Young talent

So, once again I was going through a bunch of videos on Youtube because the talent and creativity is endless. I came across this video of a young girl doing a phenomenal jazz solo and was instantly blown away by her talent. Her turns, jumps, flexibility, and personality were very strong. I then read the information on the video and found out that this whole package deal was only 10 years old! My immediate reaction was "Wow, this girl is amazing" then I started to dig a little deeper and I have some mixed emotions about it. First of all she is obviously a natural but even with natural talent it takes years for a dancer to develop this kind of technique which means this 10 year old must spend 90% of her time training. I also feel like her innocence has been taken from her. Theres nothing 10 years old about this girl and sometimes I enjoy watching talented little girls who have room to grow. With that said I'm still amazed by this little girl and wish her all the best. Check her out for yourself :)

Cardio Barre

Most of my dance training is done at Beyond Dance in Brooklyn, New York and every year we have a guest choreographer come in and put together a routine for our company groups. This year like last year we are working with Stephanie Madden, a former traveling rockette. Along with putting together a great piece yesterday she introduced us to a new way to workout through dance its called "Cardio Barre". This was the first time I heard about this and because I'm obsessed with working out the second I heard cardio I knew I'd love this. Basically this consist of different aerobic and dance movements using the ballet barre. All the moves are done at a fast non-stop pace with numerous repetition. I have to say that this was one hell of a workout. I've been into fitness for 2 years and have taken all kinds of classes and this was definitely intense and I woke up pretty sore. I think all dancers should give this workout a try and I think anyone looking to change up their routine should try this as well. Training in cardio barre is not mainstream yet however they do sell DVD's online! I know I'm definitely going to hunt for a local cardio barre class and when I master the technique I will put together a class for all my locals to try ! If you want information on classes or dvds feel free to contact me through any of my websites :)

Not So Quick Fixes

It's time for me to steer you into a different direction today. As a dancer health and fitness are a huge portion of my daily life and play a big role in different aspects of any dance life. To be a successful dancer you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and keep your body at its full performance potential. And lets be honest here IMAGE is extremely important for a dancer. Most auditions first cut is done by "type casting" which means if you don't look the part your instantly cut. This leads many dancers to think they need to be 90 lbs to make it but in reality you just need to be in YOUR OWN best shape. So from time to time you'll find some health and fitness posts on my blog because I want to encourage dancers like myself to get healthy and feel confident in their own skin. Today I'm presenting an article from aol.com health news which discusses the latest fad diets and why they don't work. I tried plenty of fad diets throughout my life and they don't work so go on, read and learn twinkle toes! Great Post on That's Fit

Pop on Pointe

So as I'm browsing youtube for new music and some choreographic ideas I found endless amounts of choreography to all different Lady Gaga songs. I stumbled upon this great live performance of Gaga singing "speechless" at The Moca event while several classically trained dancers perform a pas de duex. Although the choreography isn't the most technically challenging the dancers are stepping out of the box by dancing on a thin runway and using pop music to a classical style of dance. I'm amazed and glad to see boundaries being broken. Heres the video so you can make your own judgement of Pop on pointe.

Fresh new start !

Well twinkle toes ! As I've promised I'm here to give you the "in" on my life as a dancer. Finally its March and I am in the game again stronger than before. After suffering back and neck injuries this winter I have been on "bed rest" for months (Thumbs down) but now I am fully recovered and ready to tackle this little thing I call a dance life. Recently I've proved I have what it takes to make it in this buisness and was asked to be a part of an all new dance crew. A former instructor of mine has put together this hot hip hop crew and we will be taking over the tri-state area in no time. After enjoying a lovely afternoon this Sunday our crew meet for the first time for a short meeting & then got start to work. Heres a clip of our first rehersal as "Brooklyn's finest" :)