"I want to be a dancer"

Like so many little girls do I started dancing when I was a child at a local dance school in my neighborhood. In high school and college I danced in school dance companies and enjoyed the practices, the performances and the relationships that develop when you spend hours with other dancers. And like any dancer who has ever worn through a pair of pink ballet slippers it was fun to dream of the "glamorous" life of ballerinas.

"Glamorous" lives of ballerinas involve a lot of bloody feet, hours of daily practice, years of pain management and even more years of patience. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker who famously twirls in a pink tutu in the opening of every episode of Sex and the City produced an online docudrama series about the lives of New York City Ballet dancers. The first episode begins with dancers in the school of ballet and as the series progresses the dancers are promoted through the corps to soloists and finally to principals.  Relationships, injuries, social lives, practices and performances are all shown, including glimpses of the famous ballet Swan Lake which is so demanding 3 principal ballerinas dance as the main character.

You can watch each episode, all are under 7 minutes in length at city.ballet on AOL.

Fun Way to Stay Fit

Last evening I hosted a bellydancing party in my backyard. My friend Jenny who is a dance teacher and performer taught us a bit of background on the middle eastern style of dance and showed us some of the basic moves. It was a fantastic workout and a ton of fun. I'm sure my neighbors will be asking me for weeks what all the women were doing throwing scarves around, shaking their hips and laughing in my yard.
The dance style has become a popular form of fitness and there are classes offered through many park districts and dance schools. My library system has multiple books and DVD's on getting in shape by bellydancing and there are many websites devoted to the style.
For more information on Jenny's teachings, visit her site at:
http://www.namastedance.com/