Sunday Out the Door

Sunday Out the Door

Today I present a Dutch proverb: “He who is out the door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.”

What does this mean? I think it means that if you can get just started on something – whatever it is – you have taken the hardest step toward reaching your goal. After all, if you don’t start, nothing will ever happen.

Starting every day is difficult because of the chattering human mind that tends to say lots of negative things, or present lots of bad “what ifs”. This proverb tells you to ignore the chattering and begin.

Get out the door!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Motivational Secret #180:

“He who is out the door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm-Xvj4Iftk

Quote of the Day:

“The secret to getting ahead is getting started.”
― Mark Twain

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https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

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Saturday Hang of It Statute

Saturday Hang of It Statute

This Ballet Statute is mostly for beginning ballet dancers. When these students first come into a ballet studio, the barres provide a source of fascination. Especially for young dancers, the temptation to treat the barres as a piece of gymnastics equipment is overwhelming.

One of the first rules these new dancers learn is Ballet Statute #89: There is no hanging on the barre in ballet class. Ballet barres are not designed to support the full weight of human being, nor are they designed for gymnastic tricks. They are there more as a balancing aid.

That being said, there are exercises where dancers might pull against the barre or something similar, but generally there should be no hanging on the barre.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Ballet Statute #89:

“There is no hanging on the barre in ballet class.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9cA9Z4bNzk

Quote of the Day:

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

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My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

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http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Freaky Friday Gecko

Freaky Friday Gecko

When the whole foot is on the floor, you will remember that the body’s weight is two-thirds over the toes, and one third over the heel. This is the famous “tri-pod of support”.

Another way to think about this is to imagine your toes lengthening along the floor like gecko toes (see above photo or think of the Geico Insurance gecko). This helps keep the body’s weight in the right place, and also prevents clenching (there is no clenching in ballet). It also allows for a feeling of energy out through the toes.

All these benefits simply by imagining gecko toes!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #7lll:

“Imagine your toes lengthening along the floor like gecko toes.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clHCtYJvK3Y

Quote of the Day:

“He viewed us, as we passed him by,
With calm and yet with questioning eye,
But moveless still, as though the stone
Were portion of his being's own.”
― Edward Robeson Taylor

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Throwback Thursday and Hilda Butsova

Throwback Thursday and Hilda Butsova

Another dancer who changed her name to a Russian-sounding one was Hilda Boot who became Hilda Butsova. She was born on July 11, 1896 in Nottingham England.

Age the tender age of 13 she was already performing with Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes in London. She then joined Anna Pavlova’s company, often serving as Pavlova’s understudy. It was at Pavlova’s suggestion that she changed her name. With this company she danced principal roles from 1911 to 1929.

In 1925 she married Harry Mills, the manager of the Pavlova company. They had a son, Alan R. Mills.In 1930 they relocated to the United States, and she toured with Mikhail Mordkin’s company and appeared at the Capitol Theater in New York City.

By the mid-1930s she retired to teach and soon became known as a great teacher of Russian classical ballet.

She died on March 21, 1976 of a heart attack while staying with relatives in Scarsdale, NY.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Dance History Factoid #180:

“Hilda Butsova often served as Pavlova’s understudy.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bRwb5DGekg

Quote of the Day:

“If a man is to shed the light of the sun upon other men, he must first of all have it within himself.”
― Romain Rolland

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Wild Wednesday Sailing

Wild Wednesday Sailing

Here we go again with yet another postural image! Can there ever be enough?

A common postural problem is an overly curved spine. This causes the pelvis to tilt, and you will remember that there is no tipping, tilting or tucking of the pelvis allowed.

To solve this dilemma, imagine the back of the rib cage as sails on a ship. These sails blossom in the wind and provide the proper support for the back.

Sail on!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #1ddd:

“Imagine the back of your rib cage being like sails on a ship.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3RXcIJuDSk

Quote of the Day:

“To reach a port we must set sail –
Sail, not tie at anchor
Sail, not drift.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Technical Tuesday Sleeping Smell

Technical Tuesday Sleeping Smell

This title doesn’t mean how your body smells (good or bad). This is about your sense of smell. Not how you smell. Whew.

During REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep the body’s olfactory sensory organs shut down. Therefore any scents that would normally cause a reaction – like smoke  -won’t do so during sleep. Now you know why smoke alarms are so important!

Interestingly, you can dream that you smell something, but it doesn’t involve your nose, it involves your brain. Still think the smell of cinnamon rolls in the oven woke you up? Nope, you were already at least semi-awake, and then the nose woke up and alerted you to a tasty breakfast treat.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Anatomical Secret #26y:

“You can’t smell while sleeping.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNexH07kESE

Quote of the Day:

“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived. The odors of fruits waft me to my southern home, to my childhood frolics in the peach orchard. Other odors, instantaneous and fleeting, cause my heart to dilate joyously or contract with remembered grief. Even as I think of smells, my nose is full of scents that start awake sweet memories of summers gone and ripening fields far away.”
― Helen Keller

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Mad Monday Marble Head

Mad Monday Marble Head

I’ve talked before about the body’s central axis (center pole) and how it changes depending on what position a dancer is in. Here is another image for improving the security and placement of one’s central axis.

Imagine a marble on the top (center) of your head. Now move into a position on one leg, like retiré, and picture the marble dropping down by gravity through the body and exiting through the floor via the supporting foot.

Gravity will cause any falling object to go down in a direct straight line, so the image of a marble falling through the body will help establish good placement along your central axis.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #1ccc:

“Imagine a marble on the top of your head dropping down through your body.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.facebook.com/LondonBallet007/videos/121754375139536/?hc_ref=ARSJCmlRKicL9xFR6PgNwMHfHXO2fLdfkkTmr0nScbHKoCUPqRe7XOVad8quvZO-eJA

Quote of the Day:

“Gravity is not a trivial monster.”
― Frank Cottrell Boyce, Cosmic

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

Or "Like" me on my Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Violet-Rightmire-256648280108/timeline/

Or visit my Pinterest page:

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