January 22, 2015

TOL #17 ~ Beethoven and Ballet

Once again, after a long break, I am linking up for Thinking Out Loud Thursday with Amanda
[get more info here!]



I.  I read somewhere that listening to instrumental music helps one to study better and retain more information. I have set up a Pandora radio of just classical music, from Beethoven, Bach, Tchaikovsky, and others.
To be honest, I don't think it's really improved the quality of my studying/information retention, but it has raised my appreciation of classical music.

II.  Speaking of classical music... I watched a filming of the Nutcracker performed in the Mariinsky Theater in Russia. I highly suggest searching this theater on Google Images. Holy wow it's breathtaking. I also suggest you watch the Mariinsky Ballet performances, because they are flawless. Pardon my passionate ballet reviews; I do love the fine arts.

III.  But while we're on the topic of ballet, I might as well mention that my dance teacher has officially begun her selection of "special" parts for the upcoming summer recital. There are three supporting characters throughout that my class was urged to sign up for: Ursula from The Little Mermaid, The Big Bad Wolf from Red Riding Hood, and the Queen from Princess and the Pea. Granted, those parts only have one or two 30-second duets with the main characters, but still. It'd be nice to know I've been especially selected for one of those parts, should I be selected. There's a lot of emotional tension going on inside my head right now over this whole thing, I'm just gonna be honest.

IV.  A good thing I have brought back into my life recently is Pop-Tarts. More specifically: chocolate chip cookie dough, cookies & creme, and pumpkin pie (limited edition - sorry late bloomers). I hadn't tasted what my Theater Arts teacher describes as "cardboard with sugar on them" in so long. 

V.  Similarly, I've really been appreciating my young, quick metabolism. I can eat all the junk foods in the house, do a little pilates, and feel fantastic. Lord save me when I hit my 30s...
On the contrary, growth spurts without growth - or whatever this is I'm going through - aren't all peaches and cream, it would seem. I feel the urge to eat every hour and a half to two hours, and if I somehow get thrown off schedule, my entire day is pushed off-kilter. I enjoy going places and doing fun things, but only if there's food involved. And me eating it.

VI.  I have made it a goal to hang out one-on-one with all my youth group friends (er, the girls at least. not being discriminating, buuuuuuut you know how guys are sometimes). I have a "January Recap" post in the making, so stay tuned for that. It's a little less detailed than TOL posts but it's a good overview of the month. Maybe I'll make it an annual thing. We'll see.

VII.  Oh! Another thing I forgot to mention whilst I was on the subject of dance: I got new pointe shoes. *gag*
[visual representation of the anatomy of pointe shoes]
Brand new pointe shoes are gorgeous and pristine and elegant but when one puts them on and attempts very simple dance motions...that's a whole other story. If you've ever taken a pointe class, you'll know what I'm talking about.
The reason I had to get new pointe shoes: the platform of my old ones developed soft spots; the part that I stand on when my toes are pointed (see image above). I suffered from bruising of both big toes, having some trouble balancing correctly, and - as you can imagine - serious pain when dancing. So I got new shoes. And they hurt. like. heck.

VIII.  I've come across some new dance techniques, stretching- and conditioning-wise. I invested in a Thera-Band to strengthen my ankles (crucial for pointe work), and some toe tape (also crucial for pointe work). I've been using an old pair of ankle weights to help increase the quality of my stretching and the strength of my legs. I do some barre work in my living room, only with the ankle weights on to provide some resistance which will help improve the height of my extensions (Google "arabesque" and you'll get an idea).

IX.  I have been reading a lot more this month! I started on Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, but the book was so chunky and so heavily detailed it was hard for me to keep interest. I finished Ask the Passengers and Speak, but I wasn't a huge fan of either (2/5 stars for AtP and 3/5 for Speak). I'm currently working on From Bad to Cursed, second in a series I started last year, and Hungry which I'm not very far into just yet.
Book suggestions are greatly appreciated. Hint hint.

X.  Come to think of it, I should really get to work on revising my novelette. I finished it when I was 14, and I haven't touched it since. I've looked back on it and man was it cruddy. I could go on and on about how many things need to be fixed, but that will come once it's published. Be patient. ;)


Thanks for reading. Check out others' TOLs and join in on the fun yourself!

Until next time,
x  Janessa

2 comments:

  1. I tried the classical music while studying thing too, and while I'm not sure it actually worked, it was still nice to get some background noise to get rid of that heavy silence. Now I listen to any kind of instrumental music that doesn't have lyrics. As for books, the first one that came to my head is Red Rising by Pierce Brown. An awesome series if you like The Hunger Games dystopian kind of stuff.

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    1. Thanks for the recommendation! I'm always eager for new reads :)

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