My Ballet Concert

Ta-dah! This photo here is me in my ballet costume. I wore this costume for my Four Seasons ballet performance. You see, this performance was all about the four seasons. My classmates and I were the first to go onstage. Guess what season I was in? Spring, of course!

Before the concert, we had weeks of practice, and then, the day before, we had to do a full dress rehearsal -- ten times! To get to the concert venue, we all rode on a huge excursion bus. The bus was very cold and those girls who didn't bring jackets were freezing!

I was a little nervous at first, but I got over it soon. Doing ballet exams, and being in other performances and choir helps a lot with that! The performance was extremely fun and we got loads of applause. The last thing all the ballerinas had to do was take a great, big bow during the finale. After the show was over, each dancer got a pretty flower from their ballet teacher. Mine was a big sunflower. It was the best; no, it was extra-terrestrial!

See you very soon!

My Ballet Class!

Yesterday my ballet class had an open house, which meant that everyone's parents could come in and watch us! I was a bit nervous at first because all the parents were watching me and my friends, but after awhile it just felt like my usual class. Here are some pictures of what happens in my class!



Here I am at the barre! The barre is the wooden rail on the ballet studio wall. We do many exercises at the barre and our teacher checks our posture and our turnout. Turnout is how our legs turn out from our hips, so that our knees and feet turn outward. It must be done at the hips, not the feet. Good turnout is very important for good ballet technique. Our barre exercises always start with plies. This is where we bend our knees while keeping our backs straight. It is a bit difficult for me to keep my body straight while bending. Next picture!



We do many exercises on the floor too. They help us stretch and practice pointing our toes well. In this picture we have to lie on our tummies and lift each of our legs straight up. Later we will lie on our backs and lift our legs. Next picture!



This is me practising my splits! Doing splits makes us more flexible and helps us stretch as much as possible. Next picture!



More stretching!



Here we are practising pointing our feet. Ballet dancers must point their feet well so that they look long and graceful. We must practise to have a high arch in our feet so that our point looks pretty. We do a lot of exercises so that our feet and legs become stronger and stronger. Ballet dancers need strong legs so they don't get injured. I am still practicing how to turn out my foot well when I point. Next picture!



Here I am listening to my teacher and doing the last exercise before class ends. My teacher is really nice. I pay attention to her especially since my next ballet exam is coming up soon! My Mom said I did a very good job and I can't wait till the next class! See you at the next post!