Archive for September, 2008

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Extra Work

Posted in The Dancing Life with tags , , , on September 17, 2008 by Karmela

Since re-starting ballet and hip hop, I’ve learned that to get better at both disciplines, I have to do the following extra things:

  • Stretching everyday, especially through the hip and legs, to improve my turnout and leg elevation. I’ve started taking a yoga/pilates combo class once a week and stretching at home on my own. It’s hard! After my first class I was sweating buckets and ached all over. I won’t even tell you about the next day. Okay, I will. Basically, my ass hurt like a bitch I almost couldn’t sit.
  • Weight training twice a week for more upper-body strength. My hip hop teacher said she’ll be taking us through some basic breakdancing moves in a few months and she’s giving us ample time to prepare. In addition to my lifting routine, I’m also doing push-ups everyday.
  • Foot exercises for overall strength and stability. I couldn’t believe how tired my arches got during the middle of both hip hop and ballet classes. I’ve downloaded a list of foot exercises to do at home and I’ve stopped wearing high heels.

As a group fitness instructor, I also recognize the value of cross-training. Cross-training works different muscle groups and prevents overuse and burnout. In addition to dance, I also kickbox and go to indoor cycle classes. It’s in these two classes where I actually get my most intense caloric burn, probably more than 400 calories an hour.

Here is my fitness regimen for the week:

Monday: Hip Hop class (1 hour)
Tuesday: Weight training (30 minutes, arms, shoulders and core)
Wednesday: Kickboxing (1 hour)
Thursday: Weight training (30 minutes, back, chest and core)
Friday: Ballet (1.25 hours)
Saturday: Indoor Cycle (1 hour)
Sunday: Yoga/Pilates fusion (1.25 hours)

I am probably going to take another ballet class and go to 1 more stretch class in there. Hmmm…wonder where I can find the time to do all this and still eat/write/sleep/spend time with family?

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Shawty Got Loosened Up Some More

Posted in The Dancing Life with tags , , , , on September 16, 2008 by Karmela

Have I told you guys how much I love my hip hop class? Went to the second one last night and it was even more awesome than the first. My teacher, who I shall name Ms. Represent in this herr blog, was totally on fire. She made the class go over the routine she taught us last week, but she watched us like a hawk and made us perform it over and over and over again while correcting our placement, our form, and our moves. She was an exacting taskmaster last night, alternately cajoling, insulting, persuading and motivating. She is to date the most demanding instructor I’ve ever had and I love it. I didn’t go to this class to be coddled. I want to be challenged and I want to be taught the right things to do. She delivers on this and more.

Two things Ms. Represent told us: our performance will be on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009, and it will be incorporating (gasp!) some breakdance moves. Suffice it to say I was the only one who gave a delighted squeal. Everyone else had a kind of deer-in-headlights look. She told us to start building up some upper-body strength by doing push-ups and planks everyday. I’m going to do her one better and actually start a pretty intense upper-body lifting routine twice a week, and doing regular push-ups everyday at home. This could be really, really good, or it could be a disaster. Stay tuned.

I left last night’s class drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, but totally psyched for next week. Evidently we have an intro number with the two other hip hop classes which is what we’ve been dancing the last couple of weeks (to Li’l Mama’s Shawty Get Loose,) plus my class will have its own routine separate from the other classes. Can’t wait to learn the rest of it.

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Goodbye High Heeled Shoes!

Posted in Fashion, The Dancing Life with tags , , , , on September 15, 2008 by Karmela

A multi-topic’d post here.

TOPIC 1: Feet strengthening.
I took a yoga/pilates class this weekend and I couldn’t hold the tree pose, not because of a lack of balance, but because my supporting foot started to hurt. This is also the reason I can’t hold my relevés. I suspect it’s from years and years of wearing nothing but high-heeled shoes. It’s weakened my arches somehow. Crap. This means that if I’m serious about continuing to dance, and I am, I might have to switch to completely wearing flat shoes all the time. Goodbye stiletto heels! But maybe for special occasions it’ll be alright. Sigh…

TOPIC 2: New goal?
I wonder if it’s too late for me to become a ballet instructor. I specifically want to teach very young kids ages 4-6. They’re just so smiley and filled with exuberance and they don’t dance for fitness or to improve their technique or to get into a company. They dance for the best reason: for the sheer joy of it. I’m already doing step #1: I’m taking a ballet class to reintroduce myself to the dance floor. Second step I think is to take more than one class a week and to do a lot of self-study on terminology and technique. Third step is probably to do more self-study on the methodology on teaching very young children. Wonder what kind of credentials I’ll need to participate in something like this?

TOPIC 3: Movies!
I rented Center Stage this past Friday for me and my sister to watch and as I suspected, sis loved it. Next movie: maybe this? We both haven’t seen it yet.

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Friday Fun

Posted in The Dancing Life with tags , , , , , on September 12, 2008 by Karmela

It’s Ballet Day today! After class, I’m going over to sis’s house to eat dinner and watch the first of the many dance movies we will be watching. Which one? It’s a surprise. I’ll tell you all on Monday. I will say that BIL has put in a request for Jessica Alba’s Honey and sis has put in a request for The Turning Point. I rented neither. We’ll see how she likes my choice.

While I’m looking forward to class I must say that I’m currently PMS-ing and I look nothing like a willowy, ethereal ballerina. More like a bloatation device. The outfit for tonight will consist of tights, shorts, a tank and a shirt.

To round up Movie Week, here’s a fun dance number from a non-dance movie. From Jennifer Garner’s 13 Going On 30, I give you the Thriller scene:

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Ding Dong…

Posted in The Dancing Life with tags , , , , on September 11, 2008 by Karmela

…the hip pain’s gone! Hallelujah! And I didn’t have to do anything at all. See, this is why I don’t like going to doctors. They’re useless.

Anyway, tomorrow is ballet class #2. I wish I could go to more than one class a week. You don’t really see improvements in your form or technique by going one hour every seven days. Plus your body loses all the good effects (flexibility, strength) gained from class two or three days after. Ideally I would like to go twice a week; three times would be even better. And if I want to go on pointe, it’s a requirement that I attend two technique classes a week in addition to the pointe class.

Which brings me to the subject of Flat Shoes.

I’m only 4’10″ tall and high heels have been extensions of my feet for as long as I can remember. I don’t care how uncomfortable they are—the higher the heel, the better. So far I don’t have any of the common negative side-effects (lower-back pain, swollen toes) experienced by long-time high-heel wearers.

Until now.

Again, it was ballet that brought it to the forefront. Last week during class, one of the first niggles of discomfort I felt was my feet getting tired and stiffening up. At first I thought it was the shoes and lack of arch support. But then I noticed it again during hip hop class when I wore dance sneakers. The stiffness went away the more I moved so it’s not a permanent condition, thank god. But still, I’m troubleshooting my feet this week. Since Monday, I’ve been wearing (gasp!) flat shoes.

If you know me, you know how weird this is for me. I own three pairs, one of them courtesy of my sister, and none of them appropriate for winter. Oh wait, I do have a pair of flat boots. Again, this is courtesy of sis. Ballet class is tomorrow and we’ll see how my feet do. I’ve been doing my tendus all this week to strengthen my foot arch and prevent further cramping. That, and the wearing of the flat shoes, should cure the stiffness. Let’s hope.

Okay, for today’s dance movie clip, I give you an iconic scene from the highest grossing dance movie of all time, Saturday Night Fever:

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Dance Injuries Redux

Posted in The Dancing Life with tags , , , on September 10, 2008 by Karmela

Y’all remember my hip pain? It actually has an actual honest-to-god name: Snapping Hip Syndrome. It’s an actual SYNDROME, can you dig? See, I don’t just have regular injuries. I have SYNDROMES. Which btw is a kick-ass word. I’ve always loved it since Brad Bird used it as the villain’s name in The Incredibles. Anyway, it’s just a tear to the muscle or tendon which will heal on its own. In the meantime, it hurts like a bitch and I can’t lay on my left side.

To my doc’s credit, she didn’t tell me to STOP doing the thing that caused the injury when she handed down the diagnosis, which would have been impossible anyway since I don’t know what exactly caused the tear. She gave me literature on the syndrome, an illustrated list of exercises to do, and a scrip for oral steroids to lessen the inflammation. Love this lady. She knows how active I am and telling me to sit on my ass to let the wound heal would be like telling Britney Spears to stop having sex with guys who only want to use her for publicity.

Anyhoo, glad I took care of that. It was really getting in the way of third position and side tendus and lateral kicks. Still, it just reiterates the fact that I’m a spring chick no longer. Blech. Aging sucks.

In keeping with this week’s theme of My Favorite Dance Movies, here is a great scene during a class from the movie Center Stage. Love it when the guys dance. Enjoy!

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Shawty Got Loose!

Posted in The Dancing Life with tags , , , on September 9, 2008 by Karmela

I attended my first hip hop class last night at the same studio where sis and I are taking adult beginner ballet. Actually, I attended two classes. The first class was for super-beginners, the second for regular beginners. I didn’t know what my level was so I decided to take both. Teachers are a mercurial breed. Some are strict about the class progression, some are willing to evaluate you based on your class performance. In the end she let me take the more advanced beginner class which was definitely more my pace.

Onto the class itself: simply put, it was slammin’. I was in hip hop heaven. Our teacher, Angelica, was a tough, exacting and strict mistress. She had rules about our performance (“only the best”), shoes (dance sneakers or jazz shoes) and wardrobe (tights under booty shorts). She obviously had previous classical training exoerience because she used the proper terminology to indicate stances (e.g., “parallel second position plié” vs. “stand with your feet apart and bend your knees”). Since this is the start of the semester she at first made us all freestyle across the floor so she could see how we moved. Then she taught us an opening routine that was very simple, but she expected us to execute precisely. No loosey-goosey, no shortcuts.

And the best part? All three of her hip hop classes are going to participate in the school RECITAL! How off the hook is that? I haven’t been in an actual dance performance since…oh, least year. I forgot all about this.

And now, since I’m in a hip hop mood, may I present a hip hop dance sequence from another favorite dance movie, Step Up 2, the final street dance:

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The Turning Point

Posted in The Dancing Life with tags , , , on September 8, 2008 by Karmela

This week, I’m going to feature scenes from some of my favorite dance movies of all time. This is the very first dance movie I’ve ever seen. It’s probably what made me fall in love with ballet in the first place. Here it is, circa 1977, nominated for eleven Oscars and was Mikhail Baryshnikov’s first star turn in the U.S., I present to you scenes from The Turning Point:

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Rond de Jamb with me

Posted in The Dancing Life with tags , on September 7, 2008 by Karmela

After a 16-year hiatus, I’m back on the barre. The ballet barre to be exact. On Friday night, together with about ten or so other women, sis and I took an adult beginner ballet class at a respected local dance studio.

The experience was wonderful. All the reasons why I love ballet–it’s precision, control, grace, beauty–came rushing back to me as I lightly placed a hand on the barre and held the other arm out in a slight curve. I am happy to say that I still have my form. I still know how to hold my head up, how to wave my arms, how to consistently point my toes and keep my knees straight. I also still have my flexibility as I was able to stretch a side bend to my toes as my foot was on the barre.

But never have I felt my age more than spending that one hour and fifteen minutes in that class. I don’t usually feel my age in any physical activity I do, not in hip hop, not in martial arts, not in aerobics. At least not yet. But ballet has a way of showing you your deficits like no other physical activity. I couldn’t relevé on both feet to save my life. Balance? What balance? And when I went to third position, this excruciating pain erupted in my hip. I was like, whoa!

I sucked it up of course. Dancers are supposed to dance through exhaustion, through pain, through injury. They’re as tough as football players that way except in cute wraparound skirts. I’m trying hard not to think of what could have been if I hadn’t stopped dancing and focus instead on the future. I want to get better, get stronger, get more balanced. Who knows? Maybe one day I could go on pointe too, or even better, teach.

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Hello Old Friend

Posted in Books with tags , on September 5, 2008 by Karmela

Last month, when I read an article about how actress Emma Watson was starring in a BBC made-for-TV movie called “Ballet Shoes” about three orphan girls adopted by an absentee archeologist and so they take refuge in ballet classes, I didn’t think anything of it. But when I got to the part where Emma said she took on the role because her grandmother made her do it, plus she was playing a character whose name was Pauline, I had to pause. I thought, why does this sound so familiar?

I gave myself a kick in the head when I realized she was starring in THE Ballet Shoes. As in the classic children’s book written in the 1930s by Noel Streatfield which has been reprinted more than a dozen times and is beloved by millions of girls worldwide. How could I have forgotten the book that was such a large part of my childhood? Along with Enid Blyton’s “Circus Days Again,” this was one of my most favorite novels growing up. I must have read this book a dozen times and pretended to be one of the characters.

The book had been sent to me by my grandparents in the States while I was still living in the Philippines. I must have been around eight or nine years old. When we immigrated to America, I left the book behind. I don’t even know what happened to it. My mom was in charge of packing and disposal and she must have either thrown it away or given it away.

I went to Amazon to see if I could buy a copy of the book but saw that they only had the newly-reprinted ones with Emma Watson & Friends on the cover. I wanted the old cover, like the one I had back in the 70s. So I went to Paperbackswap.com to see if anyone listed it for trading. And lo and behold, someone did!

<i><b>Ballet Shoes</b></i> by Noel Streatfield

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield

I got the book last night. It’s old, the pages are dark, the spine cracked and worn. I’m afraid if I actually open the book the pages might fall off. But how can I not read it again, especially since I’m taking ballet again, and especially since DD is dancing too?

Receiving the book felt so wonderful. It took me back to the past, back to my girlhood, back to my old house in my old hometown. My parents have passed away and so I’m left with my own disconnected memories from childhood that are mostly fleeting, random and unreliable. But this book is a solid piece of memory. It made me cry just holding it in my hands.

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