So, what's up?

  I might just be going through a long mental block but I feel like such an irresponsible blogger if I don't post! We have a long vacation of one week coming up, no ballet class at all. Hopefully a trip to the beach; one of my favorite getaway places :*>

  My mom sent me a link a few days ago and now it's one of my fave sites, Mind Body Green. Speaking of which, there's this blog widget, a list of links, that I've been thinking of adding a long time ago. I think I'll finally apply it to my blog and maybe change my look again. I'm sorry for you, my audience if it's irritating to have a blogger constantly making changes to their site, but that's how I roll. I'm the kind of person who thrives with change. Hopefully you guys who read me are after what I write and not very much how I look ;)

  I just feel the simplicity of my blog's look right now is too lonely :(

  I also feel like adding an About Me page. Finally I didn't get stuck trying to write about myself!

  P.S. Gaynor Mindens aren't as I expected them... No words...

In The Shoes: Grishko

  If your traditional, get Grishkos. They last  f o r e v e r.

  I bought my second pair of pointes by texting That's D Pointe Dance Shop in Manila after my first pair gave up on me in two weeks. My first (and second) pointe recital was danced in these shoes which make them valuable in the market of sentiment...

  I think I chose Grishko among other brands because a) There was no other that had my size or b) I heard that they were Svetlana Zakharova's shoes. I quite forgot :(

© Kina De Mendoza

© Kina De Mendoza

  My Dear Grishkos lasted for more than one year. This is because they "fossilize". Somehow, if you don't use it for a long time, the glue in the shoe hardens, making it good as new! Credit for that info goes to R.A.D. Ballet Buddy Ingrid :) The shape of the shoe was also very foot-flattering, with a slight V in the vamp, and a long tapered look. Very Russian.
  

  Because of the shoe's hardness, I got a lot of blisters, also because I didn't have enough padding, causing hammertoes... This blister is the reason for the dark spot (which is blood) on the left shoe...

  This is also the shoe that me and a friend at LCB had a fight about. After a whole day of not talking to each other, I said sorry and she did too... 

  What I liked most about Grishko was it's box. I'm a fan of hard boxes, they give me some support, but are also rather heavy. The shank was good too, very pliable. This is probably the best shoe I've had so far, but I'm going to keep looking... 

© Jun Tupas

{Visit grishko.com}

It's Here!!!

Instagram

  My new pointes arrived today!!! On Thursday last week, I e-mailed Danse Boite asking if they had Gaynor Mindens. I'm so happy that they actually have my (huge) size! It took some trouble though, ordering it, there was a little confusion but it was all sorted out on Monday of this week when they replied to my text, confirming the shipment of my shoes :)

  They feel so light! I'm so used to the "traditional" hard, bulky, over protected feel of pointe shoes that these GMs feel like nothing at all!

  I got a size 9.5, narrow, box 3, Extraflex shank. I was a bit torn between a supple and Extraflex but decided on the latter because it's supposedly a good choices for tall dancers. I did my research before buying :) Downloading the fitting guide of whatever brand of pointe shoe your getting really helps. They usually give it for free in their website. You can download the Gaynor Minden Fitting Guidelines Here.

  Sentimental post coming up soon... an In the Shoes write up on my Grishkos ♥

 
  Pointe class tonight!

Milk Carton Cat {Recycled Halloween Deco}

  This is my first D.I.Y. ever, so bear with me :) This is a new addition to our recycled Halloween decorations. Milk Carton Cats!

Taken with Instagram.

Ok, so you'll need:

-Milk carton (cleaned and dried)

- Paper

- Crayons

- Scissors

- Embellishments (for eyes etc.)

- A little sister :P

We didn't have colored paper so we colored the paper! hehehe 

Next, we wrapped the milk carton in the (now colored) paper.

After completely wrapping the whole thing and trimming exes paper, we added embellishments. Here we used gem studs and curled strips of paper. You can also use googly eyes :)

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this :) 

Hopefully I'll make better tutorials in the future...

{With better photos}

:D

Something New

Poster from the Tuburan Institute's Facebook Page.

  So I had a little mix up with my last post regarding the 'visit from a Swiss contemporary company'. They are not, in fact a contemporary dance company but are educators in a form of movement called Eurythmy. As I understand, Eurythmy was developed by Rudolf Steiner and is a part of the Waldorf education system. The Tuburan Institute, a Steiner inspired school here in Davao, brought The Arte Nova Eurythmy Youth Ensemble here. 

  Their performance yesterday, entitled 'Transitions', was a great way to share the ideology behind the movement. it was held at the Davao Convention and Trade Center. The program started beautifully with an a capela of the Philippine National Anthem in which the whole audience joined in creating a wonderful harmony of people.
 

Tickets and programme from yesterday's show.
Taken with Instagram

  I had never seen movement as free and formless until then. They were so in time with the music yet so human. Ballet is inhuman. Ballet tries to look human in that  it tells a story and creates an atmosphere. But it only looks so because everyone else is moving like dancers, like ballerinas. This, I think, creates a ballet world by humans, that is not human. Ok, I'm sounding a bit wierdo now but, I do hope you get me :( I'm trying to compare the free-ness of Eurythmy with the straight lines of ballet.

  The program included numbers where the performers used flags, rods, and balls which they juggled. there was also an interpretation of Tchaikovsky's Main Theme from Swan Lake.

  Today, the performers visited Locsins to give a workshop on Eurythmy. It was all so organic and natural and not difficult at all, just like Yoga. It made me feel like I could move in any way, awkwardly, gracefully, and not be wrong. The movement accommodation that. It was quite an experience for us dancers who were always told how to do what properly.

  We were doing coordination exercises with fruit as balls and wooden and metal rods this morning. We were joined by other kids, mostly really little ones. I enjoyed the rod throwing the most! We had to find a partner and throw and catch the rods :) We were also taught that each letter of the alphabet has a corresponding movement and some people had their names interpreted!

  I think I'll teach my little siblings what I just learned :)

at DavCon with Mom , little sisters and lil' bro <3

Buying New Pointes

Mom figuring out the Gaynor Minden tracing sheets at The POD.
Taken with Instagram.

  After pointe class one Wednesday, Ate Nikki asked me if my shoes were soft and said that I should change them as soon as possible. A few before, Teacher Agnes also told me that my Dear Grishkos are deformed. About time I got a new pair, and guess what I've decided on... Gaynor Mindens!

  I just got the email from the GM fitters about my fitting details earlier last week. I wanted to make sure that I got the right size because when buying Gaynor Mindens, you must get a shoe one size larger than your U.S. street shoe size. I'm an 8.5 and 9.5 sounds like a LARGE pointe shoe so I downloaded the tracing sheets as recommended by my Ballet Buddy Christine. But apparently, 9-9.5's the right size o.O

  I decided on GMs because, of course, of all the good reviews surrounding it. I also have never dance with toe pads and since Gaynors are already so cushioned by themselves, they might give me more comfort and I can forget pain... and ever buying pads if they make me happy. FACT: More people in Locsin's wear Gaynors than any brand of pointes.

  So I guess I'm gong to come up  with another In The Shoes post soon. My Grishkos have been really great, but we'll talk about that next time :D

Halloween Spirit!!!

Clockwise from top left: Cardboard owls, mice, creepy mirrors, bat mobile.
Collage pics from Instagram

  I'm so into dressing the house up for Halloween!!! So far these are what's in our will-be haunted house. Inspiration comes from the following:

{http://www.marthastewart.com}

{http://www.bettycrocker.com}

&

{A Beautiful Mess}

  I'm also planning a Halloween dinner for our household with creepy treats on the menu. Check out my Halloween Ideas board in Pinterest. I'm pinning every feasible idea I see!!! 

  I will hopefully post more on this, and maybe a D.I.Y. tutorial for the owls...

Learning 'Magkaugnay'

Agnes Locsin's 'Romeo & Juliet'
Instagam

  We started learning this new dance a few weeks ago. It's a modern number to music by Joey Ayala. I don't know if we're going to perform it or anything, but when Teacher Agnes told us about tackling the piece, she mentioned our having to synchronize. Maybe it's a sort of exercise for us? It was performed a long time ago in Locsin's and we are learning the steps via video.

  The choreography leans to the ethnic and folk, as most of Teacher Agnes works do. The steps are challenging especially in the part where we all hold hands. We run the risk of trampling on one another lest someone tripped which, thankfully, hasn't happened yet. I haven't quite absorbed that part yet. There are so many travelling side ways with many changes in the direction we face. It's more of a challenge for the mind, I think, and less of the body. It's not an "Olympic stamina" dance as many of Teacher Agnes 'babies' would say.

  I feel like I am immersing myself in Teacher Agnes work. I'm reading her book right now and it proves to be very enlightening. I wish I could watch all her works! She really takes the message of her dances deeply and seriously. It's much more than the movement...   

  For today's class, we had  'guest artist'. Kuya John is here for Ballet Philippines' tour. I'm not sure what they will be performing, but they'll be in SM Lanang Premier this afternoon :) I assisted Kuya John's Ballet 1b class last summer.

  There's a lot going on in Davao's dance scene since Encantada. A visit from a Swiss contemporary company (details out soon), BP's tour, a production of Romeo and Juliet....

 Roughly translated I think the word 'Magkaugnay' means 'unity'. Google translate says 'correlate' but I like 'unity' better ^_^ Anyway, here's an audio of the music: