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/

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

The Great "Weight" Debate: The Ballet Body

The Great “Weight” Debate:  The Ballet Body

 

I’m sitting here trying to start this blog and already feel torn over what I am going to say about how to achieve the perfect “ballet body.”  The thing about the subject is I’ve got so many questions asking, “How can I get skinny for ballet?” or “I’m having weight issues, can you help?”  It already nerves me thinking about answering them because majority of the time they come from very young girls, typically 13-17 years old.  My blood actually starts to boil as I read them because I’m thinking to myself, how can a child actually be worrying about this?  Unfortunately, in our beautiful art form, how we look sometimes overpowers artistry and talent.  I am obviously not a doctor, but I am a high performance athlete who has managed to steer clear from any serious injury thus far in my professional career.  I attribute that to not only my physical activity but also my diet; and I don’t mean “diet” in the fashion magazine quick way to lose 10lbs way, I mean actually what I eat for nutrition to stay healthy.  I would like you to stop thinking about things in terms of getting “skinny” for ballet, but getting “healthy” for ballet.

 

I am going to be careful what I say here, because I do not want to offend anyone and I do not want to steer any young child who is reading this in the wrong direction.  People ask me about how I eat all time.  I reply that I do not really constrict myself from much and I get the old response of, “Well, you’re just lucky you have that body naturally.”  I could not disagree with that statement more.  I’ll tell you about the many “bodies” I have gone through in my 30yrs of life.  I was a string bean as a kid. When I turned 15 my body completely changed.  I grew to be 5’9” and I started to gain weight for the first time in my life.  If you’ve read my previous blog, you would know that during that time I was not dancing full time.  I had taken time off.  When I went back to ballet is when I started to become very VERY aware of how my body looked. It was when I was 17, turning 18 that I decided to go on my very first “diet.”  I thought I knew it all.  It was when the Atkins thing was taking off and I thought to myself it would be the perfect way to lose the 10-15 extra teenage baby pounds. I almost completely cut out all carbs from my diet.  The only carbs I was really eating were from vegetables.  Everything was going great at first; I lost weight fast and my muscle tone was really starting to show.  It wasn’t too long before I noticed that my energy levels were becoming low and I started to get very bad tendonitis in my Achilles, which I never had before.  It was opening week of the Nutcracker at my school and I was to be dancing the role of Sugar Plum Fairy.  My teacher flew in a professional male dancer from Ballet Arizona to be my partner.  We were in rehearsal and I remember telling my mom that I felt like my Achilles was a rubber band.  The next thing I knew, I felt a sharp and very hot pain in my leg.  I had torn where my calf and Achilles meet. 

 

The doctor was surprised that someone as young as me would sustain such an injury.  He started asking me questions and when he got to the bottom of it, he told me that a large part in the breakdown of my body was that I was not fueling it properly for the amount of physical activity I was doing.  NO CARBS was A VERY BAD IDEA.  After my injury I started to eat a well-rounded diet and felt great!  Then, I left for college the next year.  Freshman 15? That would have been nice, try freshman 25 for me!  I ate like crap, to be frank.  Pizza late at night and Snickers for a snack from the vending machine.  I was in college on my own for the first time and didn’t have much money.  It wasn’t until I was 23 and at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre that I finally started to figure out how to treat my body well.  I made two very major decisions— I was cutting out fried foods and cutting out alcohol (for all of you who are over 21 years old and up).  I started eating small portions of food, but at least six times a day, and was very religious about taking a multi-vitamin and B-Complex.  For the past 7 years of my life, I have really not changed how my body looks or my weight much.  I have figured out how to maintain a healthy and strong body for ballet through healthy eating and moderation.

 

So here are my thoughts.  If you are a young girl or boy reading this, you have absolutely no business depriving your body of anything.  A “diet” shouldn’t ever be in your vocabulary.  You can, however, start learning how to eat healthy to maintain an athlete’s body.  You will obviously need your parent’s help, but for example;  instead of eating french fries at school for lunch, consider packing your lunch with a nice turkey sandwich and some fruit and veggies.  It’s also OK to eat ice cream and pizza with your friends, but you don’t have to be excessive.  I truly believe that moderation is key.  One awful trend that I have seen from teaching around the country is being in front of a herd of 13 year old kids and halfway through barre struggling to get them to respond to combinations let alone get through them.  I always ask if they have had breakfast, and more often than not, I hear “NO.”  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it jump starts your metabolism and gives you energy for the day!  Try eating some scrambled eggs with cheese and avocado or oatmeal like I do EVERYDAY. 

Another problem I see is young students are not taught how to “snack” between classes and rehearsals.  I do not mean cookies and cakes.  I would suggest bringing some crackers or fruits and veggies with ranch to have on breaks.  It keeps you energized in the body but also the brain!  I always drink a high protein shake after every ballet class I take.  I wouldn’t suggest that for young kids, but an alternative would be to pack a 2% chocolate milk with you.  When you get older, maybe 17 or 18, drinking a protein shake would work!  For a major meal like dinner try to be as balanced as you can be.  Eat a protein like chicken or beef, a vegetable and maybe a bit of pasta.  I promise you that if you maintain a well-balanced diet your body will respond in the way you want it to.  Like me, pass up the French fries for a salad or soup and maybe eat 1 cookie instead of 5, but do not totally restrict yourself from foods that will feed your mind and body.

 

My belief is that, while training as a young dancer, we should not be programmed to think “skinny” but rather, “healthy.”  Lay off the scales kids.  Crying over a stupid number will not make anything better and most of the time it means nothing!   Start to focus on your health and strength so you can dance until you’re well into your 40’s injury free!!!!!

 

Xoxo

Allison

The Road Less Traveled (psst...is ok, too!)

The Road Less Traveled (psst...is ok, too!)


Ok, there is only one path to becoming a professional ballerina.  Start young, dance every day of the week, go to every summer program there is, and NEVER GO TO COLLEGE, you'll be too old when you graduate to get a job.

WRONG.  Sure that is a great plan for success, but who wants to do what everyone else does anyway?

In all seriousness, that plan is probably the best way to make it to the big leagues of ballet.  There were times, in my life, that I wish I had done just that.  People often ask me how I ended up at Ballet West.  I definitely took the road less traveled to Salt Lake City, making stops in places like good choices, bad choices, heartbreaks and triumphs.

I started ballet at the age of three (at least I got one thing right! ha) at the Parou Ballet Company in New Castle, Pa.. It was love at first sight! I remember being young and asked to run across the floor and pretend I was picking up a flower.  I knew at a young age that dance was a way to tell stories with my body and I couldn't get enough.  It came easy to me.  I could turn, jump and had high extension.  I was on pointe at 9 years old and dancing with the "big girls".  When I was 12, I moved to Pittsburgh from New Castle.  That meant a new school and new ballet school.  I started at Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and was given a part in Balanchine's Serenade the first day I was there.  All of a sudden, things started to change.  I had a hard time making friends at school and at ballet and I felt overwhelmed by all the changes in my life.  The following summer was the first summer that I auditioned for summer programs.  I was accepted to SAB and NCSA.  That summer my mother was also due to have my younger sister, Delaney.  Everyone was saying that I had to go to a summer program because it was the only way to get noticed and asked to stay for a year round program...the first step into a company.  I sat down with my Mom and told her I didn't want to go.  I waited my whole life for a sister (I had two bros up until that point) and I couldn't miss her being born.  That summer I took off from ballet and didn't go back until I was almost 17.

Yeah, I didn't do ballet at all for three years.  I didn't step back into the studio until I was 16 and a few months.  There was so much change happening in my life and I felt like the only thing I could control was quitting the thing I loved most.  I tried a lot of other things like cheerleading and drill team.  I went to high school football games and hung out at the coolest spots on Friday nights.  You know, did the "normal" thing. I was having a lot of fun, but wasn't feeling as fulfilled as I did in the ballet studio.  One random day when I was almost 17 I asked my mom if I could go back to ballet.  She about died waiting for this to happen!  I called PYB and asked them if I could come back and when I could start.  Everything was looking up! Until the first combination at the barre....what did I do to myself?!?!?

I lost my turnout, could barely finish a single pirouette and forget about extension!! I lost it all! It used to be so easy!  My body changed into a teenagers body without the refinement of ballet for those 3 years. I remember crying for months thinking I could never make it back.  But I made changes.  I started eating healthier because I was an athlete again and went to the gym to cross train.  I also applied to be the first student at my high school to take my academics early in the morning and leave to go to ballet the rest of the day.  It took almost a year to feel like I was getting back into ballet shape, but it did happen.  Two years flew by fast and it was time for me to graduate school.  I knew I wanted to dance professional but my parents were pushing me to get a college education.  I did take a lot of time off, and was still behind, so they thought it was a good idea to get additional training.  To my ballet teachers it was the final death wish.  I already pushed my luck taking so much time off, but now college?? I'd be too old when I graduated to get a job.

I ended up applying to schools and not auditioning.  I spent four years at Indiana University, Bloomington.  They have an amazing ballet program! My first year I got cast in Swan Lake as a Tall Swan and Balanchine's Four Temperaments and was coached by Julie Kent, Susan Jaffe and Susie Pillare.  Unfortunately, my sophomore year I got caught up in the "college experience" and almost blew it!  I'm telling you these things because I think it's important for young kids to understand that you will make mistakes along away and it's OK, it's what you learn from your mistakes that build your character.  I got in a lot of trouble from the ballet directors.  I didn't take care of my body and got out of shape.  In return I didn't get cast in many ballets. I was not ready to audition for companies come graduation time and was told point blank to forget about ever becoming professional.  I believed them. I ruined my own chances, again. I was happy that I would end up getting a degree because I was going to definitely need it now that my chances of being a dancer were pretty slim to none. While home in Pittsburgh the summer before my last semester at school I started to take open classes at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.  I was asked if I would be interested in training at their Graduate Program.  I could not pass up the opportunity and agreed to come, finishing my last semester at Indiana online so I could graduate.  The decision to go to PBT changed my life.

It was so hard for me at first at PBT.  I was the oldest, at 23, when everyone around me was no older than 19.   I also was severely out of shape and could barely get through variations in class.  I was most definitely the underdog.  Luckily, 23 was the year I came out of my shell!!  I was tired of hearing the word "NO" and I was determined to make my dreams come true.  I danced from 9-6pm everyday and taught ballet until 10pm every night.  I waited tables on the weekends to save money for auditions.  I never worked harder in my life then I did that year.  There were days that I felt discouraged, but I wasn't going to look back at my mistakes; I was keeping focused on this opportunity to change the path my life was on.  From January-March of that year I drove to NYC every weekend for every cattle call audition there was.  I'd get cut and didn't care, it wasn't stopping me.  A few times I heard I was too tall and few times I did hear I was too old.  I heard "NO" a million times, but it didn't matter because one "YES" was all I needed! 

Come April, I got the call from Ballet West!!!!! I was asked to join the company as an Apprentice.  Opening night of my very first professional performance was my 24th Birthday.  I was told it was never going to happen for me and there I was, ON STAGE.  In seven years, I have now worked my way up to being a Soloist. 

I am a firm believer that you are in charge of your own destiny.  I have made so many bad choices in my life but a lot of good choices, too.  I know I am very blessed to be where I am today but I assure you I was not handed any of my success.  I made mistakes, learned from them, made changes and worked my butt off to get to where I am right now at 30 years old.  A lot of you ask if it's too late for you to live out your dreams.  What's too late to you?  An age? There shouldn't be a time limit when finding happiness.  Every one's journey is different.  Mine was long and sometime hard, but I made it which means you can too!!  Everyone will have an opinion, but when it comes to you, your opinion of yourself is what matters most!! Find CONFIDENCE in who you are, gain the STRENGTH to maintain who you are, and live your life with GRACE.  To living the dream!!!

xoxo
Allison

Photo by James Glader

What's on YOUR mind?

Hello Everyone!!

I can't express how excited I am about FINALLY starting a blog!! Besides dancing, I have always had a passion for journalism.  I consider it a way to connect to people and I believe it is our relationships with each other that keeps the world a happy place.  Since Breaking Pointe, I have been given the gift to travel around the country meeting so many of you!  From young to old it has been such a pleasure to see with my own eyes how my life could effect so many, positively.  I get questions on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so often and it's hard to answer in just a few sentences.  I think this blog is the best way to answer all of your questions!!!  Don't be afraid to ask away!!

xoxo
Allison