What's in Alli's Dance Bag-- My tricks of the trade!

It's that time of year again! Back to school and back to Ballet!! (yay!) Today was the first day of my NINTH SEASON with Ballet West!  I can hardly believe it! Time is flying.  My summer was filled with exciting new adventures like the #IAmYourFriend Benefit Dance Performance Rex Tilton and I produced in SLC to raise money for the non-profit organization, Fahodie for Friends, as well as the inaugural year of my very own summer intensive called The artÉmotion Summer Intensive with my new business partner Ballet in the City!  I am really excited to finally be back in the studio and back on stage myself!  I spent the weekend shopping for what I need in my dance bag to keep me on my toes and I thought it would be great to share some of tricks with you!  All summer, especially from my artÉmotion students, I would get questions about what I do to deal with pointe shoe issues, or blisters, etc., so here it is for you all!

First up, pointe shoes!!! (And how to make them last longer!)

Professionals are lucky and we get shoes from the company.  But, trust me, I remember the days when my parents had to buy me pointe shoes all time! They are expensive!  Lately I've been enjoying wearing dead shoes. I don't recommend it for young dancers starting on pointe or still developing their strength, but its just what I am preferring right now.  With that being said, if you are not able to get new shoes as often as you'd like here are a few tips on dealing with dying toe boots!

Trick #1 Glue is your best friend!  When your box is getting soft it can be painful and cause bruised toenails, not to mention turning gets rough! Us Ballet West girlies use a brand called Hot Stuff!  We simply put it in the inside of the box! It keeps them going strong for a very long time!  If you need help on how to apply the glue correctly watch my silly How to sew Pointe Shoes video on YouTube! The video also shows you how I like to sew my shoes as well, which leads me to.....

Trick #2 Sew with dental floss!  I really wish I could remember who taught me this nifty trick, but instead of yarn or thread I use waxed dental floss to sew my shoes!! It is so heavy duty and reliable! I promise it will work and it's cheap and easy to get!

#3 Use duct tape to fix a broken shank!  Have you ever had that perfect pair of shoes and your shank decides to break in half? Or they break and you're waiting for your new shoes to come in the mail?  The perfect remedy for a broken shank is duct tape!  It keeps your shoes lasting a bit longer and it helps you not to get cuts on the bottom of our feet!  I do this all the time so make my favorite pairs last longer!

Trick #4 Use rubbing alcohol instead of water to soften your pointe shoes!   When I first break in shoes the only place I really like soft is the box around where my knuckles of my toes are.  I used to use water to help soften that part of the shoes but it often stained my shoes and made them look bad. I had a friend who suggested rubbing alcohol!  I tried it and its amazing!  It doesn't stain the shoe and it works perfectly!

Trick #5 Options, options, options! If it's possible, try to rotate a few pairs of shoes at a time!  I usually operate with three pairs any given day.  When one pair starts to feel sweaty and like they are softening up, take them off and let them dry out.  Use another pair and continue the cycle. I find it keeps shoes lasting longer!

Second up, tricks to keep you on your toes!

When your feet and body hurt, you dance bad.  Let's face the truth, we all know it! Here is a list of a few ways I try to keep my pain to a minimum!

Duct Tape! Again, but this time colorful!  I find that taping my toes with duct tape works the best.  It stays when my feet get sweaty and it never breaks or moves around.

Band-Aids.  Always have them on hand in case a blister or some other type of wound pops up!  You don't want silly injuries to get infected! 

Corn cushions and corn pads.  I suffer from corns sometimes and they can get really painful.  I usually just wrap a corn pad around my toe but corn cushions work just as well! You can tape the cushions around a nasty blister, too!

Arnica Cream. Arnica is a savor.  If you have a bruise or sore muscles you can rub arnica cream into your injury for relief. It's safe and natural and I use it often.  I had a stone bruise on the ball of my foot last week and I applied arnica to it everyday for three days.  I do not feel it any longer.

Toe spacers.  If you have a large gap between your big and second toe like I do, using toe spaces help relieve pressure that can be put on your bunions.  I never dance a day without them!

Extra toe pads.  Even if they are old, keep them in your bag.  You never know when you can lose one!

Pain relievers!  (Ask your parents about these if you are too young to take them by yourself!)  I always keep ibuprofin, Pepto-Bismol dis-solvable tablets and Tylenol Cold in my bag! You never know when something will spring up on you!

Lastly, snack and other important items!

I'm always preaching to my students about snacks!!!! We burn so many calories while dancing and it is important to keep your body energized! Today for example I brought crackers, clementines, raisins, and a protein shake!  Whatever you prefer will be great! Make sure it's full of nutrients! Also, don't forget to drink water!! 

 I have a locker at work, but I always like to keep a few pieces of warm up clothing in my dance bag at all times.  I have one shirt to wrap around my waste, a pair of pants, socks, leg warmers, a jacket and a clean leotard to change into after lunch!

I like to have extra bobby pins and hair elastics, toe nail clippers, chapstick, a brush and foot spray in my bag!  The foot spray is refreshing after a long day and helps with foot odor!  I also have deodorant in my purse!

My last few tips!  Have thera-bands and a tennis ball handy!  You can use the ball to roll out tight muscles and if you're on a small break it's always great to get a few ankle exercises in!

Well, that's it for now!  Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope my "tricks of the trade" will help you in the future!  If you have any additional info you think is useful add it to the comments below!  It's always great to help your friends!

xoxoxox
Allison

Audition Season--How to Stand Out in a Crowd

I have teamed up with Ballet in Cleveland, and this summer we will be presenting our very own Summer Dance Intensive called artÉmotion!   I am beyond thrilled to offer this amazing opportunity for young dancers to work with some of best names in the business!  The Faculty, along with Jessica Wallis (Founder of BIC) and myself, includes Ballet West Principal Artist Rex Tilton, Ballet West Artist Director Adam Sklute, BalletNext Artistic Director and Former American Ballet Theatre Principal Michele Wiles, Amelia Lowe of SYTYCD Season 9, Jordan DeBona Actor at the Pioneer Theatre, and Inna Stabrova co-founder of the Ohio Conservatory of Ballet.  Jessica Wallis and I designed this program with the goal to help mold beautiful Artists for the next generation of dance!  Our motto at artÉmotion is, “No movement without a purpose, without a unique story.”

Classes will not only include ballet, pointe and classical partnering, but also contemporary, character and acting for dancers.  I really want students to walk away from the experience with a sense of self.  Not just technique but a realization of their artistry and self-contribution to our beautiful art form.

With all that being said, I have received many questions about what I will be looking for in students to accept to artÉmotion.  It is officially “audition season” and I know many young dancers want the edge against their peers when in a room full of talented dancers.  I have said it before, I value a strong technique because that is what sets classical dancers apart from anyone else, but for me, that is not the only thing that makes a strong Artist.  I will be looking for individuals who are willing to push themselves, take chances and doing something different.  Stand alone in room full of people and be confident. 

Many of you may ask how that can be done.  Well, here is what I’ve always thought about and chose to do before and during an audition.  First off, chose a leotard, or shirt if you’re a guy, which makes you feel really good!!!  Being confident in how you look always helps when you are trying to make an impression on someone else.  You will not appear to be confident to someone in the front of the room, if in fact you don’t feel confident in yourself!  Second, make sure you take pride in your appearance.  Have your hair done well and make sure your shoes look clean and well put together. 

Now, to the dancing!  Try to be as alert as possible! Learn all the combinations quickly and well.  That will make for a very good corps de ballet member and you will be of value to any company or school!  Don’t try to mimic anyone in the room.  From the first port de bras at the barre, choose a story in your head to portray.  You are not just doing steps.  In an audition it’s hard to gauge how a dancer may be on stage, so as the dancer, you must consider that audition room a stage!  Show the person in the front of the room what makes you special.  Lastly, if you make a mistake be OK with it and keep moving!  I know we all make mistakes, what matters most to me is how you recover from those mistakes.  It shows maturity.

I hope this all helps in one way or another.  I hope to see many of you at artÉmotion!

Visit www.balletincleveland.org/artemotion for more info!  Auditions will be in Cleveland, OH January 18^th but we are also accepting video submissions for dancers who cannot make it in person!

You can also follow artÉmotion on social media!

The artÉmotion Summer Intensive on Facebook

@artemotioncle on Twitter and Instagram

Love you all! Xoxox

Allison

A Young Dancer's Dilemma--College or Company

For those of you who do not know, before becoming professional with Ballet West, I graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. in Ballet.  I often get questions from young dancers asking my opinion of either going to college or auditioning to get into a company right after high school.  I thought it would be a good idea to put all of your options out on the table and talk through them all.  Hopefully, after reading this, some of you might have a better idea of what will be best for you. 

I applied to colleges my senior year of high school with the eager push of my parents.  After taking so many years off from dancing, both my Father and Mother, thought it would be best that I got my education.  I remember wanting to audition but didn’t fight it too hard.  My dance teacher wasn’t happy about it in the least, as she believed that going to college would end my chances of becoming professional because I would be 23 by the time I graduated.  I wanted to facilitate my chances of being professional so I only applied to schools that offered a very rigorous schedule and a B.S. Degree in Ballet.  If I was going to college for Ballet I wanted to be sure my diploma would also be worth something.  One of the very attractive upsides of going to college for Ballet was that I was able to get a scholarship for school.  I would definitely encourage all of you to try to get as much scholarship money, if you do decide to go to school, as college is very expensive.  So, let us go through options after high school and see where you fit in.  And remember, these are all my opinions, they may or may not work for you.

From High School to a Professional Company

For many dancers who are very passionate about our art form, getting into a Second Company or Company straight out of high school would be ideal.  This means starting your career very young which gives you a lot of time to work up the ranks of the company and could potentially mean a lot of opportunities for many great roles.  Many dancers think school is not for them anyway, so this path would obviously be best for them.  Professionally, the upsides of starting young are very great, as I stated above.  There is a downside, as I see it, as well…You could get burnt out early.  It’s not often, but I have seen many young professional dancers hang up the pointe shoes early because they were burnt out from the lifestyle.  If you do go professional right away, make sure you have other hobbies and friends outside of work so that you stay level headed.

What if you’re offered a Company Traineeship and accepted to College?

Applying to college and auditioning for companies can both be very expensive, but if you are capable of doing both I would most definitely encourage you to do so.  In hindsight, I wish I would have auditioned and applied to school.  I firmly believe that keeping all your options open is the best for anyone in any profession.  It is very hard to get a job these days.  There are a lot of very talented dancers and not enough contracts.  That is why you see many companies have Second Companies and often Pre-Professional Trainee Programs.  If you are accepted into a Trainee program it means the Director could potentially see you in the company but may feel you need more time to mature mentally and physically.  Recently, a dancer asked me what I would do if I were in her pointe shoes (ha, ha! I made joke).  She got accepted into Indiana University’s Ballet Department but was also offered a year round Trainee spot at Boston Ballet.  I told her to take the Traineeship and defer from school, and here is why.  Like I said before, getting a job is very tough now a days.  It seems even harder than it was 7 years ago when I was auditioning.  Getting a Traineeship is a very good chance to be seen by the Director and potentially get hired.  These opportunities do not come around too often.  I did stress to her the importance of deferring a year from Indiana University properly so if it does not work out at Boston Ballet she could slip right back into school the following year without any problems.  I definitely would not throw away your acceptance to school as it is very hard to get accepted to college programs as well.

Go to College while dancing professionally

This option may be the toughest!  Once you become professional the expectation for you to perform well means keeping your contract or not.  Going to school while dancing is hard, but it can be done.  Many dancers at Ballet West are currently doing this very thing!  They take one or two classes a semester working towards a degree.  They often get up before work to attend classes at a University in Salt Lake, or take classes online.  It does get stressful for them to maintain the school work and their jobs especially during performance time.  If you decide to do this expect to be tired as all your free time will mean keeping your nose in your books!

Straight to College

Your last option is to go directly into a college dance program and audition when you graduate.  This is what I did, and I got a job.  With that being said, it can be done, but I stress it is not easy to do.  Companies will be put off by the fact that you are older but have no “professional experience.”  They may not want to offer you a second company spot frankly because they feel you are too old to be there but may not want to take a chance on you for the main company because you have no company experience. In my opinion, this is an ignorant opinion because they may not understand that a great dance program, like IUBT, actually works like a professional company does.  We had the same hours as I have at Ballet West currently and a lot of the same repertoire, too.  On top of that, I was taking academics at 8am and going until 10pm as well.  You leave school very capable to walk straight into a company because you will be equipped to handle a lot of stress, as going to school and dancing is very time consuming and insanely hard and stressful. I struggled with this for a few years when I was an Apprentice at Ballet West at age 24.  I felt I was too mature to be an Apprentice.  Maybe, going to college is what has helped me move through the ranks fairly quickly. They may have been reluctant at first, but it was up to me to prove to them that I was capable of keeping up with my peers even if I started “late.”  That will most definitely be your challenge, as well, if you choose this path.   Now, to add more stress.  I would encourage you to double major if you do go to school.  Having a B.S. in Ballet is good for me because I do want to teach after dancing and having a degree would help me get a job at a college easier if working at a company doesn’t work out or I don’t open my own school.  I started Journalism but could not finish because the classes were during Ballet.  Like I said before, OPTIONS, OPTIONS, OPTIONS! I often consider going back to school anyway because of my passion for Journalism.  It just would have been nice to have gotten that done already, too!

I really hope my advice will help you all out if you come to the college/company crossroads.  Whether you’re a Ballet, Modern or Contemporary dancer there is a college program out there for you, so do your research!  Everyone has a different path and what might work for someone may not work for you.  Make sure you are really thinking about what will be best for you and your future when planning what step to take next!  Good luck!

Xoxo

Allison

Photo by Elizabeth McGrath

Summer Programs! Post your progress in #ArtWithAlli

Summer Programs—What you learned!

We are nearing the end of July and that means Summer Program madness is almost over!  Being at a summer program can mean quite a few things for every dancer.  With summer programs comes growth, fun, frustration, setbacks, and sometimes, a lot of pain!! For many dancers heading to summer programs for the first time often means it’s the first time they will being dancing all day!  This is challenging both physically and mentally.  They are often away from their families for the first time, too! Getting into your dream summer program is also a very big accomplishment for every young dancer, but there are some dancers who may not have the means to go away from home to summer programs.  However, they stay at their studios all summer and take classes from guest teachers.  Either way, summer programs should be approached as a time for extreme growth in your dancing, at any age.

I have told you this before, I did not go away for a summer program until I was 18 and a high school graduate.  I went to the ABT New York program.  I had auditioned for summer programs when I was younger, and did get in, but chose not to go because I wanted to spend time with my family in the summertime.  I just enrolled at my studio’s summer program.  I have fond memories of guest teachers who made a huge impact in my dancing.  I always liked training in the summers because it was the only time of the year where I could focus only on dancing because I did not have to worry about school, too.  I also loved being at the studio all day.  Taking ballet, jazz, modern, character, acting, pointe shoe and makeup seminars and stretch class! 

This summer I have traveled across the country to teach students ballet.  I was in Louisiana, Illinois, Utah and California so far. One thing I notice among the students is, it is hard to motivate them to dance outside of their comfort zones and deviate from what they are used to doing.  If any of you have ever taken class from me, you know that I preach a few consistent things.  First, be smart dancers.  Everyone is a good dancer now a days, so to set you a part from someone else you must be mentally sharp.  Learn combinations quickly, pickup on details of the entire body, and take corrections well.  Second, remember the studio is a safe place.  It is the arena to grow and make mistakes.  Fall on the ground, jump higher, and hold your leg up a little longer.  Everyone in the class is there for the same reason, to grow. Be confident and do not be shy about your dancing.  And last, tell me a story!! Remember you are an Artist above all.  I like to see my students working on their artistry from the beginning of class. It does not come out of nowhere.  You have to approach everything you do as if there is an audience watching.

I thought it would be cool, for Art with Alli, if everyone would post pictures from the summer program they attended this summer.  Tell us who your favorite teachers are and what you have learned so far.  It would be nice to see what everyone is up to and see if they have learned something different from you!  Be sure to post in the Art with Alli Forum and post on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook using #artwithall.  Be sure to tag @artwithalli and @allidebona.  I can’t wait to see what you are all up to!

I will be sharing posts on my @artwithalli Instagram and Twitter accounts, so be sure you are following those accounts!!

Link to the Art With Alli Forum--   http://artwithalli.freeforums.net/

xoxo

Allison

                                         Photo by Vicki Lanz Photography for Ballet in Cleveland.

ART--A Random Thought with Allison DeBona

 So, here’s a thought—

 

When was the last time you sat down, took a good look in the mirror and asked yourself, “Why am I dancing?”  Is it because you love it? I’ll believe you, but it sounds generic.  I definitely love to dance and always have (I’ll admit I still dance around the kitchen the way I did when I was a kid!), but the older I get, the more it evolves into an understanding of why I’m still dancing at the age of 30. 

I’ve been asked many times when I knew I wanted to dance.  I was six or seven years old and taking a class when our teacher asked us to run across the room, stop in the middle of the floor, pretend to pick up a flower and put it in a basket.  It was true love from that moment on.  At that young age, I began to understand that dance is ART.  We have the amazing gift to tell a story with our bodies, and I cannot get enough of it. 

I am currently a Soloist with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, but when I’m not dancing, I spend a lot of time traveling around the country teaching young dancers.  There are talented kids everywhere!  Dance is evolving so fast, the technique is more difficult, and you’re required to do multiple turns, jump higher and battement to the sky.  I appreciate all of those things, but for me, that is not what defines a great ARTIST.  In class I am always working toward improving my technique and physical abilities, but it seems to me that today young dancers are so focused on quantity that the artistry of our craft is often lost.


Over the next 12 months, I am going to challenge you.  Ask yourself questions you’ve never asked before and push your mind and body to places you’ve never taken it before.  The great part about it is, you will not be alone!  This month I want you to explore your motivation for dancing and your contribution to our art form.  How are you planning on moving an audience to tears or make them jump to their feet with applause?  What will make you stand out on stage so people can’t take their eyes off you? 

To break the ice, I will be the first to post in “ART—A Random Thought with Allison DeBona,” Forum. You can visit the link below to see what I have to say and post your thoughts and ideas as well!  I would also love to see your journey each month on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!  Post pictures, videos or quotes but make sure to use #artwithalli on all of your posts!  It’s never too early to start to develop the Artist you plan to be on stage!  I can’t wait to see what all of you have to offer!

 

Xoxo Allison

http://artwithalli.freeforums.net/

A Confident Post-- Revisiting Paquita

Definition of confidence (n)
1. Belief in own abilities: self-assurance or a belief in your ability to succeed


There it is boys and girls.  Webster's definition of CONFIDENCE.  It's empowering just reading it, isn't it?  For some people confidence comes easy and for others it does not.  I am a confident person, but I have definitely had my bouts with confidence as a professional ballerina.  Did you happen to catch what I was just saying there?  I wrote, "I am a confident PERSON, but I have definitely had my bouts with confidence as a PROFESSIONAL BALLERINA."  It should be one in the same, but I've learned the hard way that sometimes as a performer it's not that easy.  Here's to revisiting Paquita and what I've learned from falling on my face in front of America.

I always say 99% of being a ballerina is mind over matter and I really mean it.  We train hours upon hours for years of our lives to gain the technique and strength.  Somewhere in our computer of a brain is the hardware to get the job done.  When I joined Ballet West in 2007 I was confident in myself and was ready to work as hard as I could to get roles that I desired.  Even when I was not chosen for a role, or when I understudied everything for two entire years, I never wavered in thinking that it was only temporary and I was going to get my chance one day.  Once Paquita rolled around I had already been given quite a few amazing opportunities and had been promoted to Demi-Soloist at Ballet West.  I was also cast to dance the Principal role in George Balanchine's Emeralds and the 5th Duet in Yiri Kylian's Petite Mort.  What more could a girl ask for?  Before Paquita was cast I had learned the first, second and fourth Soloist variations.  Although they were technically challenging, I was able to do all three.  I thought that I had proven that I could do them and I'd love the chance to dance Paquita on stage, but if I didn't get cast I wouldn't be upset because I was doing so much already and was thankful.  During a run of the variations Adam Sklute (BW's Artistic Director) called me over and said that I was cast to do Paquita!  He then proceeded to tell me that he would like to see me in the third variation.  I thought I heard him wrong.  I hadn't been asked to learn the third variation and in my mind it was for a short girl who was cute and could move fast.  He said something to the regards of, "You could do the other three, so I'm assuming you can do this one, too."  I remember my stomach sinking.  It was never a role that I had envisioned myself doing well and it definitely didn't fit my personality, in my eyes.  It was such a strange place to be in.  Usually, as a dancer, if you don't get an opportunity you spend so much time trying to prove to your boss that you can do it, but here I was getting all the confidence in the world from my boss and was trying to prove to myself that he was right. 

I'm always watching other people's rehearsals and learn their steps even when sitting on the floor.  I wanted to be in every rehearsal with Elena Kunikova because I wanted to learn as much from her as I possibly could during Paquita.  She asked me to run the 3rd variation even though she hadn't taught it to me and I said I could because I learned it from watching.  Then, she asked me to join the other Soloists and Corps in the opening dance and in rushed the Breaking Pointe cameras.  They were literally up my nose!  I was new, never learned that spot, and they recorded me messing up every two seconds.  Remember the episode where Elena was stopping me every two seconds? I all of a sudden felt a pressure to succeed like I had never felt before.  There was Adam telling me he could depend on me even though I was feeling so unconfident. To top it off, it was all transpiring in front of the world (literally).  All I can remember is falling down a downward spiral.  I would be on cloud nine running Emeralds and Petite Mort and then wanted to be sick putting on a tutu to run Paquita.  I got in my head.  I'd mess something up and let it bring me down to the point of tears.  Even if it went well, it wasn't good enough for me. 

Opening night I was nervous and had to talk to myself to calm down before the curtain went up.  I remember the opening dance feeling great and I thought, "Ok! I'm going to do to this!"  My family was in the audience for support.  I came out for my variation and the music started....the rest is, well, on Season 1 Episode 5 of Breaking Pointe.  A MESS.  It was an out of body experience and I couldn't wait to get off stage.  I remember barely trying to muster up a smile during my bow.  I had to suck it up because we had an entire finale to dance and I couldn't blow that, too.  After that night I spent a year struggling with my confidence.  I fell on my face (figuratively and literally) a few times after that night, too.  What was happening to me?  I had to re-evaluate my approach to working in the studio and rebuild my confidence that had been drained.  This past summer, I taught a lot and traveled a lot.  I took those opportunities to dance in as many different places as I could.  I spent two weeks taking open classes at Alonso King's Lines in San Francisco and that was when a lot in my mind began to change.  I was dancing because I loved it and loved to work hard.  I was doing things I thought I couldn't do in those classes.  Pushing myself to not be afraid of falling on my face, but learning to fall with grace, because sometime kids, you're going to fall on your face! Sometimes when you mess up something on stage it feels like it lasts a lifetime.  I went back and watched videos of when I royally messed up on stage.  The mess up moment was quick, but what lingered was my demeanor after the mess up.  This past year I learned how to be a performer through my mistakes.  I had to accept that sometimes things are not going to go well on stage, and although my bosses and peers may notice those technical fouls the audience is focused on my artistry.  I try to control a lot of things, so messing up really isn't something I handle well, but I had to learn to.  The lifetime on stage as professional dancers isn't very long and if you spend all your time dwelling on the bad then you will miss all the wonderful opportunities and experiences.  I'm thankful for sharing my hardships with everyone who watched Breaking Pointe because I hope that some young dancers learn that you may fall down but you won't stay there.  I also learned not to type cast myself because there are already enough limitations in our little artsy world, so why apply more to yourself?  Accept any role as a chance to grow as a technician but more importantly as an artist.  I hope I get to do Paquita again in my life, because I can't wait to kick its butt!!! 

Xoxo
Allison

How to Sew Pointe Shoes

How to Sew Pointe Shoes


Hey everyone!!! If any of you have been following Me the past few weeks, you would know that I have been traveling and doing A LOT of teaching! I was in Pittsburgh teaching for four different schools and in Cleveland to teach Master Classes and dance in a Gala for Ballet in Cleveland with Rex Tilton and Christopher Ruud.  One question that seemed to pop up everywhere I taught was, "How do you sew your pointe shoes?"  I'm here to answer your questions!

If you ask any professional ballerina I'm sure they will tell you that how you prepare your pointe shoes is a very personal matter.  It takes a lot of time and planning to get your shoes the way you want them to feel and look.  If you do not know, I wear Grishko 2007 shoes with a few "specs" or special changes to make them perfect for me.  For example, I get the vamp and heel cut down a bit, with a medium shank and heel pin, xxx width and three quarter shanked.  I also do a few things at home to my pointe shoes like glue the toes and shank and cut a divot in the sole of the shoe where my arch is.  Obviously, it would be very hard to try to explain in words how I sew my shoes, so this Saturday will you join me on YouTube for a tutorial on how to sew pointe shoes the way I do??? 

I will be making a YouTube video this week that will show you step-by-step how I sew my shoes and how I prepare them to wear for rehearsals and performances.  I invite all young dancers and their mothers so that they understand, too.  I was surprised to hear from so many moms this week about how they wish they were taught how to properly sew shoes, too.  Here is a list of things you will definitely need for Saturday.

• Your Pointe Shoes
• 2 Needles (in case one snaps)
• Waxed dental floss in white (Yes! It's the strongest thread you can find and it's cheap!)
• Clean ribbon and elastic
• Scissors

My YouTube channel is Allison DeBona.  As soon as I post the video I will post it on my Twitter and Instagram accounts (allidebona) and my Facebook page Allison DeBona Breaking Pointe.  If you have any questions you can leave a message on the video and I will answer them as soon as I can.  I can't wait until Saturday! See you then!

xoxo

 

Allison