What's on

The South African Ballet Theatre, The Black Tie Ensemble and The Black Tie Opera Chorus are presenting a combination of ballet and opera this April in a program entitled Autumn Enchantment. An orchestral ensemble, under the baton of Maestro Graham Scott will accompany the performers.

The programme features excerpts from, amongst others, the Le Corsaire pas de deux (music Riccardo Drigo); The operetta The Student Prince (music Sigmund Romberg & lyrics Dorothy Donnelly), La Bayadère (music Ludwig Minkus), West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein) Nessun dorma from Turandot (Giacomo Puccini), Verranno a te sull aure and Chi mi frena in tal momento from Lucia di Lammermoor (Gaetano Donizetti), The Women Septet from The Merry Widow (Franz Lehàr).

If you've been to see Autumn Enchantment, please leave a comment and let us know how you enjoyed it.

Quote for the day

"Society, my dear, is like salt water, good to swim in but hard to swallow."

- Arthur Stringer

Don't forget to have some fun this weekend....

"The other dance" from Center Stage

Warming Up

Most often injuries can be prevented by doing a proper warm up before starting your exercise activity or stretching. The importance of warming up should not be over looked. When done properly it can do more than just loosen stiff muscles and can actually improve your performance. So here are a few tips for warming up.

Firstly, what does it atually mean to warm up? Well, just that! It is the processing of raising your core body temperature by one or two degrees celsius. This should be done by a combination of a general warm up, warm up stretching and some sport-specific activity.

1. General warm up: start with joint rotations beginning from either your toes and working your way up, or from your fingers and working down. This lubricates your joints and allows you to move more easily in your activity. Start with slow circular movements both clockwise and counter-clockwise.
This should then be followed up by aerobic activity for at least 5 minutes, such as jogging, skipping or some other exercise that will get your heart rate up and your blood pumping!

2. Warm up stretching: once you have got your heart rate and core temperature up your muscles will be warmer and more elastic. Now do some slow, relaxed and gentle stretching. Start with your back, followed by your upper body and lower body. Ask your teacher which stretches are appropriate for you to do as a warm up and be careful not to over-stretch

3. Light sport-specific activity: finish off your warm up with some light activity that is directly related to the athletic activity you are about to do. This should involve performing the same movements that will be used during your athletic activity but at a reduced intensity.

And now you're ready to dance :)

Adapted from Brad Appleton's Stretching and Flexibility

Penche

OK girls, this exercise is to improve your penche:

1. stand sideways to the barre , left hand on the barre, and degage your right leg derriere. Do a back bend without pushing your hips forward and lift your back leg/working leg to arabesque and try and keep the "back bend" position. In other words you are trying to build strength in your back to actually hold the leg before you start tilting

[Please see the disclaimer.]

Stretching and strengthening

hi all
just a little something about stretching and strengthening.

1) Always try and do a strengthening exercises after you have stretched out your muscles, as flexibilty means nothing if you do not have the strength to hold your leg up
2) After you have had a stretching session put two table spoons of Epsom Salts (Engelse Sout) in your bath water to relax your muscles.
3) Always warm up before you start your stretching

[Please see the disclaimer.]

Quote for the day

Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody is watching.

- Mark Twain

On Inspiration and the Ailey

I first heard about the Alvin Ailey from a dance teacher of mine in Cape Town. Praises don't come easily in the dance world and hers was so high of the company that I had to find out why. A few years later I found myself in New York City and my husband surprised me with tickets to see them perform - I got hooked for life. If I were to pick one thing that stood out most to me about the dancers it would be their incredible ability to make the most simple and ordinary steps carry heart, soul, inspiration and awe.

"In the Ailey company, there are no cookie-cutter dancers, no android corps members. It is a troupe of movers in astonishing command of their instruments (that means head, heart, and body), and like both chamber players and jazz musicians, each of them can step out to solo, then fuse back with the whole. They can also dance just about anything handed to them, from ballet leg beats to the Funky Chicken." - exert from faith, hope and ailey.



If you ever get the chance to see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, don't hesitate for a moment to get a ticket. For those of us who won't be able to see them in the near future, we'll have to settle for reading about their wonderment in articles like faith, hope and ailey.

Back 2 School

Classes resume next week, starting on Monday the 14th April.

This got me thinking about what I do when I'm not regularly attending class. How often do you take the time to stretch while on holiday? Well its time to get serious about class again, so while you're still on holiday take some time to think about what you want to achieve in the next term. I like Treva Bedinghaus's New Year's Resolutions for Dancers:

• Limber up: The thing about stretching is that it really makes dancing easier! The more flexible you are the less energy you need to expend in fighting to achieve the position or line you want. Try stretching a little every night after your bath and watch what a difference it can make.
• Get Stronger: This can be a hard one if you're not disciplined, or feel you don't have the time for more exercises. As a dancer your core muscles are very important. Try doing some stomach crunches or pilates pulls while you watch tv. We also tend to forget about strengthening our back mucles - try spending a few minutes each day working on those muscles. If you don't know what exercises to do, ask your teacher for advice on what you should focus on.
• Challenge Yourself: We always need to push ourselves to progress. The classroom is the place to try out new things and push yourself beyond what you can already do. It is more important to fall over trying to do a triple pirouette than to perfect your double. Remember is OK to land on your bum in class - we're all there to learn :)
• Try a New Style: Have some fun and try out new things. If you think you're a hot shot ballerina, try out a jazz class and see how much more your body can learn and how to push your body in different ways.

And most importantly, don't forget to have fun!

Quote for the day

Great artists are people who find the way to be themselves in their art. Any sort of pretension induces mediocrity in art and life alike.

- Margot Fonteyn

Voice of dance

So, why blog? Well, I had the idea that it would be nice to have a place for information, advice and just general thoughts for the young dancers out there. It's a place for all things dance, be it a new stretch routine, some good sound diet advice or a healthy dose of motivation. Of course it would be useful to have some news about what's happenening when and where, and maybe some reviews of shows we've seen :)

Let us know what you'd like to see here...

A little something fun to get us started

Disclaimer

The authors of this blog (A Dancer's Journal) do not claim to be any kind of expert on stretching, anatomy, physiology, or any other biological science. The authors and contributors of this blog are merely people with many years of ballet teaching experience and/or ballet training who wish to share information, ideas and inspiration amongst themselves and anyone who may be interested.

The techniques, ideas and suggestions in this blog are not intended as a substitute for proper medical advice! Consult your physician or health care professional before performing any new exercise or exercise technique, particularily if you are pregnant or nursing, or if you are elderly, or if you have any chronis or recurring conditions. Any application of the techniques, ideas and suggestions in this document is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

The authors, contributors and publishers of this blog and their employers make no warranty of any kind in regard to the content of this blog, including, but not limited to, any implied warranties of merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. The authors, contributors and publishersof this blog and their employers are not liable or responsible to any person or entity for any errors contained in this blog, or for any special, incidental, or consequential damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this document.