2014-2015 Dance Season-- Plans & Goals

Hi all, I hope you are having a nice summer!  Mine has been completely crazy and I haven't been doing much dancing since the recital.  I took a few open classes with Milwaukee Ballet which were nice, but nothing regular.  This little squirrel has been distracting me all summer!

My studio was forced to find a new building to lease, so I did help move the flooring from the old space to the new one.  There was a lot of worry, but the new space is much bigger and really nice.  I'm excited for the fall semester to start up.

The director has asked me to be a teachers assistant in the classes she's teaching.  In exchange I'll have unlimited access to classes above and beyond the 4 I already plan to take.  I'm going to take the same 4 classes as last year-- ballet, pointe, contemporary and lyrical.  I'll be assisting with contemporary and lyrical, in addition to a dance basics class on Saturdays.  That leaves room to also try jazz, ballroom, dance theater, tap or whatever else I want to try out which is super exciting.  I'm already poring over the schedule figuring out how I'm going to plan my week!

Here were my goals for last year:

- Get my front splits
- Improve turnout
- Better, more consistent turns
- Improve arabesque & attitude
- Lose more weight and tone up

I'm happy to report I met my goals!  It took me 7 months to get my front splits on both sides.  My turnout has improved slightly.  My turns are much tighter, in significantly better form and much more consistent.  My arabesque and attitude have definitely improved, and I also lost more weight and muscled up.  Our performances were really great and I had no fear or anxiety over the production.  I managed to not fall down/break legs/die. Sweet!

Funny story-- so I got my picture day shots back, and mine was so ridiculous.  This is the version after I edited it.  Apparently my skirt was positioned in a way that it looked SUPER risque, and nobody said anything.  Lol.  This is the end product, I had to add in skirt to cover up my hooha before sending to grandma.  Heres the original.  C'mon!

I do have a few things I'd like to work on this season.

- Improve my middle splits (I don't think I'll ever fully have them)
- Work on back flexibility & core strength
- Consistent doubles
- Facial expression during class, not just throwing it in 2 weeks before performance

Not that unreasonable right?


So I have been thinking about trying some sports bras with the lace straps to look a little nicer under my leotards in class.  I can't not wear a sports bra, so I figured I'd check out Amazon and see what's up.  I order so much crap from Amazon!  I found these, and liked the price so I gave it a shot.

You get what you pay for.  :)  I couldn't show a front view with it on, because it's pretty much see through in the front with not much support, but I will definitely wear them under my bratek camisole leos.  It's a shame, as I do really like the lace detail.

Also, final thought for the evening---- Walgreens sells girl scout cookie knock-offs.  You're welcome!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

-RB