dance and fitness views and reviews
Day 1, thought I’d start small with a ten-minute program off a (surprisingly) 70-minute yoga DVD. Guided by the almost-unreally soothing and relaxed Julia Pritzel, a teacher from Berlin. Unfortunately, program was more like a series of asana descriptions rather than a flow, so I had to do a bit of rewinding to even both … Continue reading Magazine DVD challenge – Day 1
I have a secret addiction. Here in Germany, magazines — especially women’s mags — sometimes have freebies attached to them. It might be a little book of recipes or exercises, a “sounds of summer” CD, or a makeup sample. (UK magazines have tons of really high end makeup samples, but we’re not there yet. Though I … Continue reading Freebie fitness
Friends, it has been aaaaaages since I’ve done a review. For various personal reasons, it has been a struggle even to go to my in-studio ballet classes. Getting things together enough to do a video on any given evening has just been too much. Saddest of all, I haven’t bellydanced in even longer. At this … Continue reading Review of Go-Go Dance with Angie Pontani
One of my biggest challenges since starting to take ballet has been flexibility. This is odd: I’ve never been a particularly inflexible person. But ballet shows you your limits fast. So I have been on the search for programs that are focused on increasing flexibility. Yoga is great, of course, but sometimes I don’t feel … Continue reading Review of Lastics: A Stretch Workout Like No Other
I’m so very happy to announce that I have a new piece on the unexpected pleasures of taking adult beginner ballet up at Longreads. I write about my love-hate relationship with ballet, the fun of reading ballet memoirs, and the joys of imperfection. Swan, Late: The unexpected joys of adult beginner ballet I very much … Continue reading The joys of adult beginner ballet
I think we’ve all been there in our dance lives, no? For whatever reason, we stop going to regular classes, or stop practicing on our own, and we feel further away from the dance than ever. I mean, that’s the frustrating thing with dance — although there’s muscle memory and all that, it takes so … Continue reading Playing with Khalida’s All About Arms (Hands Technique)
You get a zills DVD. Or you go to class. And suddenly you are learning ten different rhythms, trying to layer them onto movements, and feeling that it’s all impossible. At least, if you’re me. I’ve done a bit of both, and most of the time, I can’t figure out how I’m going to get … Continue reading Review of Aslahan’s Taming Your Zills
