YAGP Boston 2016 with Ellison Ballet

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Exciting update from YAGP Boston! 

This past weekend Ellison Ballet traveled to Boston to compete in Youth America Grand Prix. This is a very popular world wide ballet competition. You can be seen by directors of schools and companies from all over the world. It is also a great learning experience to help you further your training and career. In the final round in New York City you are seen by even more teachers and directors from schools and companies world wide. Some can receive company offers through finals week. This happens in April. Stay tuned for my blog about what to expect for the NYC YAGP Finals.

We left from Manhattan and drove to Boston in two vans. The girls went in one van and the boys went in another. Mr. Ellison drove the boys van. It took about 5 hours to drive there. We stopped in Connecticut to grab some food  and use the restroom. There was a beautiful sunset when we stopped. We also live streamed Sophie, a 16 year old dancer from Ellison Ballet, during the pit stop.

Ari, Claire, Gloria, me, and Ashlyn.

EB girls heading to Boston. 

For the past few months we have been rehearsing an ensemble piece. We performed Seguidilla from the ballet Don Quixote. In this piece we are in lines of three and dance with a boy and with fans. I will include the link to the youtube video we studied while learning. I absolutely LOVE this piece! I have so much fun when I rehearse and perform this piece. There is so much fire and energy that needs to be put into it. Also we have been working on really bending our upper body and creating a beautiful Spanish port de bra and upper body movement.

Ashlyn and Taylor

When we first started rehearsing this piece, I felt very stiff and not very much of us were bending as much as we could. Also, when we first started rehearsing, I was just coming back from my foot injury. I didn't wear character shoes yet and I was only doing upper body. This was, in a way, good for me because I really wanted to have a beautiful upper body. We also really focused on our lines, which honestly, were not too great in the beginning. We would do it line by line and watch each other to make sure we were in line. 

EB girls in Seguidilla.

We had our open stage at around 8:30 pm on Saturday. They let each piece have 60 seconds onstage to mark their piece. This flew by and felt like no time to do anything. We just tried to work on some spacing. We only did about 4 counts of each section. 

When we competed this piece we were one of the last groups to go.

We performed close to 10 pm at night!! We all thought the music was quiet on stage and wish it was louder. We also felt we started off with good energy but could have brought more in certain sections.  My friend and my mom filmed the piece on the computer. We all watched the video and it actually looked better than we thought. Are lines were not perfect, so we have to work on that! We talked with Mr. Ellison afterwards and he said that we performed well and danced beautifully. He said that the lines need to be perfect and in some parts we were a bit stiff. He also said the music wasn't that quiet in the audience but could definitely be louder.  

In the Junior category we had Elizabeth and Penelope compete. They were both amazing! Nailed their performances. Penelope placed second for classical and Elizabeth won the Youth America Grand Prix award!!! So happy for both of them!! 

Elizabeth(Left) and Penelope(Right) backstage at YAGP. See Elizabeth's performance video link below. 

In the senior category we had Brianna, Sophie, Marie, August, and Andrii competing. They all performed beautifully! Everyone had really solid performances. Brianna got top twelve, Sophie got first place, August got second place and Andrii got first.  

The younger girls working on Scarf Dance from La Bayadere during open stage.  

All of our ensemble pieces placed first!! The younger level at Ellison competed Scarf Dance from La Bayadere. The boys performed a contemporary piece and Gloria and Andrii performed Giselle Act II Pas De Deux.

Seguidilla cast after competing.

The theatre we competed at in Boston. The audience section was huge!

(L-R)Kyono, Claire, Ashlyn, me, Gloria, Taylor.

Ellison Ballet also won the Outstanding School award. I am SO HAPPY to be apart of such an amazing school. We are so lucky to have such dedicated and hard working teachers and students. I absolutely love training here and I am really looking forward to the NYC YAGP finals in April.

Gloria, Nicolas, and Juan with the plaques for our ensemble pieces! <3

Some EB students after competing.

During my time in Boston I happened to meet some girls who follow me on my social media accounts!!! This was so cool to me! They were all so sweet and I loved meeting and talking with them all.

Some girls I met at the hotel.

On Sunday my friend Taylor and I had to miss the awards ceremony and head to the airport to go home for spring break. We watched the live stream on my computer to see how it went. Some friends kept us updated with texts ad snapchats. I am so proud of everyone!!!! Love my Ellison Ballet Family.

Looking forward to a week off, but will be excited to get back to work next week and preparing for finals and Ellison Ballet Exams. I will blog about that soon!

I hope you enjoyed this update from YAGP 2016!

If you enjoy my blog and videos follow by email here and never miss a thing. 

Keep dancing,

xoxo Robbie

Elizabeth Beyer - Variation from Harlequinade
We couldn't help sharing this performance from Boston - Elizabeth Beyer is lovely in Harlequinade variation. #YAGP2016
Posted by Youth America Grand Prix on Saturday, March 19, 2016

Handling My First Real Foot Injury That Took Me Out of Ballet for Weeks

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Hi everyone!!!

Here is an update on my injury. At the end of the blog is a bonus video about it. Thanks for following the journey!

Pre-injury - No warning signs =( Shoes by Gaynor Minden 

Two weeks before our Ellison Ballet winter showcase in December (2015) my foot started bothering me. I came into class on a Friday morning and had pain in my left foot while pointing. This pain came out of nowhere...my feet were fine the day before, I just had some achilles soreness.  Achilles pain has been a common issue in the past for me. On the day before, they were just sore/stiff, nothing major.  I told one of my teachers, Ms. Forrest, about the pain and I took it easy through class.  I kept my foot flexed for most of the time.  I pushed it through rehearsals for one of my pieces, but it was getting worse.  I wasn't able to rehearse Swan Lake pas de trios that day because I didn't want it to get worse. There are toe hops in the beginning of the Swan Lake variation and that is when the pain was worse. =(

Where the pain was.

I rested it over the weekend by icing and staying off of it. I also rolled out and massaged my calf a lot. On Monday I came in and it was still pretty painful. Basically I kept dancing but I wasn't using my left foot to the fullest. I kept it flexed most of the time and didn't do demi pointe.  I tried going on pointe but at the time that was painful. It just felt like it was jamming together.  I told Ms. Forrest about how it was doing and she said maybe I shouldn't do pointe.  I was really frustrated but I didn't want my foot to get worse.

Me and Miss Forrest a couple of summers ago. I trust everything she says!

I talked with Mr. Ellison before pas de trios rehearsal. I told him more in depth about where the pain was and he also asked if I was getting treatment.  I told him I scheduled an appointment at this acupuncture place that my friend Gillian goes to.  I told the people at acupuncture where the pain was.  They put needles around the area that had pain and some along my calf and one near my knee. It did't hurt when they put the needles in, but I felt a slight pinch.  They put a heater light above my foot and left the needles in for thirty minuets.  My foot kind of felt like it was about to fall asleep! Also don't move the area with needles in it during acupuncture because that will pinch a bit.

Acupuncture. If you look closely you can see the needles.

Later in the week I went to Physical Therapy. They come to our studio once a week. It helped me sooo much! She basically loosened up my calves and did a few other exercises. She told me I had impingement in the back of my ankle, which is when the bones pinch the tendons together...fun right! (kidding!) The next day I went to a deep tissue massage therapist. His name is Robert and he is amazing and helped me a lot! He looked at the bigger picture and thought it was more FHL related and an issue with my spiral line. Flexor Hallucis Longus (FHL) tendinitis is an overuse injury to the FHL tendon which facilitates the up and down movement of the foot. Spiral line forms distinct spirals of deep myofascial connections looping around the legs and torso. He worked on some trigger points and gave me some exercises to do my self.

Example of the Spiral Line from V Bodies Fitness

On Friday I started taking class again after taking Wednesday and Thursday off. It felt slightly better, but it was still there! Rawr!! I rested it over the weekend and it actually felt really great!!! I was excited to get back into things again on Monday. Basically, it would get better with rest and then come back the more I was dancing.

Watching rehearsals can be torture! Old pic of me in the SDB studios. 

I still wasn't able to rehearse Swan Lake pas de trios...this was so frustrating. Mr Ellison still wanted to see me dance it, but I just was not able to rehearse it. The toe hops were what hurt the most. It was just how things worked out. I would have still been able to perform it if I was able to rehearse it during tech rehearsals. Unfortunately that was not the case...the injury just held me back from this. I pushed through tech week, even thought my foot felt pretty much worse after each rehearsal. It was danceable but obviously I did not want to be in pain. I was lucky enough to be able to perform my other pieces.

I did all of the first cast run through on pointe and I did the second cast run though on flat. I could tell my foot was getting slightly worse. I still wanted to perform, so I didn't want to push it too much.
Basically I was able to perform Waltz of the Flowers (An 8 minute piece) and Napoli, also really long. Unfortunately I was unable to perform pas de trios, I was just not able to rehearse it due to the injury. I was EXTREMELY upset about this. I was so so so excited to be performing it, that piece just gave me so much excitement!!! I have been wanting to train year round at Ellison ballet since I was first invited at age 13 and my dream has been to perform in the winter showcase. Even writing about this now and thinking back to not being able to perform it makes me sad, but I need to stay positive and not dwell on what happened.

A pic I sent to my mom from tech week. =(

Even though there were some big ups and downs through showcase and it was emotional, I thought we performed our pieces very well! I am happy with how I performed!!

In a way this happened at a somewhat good time. Obviously I wish it wasn't during showcase, but at least we had a two week break right after the performances. When I went home I rested for those two weeks. I also went to the doctor to get some x-rays just to be sure. He told me I had posterior impingement in my ankle and that I should rest it for 3-4 weeks and to probably go in a boot. That's exactly what I did...I stayed off of it for 4 weeks and I eventually got a boot.

Once I went back to the city I would only have to watch class for two weeks. Even though it was only two weeks it felt like a really long time!!! Watching class gave me a different perspective on things. Ms. Forrest said this was sort of a blessing in disguise. I was able two see how Ms. Forrest would want the corrections to be applied and how people were absorbing them. Also I would write down all of the corrections in my notebook throughout class. I had a big portion of my notebook filled up with so much information just from watching classes.

When I was back in the city I went to go see Robert again. I told him what was going on and what the doctor had said. He was a little skeptical that it was true posterior impingement. He thought the FHL tendon was getting more caught since it was not at the very back of my ankle.  He honestly was not too worried about it. He said if we continue to fix the spiral line issue and releasing the quads it should really help. He also said that if it was to re occur that it wouldn't be something where I would have to stop again!!! I was really excited to hear this.

We can't help but be obsessed with our feet. Take care of them!

When I first went back to class I took everything really slow. I did a baby barre, I didn't even do relevé on one foot or any center work.  The second week I started feeling some of the strength coming back, but I still did not do relevé on one foot, I kept it mainly on two feet.  I would stay in the back for center and work on upper body. I started doing relevé on one foot at about the third week. I didn't really feel any pain where it originally was. I felt some soreness on the top of my ankle and some slight soreness/pinching on the outside back of my ankle. I think this was just getting back into things and maybe compensating a bit. I believe it was about the fourth week I started jumping! It felt amazing!!! Again, I just started out with small jumps.

Warming up a few weeks ago. I started back slow with just barre. 

By February 27th I was pretty much doing all of technique class. Some jumps off of one foot still feel a bit strange and I haven't done too much grande allegro on that foot yet.  I also just started pointe after 9 weeks of not doing any!! This seemed like forever and I was actually really upset about this. I felt like I should have maybe gotten back to it sooner...but honestly injuries are not something you want to mess with. I would rather ease back into everything and make sure its still feeling okay then to have it come back!!! You want to avoid creating a recurring injury at all costs.

Pointe felt very stiff the first day I was back. It was like I had a brick for a foot haha. I just did really slow releves in first at the barre. Each day I did pointe my foot started to get more used to it. I have been back on pointe for about two weeks now. I am now starting to feel more comfortable at pointe again. I try some things at the barre on one foot, but I mainly stick to two feet.

At barre back before life in the city. Me in front with Brittany. 

I CAN NOT WAIT to be back into everything! Some weeks I have been more down then others. I think it would just hit me from standing in the back not being able to take partnering class. It still does a little bit, but I still just try and think that I will be back soon enough!!

Everything seems to be going well so far!!! I will keep you updated on my progress!
xoxo
Robbie

PS... scroll down for the video of me talking about this and take care of those feet!! Ice ice ice! And massage out those calves with your foam roller and massage sticks (buy on amazon below).

Grace, Brittany, me

Elevation is good =)

Enjoy the bonus video below and subscribe to my youtube channel at MyDanceTv

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All Things Tutu for Tutu Tuesday on 2/2!

Instagrammers:   If you are on Instagram hashtag your favorite tutu photo of you or anyone #balletfreaktutu and tag @balletfreak (do both) and I will pick a winner from each platform and give them a shout out on my Ballet Freak Instagram Wednesday (Over 28k followers).

Tutu worn by Margot Fonteyn in Swan Lake , 1964

Happy Tutu Day!!! A whole day dedicated to all of the incredibly beautiful tutus throughout the ballet world. From romantic tutus in Giselle to pancake tutus in Swan Lake, they are one of the major things that makes a ballerina a ballerina.

I personally love the tutus that are slightly droopy, such as the ones from LeCorsaire. I also love love love the red Kitri tutu. It's impossible to choose a favorite. 

My friend Juliette Bosco (Ellison Ballet) in her Kitri tutu. 

Svetlana looking stunning, as usual, in her Kitri tutu. 

 The amount of hours of detail and work that's goes into making a tutu so stunning is incredible. It can take take up to several weeks to complete a tutu and can possibly cost up to thousands of dollars to create. It really depends on the role, ballet, and the company. 

Pharaoh's Daughter tutu. 

Tutus originally started very low to the ground, like romantic tutus. In the 16th century, skirts were brought above the ankle, which was a shock to most people back then! They were originally created shorter to work on footwork. Marie Camargo (Paris Opera Ballet 1726) was known for making the above the ankle skirt more well known.

In 1832 the first romantic tutu to be worn on stage was worn by Marie Taglioni in the production of La Sylphide. This was performed at the Paris Opera. 

In the 19th century, Italian dancers began wearing shorter skirts that came just below the knee, more like romantic tutus. It eventually evolved into the pancake tutu which shows off the whole leg. 

In the pancake tutu everything is seen! All of your technique is shown, which is kind of nerve racking, but it can create such beauty when done and worked with correctly. 

The first time I wore a tutu it kind of threw me off a bit. Obviously it adds a different weight to your dancing in pirouettes and jumps. You are to change the movements of your port de bras slightly due to the placement of the tutu. 

Romantic tutus were created to give the illusion of lightness and a floating sensation. You will see these tutus in the ballet Giselle and Chopiniana. 

Photos from Het National Ballet. 


Could the tutu die out? Apparently there is a shortage of costume makers! Stitchers work behind the scenes and often go with out much credit.  “A good opera house seamstress has the same skills as a surgeon, it’s just that she’s lower-paid.” Opera Philadelphia’s costume director Millie Hiibel . Hopefully someone reading this blog is the next Karinska or Miro. We need you!

 Costume for Ballet Imperial, 1964. Via New York City Ballet by Barbara Karinska

Costumes de Barbara Karinska – Coppélia (acte 2), Coppélia (acte 1)

Couture Tutu! This costume was sold by the New York City Ballet. (c) NYCB

Joan Miro (1895-1983) - La couleur des rêves

Karinska Ballett-Tutu 10413

 

Ballet:Sleeping Beauty Rudolf Nureyev after Marius Petipa CHOREOGRAPHER: Rudolf Nureyev after Marius Petipa DESIGNER: COSTUMER: Nicholas Georgiadis PRODUCTION DATE: 1989 PRODUCED IN: Opera / Garnier, Paris Opera National de Par: Elisabeth Maurin. 

Flowers II © Anne Deniau. Paris Opera Ballet, Amandine Albisson in "La Sylphide” rehearsal

 

Thanks for reading and Happy TuTu Tuesday on 2/2 !

xoxo,

Robbie

Sylvie Guillem - A Life in Progress

Speechless.

On Saturday September 14th,  I was lucky enough to be able to see one of Sylvie Guillem's final performances ever!! I went with a few of my friends from Ellison Ballet. This show was her last performance in the U.S. I am a huge fan of her as a dancer and also as a human being. Sylvie is also a big supporter of Sea Shepherd, a non-profit that defends the oceans, and she is also vegan!!! Yay!! I have recently gone vegan but have been a vegetarian my whole life. She is an inspiring role model. Sylvie is now 50 years old and her career was about 35 years. I feel honored to have been able to watch her farewell.

Laurent Hilaire and Sylvie Guillem rehearsing at the Royal Ballet School in 1992. (Michael Ward/Getty Images)

 A quick pic before heading in.

My friend, Ashlyn, went to go see her perform on Thursday and I asked her how it was and she had a loss for words.  When I saw Sylvie perform her first piece, I felt the same.  The choreography of the first piece was so different and unique but it suited Sylvie very well and she performed it with perfection.  I could really feel her emotion of the piece too.  I mean it is so hard to explain any of these pieces because it was just so incredible.  You would really have to witness it live.

All dressed up and ready for the show

The next piece was a duo choreographed by William Forsythe with two male dancers, also contemporary.  It was quite interesting because it started out with no music; just the two men dancing with each other.  They connected their movements together nicely and it was almost like one did a movement and then the other would sort of react to it or continue it.  To me it seemed like that some parts were as if one was a shadow of the other.  Sylvie came on in this piece near the end for about 30 seconds or so.  Ashlyn said she didn't do this on Thursday night.

Brigel Gjoka and Riley Watts in Duo2015. Photo: Bill Cooper

Sylvie then did a duo (Here and After) with Emanuela Montanari (La Scala).  It was choreographed by Russel Maliphant. They danced so in sync and I really liked the choreography and music.  I couldn't see this from my seat, but if you sat a little higher you could see the lights on the floor.  The lights would go with the music or where Sylvie and moved across the stage.

During intermission we all met up and we were all in shock that we were actually seeing Sylvie perform live!!!

The final piece was titled "Bye" (choreo by Mats EK). It started out with this rectangle screen near upstage left. (If you are on watching from the audience it would be considered upstage/rear right)  It had a projection on it with Sylvie.  She would then dance with this projection. It was hard to tell if the projection was actually Sylvie in that moment or not because she was so in sync with it. In some points throughout the piece I thought that it was filming her and then projecting it onto the screen live.  Thats how in sync with it she was! Again, hard to explain but amazing to watch. If it comes out on DVD I would definitely buy it. 

After this piece was performed, Sylvie came out to bow and she got a standing ovation from the sold out theater!!! It probably lasted for about 10-15 minutes! People handed her flowers from the front row. I wish I was sitting there!

I then met my friends outside the theater and we headed to the stage door.  There was already a decent amount of people waiting.  Some of my friends were closer to the door, but Gillian, Claire and I stayed back a bit but were in the center facing the door where we thought she would exit. We had to wait for about 45 minutes, but it was definitely worth it!

There was a security guard there and they had this pretty organized. Sylvie stayed inside this area in the doorway. People were allowed through the doorway in groups and she took several group pictures.  If you wanted something signed you would just hand it to her and she would go through the pile signing everything. She already had a sharpie.  I had her sign my pointe shoe.

I am so grateful to have been able to see this idol perform and I am still in shock that I got to meet her.  Sylvie is a beautiful person and dancer.

Thanks for reading and keep dancing! 

Love,

Robbie