Category Archives: Keep Dancing

Finding Your Balance and Letting Go

19 Sunday Mar 2017

Posted by in Ballet, Ballet Class, Be happy--dance, Believe you can dance, Better body control, Breathing to release tension, Encouragement, Holding on to Tension, how to balance in ballet, How to improve at ballet, Inspiration for ballet, Keep Dancing, life balance, Uncategorized, Unnecessary Tension

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Catching my balance for a moment has the easy satisfaction of catching a ball. It’s a suspension, a momentary win, an opportunity taken. It stems from a lengthened, fluid, effortful lift. It takes a quiet internal strength, but without tension or gripping. It also takes trust, letting go of control, and letting go of the barre! When my balance is on, it feels weightless, like a rising breath of air, and when it is off, it feels wobbly, uncertain, and totally frustrating.

I fight to maintain balance in the studio as well as in my busy New York life. Recently, I came home to Hawaii to visit a friend and help her welcome her new baby into the world. Letting go here is less about releasing my hand from the crutch of the barre, and more about melting into the landscape, life with a baby, and her milk-drunk cuddles. Yet in ballet class, I found my balance here in Hawaii was better than it has been. Maybe it was my friend Annie’s class, or maybe it helped to let go a little.
1. Set yourself up to succeed. While you are holding on to the barre, line everything up. Put your feet in sous-sus, in fifth position, in relevé, and start from the bottom up:
relax and lengthen your toes along the floor;

  • lift your heels in relevé as high as they will go;
  • make sure your legs are straight and long;
  • turn your legs out from deep in your hips, with your heels yearning forward,
  • pull your legs together like a baby snuggling, with no spaces between, or like a ziplock bag, zipping up all the way together with no holes;
  • relax your tailbone towards the floor, as you lift your lower belly up;
  • press your belly button to your spine as if wearing your skinny jeans;
  • calm your frontal ribcage, knit it together towards your hip bones and make space in your back ribs;
  • relax your shoulders down away from your ears and widen your collar bones;
  • lengthen your head toward the ceiling;
  • reach your arms up into fifth position – notice I didn’t say “place” – your arms also have a dynamic lifted energy. In a balance everything reaches up and out!

2. Before you let go of the barre lift more out of your hips by pushing down, reaching up and thinking happy thoughts of seeing friends, eating delicious pineapple or ahi poke, and Hawaiian trade winds. A balance is not total stillness, it has energy. Happy thoughts!

3. About wobbling – sometimes in letting go of the barre, there is some wobbling. A little wobbling is okay, focus on lifting and breathing. If I am wobbling badly, either I’m not fully lined up properly, not lifting in my core, or I’m hardening and gripping somewhere. I breathe and try again. Sometimes wobbling can be because of lack of sleep lack of food, or emotional distress. I refocus on pushing down, lifting up, and try again.

4. Breathing is not holding your breath-don’t forget to exhale too!

5. Your mind can play tricks on you with respect to other dancers in the room. Don’t be fooled. You are just as glorious and wonderful and have all the capacity they have. Yes, you can balance. Fight for it! Yes it is possible. Believing anything else is a cop out. Let others challenge and motivate you, and make you work harder, that is what dance friends are for! But your ultimate competition is you, your body and perhaps more importantly, your mind. Don’t give up on yourself, and don’t let yourself off the hook either. Go for it!

Now that I’m back in New York, mornings are no longer about burping the baby and her falling asleep on me to the music of mourning doves, a rustling brook, and the neighbors chickens. Letting go is about saying goodby to dear friends even as new exciting projects lure me back to the big city. But then again, it’s all about balance.

~Sarah
One of my projects is a fundraiser to raise money for Liberated Movement, the studio where I teach. You should come! It is going to be held on April 22, 5-8pm at Blender, located at 27 West 31st street at Madison Ave. Get your tickets here! 

Coming to New York? Come to my class! Tuesdays 7-8pm and Saturdays 12-1:30! 380 Broadway two blocks south of Canal street, buzzer #5. Only $10, yo!

Let’s Talk About Balls

06 Sunday Nov 2016

Posted by in Back pain relief, Ball massage, Ballet Class, Breathing to release tension, Dance, Hip pain relief, Holding on to Tension, How to improve at ballet, How to Massage with balls, How to roll on balls, Keep Dancing, Letting Go of Tension, Moving with Ease, Plantar Fasciitis, Relaxation, Releasing tension, Releasing tight muscles, Rolling on balls to release tension, Sciatica relief, Shoulder pain relief, Uncategorized

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These are my balls

I want to talk about balls. Not the kind you can get away with grabbing when you’re a celebrity. Not the kind of balls it takes to call your political opponent ‘nasty’ or the kind you want to hurl at your television on occasion – or three occasions, or lately every time it’s on. I’m talking about the antidote to all the stress of life, dancing, and this political season – massage balls! (Only 3 more days, world, we can do this!)

Seriously though, self-massage using massage balls is great at releasing tight areas. Balls are inexpensive, portable, and easy to work with. You probably already know that massage increases circulation, and brings blood and oxygen to muscles allowing them to relax. What you may not know is that releasing muscles and ligaments that are gripping can also help them perform better, allow the correct muscles to engage, and enable your body to function better! While getting a massage is a wonderful treat, using balls whenever and wherever you need is easy on your wallet and your schedule.

Where to get Balls:

You can use tennis balls, though I prefer a slightly harder ball like the Pinky Hi Bounce balls pictured above that I got in the toy aisle at my local drug store. (In Harlem the balls even come in iridescent shades!) Google says you can buy them on eBay for $4.78. They are three inches in diameter, slightly smaller and firmer than tennis balls. Some people prefer the harder lacrosse balls which are the same size but I find those balls are a bit too hard for me.
A word of caution: if you are experiencing serious pain that is not going away, please go to a doctor! Also, for my type A friends, go easy with the balls, and don’t roll over bones, or any sensitive areas. Don’t confuse sensation or tenderness with out and out pain, and stop if you feel any weird (bad) zinging sensations indicating you may be irritating a nerve. Be gentle with yourself, always. 
Here are five ways you can use balls for massage:

  1. Back Massage: (For those of us with long hair, tie your hair up before doing this one so you don’t get your hair caught under your balls). Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Press your feet down and lift your hips high and put the balls together in the middle of your back so the balls are on either side of (not ON) your spine. If your balls want to roll away from each other you can put them in a little ball sack. Heh. But, yes, I’m being serious. Press your feet into floor to roll yourself down (and the balls roll up) until the balls are near where your shoulder blades are. This area carries a lot of tension and may feel tender at first. Breathe into the sensation and allow yourself to relax and sink into the balls. If you want more pressure, press your feet into the floor and lift your hips. If you need less pressure, you can do this same thing with the balls against a wall instead of the floor, bringing your feet close to the wall for the least amount of pressure. Once the initial area of tension has dissipated, roll the balls slowly up towards your neck or down your back, stopping to breath and relax into each new area of tenderness. 
  2. Hips: Stay on your back but open one knee to the side so you’re halfway rolling to your side. Put one ball under the fleshy area of your butt. You may find some tender areas in there to release especially as you roll towards the side. Prop yourself up on your elbow for more pressure. You are releasing your gluteal muscles and as you get more on your side, your piriformis, a muscles that runs between your outer hip bone and your frontal hip point. This muscle gets sore with a lot of walking or when you do a lot of frappes – your standing leg, that is. When you find a good spot, you can get deeper into the muscle by slowly straightening and bending the leg you tilted to the side, or moving the leg in any way that feels good. Recently I was having some pain in the front of my hip and when I used the balls to release this area in the back of my hip that was gripping, the pain in the front of the hip lessened remarkably. Don’t forget to breathe as you are doing this. When you finish rolling out one side, switch to the other hip.
  3. Hamstring massage: Sit on the floor with your legs bent. Straighten your legs out in front of you as you place one ball under each thigh. Press down into the ball and turn your leg in and out from the hip to roll across the muscles of the hamstring as opposed to up and down. Move the  ball up or down your leg to the next area and then go back and forth across the muscle fibers.
  4. Shoulder blade: Lie on your back and and put the ball under your shoulder blade. Move your arm straight up and shug your shoulder up and down to get into the muscles there. Gently open your arm to the side to ‘cactus position’ and you may feel a stretch across the front of your shoulder.
  5. Foot Massage: Step on your balls to massage the arches of your feet. Place one ball under your foot in the arch near your heel. Add some pressure and then release and move to a different spot and repeat. This maybe particularly beneficial if you have plantar fasciitis. You may find it helpful to roll gently adding pressure as you can tolerate it. Or roll the ball lightly underfoot with less pressure. 

I hope this helps ease the tensions in your body if not in the political scene. Those tensions can only be solved one way. Vote. See you on the other side, and see you at the barre. 

~ Sarah

Asking How to Get Better at Ballet (or anything) vs. Asking Why 

13 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Ballet, Ballet Class, Ballet teacher, Be happy--dance, Correction from ballet teacher, Correction in ballet class, Dance, Encouragement, Going to ballet class, Holding on to Tension, How do I concentrate in ballet?, How to get better, How to improve at ballet, Inspiration, Keep Dancing, Letting Go of Tension, Motivation, Motivation for Ballet, Motivation to go to ballet, Releasing tension, Showing up for class, Uncategorized

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Comic genius Lucille Ball at the barre

When I’m not doing well at something in life or dance, I inevitably ask myself ‘why’. Why am I not getting this?, Why does everyone seem to get this but me? Or in ballet: Why can’t I get my leg higher?, Why do I always fall out of my pirouettes?, What is wrong with me? It feels so frustrating and self-defeating. 

In a gym class the other day at Mark Fisher Fitness, Michael Littig, Fitness expert, encouraged us to instead ask ourselves ‘how’. We went around the room, each saying how we wanted to feel – accomplished, motivated, energized, successful, strong. Each of our desired outcomes could be ours, he said, if we asked ourselves how do I get there instead of why can’t I get there. Asking “why” keeps you stuck, spinning your wheels and not moving forward, while asking “how” allows you to see the possibilities, encourages you to problem solve, and allows your mind (and body) to start changing. I told a friend about ‘how vs. why’, and we applied the concept to an idea she had, and pretty soon we had talked out an exciting plan to make her idea a reality! 

With this concept in mind, I decided to apply it to ballet. How can I get better at ballet? Let’s make it more manageable. How can I get 1% better at ballet? (We’re not talking ABT, just 1% better!)*

1. First it might help if I show up regularly to ballet class. I can work on that by looking ahead at my calendar, and blocking off the time. I can help myself stay on course by letting friends know I have a previous engagement at that time but I’d be available afterwards or on another night. I don’t have to tell them what the commitment is! Don’t feel bad for your friend, like that person is less important than ballet. No, you are doing this for you, and aren’t you just as important as your friend? Yes you are! 

This also applies to work. If you had tickets to a show for which you already paid money, and your boss asked you to stay late, you’d say, “I won’t be able to stay late tonight, I have plans.” Why should ballet be any less important than Hamilton tickets? 🙂  You don’t have to explain your personal commitments. 

2. Next I make sure I have something clean to wear and I pack my bag the night before so in the morning rush I don’t forget my shoes or pants or something. 

3. During class, I stay present, and focused, continually bringing my mind back into the room and not worrying about work or something outside  of class. 

4. I listen to all of the corrections given in class, and apply them to myself even if they aren’t specifically given to me. Any correction in ballet class can potentially help, so I pay attention.

5. I scan my body during class. Is my head held high, extending the back of my neck? Is my chin parallel to the floor? Are my shoulders down and back and is my back wide? Are my elbows lefted and my fingers reaching out as if they had LED lights radiating from my fingertips? Is my tailbone lengthening toward the floor as my belly lifts in and up? Can I maintain this tall, wide, expanded posture with grace and without tension? Are my legs extending out and away from my body, are my feet reaching long with all the toes reaching and stretching long when I point my feet instead of scrunching up my toes? 

6. I watch the other dancers in class. Everyone has their gifts and abilities, no matter what their level and watching the other dancers can allow me to learn more than if I only focus on myself. There is also some research that suggests watching others dance creates a kinesthetic response. It’s as if neurologically you are doing the movement when you watch others do a movement, particularly one with which you are familiar. Pretty cool!

7. Finally, after ballet class is over and while you’re still warm, commit to doing 5 minutes of simple stretching to take care of your  body before changing your clothes. 

8. What about homework?  Dancers ask me this all the time. The thing is, you can’t cram for ballet class. If you overstretch, you risk injury. Ballet is something at which you will improve slowly over time. When you are first learning, it’s better not to practice at home anyway because you don’t want to practice it wrong. The good news is that means you don’t need to do anything extra! You went to class, so give yourself a hug. No guilt for today! 

Keep asking yourself ‘how’. I’m going to see what other areas of my life I can improve using ‘how’. Until then, I’ll see you at the barre. 
~Sarah
Looking for a ballet class? Come join mine! Tuesdays 7-8, and Saturdays 12-1:30. 380 Broadway, Buzzer #5, two blocks south of Canal street. Classes are only $10.

*Getting 1% better at anything is also a Mark Fisher Fitness ism. 

Joy: Superpower for Spring

09 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by in Across the floor in Ballet, Ballet, Ballet Blues, Ballet Class, Ballet combinations, Be happy--dance, Encouragement, How to improve at ballet, How to remember steps in ballet, I can never remember combinations, I can't concentrate in ballet class, Inspiration, Keep Dancing, Learning dance combinations, Messing up in Ballet, Motivation for Ballet, Uncategorized

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Daffodils in Bryant Park

I grew up in Hawaii where we don’t have extreme seasons – not like in New York. We have whale season when humpback whales come to the islands, but that’s different. 

Winter used to be really hard for me with its short dark days. I couldn’t take the cold – anytime it fell below 20 degrees I would get sick. I’ve slowly learned about boots and warm clothes over the last thirteen years, and now I find spring the most difficult season.

Spring is tricky. The weather is changing faster than we can change our coats. It’s hot, cold, warm, wet, windy, and weird! The light looks like it will be warm out but it fools us. We’re impatient for summer to come and isn’t that similar to growth? We’re impatient to be better dancers – for the summer of our dancing to be in full swing. The growth period of learning is painful. It comes in fits and starts, just like spring. One moment is a  feeling of getting the steps, feeling the music just right, and then there’s the awkward uncomfortable gangliness when you can’t find the beat or recognize a step you once knew and you’re totally discombobulated. It’s tempting to be cruel…”Well I was never going to be any good anyway.” It’s tempting to lie to oneself -“I never liked that kind of dance to begin with,” (when you know you love it!) …It’s tempting to quit.

It’s easy to get caught up in our minds about the perceived judgement of others or the very real judgement we inflict on ourselves. Try to ease your mind of these kinds of thoughts, the worst of all suffering, and imagine instead we are all flowers in a garden, different, and unique, but no less beautiful than any other. Does the elegant tulip look down on the trumpet-nosed daffodils, those happy-yellow beacons of spring?  

It’s tempting to buy into one’s ego – “I’ve been dancing this long, I should know this by now”. How long has spring been around, how many millions and billions of years? Growth is not a smooth process, it’s up and down in fits and starts, three steps forward, two steps back. Instead of focusing on the goal, focus on the joy that dancing brings you. Your summer will come. For now, celebrate the imperfect moment of uncertainty when you aren’t sure exactly what the step is and you choose to dance anyway. As you move, you may start to figure out the movement. Bravo! Bask in the goodness of learning, the luxury of being a beginner without the pressure of having to perform. Relish the elation of simply moving to music. Instead of anticipating the summer, enjoy the daffodils.

My favorite moment in ballet class Tuesday night was when everyone was skipping in big glorious circles around the room to the Happy song, – “because I’m happy…” Everyone was jumping really high, lifting their knees, and pointing their feet: a room full of adults, all of us emphatically and gleefully skipping! Is there anything more joyful than that?

~ Sarah

In my open level ballet classes, sometimes beginners get left behind. I’m teaching a basic beginner workshop the first four Sundays of May–May 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd from 2:30-4pm at 380 Broadway.  For more information, email me at liberatedmovement@gmail.com

Open level classes are 7-8pm on Tuesdays, suggested donation $10.  For Ballet workshop 12-1:30pm on Saturdays, we request a minimum donation of $10.



On Dancing ‘Across the Floor’ (and Making Mistakes)

05 Saturday Dec 2015

Posted by in Across the floor in Ballet, Ballet Class, Dance, How to improve at ballet, How to remember choreography, How to remember steps in ballet, Keep Dancing, Make glorious mistakes, Marking steps in ballet, Messing up in Ballet, Motivation for Ballet

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You are in a ballet class for the first time–maybe your first ballet class in a long time–and suddenly the teacher says words you dread: “from the corner”. You realize you will be traveling from one corner of the dance studio across the center of the room in front of all the other dancers in a small group with only two two or three other dancers (to hide behind). Some of the dancers in your group may know the combination–in which case you can follow them; others may not–in which case if you follow them, it will be certain death. It can be completely terrifying. I’ve been there. I understand. No one wants to be judged or to publicly make a mistake! The thing is, dancing through the center of the room with the space to really take off and move can be a totally exhilarating experience and some of the best dancing of your life! Here are a few tips to help you get out of your head and dance.

1. Know when to start. Usually (not always) the teacher will play the music so you can hear it before you start dancing. Listen for the downbeat in the song. If it’s four beats to a measure, the teacher may count you in with a “5, 6, 7, 8!” Sometimes you may feel when to start. Trust that excellent instinct!

2. Find someone to dance with who you can follow. Maybe you have a friend in class who is slightly better at remembering steps than you are. Place yourself upstage of her so you can copy her AND still spot the corner. Find people you like and dance with them-it makes dancing much more fun. If you don’t know anyone, smile at someone. Congratulations, you just made a new friend!

3. Be extra confident about the first step. Even if you know the combination, if you have trouble getting into it, you can trip yourself up at the start. Ask the teacher questions, or ask a fellow dancer. If you aren’t sure, it is really ok to ask. It’s far, far better to ask in the beginning when things are still being explained than when everyone else is dancing and you are standing at the brink feeling terrified. Also, if you know the first step, even if you mess stuff up in the middle, you know how to start, and that’s great.

4. Everyone has different ways of learning. A lot of us are visual learners. Watching can be an amazing tool to learn how to do a particular move, or see how steps fit together. When you are not dancing, pay attention to the dancers who are, you can learn a lot whether they do the step correctly or not.

5. ‘Marking it’ is doing the steps but not fully. When the teacher is going over the steps, do it with your body, even if you are only half doing it or just doing it in place–you can even do the steps with your hands! Doing it physically in some way will get the movement into your body and actually make remembering the steps easier. As you are watching and waiting to dance, mark the movement with your feet or hands in your own little space.

6. It’s scary to get out there, I know! But don’t wait to be last, that puts added pressure on yourself. Sometimes you have to force yourself to go–like forcing yourself into cold water at the beach–but once you are in, you may find it exhilarating!

7. Attitude is everything. Even if you aren’t able to do the first step of the combination, and you aren’t at all sure of any of it, go for it anyway! (Unless you feel you may hurt yourself!) Like anything else, mindset is key. Keep a positive attitude about the situation–yes, you may mess up, and that is okay, that is why we go to ballet class–to learn and get better! Think of it this way, when a baby is learning to walk and she tries to stand and then plops down, you don’t say “Well that was horrible, obviously you’ll never be able to walk at that rate!” No! Of course not! You applaud her and say “Good job, that was awesome, do it again!” And you will try and next time your dancing across the floor will be better and pretty soon you’ll be the dancer everyone wants to follow–so stay positive!

I think the biggest fear in going across the floor is the fear of making a mistake. The truth about mistakes is, everyone makes them. Every. Single. Human. Even that ridiculously amazing dancer who looks like she was born doing triple pirouettes.

I asked a violinist friend about making mistakes. She said “Don’t let it get to you. Acknowledge the mistake and then put it away and move on.” Regarding making mistakes in life, an acting friend observed: “Mistakes are some of the best parts of my life! If I cut out all the mistakes, the rest would be pretty boring.” And about making mistakes in art, a writer friend gave me this quote by writer Neil Gaiman: “Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.” I mean, that almost makes me want to screw it up! The fact is, you will make mistakes, there is no avoiding them. You cannot improve without them. Therefore, there is no point to beating yourself up over them! So what is stopping you? Nothing. Get out there and Dance!

~Sarah

Join me for open level ballet classes at Liberated Movement Tuesdays 7-8pm and Saturdays 12-1:30pm at 380 Broadway, buzzer #5. Everyone is welcome. We’re learning Snow from Nutcracker this month. See you in class!

Thank you Jay Z or How To Break The Ballet Blues

24 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by in Ballet, Ballet Blues, Ballet Class, Ballet to pop music, Dance, How to improve at ballet, Inspiration, Jay Z, Jay Z rode the subway to a concert, Keep Dancing, Motivation, Motivation for Ballet

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The gorgeous Misty Copeland, first African American principal dancer with American Ballet Theater.

Thank you, Jay Z! That’s right, I am a ballet teacher, thanking Jay Z for how his music rocked my ballet class and inspired me too!

I often enjoy incorporating all kinds of music into ballet class. I used an Irish Jig on Saint Patrick’s day and Billy Joel’s New York State of Mind in spring. One dancer requested a waltz, so I looked on line, and was surprised when a Jay Z song came up. Sure enough, “My 1st Song” is in 6/8 time–the man is rapping to a waltz, it’s very cool. It has this earthy undulating rhythm.

After hearing the song, when I really listened to the words, I realized the other cool thing about this song. It made me understand why Jay Z landed on the front page of Time Magazine’s top 100 most influential people of 2015. By the way, my sister was also on that list, just not on the front cover.

In the song, Jay Z talks about how he asked Puff Daddy how to keep going, how to keep things fresh, how to keep his head above water. I did some googling and learned that in 1995, Jay Z was selling CDs out of the back of his car, and by 2003 when he wrote this song, he was a superstar megatalent and was planning to retire, just 8 years later! In the song, Puff tells Jay Z you have to keep things fresh, like when you first started, like back when you were an intern, like it’s your first song.

I realized this applies to ballet too–and probably every other passionate endeavor. It’s so easy to get caught up in the idea of success that sometimes you lose touch with the joy of simply creating. It’s vital to keep working, keep moving, and remember why you started dancing in the first place. Connect with the simple pleasure of learning your first steps, of feeling your body move in space, of turning or sailing across the floor in a leap. At first, when you start ballet you’re learning a lot of new steps, things are fresh and new and exciting. After awhile that learning starts to level off and you don’t see yourself making such big strides as you first did. It can be frustrating going to class and thinking you aren’t getting any better. What happens is the changes become more subtle as you begin a deeper learning of putting your expression into the movement, which is more nuanced. It can’t be measured so definitively. Whatever you do, don’t give up – do like the song says – keep going, keep moving – and remember the joy. Yes, it’s pain and struggle but it’s also the laughter it brings you. And that is where the gold is, that is your everything – it’s your life.

~Sarah

If you want to see what it’s like to dance ballet to Jay Z, we’ll be working on it today 12-1:30 at Liberated Movement. 380 Broadway buzzer number 5. Only $10.

Check this out: Jay Z took the train to his concert and he sat next to this woman. It’s very sweet.