Crossing the Border to Basics

What’s it like to be back in the studio & what I plan to do with my time back at work

Now that my time of home quarantine is pretty much over with Germany and Austria coming back to life after almost two months in shut down, I have a similar feeling to when I go back to work after our long summer holidays. Having gotten quite used to the way of life we were all forced into I am now feeling like I am once again treading on familiar ground but a little apprehensive to do so.

mvimg_20200406_204155
My quarantine studio during the lockdown

My first journey back to Salzburg was a strange one, riding an empty train carrying a ‘border commuter’ document and wearing a mask, something I never imagined I would be explaining to people. But I got across successfully and made my way to the disinfected studios to begin a ballet class of four dancers, all practising their spacial awareness and finding their own feet after taking class in their living rooms for the past few weeks. Continue reading “Crossing the Border to Basics”

Dancing Queen in Quarantine

With us all going through something very scary right now, I wanted to spread some positively about what us artists are doing while we can’t work

Never would I have thought I’d be writing a post about this. With the world on lockdown due to the quickly spreading Coronavirus, it has been one of the strangest and scariest times any of us have experienced and it doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon.

mvimg_20200319_180017

❝The entertainment and theatre industry is taking a huge hit❞

It is causing us all to go through our own difficult times and creating a worrisome atmosphere of what is to come and the possible effects it will have on us all. We have all been advised to say indoors and avoid contact with others, not to mention the unfortunate people that are having to actually deal with the illness and lives being turned upside down because of it. Continue reading “Dancing Queen in Quarantine”

What Do You Think Of When I Say Ballerina?

img_2934
Performing The Sylph in La Sylphide (Photo: Pablo Octavio)

Tutus… Tippy toes… Elegance… Beauty… Princess… Skinny… Athlete… Flexibility… Strength…

I am sure all of the above come to mind, and it is true, we ballerinas can be all those things, (I try to convince myself I am a princess every day) but in this post, I want to focus on the ballerina and her flexibility.

Flexibility is a very useful and often needed attribute of a dancer but I would not say it is always the most important. Yes, some days, if not all, I would give my right arm to be more flexible but as I have gotten older and (hopefully) wiser, not only have I decided my right arm is a part of me I would not want to lose, I have also come to realise I can be ok the way I am.

 

Continue reading “What Do You Think Of When I Say Ballerina?”

Making the Comeback After a Setback

My Injury Part 11

As a follow up to my post ‘Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones but Dancing Does Too’, where I wrote about how my stress fracture came about and dealing with returning to work, I wanted to share my ongoing experience with the physical side of the recovery to help anyone else who is struggling coming back from an injury.

IMG_4410
My routine of exercises to strengthen my foot

I have to say it has not been easy, as I am sure no injuries are, and it took much longer than I first expected for me feel like I am dancing as I did before the injury last May. Originally I came back feeling good, thinking I had done everything needed to have a fully healed foot but since then numerous problems and pains have bothered me, with days where my foot still doesn’t feel ‘right’, even after a year.

Continue reading “Making the Comeback After a Setback”

Dancing into the New Season with the School of Russian Ballet

With my summer holidays coming to an end, I had a lovely opportunity to finish it off on a dancing high. In a small studio, along with some young aspiring ballerinas and a wonderful teacher, I was back to ballet training and ready to work.

During the previous summer I spent a week here with my parents and manage to find a small dance school called The School of Russian Ballet, where they were nice enough to let me join in some classes. I was there once again this summer sharing the studio with the girls and their teacher, Regina Zarhina. Continue reading “Dancing into the New Season with the School of Russian Ballet”

Tanning, Toning, and Training

The last two weeks of summer

As you may have seen I am spending the last 2 weeks of my summer holiday in Spain with my wonderful family. Since it is such a rare occasion to have us all together for more than a weekend it is a much needed and lovely holiday for us all.

IMG_1283 (1)
The Mills family, Puerto Banus, 2016

As my summer break is ticking by quickly and the last weeks are upon me, it is now important for me to exercise every day to get my body work-ready. Like on all summer holidays it is very tempting to soak up the sun all day, but I know my body will thank me for doing some exercise before the season starts. Continue reading “Tanning, Toning, and Training”

A Day without Training is Like Walking Around without your Pants on!

As you can imagine with such a long summer break of 6 weeks it can be very easy to get out of shape. I have found that a good mixture of rest and movement can really help to recover, yet stay suppel and toned throughout holidays.

After a season I always feel my body does need a few weeks rest with no intense everyday exercise. It is very important to give the muscles and joints some time to recover from the long strenuous season it just went though. Continue reading “A Day without Training is Like Walking Around without your Pants on!”