’s. Phone calls to your BFF were made on landlines with the chord stretched under the crack of the door to your room – and you hugged that precious line for hours. You taped music videos on VHS cassettes off of MTV to learn the classic Michael Jackson moves (and MTV still PLAYED … Continue reading Late Bloomer Ballerina
