Dorothee Gilbert's gorgeous fashion photos

Another excellent example of ballet + fashion! Perfect marriage!







A celebrated, young and talented French ballerina- Dorothee Gilbert, really captured my heart. She is amazing and she takes good photos. Absolutely love her!

Absolute ME time....

Love my monthly magazine time... so relaxing, finding inspirations and catching up with the latest trends. Today, i was able to spot a ballerina among the pile of magazines... hehe... love it.



November issue of O magazine introduce this book about a Russian prima ballerina...
Must find time to read it...

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7697730-the-true-memoirs-of-little-k
Book review:-
"One hundred years old, with a sharp memory for every jewel she owned and every conquest she made, Mathilde Kschessinska—prima ballerina assoluta of the long-vanished Russian Imperial Ballet—sits down to write her memoirs.

And what a life it has been. The greatest dancer of the age, her scything technique caught the eye—and heart—of one Nikolai Romanov when she was only seventeen years old. When Nikolai ascended the throne as czar and was forced to give up his mistress, she turned her gaze on his cousins, the grand dukes; despite betraying each man with the other, her loyalty to Niki never wavered. As the last czar presided over a fatally crumbling empire, her devotion to the imperial family was tested in ways she could never have foreseen.

In Adrienne Sharp’s richly imagined novel, we see the seething beginnings of revolution and the blind giddiness of a doomed court. Based on fact, The True Memoirs of Little K is historical fiction as it’s meant to be written: passionately eventful and alive with emotions that resonate today. It is a magnificent entertainment."

Spot another Ballerina Tan Yuan Yuan, San Francisco Ballet's principal dancer in a cosmetic advertisement in another magazine.




Delicate and daring
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout talks to China's most critically acclaimed ballet dancer, Tan Yuan Yuan about her rise to fame.

Royal Ballet School, Richmond park, London

The Royal Ballet School train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers for The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and other top international dance companies.
Some graduates of The Royal Ballet School:- Darcey Bussell CBE, Dame Margot Fonteyn DBE, Sir Kenneth MacMillan etc.


This is one the most beautiful ballet school.


http://www.royal-ballet-school.org.uk/


Royal Ballet Lower School


Royal Ballet Upper School


Britian most loved Ballerina Darcey Bussel teaches Royal Ballet School students.

New young dynamic company- Het Nationale Ballet

Powerful video! Gave me goosebumps, so awesome! Especially, watching the boy's powerful allegro.



Just discover this young dynamic company Het Nationale Ballet.

Power arch

Feet are one of several fetishes in the dance world. They are the anatomical tools that delineate a ballerina.

Good feet are judged on the size of the dancer’s arch, their high instep, strength and endurance.

Over the years, there have been many dancers praised for their beautiful feet. Their feet have become so beautiful, in fact, that one could spend days perusing images and video clips of their feet at work.

Here are some of the beautiful ballerinas' power arches:-

1. Paloma Herrera – American Ballet Theatre



2. Sylvie Guillem – Sadler’s Wells Theatre







3. Alessandro Ferri – American Ballet Theatre, retired


Alessandra Ferri, Sting music video


4. Svetlana Zahkrakova – Bolshoi Ballet



5. Lucia Lacarra – Bavarian State Ballet






6. Polina Semionova – Berlin State Opera




7. Tamara Rojo – Royal Ballet





8. Lucinda Dunn – The Australian Ballet


9. Maria Kotchekova – San Francisco Ballet

Achieving Perfection

Such a beautiful video!

Today's video post i wanted to dedicate to all talented, hardworking, and determined ballerinas around the world. We sweat, we cry, we suffered pain and exhaustion for our passion. Do not give up doing something that your heart have so much fire for!

Love, LilBallerina

The Glitter & Glamor of Ballet- Tutu Splendor

A tutu is a skirt worn as a costume in a ballet performance, often with attached bodice. It might be single layer, hanging down, or multiple layers starched and jutting out.

There are several types of ballet tutu:

Romantic Tutu: three quarter length bell shaped skirt made of tulle. The hemline falls between the knee and the ankle. The romantic tutu is free flowing to emphasise lightness, to suit the ethereal quality of the romantic ballets such as Giselle or Les Sylphides. It is said to have been invented, or at least popularized, by Marie Taglioni.



Classical Tutu(bell): A very short, stiff skirt made with layers of netting with a slight bell shape and fitted bodice. It extends outwards from the hips and does not use a wired hoop. It is usually longer than a classical (pancake) tutu. These can be seen in the famous ballet paintings by Degas.


Classical Tutu (pancake): A very short, stiff skirt made with layers of netting that extends straight outwards (from the hips) in a flat pancake shape, and has a fitted bodice. The pancake style has more layers of net and usually uses a wire hoop and much hand tacking to keep the layers flat and stiff.


Balanchine/Karinska Tutu: also known as the "powder puff" is a very short skirt with no hoops, and fewer layers of netting than the pancake or classical styles. The skirt is loosely tacked to give a softer, fuller appearance. This style was designed originally for the ballet version of Georges Bizet's Symphony in C.


Platter Tutu: A tutu with a flat top that sticks straight out from the ballerina's waistline.


Here are a few video clips that i found, about Tutu:-

1) A documentary short on the recreation of tutus for George Balanchine's "Theme and Variations". New York City Ballet is fortunate to have their own costume shop, where they are able to refurbish, maintain, and even design and create new costumes from scratch.



2) Ballet Tutu- There's no other garment like it in history. Judith Mackrell meets the Royal Ballet's dancers to discuss the perils of wearing the ballerina's fabulously frothy skirt.



3) Here is rare glimpse inside The Australian Ballet's huge wardrobe storage facility in Kensington, Victoria, where 'Manon' costumes are being packed for performances of the ballet.




4) Pacific Northwest Ballet's The Seasons-Costume Preview



Read more about Ballet Companies Wardrobe:-
http://www.brb.org.uk/Wardrobe-Swan-Lake.html

Live your best life! Love life to the max!!

Personality:
1. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2. Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment
3. Don't over do; keep your limits
4. Don't take yourself so seriously; no one else does
5. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip
6. Dream more while you are awake
7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
8. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present
11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.
Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
13. Smile and laugh more
14. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Community:
15. Call your family often
16. Each day give something good to others
17. Forgive everyone for everything
18. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
19. Try to make at least three people smile each day
20. What other people think of you is none of your business
21. Your job will not take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
22. Put GOD first in anything and everything that you think, say and do.
23. GOD heals everything
24. Do the right things
25. However good or bad a situation is, it will change
26. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up
27. The best is yet to come
28. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful
29. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it
30. If you know GOD you will always be happy. So, be happy.

A day in the life of a ballerina.

Follow the day in the life of a Yuhui Choe, first soloist, who takes us through her day - which includes, class, rehearsals and physio before going on stage that evening.



The following video shows the hard work that (little) girls have to do too realize there dream: becoming a prima ballerina.



http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Naomi-Campbell-Is-Ballerina-for-a-Day-Video/topic/oprahshow

I also found a video about Super model Naomi Campbell as Ballerina for a Day in Russia.
As a child, supermodel Naomi Campbell trained to become a ballerina. Now, she gets the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream at Russia's historic Bolshoi Ballet. Can she keep up with the professionals? Watch and see!


1 day with Dutch National Ballet
Sefton Clarke, second soloist with Dutch National Ballet, takes you through all the schedule and behind the scenes of the company in one day.

Appreciation of elegant, grace and timeless style

Today's post is about appreciating elegance, timeless style.

The most common question parents will ask a ballet teacher before they sign up for ballet, is " What are the benefits of sending my children to ballet lessons?" I always tell my students' parents, besides the obvious reasons of promoting health, gain muscle motor co-ordination, music appreciation, your children will learn to appreciate grace, elegance and poise.

This is something you can't teach in classroom or at home. Children have to learn through watching people dance, how to stand and sit with poise, how to lift your arm gracefully... How to tell the difference of elegant and trash style.

One of my favourite wedding gown. Timeless, such elegance... April 19, 1956, the world was treated to a storybook romance come true when actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainer of Monaco.

New York City Ballet- Pointe Shoe

Love this video! I think FREED is really a pretty shoe, unfortunately, it is not so popular in this part of the world. We use more Gaynor Minden, Bloch,and my personal fav Chacott. I bought it from Japan, and loved it ever since i first wore one.

Is dancing, all you think about all day long?

I dedicate today's post to all true ballerinas, dancers, and teachers. We need to encourage each other to persevere and strive to be the best!

"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to!"

Happy Dancing!