Not Quite En Pointe

Using my university elective to learn ballet

[tetw]

[tetw]

Last chance to win one of our 100 favourite non-fiction books (you get to choose which one) just reblog this post. Not on Tumblr? Tweet a link tagged #tetw. We’ll pick a random winner. No cash alternative. Judge’s decision is final. Bla bla bla.

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[hairstylesbeauty]

Bob Hairstyles: The 30 Hottest Bobs of 2014

Bob cuts are trending again and will truly never go out of style. Browse our carefully selected bob hairstyles gallery and find the perfect bob for you! Good luck!

http://www.iknowhair.com/bob-hairstyles-30-hottest-bobs-2014/

[morefishthanflowers-blog]

Growing out my hair and these are potential hairstyles

[jackelizabeth]

Falling in love with the bob.

[mintbeard]

[alexcocostyle]

Cool Bob haircut

[canibeyourvalentine]

Model: Valentine Ferrero

Ph: Chiara Gallo

Torino, 2014

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[grungeymess-blog]

[onpointeopaki]

This ballet blog has been put on delay

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile.

I got my foot x-rayed and it actually is broken, unfortunately. You can see  it in the x-ray below. It's the bone on the right. I will be on crutches for three weeks and continue to wear a foot brace for another three. This means that I am not taking ballet this semester after all.

This blog will resume when I take ballet after my foot has healed, most likely in the fall.

Thank you guys so much for following and taking an interest. I was really excited about where this project was going and I can't wait to resume later on. I may decide to start another blogging project in the meantime, and I will let you know if I do. <3

[onpointeopaki]

about the whole chances of being pro are extremely low, that's bullshit by the way. my uncle started at 12 or 13 and he danced professionally. first new york offered but he got injured and couldn't attend that summer, then he went on to national canadian ballet. it's mainly good to start by 11 or 12 because of muscle development but anytime is honestly fine.

I’m really happy that your uncle received a position in a ballet company. According to my research, the odds were against him. That means your uncle’s one of the best.Because I am starting so late, I have close to zero chances of becoming professional. Many professional dancers started at twelve or thirteen, like your uncle.

[onpointeopaki]

So, I hurt my foot last night. I wish I could tell you I was pulling an awesome skateboard trick or scaling a wall to steal the state secrets of a foreign dictator, but unfortunately all I did was fall down the stairs weird.

When I was in middle school I broke this same foot by jumping off a wall and landing on it weird.

I'm a little klutzy.

So, I'm praying that my foot is not actually rebroken because that would put a serious dent in my plan to become a ballerina next semester.

[onpointeopaki]

Merry Christmas! I'm celebrating mine with my brand new soundfreaq sound spot. Love it already. Soon this will be pumping out swan lake to dance ballet to, but right now I'm rocking out to Shaimus and the Pixies and Smith Westerns in my room. 'Taint ballet, but dancing like nobody's watching is always satisfying.

Have a lovely one, you guys.

[thedailyballet]

*DISCLAIMER PLEASE READ: These articles are mere recommendations and ideas that you can use. PLEASE BE SURE YOU WARM UP BEFORE PERFORMING ANY OF THESE THINGS. Prance in place, go for a walk, take class, take a hot shower and then do some more warming up, JUST MAKE SURE YOU WARM UP. Keep plenty...

[onpointeopaki]

I'm not particularly flexible. My arms are, but my legs and back are not at all much, which is probably a big inhibitor to learning ballet. I can't even touch my toes. I want to try and be more flexible to prepare for this class, so that's why I went and found this post with lists of stretching articles. I went ahead and tried the livestrong dance stretches, which are similar to things I've done before and don't require a barre. The first thing I noticed was that I'm less flexible than I was about five years ago, when I could do a full butterfly stretch with my feet flush against my body. That kind of scared me a bit, and makes me think it will be important to do stretches to retain flexibility into an older age. Because of that, I'm really glad I'm taking this class. The stretch list included a ceiling and toe touch, which is the most difficult for me. The kneeling quad stretch and the shoulder and arm stretch were nice and not challenging. The second thing I noticed was that my muscles feel good afterwards. I also feel looser, especially in the shoulders. So even if you're not trying to be more flexible, I recommend stretches! I will update on other stretches I try. My goal is to start doing some stretching every day to prepare for when this class starts in January. Wish me luck!

[onpointeopaki]

My chances of becoming a ballerina are zero

So just for fun, I decided to check out the likelihood that I could ever make a career dancing. Not that I thought I ever had a chance, but the chances are, like, depressingly low - even if I started dancing at the age of four. Standards to get into ballet schools and companies  are increasingly high. According to The Guardian, at the White Lodge ballet school in the UK, only a dozen out of a thousand applicants are chosen each year and only a quarter of those students get into the upper school. Students are assessed at the end of each year and kicked out if they don't meet the standard. Technique has also grown more difficult over time. The development of ballet techniques as an art has influenced changes in other areas of performance. For example, costumes have become shorter over time to show off complex moves. It also became more difficult for older dancers to achieve the physical perfection required: The Telegraph states that between the 80s and the 90s, the average retirement age dropped from forty to twenty-nine. Standards for body shape have also evolved. Many instructors of the White Lodge ballet school would not have passed their own standards for students when they were teenagers. Students today also achieve more extreme flexibility than they did in their time.

To compare the how standards, costume and technique have evolved, this is Sarah Lamb, a dancer currently employed by the Royal Ballet. 

(Picture obtained from theballetblog.tumblr.com)

This is what ballet dancers from the early 1900s looked like - the woman in the middle is Prima ballerina. They are curvier, their proportions are more balanced, the leg does not appear to achieve as extreme a height, and the skirt is a bit longer and less stiff.

Portrait of the Mathilde Kschessinskaya (1872-1971), Prima ballerina of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres)

The ideal body for classical ballet has long legs and a short torso, which, so says Pointe Magazine, became fashionable after the choreographer Balachine became famous, as that was preferred aesthetic. As someone with long legs and a long torso (ending up several inches too tall for the petite look traditional companies aim for), I certainly wouldn't make the cut.  However, there is room for dancers of different body types depending on the style of dancing and company you work with. Supposedly there are different niches of dance that are ideal for different body types. For example, contemporary dance tends to have dancers with more muscular builds. It all depends upon the aesthetic that the director is trying to create, and what is fashionable and popular at the time. Dancing is a visual art, and the way a person looks factors into that as well as technique. Different bodies create different lines and may not look harmonious with other bodies. Even Russia's alternative ballet company, the "Big Ballet", which hires dancers who are overweight, has to keep this in mind, and has certain requirements to keep a symmetrical aesthetic - the minimum weight to join is 15 stones, or 210 pounds.

Dancer from the Big Ballet (acquired from thisisthinprivilege.tumblr.com)

There are niches for a variety of body types in the dance world, but the fact is, though, that standards are extremely stringent, especially in more traditional companies. Anastasia Volochkova was fired from her position as prima ballerina from a Russian company after getting 'too heavy' at 110 pounds. Ballet is also an extremely popular pursuit and competition for having a real career in it is high, which makes the standards even higher. This means the number of extra 'chances' that Tara and Kat and other students seem to get in the TV show 'Dance Academy' is really unrealistic, especially for a prestigious school with high integrity. It also means that my chances of having a career in ballet are incalculably close to zero.

I don't have dreams of becoming a prima ballerina, but I genuinely wish lots of luck to those of you who do. :) I'm seriously impressed by you all who are pushing the limits of dance even higher through hard work. Just don't kill yourselves doing it, please.

Source Articles: Ballet by numbers - The Telegraph Will they make royal ballet? - The Guardian A brief history of ballet - Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Big Ballet needs bigger dancers - The Telegraph Too fat? Too thin? Too tall? Too short? - Pointe Magazine

[onpointeopaki]

Practiced my ballerina bun + got a new avatar out of it. Plus, it's a chance to show off some of my band posters. One day this wall is going to look amazing. This bun is going to take a bit of time to also look amazing. I'm pretty pleased with this one though.