Curtain Call

After hours of rehearsal...er homework, my final page is ready to take center stage.
If you are curious to the perpetrator behind stinky ballerina feet, or the reason why you witnessed my missing toenail (cough Marcus)...
Then take a seat and visit my site about Pointe Shoes.

These objects of torture allow dancers to float across the stage, but they don't feel as pretty as they look. This site is dedicated to helping dancers find a shoe and foot care that helps them dance more comfortably. It was created to give a sneak peek into the world of dance for audiences who are watching ballet for the first time.

Enjoy! and feel free to leave a comment or two here after the show!

Shoes

I have talked about folk dance, shown you some break dancing and wrapped my head around aerial arts. Now, I think its time to go back to basics... boring as it may seem to the un-trained eye: Classical ballet.

Although I enjoy all forms of dance, much of my balance and strength came from my ability to dance on the tippy tips of my toes. Because the idea of seeming weightless is so important to the technique and made possible by the great evolution of what we call pointe shoes, an in-depth explanation of pointe shoes and how they work is at hand.

The project will include diagrams of the composition of a pointe shoe, maps including stores that sell them, interviews with dancers and instructors about foot care and shoe fitting, and of course, much media depicting pointe shoes at work. (and perhaps a disclaimer for anyone with a weak stomach, who can't handle missing toenails).

Ugly Toes

The entry in Wikipedia that is the bane of my pedicure.

Old

New Revised version of the entry, including my changes. (Someone made different changes after me, but this still includes my changes).

The first entry didn't have links back to other wiki entries for words such as sylph and ballerina. I don't know about you, but if I weren't a dancer, I would know what a sylph is. So I figured a hyperlink back to the definition of it would be kinda helpful in describing the allure that pointe shoes bring characters who dance on them.

The next edit I made was a little footnote to clarify the word shank. I mean shank is a word that shares many meanings:
It could be a weapon, a poor golf shot, a cut of meat, a bird, part of a ship's anchor... and so on. But none of these give any indication to what part of the shoe it is, (unless you use my shoe as a weapon if you throw it at someone). So I found the Wiki entry for shank, found the ballet definition and added it along with a footnote.

Heels Over Head

Cirque du Soleil training meets Pilates exercise in L.A.’s own Cirque School. 

Long, colored tissue and trapeze bars hang from the ceiling, soothing tunes are playing and I realize I've only seen this stuff on television. At Cirque classes you can face your fears, experience an alternative workout and even take a step, er swing toward becoming a bonafide aerial artist.

Not many workouts can beat conquering the fear of being suspended in the air facilitated by your own strength. Instructor and creator of Cirque School L.A. Aloysia Gavre said the feeling of being upside down can become addicting. 

"I can't imagine not being upside down everyday,"Gavre said. "It's something about the getting the blood to your head."

Whatever your poison, the class is sure to mix up your monotonous routine and definitely make you sweat.

The beginner's class consists of an Aerial Fitness series, which take you through warm-up, pilates training, extreme stretching and strengthening techniques. It was amazing to see first-timers conquer their fears and grip the trapeze, with the constant encouragement of the instructors and moral support of the class. 

What else does it take to get through a class you might ask? The proper balance between flexibility and strength. 

 

To develop both of these elements, Aerial Fitness classes utilize a routine that thoroughly stretches and strengthens the students in a three minute rotation of stations, called circuit training. There are a few stretch stations, three trapeze levels and aerial fabric. 

And I'll tell you, after dancing for over a decade, a simple grounded split couldn't prepare me for a split in mid-air. Once Gavre placed the weight bags on my thighs during my stretch, I felt my inner thighs extend in a way that doesn't happen in a regular dance class.

"You're able to do splits on the ground perhaps, but as soon you get into the air it doesn't look anything like splits because you don't have anything to push off of," Gavre said.

These students stretch in different positions with 20 pound weight bags set in different areas to help stretch muscles in a more effective way. Also, to ensure your comfort for your personal attempt at classes, thick mats line the floors of the room and the instructors use professional spotting techniques to keep your feet safely off the ground.

Gavre developed her teaching technique after performing for 15 years with Cirque du Soleil and decided to bring Cirque School circuit training and a blend of Pilates technique to L.A.

After a student finishes the first aerial fitness training classes for a few months, if they wish to expand their creativity and enrich their performance techniques, they are offered a spot in the Aerialist class. This allows each student to create a performance piece to accentuate their dance or theatrical background. The training focuses more on tricks with the fabric and trapeze, while working with each student's performance abilities and unique goals to create a showcase every six months.

The beginners classes are suited for beginners or for students who are experienced and need a strengthening regime, while the advanced class caters to more serious artists. But despite the level, body type or physical shape of a student, Gavre said the classes are suitable for anybody and any body type. There is even a specific class on Tuesday nights for men who wish to make functional use of their muscles and stretch out to gain flexibility. 

After watching both beginners and experienced students conquer their fears, it looks like nothing should stop you from breaking from your normal dance or workout routine and fall head over heels for being... heels over head.

Click here for more information on classes, schedules and instructors for Cirque School.
For more information on the venue and location click here.

Poll Dancing

Dancers like to perform and take center stage. But, they also like to offer their two-cents on issues and sometimes they contribute a little more.

Some dancers chose to give money to support the candidate of their choice in this year's presidential race. However, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of donations from dancers in the L.A. area. 

In fact, only 14 dancers in the U.S. donated money to politics in the past year and only 9 of them contributed to a presidential candidate, according to a public record of these contributions on Moneyline CQ. This excludes dance directors and instructors, but the top ten contributors come from all over the U.S. 

Some interesting results:

$2,300 contributor

Although it has nothing to do with the presidential race, the biggest donor is a ballet dancer with Les Grands Ballet of Canada named Indra Rockefeller. This wouldn't be odd except that after searching members of the company on their website, I couldn't find her anywhere... and her donation coincidentally went to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV. Although they have no immediate family relation, I wonder if the connection goes deeper than sharing a last name, and who is she? 

$1,000 contributors

Lee Harper, a well-known director and choreographer of Atlanta gave to Hillary Clinton and Victoria Psihoyos a dancer/choreographer from Boulder, Colorado gave to Barack Obama.

$500 contributors

Jean Isaacs of San Diego (yay California! finally) owns Jean Isaacs directs San Diego Dance Theater; Kshanna Shah of Palatine, Illinois is a classical dancer; and Ms. Meena Telikicherla of Maryland is an ethnic dancer and teacher. They all gave to Barack Obama.

Charu Narashimhan of Dunn Loring, Virginia is a director and guru of Bharata natyam and contributed her $500 to Bill Richardson, unfortunately. 

$300 contributor

The last dancer on my list is exotic by occupation and by name. 

Star Child is a dancer from San Francisco who contributed to Ron Paul. Who knew an exotic dancer wouldn't choose an independent candidate? ;) 

From classical to unconventional, these dancers came from all four corners of the U.S. and the support lies with both the Democratic and Republican party. 

They Can-Can Dance.

LA Unbound Auditions

A crowd of dancers gathered in front of Sophie's Dance Studio on February 16.
They took a number, they signed papers, they warmed up, they stretched.
They came to dance.
The auditions offfered the opportunity for choreographers and dancers to express individuality and their style of choice: hip-hop, burlesque, contemporary, tap, modern and can-can.






For more info on the upcoming show visit the LA Unbound website.

Breakin'

Ever just feel like breakin' down?

Krazy Kujo's Beginner II breakdancing class is where its at.

The sweat and hot breath of the last class still lingers in Studio E.

Kujo bounces in and puts in his music as his students slowly filter in and stretch. His warm-up consists of rhythmic footwork, kicks and turns. One, two, three FOUR! five six, seven-eight... he turns around and counts out the beat. As the steps become faster and more intricate, body levels change with twists, jumps and floor-work. Kujo never fails to offer individual help and move to the next dancer until each person has it right.  After teaching the last combo, he opens the floor for "play" and the tricks begin...