I realised that the blog post I wrote after my tap class last night, whilst on the train home, uploaded before I’d finished it (the WiFi kept dropping in and out), so if you’re a subscriber, you probably got the abridged version in your inbox! To read the full post, click here!
General
A Bit of Viewing
On Sunday night I happened to catch Darcey Bussell’s New Dance on BBC2. In case you haven’t heard of her, Darcey Bussell was a principal ballerina with the Royal Ballet at the age of 20, and now retired, is currently president of the Royal Academy of Dance and a judge on Strictly Come Dancing.
Here she introduces us to innovative modern dance, with jaw dropping performances by Boy Blue Entertainment (award winning hip hop dance) and Le Patin Libre (amazing contemporary ice dance).
I enjoy watching Strictly, but it is more of a crowd-pleasing type of show, so it’s nice to see some fresh expressions of modern, contemporary dance on mainstream television. There are some fabulous artists out there.
If you can, catch up on BBC iplayer:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09qjl7l/darcey-bussells-new-dance
It’s available for 27 days.
Get Organised
I was scrabbling about Tuesday evening trying to find my leggings and a long enough top to wear to tap class this week and it was obvious that my dancewear drawer was a mess. I haven’t really sorted it out or purged since moving house and I probably have too many tops and not enough bottoms, leggings especially.
So, how did I sort it out?
1. I got everything out of the drawer.
2. I refolded or rolled up each item of clothing and put it back apart from items I wasn’t enthusiastic about anymore (or were ill fitting). Rolling saves a lot of space.
3. I grabbed an empty shoe box and placed it in the drawer to section off a bit for dance tights, sports bras, foot thongs etc.
The result?
Hopefully it will be easier to grab what I want next week 😀
Next I should invest in a couple more pairs of black leggings.
Nominated
I am chuffed to have been nominated for the Mystery Blogger Award! I have always loved writing, so naturally I ended up starting a blog about my dance pursuits, especially now that I’m learning to tap dance.
The Mystery Blogger Award was created by Okoto Enigma and I love the idea behind it of highlighting all the unknown blogs and creative writers out there: https://www.okotoenigmasblog.com/my-greatest-creation-yet/
I would like to thank Dorky Dancing for nominating me! She writes a great dance blog and is my most enthusiastic follower. I enjoy reading her posts about all the different dance classes she’s doing.
Here is a list of the rules:
- Put the award logo/image on your blog
- List the rules
- Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
- Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
- Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
- You have to nominate 10 – 20 people
- Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
- Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
- Share a link to your best post(s)
Three facts about me:
1. I work in Human Resources but also make and sell soap in my spare time
2. I have a degree in English Literature but am also qualified as a fitness instructor
3. I have a cat from Essex called Ruby who is 3 years old and I believe is a (part?) Norwegian Forest Cat. She has a very fluffy bottom and she pops up in the blog every now and then!
Your Questions Answered:
1. If you were a soup, which flavour of soup would you be? Spicy pumpkin – I’ve been told I’m warm and comforting
2. What causes you to doubt yourself? Overthinking – just do it!
3. If time, money, distance, relationships and education were not an issue, what would be your dream job? I would be an interior designer, like Kelly Hoppen. Other than that
I would love to run my handmade soap business full time. Beach-side. In a warm climate.
4. What does your dream house look like? It sounds extremely cheesy but I feel like I moved into my dream house when I moved in November. It’s a Victorian terraced house; old and wonky, but I love it. Other than that, it would be house with a verandah and a dance studio!
5. What dance move or style would you like to master? I would LOVE to master tap dance – it’s quite hard, especially beginning in adulthood and there’s so much to learn! Another thing would be a pirouette – so far I’ve only really ever done the preparation steps.
Pay it Forward
I don’t follow too many blogs, but here are the ones who I enjoy reading and also deserve this accolade of nomination:
- Dorky Dancing – she was very kind to nominate me and I really enjoy reading her posts about her dancing and the classes she attends. She has a great sense of humour too!
- Adult Ballerina Project – the first ballet blog I started reading when I was trying Ballet classes for the first time. She hasn’t posted in a long time because I think she decided to stop writing it, but there’s loads to read about the ballet journey as an adult beginner. Inspired me to start a dance blog.
- On The Way to the Barre – loads of ballet chat and tips, and nice photos. She also has a cat.
- Ballet.to – a very honest ballet blog written by May to inspire others having a go at Ballet.
- Dance your Buns Off – another ballet blog. Lots of helpful tips and I like reading the interviews with professional dancers.
- Tweed and the Beard – a non-dance blog all about food and meal prepping! I love food and cooking, so I enjoy reading her posts, especially when it comes to lunchbox ideas. She started following me fairly recently.
5 questions for my nominees:
- What made you start blogging?
- What would you most like to achieve in 2018?
- What is your favourite song, like ever?
- What is your favourite dance step or move?
- Which animal would be your Harry Potter Patronus? (Mine is a cat obvs)
And finally, check out my post about my day at Rambert’s Adult Contemporary Summer Intensive 2017!
At Long Last
So after all that drama, we finally moved house last Wednesday!!! Although I had Tuesday-Friday booked as annual leave from work, I ended up being ill from the Sunday and off work sick on the Monday before moving. Not surprising really as buying/selling/moving house is one of the most stressful things EVER. I have actually been ripping out the grey hairs that have been springing up from my head throughout the year.
I was still feeling pretty rough on move day, but got through it on adrenaline…and sugar! But, I think that full-on day has set me back because I returned to work on the following Monday, still not feeling all that great and ended up worse for dragging myself in, so I was in bed Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I was about to email my ballet teacher to tell him I wouldn’t be there again this Wednesday, but before I got around to it, I received an email (and voicemail) from the college to let me know that the class was cancelled because our teacher had an emergency and couldn’t get cover, but he’s going to chat about an extra class when we meet next week. Result!
Interesting Class Titles
On my hunt for interesting dance workshops, I came across these classes around London:
- Non-Stop Dirty Dancing
- TWERKFIT
- Bootybarre
- Ass ‘n’ Abs
- Mash It Up Dancehall
- Spinedango
Hahaha! Anyone tried any of these?
Strictly
Someone asked me today if I’ve been watching Strictly Come Dancing as I’ve been quiet about it this year. Yes I have been watching, and I also watch Strictly It Takes Two on BBC2 at 6.30pm every day! Obviously I need to watch it on catch-up when I’ve got Ballet.
My favourite people this year are Alexandra Burke (amazing!) dancing with Gorka, and then Mollie King (really funny) with AJ (channelling Swayze). I also think Susan Calman is doing great and so is Debbie McGee with her amazing developpe!
I am trying to stay away from Twitter on a Saturday night after becoming very annoyed with members of the public decrying those who are taking part who have apparently already had dance training:
It’s not fair! They shouldn’t win! Strictly should be about non-dancers! I can’t stand her! She’s so fake! She’s been in the West End! She’s done Ballet!
On the ballet thing, who hasn’t?? Most of the girls I went to school with did ballet lessons as kids. SO WHAT? Doesn’t mean they can walk into a studio and just start doing amazing Samba bachatas! Some of the dance training these critics refer to may actually be just some choreography for the stage (e.g. for singers). Not quite the same as the stuff they’re doing on Strictly.
Do you know what? If all the contestants were terrible:
a) the show wouldn’t have lasted this many years
b) you’d never keep the interest of the public
c) it is a prime-time entertainment show and you need a variety of dance ability
d) it has been going for so many years now, I think the pool of celebrities is a bit small to be restricted to those with zero dance training.
My SO and I had a few Salsa lessons and one Rumba lesson a couple of years ago. Although I picked up Salsa fairly well, I found the Rumba more challenging. Not every dance will suit everybody. Not everyone is used to partner dancing either. My SO found the classes a bit more challenging because he’s not a natural dancer, but he’s still had lessons, so does that disqualify him from Strictly if it were open to the public?? (Oh, he’s had dance training!)
I do find it interesting that the venom being spouted on social media was not directed at previous STAGE SCHOOL winners, such as Jill Halfpenny and Jay McGuinness…
Anyway, rant over, and no more reading of Twitter comments!
I would love to learn to Samba, but I’m doing enough at the moment!
Late Summer Holiday
I’m now home after a nice week in St Ives in Cornwall. Although I took some of my home-laminated cards of stretches with me, I didn’t get around to doing many, although I did make sure I stretched my calves after all the uphill walking we did! We visited St Michael’s Mount, Truro, Falmouth and the famous cliffside Minack Theatre to watch a live performance of The Country Wife. I can’t believe tap starts again next week! It may be a bit of a shock to the system. I’ll still be on holiday, but I’m going to travel in, go to the class and maybe combine it with a trip to London Zoo.
Found a Cure
I’ve had painful achilles tendons for weeks and my calves were so tight and painful at points that stretching didn’t even seem beneficial. I was seriously considering cancelling the Rambert dance intensive coming up next Monday. Well, then my SO suggested I try using his foam roller. YES!
The foam roller did the job! It massaged out all those tender, tight muscles and trigger points. The next day, all stiffness, aches and pains were gone! Going forward I’m going to try and use it at least a few times a week, all the while continuing to stretch daily.
I received all the info today about Monday’s dance intensive and now I can be excited! I need to be there at 9.45am and we will be dancing barefoot (not done this in a while) so I’d better get the foot file and nail polish out 😁
The timetable is:
10-11.15am Contemporary
11.15-11.30am Break
11.30am-12.30pm Choreography
12.30-1.30pm LUNCH
1.30-2.45pm Repertoire workshop: Tomorrow (Was supposed to be Ghost Dances but a last minute change)
2.45-3.00pm Break
3.00-4.00pm Stretch/Yoga
A Little Practice
This evening I decided to actually practice the routines for tomorrow’s tap class, using what I filmed 2 weeks ago. I know I missed what extra they learned last week, but it won’t be so bad if I get the first bit right!
Decided to glam it up this evening!