Always A Dancer

At the Cecchetti International Classical Ballet Competition in Calgary this August, the Enrico Cecchetti Award went to Kirsten Marsh of Australia. Most Promising Dancer went to James Lyttle of Australia and Adjudicator's Choice went to Alexandra Potgieter of South Africa. Fifteen-year-old Mary Kate OSullivan from San Diego won the award for Musicality and Dynamics in Movement. OSullivan, who competed with a Paquita variation and a contemporary solo choreographed by Victor Wisehart, says, "With the confidence I got from winning, I feel like my dancing is better already." It was the first time she had ever entered a competition. She was especially excited to be awarded for her musicality. "It feels like a huge accomplishment to know that I'm expressing myself through the movement and the music," she says, "because that will get me far in the ballet world."

Ballet On The Big Screen

The Bolshoi Ballet and La Scala Ballet have been all over the country this August, and they will continue to appear in September. But the companies aren't touring here--films of their performances are being shown at movie theaters in such cities as Miami, Cleveland and Providence. Check your local cinemas to see if you can catch the Bolshoi performing Marius Petipa's The Pharaoh's Daughter, Alexei Ratmansky's Bolt or La Scala Ballet performing Mauro Bigonzetti's Mediterranea. For more: www.emergingpictures.com.

Pictured: The Bolshoi Ballet in The Pharaoh's Daughter

Cari

A Dancer's Best Asset

Put Your Feet First:

Great Dancer Footcare Tips

As dancers we use our feet all day long, so treat them with some love! Here are a few tips from Mary Cowden Snyder, artistic director of Oregon's Medford Dance Arts Center. She will give a free seminar in footcare on Oct. 11 at the center. Call 541-772-1362 for details.

Wear shoes that fit: Street shoes are just as important as dance shoes in terms of comfort. This goes for pointe shoes, too. "Don't wear the shoe that your friend wears just because she likes it," says Snyder. "Wear the shoe that fits you the best." Check out Gaynor Minden's website, www.dancer.com, for tips on pointe shoe fitting. Tape your feet: If you are wearing shoes, "you want to create a surface that can take the kind of abrasion that you're going to give the skin. Most people have 'hotspots' on their feet that need to be paid attention to because they're very sensitive." Snyder recommends using athletic tape. If you are dancing barefoot, tape the bottom of your foot. Keep your feet clean: Sweat can lead to bacteria, making blisters more susceptible to infection. Stay away from flip-flops because your feet get more dirty in them. If you do wear them, make sure that you wash your feet before going to bed

Cari

Heart Throb

I'm still here, just very busy! I'll post some new stuff soon. But until then, take a look at Erik, my new dancer heart throb.

Cari

Early Bloomer

Here's an interview by with a young dancer from Club Pointe. What an inspiration she is for all dancers!

After taking class at Houston Ballet while visiting relatives in Texas this spring, 15-year-old Leighton Jordan of Duluth, Georgia, was invited to join Houston Ballet II. She's only the second 15-year-old in HB II's history to be offered a contract. She's headed to Houston this week, but first she made time to speak with Club Pointe.

How do you think starting so young will affect your career?

Starting early is giving me the opportunity to prepare for the future. This way I will be ready and have the discipline.Did you find yourself taking a different approach to your training now that you have a company position?Mostly I just work on pushing myself. At Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, my school at home, everything was very hands-on. Our teacher paid really close attention to you and made you work harder. This summer at San Francisco Ballet's summer intensive I had to learn to push myself. That was good preparation for me.

What are your concerns in terms of joining HBII?

My real concerns are just having questions, like even when I'm supposed to be there. We just found out we have to arrive a week earlier than we thought, so that was a surprise. I also have a lot of other questions--am I going to be understudying, dancing, etc.What are you most looking forward to?The training. Houston is definitely the next step up, I can't wait to have the company atmosphere and also to get pas de deux experience.

What is your dance dream?

Definitely American Ballet Theatre or the Royal Ballet.

If you could choose another career, what would it be?

I've always known I want to be a mom and I want to dance as long as possible. Eventually I also want to adopt a disabled child. What is your dance dream?Definitely American Ballet Theatre or the Royal Ballet.

Cari

Good Tips

Here's a good tip we all need to remember:

Cool Down

Protect your body from injury by cooling down after class or a strenuous rehearsal. "It reduces the stress on your heart and helps remove some of the fluid that builds up in muscle tissue during times of intense activity," says Michael Leslie, SF Ballet's physical therapist. "You'll get rid of the byproducts that can build up and cause soreness, and be better prepared for your next rehearsal." Here's how:

Walk it off. Low-grade aerobic activity lowers your heart rate naturally and gradually, Leslie says. At the end of a strenuous rehearsal, walk around the studio for a few minutes at a slow-to-moderate pace.

Put your feet up. Leslie recommends lying on the floor with your legs up against a wall for about 10 minutes after class. "That lets gravity do the work for you, getting the fluid out of the lower extremities," he says.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h. "Ideally, dancers would take 30 minutes to strech all the major muscle groups in the legs, arms, and back after working," says Leslie. Particularly important are longer muscles in the legs- quads and hamstrings. Only have a few minutes? Focus on your calves, he says. "They're the most over-worked muscle group among dancers."

Until next time,
Cari

Kicking Back

This is my resting day. And I am nursing my sore feet. I dream I'm dancing in my sleep, even!

So if you can relate, I hope your feet are not so sore as mine. Last night I dreamed I had the lead role in the famed Sleeping Beauty, a role I coveted while pursuing dance at the academy. I never danced the solo lead in that Ballet. But I have danced some pretty awesome roles. I am working on a contemporary piece now for performance in the fall. (More on this later)

As for today, I plan to kick back (pun intended) and relax. There are other things in this world too, beside dance. Oh really? yes, there is!

Cari The Dancer

Great Experiences

My second blogging day!

I've wanted to write about my dancing experiences. And this blog gives me the opportunity to do that. To begin, I started dancing when I was just a young child. Even though I did start out at around age five, my interest grew as the years passed. And I found out by age 14 that if I really wanted to dance professionally, I would have to get the best training possible. That's when I decided to audition at a Boston ballet studio. I made the cut, and my true training began. Pointe shoes, blisters and sore aching feet became the everyday norm for me. However grueling it was, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

So what sort of great experiences have you had in your life?

Cari

My First Day Here

Today is my first blog post! I hope this will be fun. As I said, I look forward to chatting about anything dance related. This should be fun and I hope you'll join me as I share my dance times and experiences.

Cari