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V&A Museum, London

  I'm home now! We arrived in Davao City Friday night this week. I learned a lot of things about this trip; mostly about myself, people, common sense...

  The point of this post is that I'm quitting Ballet. If you've read a lot of my recent posts you can probably tell that I don't want to dance Ballet anymore, that I like theatre and acting, and am probably a little stressed and un-inspired. I could just continue dancing but just not be so serious about it, but, the problem is, it hurts! My foot, my back, I think I should start listening to my body and forget about what everyone else will say. My classmates will probably not fully understand, Teacher Agnes will most likely be disappointed, some people might say "I was right, she wouldn't stay" but it's not about them :)

  I'll probably make a new blog too. Not soon, when I've re-kindled the joy of blogging I will. I like to start from nothing. Start fresh.

  Since I wont dance anymore, I'm selling my new Gaynors for half the price I bought them, since they've already been used. So if you want a Gaynor Minden size 9.5 (8.5 in street shoes), Narrow, Box 3, Extraflex shank, please email me at amberspointe@gmail.com

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Time To Heal

  Aren't you supposed to feel better after resting!?

  Well during the vacation week, I went running with my dad almost everyday. I didn't like running before because I was always getting side stitches because of my breathing. After some research, I was able to run two rounds at Victoria Plaza though (my record) without having any side stitch so... I feel successful! Hehehe :D

  My foot started hurting the week before vacation time started. It got quite worse and I didn't know what to do. I tried not to cry during pointe class on Wednesday. A part of me wanted to quit ballet again! When my classmates saw me crying last night after class though, they were all so encouraging. Lois said that I shouldn't quit because I'm good, Christine suggested having my foot checked, and Teacher Sweet (whose babies ballet class I assisted in last summer) told me about dancing in a recital two weeks after she broke her foot.

  I guess this foot of mine just wants more rest. I think it would be prudent telling Teacher Agnes about it but (ok here goes) I'm scared. The exercise she taught me really helped my back but what an injurious person I would seem! I also don't see anything but rest for this foot anyway... + I'm not joining the recital again, but more on that soon...

  I've been alternating hot and cold compress and it seems to be working. I apply hot before dancing and ice after. It doesn't hurt in the morning, but as the day progresses, so does the pain.

  I should really asses how I react to these bad days. I guess I'm too-- passionate. I hear many say that that's  a good thing but, in my opinion, it could also mean being rash and impulsive. Take this week; after pointe class, I was lamenting about my foot and ballet, and wanting to quit, without thinking about anything positive at all! Without thinking that there is time to heal, and that I don't have to be too serious about ballet if I don't want it as a career anymore. The world's not gonna end.

  Just this evening, I thought to myself: 'I'll go to ballet tomorrow.' A pointe of my injured foot told me 'No'. Why should I compromise myself? It is an admirable thing to keep pushing on and have strong will but there is a difference, a big difference, between being strong and just (ugh) hurting yourself.   

Book Review : The Ballet Companion

  The Ballet Companion is basically a dancer's manual. I think for those with a lot of questions, this charming library piece is a big help. 

   I also found it to be a great help in the section on health and eating disorders. I was able to fix a problem I had, thanks to the information in that chapter {Blog Post: Answers}. 

  I liked how the author injected some important stories from ballet's history. And there was just the right amount of it; There were sections on the legends every ballerina and danseur knows and loves. Of course they weren't as detailed as Apollo's Angels but they were still very informative and useful.

  The photos were all very well, especially the ones of Maria Riccetto and Benjamin Milliepied {of Black Swan fame} demonstrating the correct positions in certain steps. I wish though, that the photos that were not for demonstrative purposes had dates on their captions- just so that we have a mental timeline But, then again, it's not a history book.    

Recommendations?... to the long time dancer, short time dancer, stressed dancer, curious dancer, balletomane, dance /ballet teacher, dance mom/ dad, injury- paranoid, injured, P.T, Bone doctor, and the ones who wanted to be ballerinas ♥

Tap starts now!

  Called Locsin's the other day. Tap classes have already stared and I can't wait to start making some noise!!!! Last year, tap was not included in the school year classes of Locsin's. It was just Ballet, which doesn't start until July this year. 

  Read about injury in The Ballet Companion. It's probably my fave part so far :P I'm applying ice on my foot and compressing it, following the instructions for treating Achilles Tendinitis. Also read about a back injury called Spondylolysis; supposedly caused by repetitive back bends... I'm not sure, though if that's what I have on my back :(  

  The Locsin Dance Workshop is offering classes on Tap, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. For inquiries call The Locsin's Dance Workshop at (63 82) 227-4753 

The Locsin's Dance Workshop 89 Elpidio Quirino Ave., Davao City 8000, Philippines 

Class-less Days

  O! Class-less days, time for recovery and reflection... My days have been filled with catching up with my academics, especially Math.

  Our Persian kitty, Ginger, hates me. Every time I try to pet or carry her, she tries to scratch, even bite me! Thought this morning she let me cuddle with her :) She's such a snobbish little thing! Our dog Cornelia is a suspect of jealousy :|


  I still do Teacher Agnes' exercise, though, I don't want to, you know, tinatamad ako, it's really very time consuming. I mean 20 mins. in one position -_- sigh... at least I can listen to music during that time... I think my back's improving, little by little... Was able to swim yesterday :)


  Read an article in Ballet News about Anorexia...  O.o I wont diet anymore, I'm afraid I might stop growing. Plus, I just realized yesterday that all my 'skin-problems' come out when I skimp on my food :( Though I will continue to avoid pork and coke.


  My sister Ashley is making all these shakes and smoothies. She's getting all the recipes from a book my mom got; Super Drinks for Pregnancy. Though, no one in our household is pregnant... This morning, she came up with a banana, pineapple and ginger smoothie. It was actually pretty good but I think there was too much ginger :P Her fave recipe is Avocado shake... I guess it's because we have a lot of rotting Avocados in our kitchen :P


  Had a bad soar throat the other day. I couldn't sleep because it hurt when I swallowed, so I went downstairs and made myself a cup of throat coat tea, and read The Ballet Companion. I was able to sleep after that. The next day I drank six (tall) cups of the throat coat and, now,  My soar throat's gone!!! This herbal stuff really works! ^_^

  Going to the dentist this afternoon. In a few hours I won't have braces anymore! :D 


  I need to catch up with Dance 212

Blocking at CAP

  Went to CAP Auditorium this morning to block the formation of Ballet 1b. I felt so tired when I woke up, I had to force myself out of bed. I think I fell asleep while doing my exercise :(  After 20 minutes in one position, I curled up on my side and fell asleep...

  Going back to CAP this afternoon to block the formation of the Babies Ballet class and for the final dress tech. I hope there are no babies crying because they are sleepy today... -_- Miya (the kid who keeps asking me what my name is) has been crying like she's depressed for two or three rehearsals now :(  She still doesn't know what my name is...

Joe and Dianne, well, their feet...

Warming up...

Christine and Kuya Henry

  The quality of my pics are getting worse. Is that possible?... For the quality of a camera to get worse over time? O.o

Last day of Rehearsal (Theatre)

  Wow, I have been posting a whole lot lately :) I was late for Theatre yesterday. I arrived at around 8:40, ten minutes after schedule -_- Ate Delphine choreographed a short dance for our entrance as giants. It's full of jumps and stomping around. My back hurt a little after :O I stopped applying hot compress, following the advice of my parents; "Let it heal by it''s self."

  I went back to Locsin's yesterday afternoon for the ballet rehearsal. We rehearsed with the Babies Ballet class and they were very good ^_^ At least for that day... I went home, though, before the rehearsal for the other classes started (the show will be divided into two parts; Ballet [Midsummer], and the other dances [Broadway]). But I was able to take pics of Kuya Arnel's Jazz class doing some last minute clean up :D

  This afternoon, I have to head to Locsin's by three for the last Theatre rehearsal before the show tomorrow (Aaaaaa!! It's tomorrow already!). At around 6, we'll have a dress tech. I guess make-up wont be too dark, but Ate Delphine hasn't mentioned anything about that yet.

  I plan to take lot's of pics with my class mates for memories but we'll see if there's time tonight... 

  

  Bye for now, I'm going to check out this slideshow by The Australian Ballet: 50 Years of The Australian Ballet hope you (and I) enjoy it! ^_^

Traction Day 1

  Finally had a traction today :) First the therapist asked me to lie prone (on my belly) then she put these wires  that kept vibrating, and hot compress on my back. After, we did some stretches. I was shaking in one of the exercises, which was like crunches (except that I had to hold my position for 10 seconds). Every time I crunch up my core and tighten the muscles, I would shake so much.

  It was kind of embarrassing. Dad says I have to work on my core strength some more. Some one also told me that a weak core could be the reason for my backpain O.o

  The traction was like the position Teacher Agnes told me to do. Except that I was being pulled while in that pose. I also had to stay there for 20 mins. 

Grace, the therapist who assisted me,
preparing the machine

                                     

  I told Teacher Agnes that I'm not joining the recital. She said "Ok" so very casually... In a way I'm relieved because my classmates' said there's someone to fill in for me...

  Babies was really tiring yesterday...

Strapped to the traction machine

  Finished decorating my mask for Theatre. I'll post a photo of it soon ^_^ I wonder what the others came up with... Ate Delphine told us to design it according to our personalities... We also had to make a play. my group's turned out to be really random. It started with a brave and powerful girl named Anna who lost her face (literally) and ended with her becoming a robot O.o

"Your so young..."

  "Your so young to have an injury like that." Teacher Agnes said to me yesterday after I told her about my injury.I felt like crying on hearing that. I went to her as soon as Babies Ballet ended. She was with Kuya Henry in the canteen. Maybe it was the possibility that I can't join the recital, or the smell of all the smoke from her cigaret that made me teary eyed. She said that it was caused by my posture, I have an overly arched back :( "Ngayon, maniwala ka na? (Now do you believe me?)" she said, "So when will I see you again [for class]?"
I told her that I'm scheduled for traction next week and that I could come back to class as soon as the week after if things get better.

  Later, on the second floor studio, she gave me an exercise, position rather, to straighten my spine. My back did not hurt in that position :) I have to stay in this position for 20 minutes, two to three times a day. Woke up early this morning to do that...

  We're going to make masks for Theatre on Monday. It felt stupid acting like a maya bird :P 

Diagnosed.

  Visited the PT this afternoon. Tito Richi (the PT) says my it's a nerve impingement and scheduled me for a visit to the traction machine on Tuesday @_@ Mom thinks it's because I tuck my behind in too much while dancing. She does this exercise with me that's supposed to make my sit bone point downward without me having to tense my gluteus maximus. Is it too late to join the recital? I actually do not feel bad, though, about taking this break away from dancing. It's a relief. So much for that scholarship... At least I can still assist :)

Traction Machine

  Yesterday, after Babies Ballet, I was packing up my things. Everyone else was in Modern 1. Those who were not asked me if I had already had my back checked. My Jazz teacher Kuya Arnel wished me a fast recovery.. Well that made me feel better.

  I'm frustrated with Ballet. I can't do it! Especially when you extend your leg and supposedly your under-thigh muscle works, urgh! I cried one night thinking about that. I always use the muscles in my quadriceps and they'r getting bigger, and bigger T_T I end up comparing other dancer's legs to mine... Obviously, I'm not in a very good mood today... I'm just pouring over this blog, Look Book, and Apollo's Angels here at home...              

  Yesterday, I was waiting for Mom to pick me up after assisting Ballet 1B so I went over to the bulletin board and... Teacher Agnes' cousin Michael Dakudao has a new article on the gathering in Tugbok last Sunday ^_^ Here's the link: Celebrating Life after Death

  

Home-made Icepack!

  Made my own Ice pack! It's so super simple :))
 All you need is;
- A seal-able plastic bag (I used Ziploc)
- Water
-Isoprpyl Alcohol (rubbing alcohol)

  The alcohol is supposed to stop the water from freezing but when I opened the fridge this morning I found my little Ice pack all hard :|


  Off to Locsins to asssist in Ballet 1b. I just hope we don't do any por de bras :(

Back Pain

Advirtisment I saw in
a bus stop in SG

  Today there is Ballet, Hip Hop, and Jazz. But I'm not attending. Yesterday, my back started hurting again and I cried again. The back pain started Saturday night but I ignored it :( We went swimming the next day but it didn't make my back pain worse so I took it as a good sign and went to class the next day, yesterday.

  I came earlier than usual and saw Georgette Sanchez ♥_♥ During Ballet 1C which I assist in, I just tried to remember my posture. Teacher Agnes was watching us. Kuya John, the teacher of 1C actually has the same problem as me. He helped me with my pull up and knees. He also told me to stretch the muscles on the front of my legs (quadriceps) so that they will 'flatten'.

  My back started hurting after Ballet, but only a little. During tap it also hurt but it was worse during modern :( It was already bad after Modern 1 but I was able to make it through Modern 2. The crunches and core exercises helped, I guess.

  When class ended, I couldn't even bend down to pick up my bag and I was just letting my water jug fall on the floor because I couldn't stoop down to put it carefully T_T Then when I got home, the usual, ice-pack, tears...

  So, there you go,. I've decided not to attend classes and only come into the ones I'll assist and Theatre class, which has a different recital and does not require much dancing. Ate Delphine says we're going to do a play.

Ginger's Secret

  Often, I read that ginger is a natural pain reliever. I don't know if it's true but, out of desperation, I decided to try it out.
  My back had been hurting since around Thursday before the recital. By Sunday, show day, it was one of the worst pains I had ever felt. The funny thing wass that whenever I was in a position wherein I could not feel the pain, I felt like I wasn't working hard enough.
  Anyway, I made this ginger tea myself and maybe you guys would like to try it. It's actually good :) I just boiled  ginger in water and added sugar. I don't know if the sugar kills it's pain relieving qualities but it made it taste good...
  I know it's weird but whenever there's ginger in soups or ulam I eat it. Yes! It doesn't taste good, to be honest, but still it's worth the nutrients... I guess.
  Other food they say are good for athletes/dancers include, yogurt, bread (anything carbs basically, for energy)... Chocolate gives you energy and keeps your mood up. It also helps increase blood flow, and reduce inflamation (according to Dance Magazine February 2011 issue). Sage was also mentioned to boost memory... hmm...

In The Shoes: Capezio

  This is my first entry in my "In The Shoes" series. Since I am now en pointe and am going through my second pair of shoes, I will blog about the pointes I have danced in. How they felt for me, how long they lasted, ups, and downs, those stuff.
  My first pointe shoe was Capezio. I don't know if they were Aerial or Contempora, it didn't say :(
  I got them in LCB. The first time I fitted them, I had never put on a pointe shoe before, except for my friend's incredibly soft Gaynor Mindens. I was overwhelmed with how tight and hard the box was. I found it hard to walk, 'How am I going to dance?' I thought...
  Despite the pain, I couldn't stop putting them on and looking in the mirror. They were so pretty, so shiny! On the night we bought them, I slept with them on!
  They lasted for 2 weeks, during which the right side of my hips started feeling painful. I told my mom about this and she heard from a friend (the mom of the friend who owned the Gaynors I tried) that the wrong shoes could put pressure and even injure the hips, knees, and of course, feet. I stayed with the Capezios though, until they were just too soft to stand on.
  I showed them to my teacher, Teacher Ces, and she said I had to get new ones and that, compared to most of my classmates, whose pointes were still brick hard, my feet were pretty strong. I was proud of this, but my mom wasn't so happy about it. She always says "Such expensive shoes, you can't even walk on the street in them!"

Turnout 101

  My dear reader Thea asked me about turnout in school yesterday... This is for you :)

What is turnout?
  Turnout is the action of turning the hips outward causing the knees and feet to follow.This rotation allows greater extension of the leg, especially when raising it to the side and back. Turnout is the basis on which all ballet movement follows.

Why do dancers need to turnout?
 As mentioned in the previous answer it allows the dancer to lift his or her leg higher in the side and back. One of my teachers also said that it is more stable compared to turn-in (the opposite of turnout). Some dancers will anterior pelvic tilt (stick the behind out)because this allows lateral hip rotation to occur more easily. This will however, affect the dancer's posture, since it requires the back to arch to remain upright.


What will happened if a dancer does not turnout?
  Based on experience dancers who don't turnout get a good reprimanding from their teacher :) Dancers who don't turn out properly or force the turnout carry a greater risk of injury, especially to the knee. They'r feet also tend to "roll forward." Although weight should be mostly on the big toe when dancing, rolling forward is incorrect. Turning -in will also cause the dancer to use the front quadriceps muscle to lift his or her leg instead of the ideal under-thigh (hamstring) muscle.


Some things to remember when turning-out:

• Turnout starts from the hips, NOT the knees or feet.
• Lift the arches.
• Don't force the feet out.
• Don't push the pelvis to the front.
• Don't lean back.
• Straighten the knees.
• Lift up...

This is just one part of dancing Ballet, Pull-up is another matter entirely! :D


Sources: Wikipedia, personal knowledge ^_^

Eating...

  This afternoon, Mom finally had Ashley’s shoulders checked. They are crooked, we notice and I thought it might be scoliosis. But I’m not a doctor.

  We went to Dr. Ritchie Madayag, a sports therapist. I went to him last year when my foot and back started hurting. It was he who explained to me, thoroughly, that I had chronic tendinitis on my left foot.

  While Mom and Ash were in the clinic, I bought food for my younger siblings, Nic and Allegra. I bought just enough for the two little ones, but Nic, being in a bad mood, had eaten a lot.

  I was snacking on the sight of them.

  Mom asked me what I was going to eat. In a sort of freaking out voice, I told her I didn't want to eat anything.

  This is not the first time this"food anger" happened. I noticed that when I'm stressed or pressured I start seeing food as an enemy. Other people eat when their stressed but me, I get more stressed eating and I start counting my food O.o When I don't eat in times of stress I also get so proud of my self-control that I totally lose it when someone offers me food. This behavior is particular to my immediate family:

ME:Not eating anything while everybody else is. Proud of my self control. Tired of today.

SOMEBODY:Do you want some?

ME:Totally irked and defensive No, I don't want some! I don't want to eat, I'm not hungry!

S:OK :|

  Maybe it's not as bad as I think. Maybe my voice just sounds that way to me but not to others. Just observed it....

{This post has been modified from it's original version}

Classes

Poreotics Dance Crew

Started class this week! Whew! I can still dance... Relief, Oh yeah! And during Math period in school I thought of the cutest thing:

Anne breaks 2 pointe shoes every month. She broke1 this month already. Fill in the graph.

Month | Pointes

0     -1 

1      1  

2      3

3      5

LOL...

Plus, my friend Pat, and I opened a Hip Hop and Jazz dance club at school. First class starts this Friday, I'm so EXCITED!!!! I'm so inspired by Poreotics...

Wake up call...

  I want to be a ballerina but it doesn't mean I can't pursue other things. I'd still want to be onstage though... I love performing. You realize these things when you stop for a while. It's like a wake up call, a wake up call made by resting. I guess injuries are signs that you should take break from what your doing and just take it easy, both physically and emotionally.

  Whats funny is that I got injured in P.E. so does this mean I should rest from P.E. or what... Well I'll get to rest from everything anyway. I'll still come to ballet class though, but I'll just observe.

Colorful Hairpins  ♥

Injury...

  I bumped my knee today when I jumped on the stage of the school gym during P.E. we were playing freeze tag...
  Yeah, really stupid. It hurts to go down the stairs and to bend it. The worst part is, I didn't injure it doing ballet. Sure I love to run, because I can run reaaaaaaly fast, but it's kinda shameful... most of this is because of carelessness.
My friends were so nice, they were bringing my stuff for me and helping me get up... I didn't go to ballet today, and  I probably can't for a week...
 I hope I can still get back to dancing... Heartbroken. T_T

Gillian Murphy
I'll still be able to do this right?

Look at the bright side, at least I can concentrate on my studies...