I love dance! Been doing it since I was a little girl. Don't currently dance (like in classes) but it's what I always have enjoyed most! My high school offered dance as an actual class and I did it all 4 years, at the end of every year we would perform. Your video that was posted was nostalgic for me because that is exactly what my performances looked like. After graduating I basically only stuck to Zumba as that was the closest thing I had, plus I don't enjoy actually working out so it was my excuse to exercise and dance (and to be honest, in my opinion for me personally was always the best workout) lol Now after 2 kids (being busy/not having time) and social distancing (not able to go to Zumba classes in the gym) I am now limited to tik tok dancing {facepalm} I'll take what I can hahaha anyways, I love that this thread exists!
I started dance classes again this week! This year I have three ballet classes, pointe, hip hop, and contemporary every week. I have auditions for the company/The Nutcracker this Saturday. This will be my 5th year dancing with the company! Over the Summer I spent a couple weeks working at a dance camp for kids ages 3-7. They were all super sweet and I had a lot of fun.
I got new pointe shoes to prepare for my audition, so I thought I would share how I sew them! Sometimes when I mention that I'm sewing pointe shoes, people get confused. What is there to sew?! Your typical street shoes don't require sewing before they can be worn. (Thank goodness!) When you first get a pair of pointe shoes, it is just the shoe. There are no ribbons and no elastic, so if you were to wear it right away, the shoe would not stay on very well. It's similar to a pair of sneakers coming without shoelaces, but with more sewing involved. To set up my pointe shoes, I have some wide elastic, elastic ribbons, and smaller white elastic. I used to have thread that matched the color of my shoes, but I lost it. White thread doesn't show very much, so I use that instead. I use a thicker needle because the pointe shoe fabric can be quite thick in certain areas. A thimble ring also comes in handy so that I don't hurt myself while trying to shove the needle through. You might have noticed that there is no distinction between the right/left shoe. Some dancers rotate their shoes so that they wear out evenly, but my shoes don't wear out too quickly, so I don't bother doing that. At this point you're probably wondering how I tell my shoes apart! In the image above I have sewn on the white elastic loops. Not all dancers use these, but I like to wrap the ribbons through the loops to help keep my shoes on. I use the position that they're sewn on to figure out which shoe is which. The white elastic will always be on the inside of my foot. The shoe on the left side of the image is my right shoe. The back of the shoe has many layers of fabric and can be very hard to get a needle through. The rest of the sewing process is much easier! After the white elastic loops are finished, I sew the ribbons on. I sew them right next to the seam on the inside of the pointe shoes, and then I put the wider elastic on behind the ribbons. Some ballet dancers will sew everything on in a way that doesn't show the thread on the outside of the shoes, but that is considerably more time consuming and difficult. Here are a couple pictures comparing the brand new pointe shoes to the old ones: Pointe shoe fittings: Just like any other pair of shoes, it's important that pointe shoes fit properly. There are tons of different pointe shoe brands and styles. I've used the Bloch Balance European shoes for the last 6 years, but a couple of years ago I decided to get a professional fitting to see if there was a better type of pointe shoes for me. Upon starting the fitting, we quickly realized that finding the right pair of shoes was going to be very difficult. Despite the store I was visiting having a very wide variety of shoes, none of them would stay on my feet! Every time I went up on pointe, the heel of the shoe would slip off, even though the shoes fit fine while I was standing flat on my feet. I have something called a "disappearing heel." It doesn't impact my dancing, but it makes pointe shoe fittings very difficult. It's as if I no longer have a heel when I go up on pointe, leaving a lot of extra fabric in the back of the shoe. After trying on over 15 pairs of pointe shoes, I ended up staying with the same type that I had before. The heel area might look a bit baggy, but they stay on! I also have a post with more information about pointe shoes here.
As odd as it may seem, I’m glad you shared this with us also. I too, found it to be oddly interesting and creative. It gives those of us who have no idea what goes on in the world of dancing, a little insight on what you do to prepare yourself. Fascinating! I’ve always wondered though on average, how long would you say it takes for one to get into good practice for dancing on their toes ? It seems like it’s quite a task in itself, but I’m sure it’s different for everyone, as are most things.
Who doesn’t like to dance? It seems to me, you can only consider the performance bad if you’re looking for the approval of everyone else. Dancing is relaxing in a way! It’s good for ya! 😅
A little dance update: last year I ended up being super busy with school and so I didn't join the ballet company again or perform in any shows. I dropped all of my dance classes except for contemporary and hip hop. This year I have been doing just tap and jazz. I spent the last 3 days working backstage during the Nutcracker, and today I'm performing in our winter recital. I might try to return to ballet again next year if I have enough time!
I love to watch dance. Ballet takes an amazing amount of strength and coordination. And all that training to use the correct muscles. I'm in awe of anyone who can dance ballet. Good luck in the recital!
I am currently debating if I should come out of "retirement" and return to ballet! If I do, it'll be at least 5 hours worth of classes every week, but potentially 10+ hours per week if I do the Nutcracker as well. That's a lot to do on top of work, classes for my Bachelor's degree, classes for my Master's degree, and EMC! I think it could be fun though. My studio is now offering Ballet Folklórico as an option! Have any of you ever tried that style of dance before?
I believe I’ve seen one presentation of Mexican Ballet Folklorico, however that type of dance comes from Spanish dances, so many countries, if not all of Latin America got their own version which they practice - each with their own specific style/songs, but mostly similar. If you have some spare time, it’s really beautiful to watch some of the videos with all the people dancing and all the colors! I’ve seen Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica. Maybe Panama?, Colombia and Venezuela. Each of their traditional dresses and dances are similar, however distinct and beautiful nonetheless. Im not sure if they are the same, but it really reminds me of the dances that happen among many countries in Central America and South America during civic week. Costa rica Honduras A more Folk/Town vibe/dance more structured traditional dance https://youtu.be/iaOKmWYUSbM Colombia Venezuela these are all traditional in the sense, but also are being presented - equally beautiful- but the part of how these became part of the traditional folklore was simply because that’s how people entertained themselves 200, 100-50 years ago - and well as you can see each is definitely different and unique, while having similar traces, dresses, and stories. and well… they continue to be part of culture. At least when I grew up in national holidays or civic week, we had to learn a few dances for the school, and since I was in band, we also had to present to the municipality as well as internally. now it seems, that Mexico’s became the most popular due to Amalia Hernández - who was able to create a formal spectacle from the folk dances
I rejoined the ballet company! This is my 5th year, and I'm planning to return next year. I am performing in The Nutcracker in a few weeks. It will be my 8th Nutcracker performance, and I am playing the roles of Ballerina Doll and Tea. In the Spring, I will be performing in the Alice in Wonderland ballet, and I'm super excited about it! Returning has been a bit of an adventure because I was fitted for new pointe shoes, but unfortunately, I could not get them to stay on my heels. Happily, when I went back to the store, I was fitted again and ended up being the first person at the store to try on/buy a new type of pointe shoes! For comparison, here are some pictures of the different shoes: On the right side is the type of pointe shoes I used during my previous 4 years in the company. This particular pair was left over from when I "retired" a couple of years ago, so they were already worn out due to the previous dancing and materials breaking down over time. They are Bloch Balance European in size 4 and width XXX (the widest available for those shoes). I originally used satin ribbons with these shoes, but I later switched to elastic ribbons. In the middle is the new pointe shoe that I couldn't keep on my feet. It's a Bloch Eurostretch Pointe shoe in size 4 1/2 and width XX. One of the interesting differences between this one and the shoe I originally wore is that the heel on this one is made of an elastic material, and the bottom appears to have a split sole, although the hard shank on the inside goes all the way through. I continued trying to use elastic ribbons with these shoes, and ended up having to add a second thick elastic across the foot in an attempt to keep them on, but it wasn't enough. On the left is my newest pair of pointe shoes. They are Nikolay Starpointe in size 4 1/2 and width XXX. The pointe shoe fitter said that I would probably fit better in a pair of size 4 shoes, but they didn't have any that small in the store, so they ordered some that I can try on in a few months. These shoes also have an elastic heel, but they don't have the drawstring that is present in the two Bloch shoes, which I'm happy about. I always felt like the drawstring would get in the way, because it was long and would end up stuffed underneath my feet which made it uncomfortable. For these shoes, I continued using two thick elastics across the foot, but switched back to satin ribbons. It's taken time to get used to them, but I've finally broken them in and they feel great.
Thanks for the info and taking us along on the journey Moopies. Looking forward on how well these new shoes do for you. I would love to be able to come see you perform something you are clearly so passionate about. =D I do get to see some things here on emc and you do them well. I know I'm not your mom but this dragon is so very proud of you. <3 Maybe one day <3
What a lovely post! And I agree, to be honest I don't understand everything in the post above, but I did try to, because I really enjoy it when someone explains something they are passionate about. Can/will you return the pair that you couldn't get to stay on? Or does that not work because you had to use them too much to come to this conclusion?
Unfortunately, they can't be returned because I already sewed them and wore them around. They cost about $150 too, so it's disappointing. I might end up using them as decoration in my room instead, or for art reference, haha. Also, I'm happy to answer any questions if you didn't understand something in the post!
I had a great time performing in The Nutcracker again! It was a very busy week, but everything went really smoothly. This was my company's 40th annual Nutcracker, and we finally had a live orchestra and choir accompanying us! It was so much fun being back on stage. Unfortunately, I somehow hurt my shoulder after strike (when we clean everything up) and I could barely move my arm for a week. It's all better now though, so hopefully there won't be any future issues! Here is a picture of me on stage performing my Ballerina Doll solo: This was my costume for Marzipan: My Chinese Tea costume: We had a couple of professional dancers from the Dance Theatre of Harlem performing as the Sugarplum and Cavalier! They were wonderful to watch -- so graceful and perfectly in sync. They're also incredibly tall, and I'm pretty short. They were really friendly too!
What fun! It must be a blast getting to perform with the same company, and from what I recall.. one of your favorite shows too. I wish I could have been there to see it too. I'd have been the one clapping the loudest for my favorite performer. =D As for the pro dancing.. there's just something about two people so in sync that's just wonderful to watch. All in all.. sounds like you had a fabulous time. <3 had to edit to add.. and so cute too! =D
