Tag: ballet training
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Why Are Big Conservatories Competing?
Did you ever attend a ballet competition and see schools like The Rock School For Dance Education or the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) there? You’re probably thinking, “Why would they bring kids to something like this when these kids are already at fantastic training programs?” We talked to Ilya Kozadayev,…
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So, Your Dancer Wants To Compete! What To Expect
When my son was ten, he came home from his first summer dance intensive and announced, “I want to get more serious about ballet and I want to do the Youth America Grand Prix.” What?! So, like any parent who knew nothing about dance, I went and looked up ballet competitions online. The first result…
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Ballet Competitions? Are They Worth It?
**This post has been updated to include a sneak peek at what we have planned for our series on ballet competitions that will be launching in mid-September! If it’s the beginning of the school year, it’s also the beginning of ballet competition season! That means it’s time for everyone’s anxiety closet to open. Every year,…
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Oh The Pressure!
How many of you have picked up your dancer from class only to find them in tears? Yep, every single one of us. Ballet is hard. Kids who are attracted to ballet are a different breed. Not only do they have an artistic slant to their brain, they are also laser focused technicians. And, this…
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Why We All Need To Support The Arts
When I was a kid growing up in the Washington D.C. suburbs, my parents dragged my sister and me to pretty much any live performance at the Kennedy Center or Wolf Trap. This usually involved getting dressed up (something we hated), driving a long distance (my sister got car sick) and sitting through yet another…
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Strength Training, Injury Prevention and Injury Recovery Through Pilates
When my physical therapist suggested I start a Pilates program, I laughed. “I’m a former athlete,” I told her. “If you don’t sweat, it isn’t exercise.” She smiled at me and gently suggested we try one session of it to see what I thought. If I didn’t like it, we could look at alternatives. So,…
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Introducing Podcasts And Our New Series!
We are pleased to announce that Ballet Help Desk has added podcasts! Not only are all of our previous videos available as podcasts, we are also launching a monthly, multi-part series that will dig deep into specific subjects related to ballet training. Each series will feature blog posts as well as interviews with experts that…
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How Ballet Dancers Can Support Each Other
On the heels of our post about friendships in the ballet studio, our friend Elizabeth Sullivan is out with an article about how dance friends can support one another when hitting bumps in the road. One of the most common questions I get from dancers is “How can I support my friend who is having…
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Why It’s Important To Review Your Summer Intensive Even If You Didn’t Like It
In all my years working in corporate America and owning my own businesses, do you know what was the most helpful feedback? The bad stuff! Sure, it was great to be told that someone thought I was doing a good job or that they liked the service we offered. That was great for validation that…
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Choosing A Residential Ballet Program: Part 2
On the heels of our last post where we talked about non-ballet questions to ask, let’s now turn to questions that directly relate to ballet in any residential ballet school. First, here’s the reality: dancers are going to go to the program they get into. We can give you a laundry list of things to…