New workshop coming to the Coffs Coast

Click on the poster to get a bigger image.

Lovely classes in 2012

I have to say, I love every one of the classes I give this year.
 
The little dancers are dedicated and wonderfully well behaved in class and we have a lot of fun together. Thanks for making my job so easy and enjoyable! You put a smile on my face for the rest of the week.

Our ladies class is one of the highlights of my week - a time to sweat, laugh at ourselves and enjoy moving all over the place. Thanks ladies - you are great!

Sale

Dance Collection has a stock take sale on at the moment - 30% off.

Ballet Floor Barre Exercises

If you would like to work on posture, alignment and placement in a safe way without a barre at home, why not read this article on Ballet Floor Barre Exercises and look at the dvd series. It is on my wish list for this year and we will often go to the floor to learn fundamental movements in class this year.

Warm-up and stretch before the first Plie

The article http://balletomanehk.hubpages.com/hub/Warm-up-and-Stretching is written by one of my favorite authors, Lisa Howell. It has some important information about stretching and warm-up before class. The article also explains why not to do the reverse frog stretch and frog stretch and give great alternative stretches and exercises to improve your turnout.

Some lovely do it yourself skirts

I have been gathering some skirt ideas for our next concert and thought I would share some of the links with you. Hope you have a lot of fun with these ideas.

First up is a lace ballet skirt - a fun use of an old curtain or table cloth?
http://www.lovemaegan.com/2011/01/maeg-it-yourself-tutorial-romantic-lace.html

Next up is a SAB skirt (or tango skirt) for dance class - it makes your legs look longer.
http://classicalballetteacher.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/easy-peazy-diy-sab-skirt/

A ballet rap skirt - there are a few sets of instructions online: Shiffon is pretty but not very durable so why not try it in other materials?
Try these: A downloadable pattern (gives you an idea of what it should look like)
http://selfishseamstress.wordpress.com/downloads/
and some instructions to draw your own pattern
http://www.ehow.com/how_7781437_make-ballet-wrap-skirt.html
 or
http://www.ehow.com/how_12013794_make-chiffon-wraparound-ballet-skirt.html

A circle skirt and A hanky skirt (basically a square with a hole in the middle)- I just love it for it's simplicity
http://gothfashion.info/circlepixie.php
If you want more than 4 points, just lay two squares on top of each other with the top one rotated sothat the points don't lie on each other.

This is not for the faint hearted - hours of work. A petty skirt. Oh so pretty!
http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/07/full-and-fluffy-pettiskirt.html?utm_source=feedburner

Have fun!

A great deal on a beginner dancewear pack

At this online store you can get all you need for less than $60.
Choose the dark purple leotard and flesh coloured tights. Make sure you measure your child's foot from heel to longest toe and add at least 1cm for  ballet shoe size. (We can colour the ballet shoes black for the exam if need be). Add another $5 and you get better shoes. I've asked how one chooses the type of sole and will post the answer.  (split soles are the ideal).
If you want to make use of this special, let me know because we can get a 10% discount if we order 10 packs. Postage on 10 packs is $15, so just $1.50 each.
http://balletstuff.com.au/studio-range-pack-shoes-leotard-skirt-tights-p-33.html