Adult Ballet Magazine n°2 by adultballetmagazine

ADULT BALLET Magazine

PORTAIT

MY.BALLET.LOVE meet Deborah, dreamer, traveller, and

adult ballerina

Ballet flats:

less loved than pointe shoes, but as much important!

Bases of ballet: the five positions in ballet.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in my dance bag ? Accessories and essentials GOAL: turnout!

Understanding the mechanism of your turnout to work better on it

2 ©Pixabay

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

EDITORIAL It is with great pleasure that I present the second issue of the Adult Ballet Magazine. ABM has been welcomed with so much love and kindness on our Instagram page and the support from our followers is valuable beyond words. The positive response to ABM has been positively overwhelming and I would like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to share your suggestions and feedback. I am pleased to introduce my new team who have been assisting me to produce this second edition of ABM : Cristina Michellini and Cidgem Turan, who wrote the excellent article about turnout, Meraymi Ibramhim (@raymix_), who corrected every articles, and the incredible guest of this edition : Deborah (@my.ballet.love). Your contributions have brought more ideas and diversity to ABM and I thoroughly look forward taking it to the next level. ABM originally started as a personal tribute to the wondrous world of the adult ballet community, but today it has become a shared and committed project between us all. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not only my personal ambition now, but also the work of many people who have taken part to bringing life to a community worldwide. And that is why Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so proud of it. ABM is proof the adult ballet community has no boundary. We are united, sharing and spreading love through the beauty of ballet and inclusion. We are here to showcase a dance form that can give you wings to spread. With work and true dedication the art of ballet can do wonders for anyone who tries out. I do hope you enjoy this second issue of Adult Ballet Magazine as much as the first, if not more. Please feel free to drop me a message, even just to tell me you have now be convinced to start ballet dancing after reading ABM and finding others with the same motivations. I hope this beautiful community will continue to grow and prove that it is never too late to chase your dreams through the medium of dance. Continue to dream big, adult ballerinas. All the best Camille, @nevertoolateforballet.

Adult Ballet Magazine - NÂ°2

Summary Editorial...................................................................................................................... p.3 Before starting, a little disclaimer...................................................................... p.5 Ballet flats : less loved than pointe shoes, but as much important !......... p.6 Interview : meet Deborah from @my.ballet.love........................................... p.10 First steps at the barre : the five position in ballet....................................... p.16 Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in my dance bag ?.......................................................................................p.20 Turn Out , by Cristina Michelini and Cigdem Turan..............................................p.30 A classical ballet : Swan Lake.............................................................................p.40 Instagram : a list of accounts not to miss........................................................p.46 The final word..........................................................................................................p.48

Adult Ballet Magazine - NÂ°2

Before starting...

a little disclaimer

In case you didn’t read Adult Ballet Magazine 1, there are some things you need to know before continuing the reading of ABM 2 : • First of all... English is not my native language. I’m French. So there might be some mistakes in the expression or the grammar. Please forgive them. • I’m not a professional dancer or teacher, so the tips that I give (about stretching, tools, motivation...) are what I do for myself (and have often been taught by my teacher) but not absolute truth. If you follow them I don’t have any responsibility in the consequences, good or bad. • All the pictures, or quotations (any content actually) are credited to their owners or the place where I found them, nothing (except where mentioned) is my personal content. • I’m nor a professional in journalism, nor in page setting. So you can give your thoughts about the magazine but don’t forget that that’s not professional content (not yet, anyway). What you’re reading is the work of an amateur, admittedly passionate, but an amateur in any case. So this is all volutary, because I wanted to give our beautiful community a tribute.

Thanks, and enjoy reading, ballerinas!

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

Ballet flats :

less loved than pointe shoes, but as much important !

Who has never fallen in love with a portrait of magnificent pointe shoes? There is something stunning about their beautiful pink, shiny satin and their long flowing ribbons. It is not unusual to want them before you have even started dancing! It is fair to say we rarely feel the same about ballet flats; they just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always seem to excite us in the same way pointe shoes do. It can be easy to forget that ballet flats are our closest friends and endure a lot on our journey from the beginning, to the anticipated promotion to dance en pointe. They live through a life of sweat, dirt and damage, so we are here to finally give them the recognition they well and truly deserve. Know your Dance shoes. Your guide to ballet flats, from their materials to soles and colours.

Adult Ballet Magazine - NÂ°2

T H E M AT E R I A L There are two preferred materials used for ballet flats, leather or canvas. However you can buy flats in satin, but they are quite uncommonly used for regular dance practice. • Leather flats are made with solid good quality leather and are made to last. Like pointe shoes, they need breaking in, as they do not start out so flexible. To ensure they don’t become slack too quickly, buy them in a comfortable size, ballet shoes should fit like a glove! • Canvas flats are often considered easier to wear as they take less time to break in and become flexible quicker than leather. The more you wear them, the more they shape to your feet and can feel like dancing in comfortable slippers. Beware though; canvas flats are less solid that the leather and can wear out sooner. • Last but not least, flats of the satin variety are very much like wearing canvas; softer, flexible and more prone to damage quickly. Satin flats are more commonly used for dance performances as you can attach ribbons and wear them with costumes.

Leather flats

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• Ballet flats and pointes come in a variety of different materials and colours. While male ballet shoes are commonly black or white, and pointe shoes are mainly pink, there are many colour choices for shoes to match all costume designs.

Canvas flats

Satin flats

THE SOLES There are two types of soles available in ballet flats, the difference between these shoes are the way they make your feet work. • A full sole is usually recommended for children or beginners because they provide more stable support. They enable the feet to work harder and encourage the foot to break in the sole by constantly pointing the toes to arch the feet. • Dual soles are more flexible to dance in. You are more likely to use these types of shoes at a more advanced or intermediate stage of ballet. For example professional male ballet dancers will never dance on pointe, so dual or split soled ballet flats will be ideal for their experienced feet and posture. A special mention to these shoes : Bloch Elastosplit® • This unique type of ballet flats are made by a well known brand which are made with no material in the centre of the shoe and are held together with just elastics on the arches of the feet. Bloch Elastosplit are designed to enhance the arch in your foot and provide a different sensation when dancing.

©Bloch

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

P O O R LY K N OW N , B U T V E RY U S E F U L : THE DEMI-POINTES

The demi pointes shoes are not widely known to a lot of aspiring dancers. Although being French, I didn’t know of them before discovering them on social media and saw them worn by others as flat shoes. Their use really depends on your dance school and which method your tutor decides to teach with. They are also called pre-pointes of soft-block. Actually, demi pointe shoes are a bridge between flats and pointe shoes. They provide a more gradual transition between the dance levels. Demi-pointes have a shaped box like a pointe shoe in the toes with no sti shank in the sole. They look very similar to pointe shoes, but you cannot dance en pointe whilst wearing them.

©Bloch

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

Interview : meet

Deborah

from @my.ballet.love

ÂŠ Anninjonsson photography

Adult Ballet Magazine - NÂ°2

Dreamer, traveller, and adult ballerina, Deborah is one of the first to have shared her ballet adventure as an adult. 5 years later, 25k followers on Instagram, she’s one of the most influent and inspiring adult ballerina. Let’s get to know her more... •

When did you began ballet?

I started dancing ballet when I was 5 years old, danced until I was 17 and then took a break. I restarted dancing ballet 5 years ago at 24 years.

• Do you or have you ever did any other type of dance? If yes, which one?

I did some modern/contemporary and also HipHop when I was a teen, but not ever very seriously. I’ve been thinking about starting to do some contemporary now for a while though.

•

And why ballet is your favourite?

Like with any other sport, other dance styles used to bore me a bit after a while, or I didn’t feel quite comfortable in them, so ballet is the only one that always kept me excited and on the edge.

«Ballet is the only dance style that always kept me excited and on the edge»

•. How many hours do you spent in ballet classes in a week? Oh that’s a hard one… so I usually try to get to about 4 classes+2 pointe classes a week. Sometimes I only manage to get to 3, and other weeks I can do even 5. It really depends on my work schedule and in what condition my body is that week. One class is 1.5 hours, pointeclass is 1hour, so I guess it’s about 8hours a week…?

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

Adult Ballet Magazine - NÂ°2

• Do you work at home too? If classes that are new and different. yes, what kind of work do you do: It’s scary, but when you get used stretching, strengthening…? to doing it, you stress less and less I do some things at home. I stretch, about being good at it, and open yourself up to acdo yoga flow where I would just do poses «I believe that you tually experiencing something new and and stretches while need to be possibly listening to what my body needs that day. determined and inspiring, while learning new vocabuI also do a lot of randedicated while lary, combinations, dom balancing and styles and ways of rises at home and a patient and teaching. That will while ago I started persistent give you an open practicing handsmind, tands to help build a [to do ballet]» and keep your learbetter alignment of my core and chest/shoulders and ning skills sharp. It’s also always strengthen my upper back and neck. been an amazing experience to connect with other passionate dan• For you, which mental quali- cers, ties are needed to be a good ballet and so far almost always people came up to me after, asking where dancer (not only professionals)? I believe you need to be determined I’m from, being very interested and and dedicated while patient and per- wanting to connect too. sistent. The tricky part is the balance between not giving up and keep working on it but at the same time not to stress about it and then tense up. So be kind with yourself, but never let yourself give up. • You’ve practiced ballet in several countries. Did you like to discover different styles and methods? Why? I actually come to love to drop into 14

• According to you, what are the benefits/drawbacks of being an adult ballet dancer? Well for starters, we don’t have to rely on the health and functioning of our body to make a living. That’s a huge plus! That would probably put a lot of pressure on me. Also we don’t need the perfect body/flexibility/turnout etc. We can just do what we love without anyone

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judging our abilities. But in my case, I never get to really learn a choreography or to perform in any way. For a while now, I’ve been making plans and started to work to make that happen for us, I want to give those who want it the opportunity to master a variation or choreography and show it to people, and considering the hard work that we put in, I think we definitely deserve it!

teacher would tell us all the time during classes. Recently I keep reminding myself to dance out of love and nothing else. Not to be perfect, not to please, not to achieve anything, but simply because your heart aches for it.

• Do you have something else to say to close this interview? Well, I hope that his community keeps growing and that people meet • What is your most beautiful each other more and more and just memory talking about ballet? maybe, my dream Memory talking about ballet? Well of an adult ballet company will come I so far loved every conversation I true some day. Until then I will do all had with all the many adult balle- I can to travel places and dance my rinas I’ve met on my many trips so heart out far. I felt very connected and found with all the great dancers that share that a lot of adult ballerinas are very this crazy love with me. likeminded in certain ways. My most beautiful memory of dancing ballet would actually be the dancing in all those different places during my US trip. Like dancing on the beach. That was just really special. Oh and maybe taking class at Staatsballett Berlin in those huge studios! • Do you have a motto in ballet? What is it? A motto… hm not sure if I do. I keep saying Never give up a lot to people, but that’s also just something my

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« Dance out of

love

and nothing else »

First steps at the barre : the five positions in Ballet

ÂŠPixabay

Adult Ballet Magazine - NÂ°2

In ballet, the body positions and alignment are crucial. They are the origins of all graceful movement and steps. There is no ballet without these five positions. Let’s (re)discover them.

1. This is where it all starts. Heels are joined with your feet turned out with arms draw a circle in front of you. Your hands should be level with your belly button.

2. The second position is similar to first, but with some distance about a hip apart between your feet. Your arms should be open from the side.

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

3. Third is a rare position and is used more as transition movement towards fifth. Fifth is difficult to achieve when you don’t have enough turnout or flexibility and you can become misplaced if you force yourself into position without sufficient balance. You ankles are adjacent to each other with space between them. One arm is positioned in what is called a “couronne” (“crown” in English) where it is lifted above your head, and your other arm is placed in second position. 4. Fourth position is very important in ballet because it is the basis of pirouettes and turns. Your legs are turned out, in front of each other, with the length of a foot between them. You cross your feet, but unlike third position, your toes are in line with your heel. One arm is in couronne, and the other is placed in first.

5. The sacrosanct fifth position is the hardest of all, as it requires good turnout to be successfully achieved. You begin by straightening your legs and turning your feet out one in front of the other and placed one behind the other with no space in between. The front foot should hide the other one. Your arms are placed in the couronne position above your head. Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

©Pixabay

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

What’s in my dance bag ? They are hours of videos featuring, “what’s in my dance bag?” on many social platforms. Here is a short list of some of the basic essentials things that we recommend you carry with to all classes that will never fail you.

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

THE OUTFIT

©Repetto

©Intermezzo

©Decathlon

The iconic outfit of a ballet dancer is made of a leotard, tights (convertible or not), and a skirt. They are many varieties and styles for ballet dancewear nowadays, shapes, colours, skirt lengths... as much possibilities as they are ballet dancers ! When the cold days come, they are also a lot of possibilties to keep your body and muscles warm, to prevent any injury.

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

Ankles warmers

©Repetto

Leg warmers

©Repetto

A wrap-over top Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

©Repetto

A warmup suit

ABOUT THE SHOES

©Merlet

©Grishko

Obviously, in your dance bag, you’ve got to include a pair of flats ballet shoes. For those who are already there, you’ll have to take your pointe shoes too. And with them, a lot of accessories come ! Let’s see the possibilities of padding.

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

©Grishko

©Bunheads

The most common accessories for padding nowadays probably are the ouch pouches. They are made of silicone, or cotton. But there are still some ballerinas and dancer who use other method, like lamb’s wool. There are a lot of other accessories for padding : toe separator, toe tape... it’s up to every ballerina to find her own kind of padding to feel comfortable in her shoes !

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

FOR YOUR HAIR

©Bloch

To perfect a ballet bun, you’ll need an elastic hairband, bobby pins and a hairnet. It’s fun to also decorate your bun with a scrunchie, ribbon or bun wrap.

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

ACCESSORIES

©Xindao.com

©Decathlon

1. A water bottle. Because this is essential to stay hydrated. It prevents from cramps, and it’s important to drink a lot a water when you work on your flexibility. 2. An elastic with holes. It’s helpful with a lot of stretching exercises, like when you work on your middle split.

©Decathlon

3. A theraband. Because theraband are our best friend, isn’t it ? It’s helpful for strengthening, particularly for foot and ankles.

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

4 5

©Amazon

©Bloch

©Le baume du Tigre

4. Massage balls. They are mainly used to warm up the feet, as the number 5, a foot roller. 6. Tiger Balm. Tiger balm is often used to warm some sore part of the body. It’s made with natural oils. Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

ÂŠ Found on Google Images

TURN

Turnout is a fondamental in Ballet. You have to be turned out, open, all the time, in all the steps. But how does the turn out work exactly ? From where does it come from ? 30

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OUT

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s capital to learn how true turnout works to do it properly and prevent injuries. Cristina Michellini and Cidgem Turan, PhD students, made us the honnor to light our mind, and to initiate us to the biologic dimension of ballet.

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• DO WE NEED PERFECT TURNOUT? Limited turnout can be for many adult dancers a source of great disappointment. You’ve probably heard how it is anatomically impossible after a certain age to work your hip joints towards that amazing 180 degrees aperture, and that only a few blessed dancers are born with a predisposition for it. Well, this is partially true. But here are two important realities about turnout that will motivate you to keep dancing on with much less worry. Firstly, you can significantly improve your turnout over time; secondly, and most importantly, turnout is much more about technique and awareness than it is about appearance! As an adult dancer your objective should not be so much about showing a perfect outward rotation, but rather about consciously working on your turnout. So, what are the must knows about turnout?

• UNDERSTAND WHAT TURNOUT IS Turnout is achieved principally through an outward rotation of the legs in the hip socket. Turnout is fundamental in ballet for two reasons: weight-bearing support and leg gestures. The weight-bearing function consists in stabilizing the pelvis: when applying turnout a muscular link is formed connecting the thigh and the pelvis. When it comes to leg gestures, turnout mechanically allows for a wider range, adds a certain quality to the leg movement and facilitates sideways movement on stage (Daniels, 2007). According to IADMS, 3 out of 5 of the most important factors affecting your ability to turnout are related to your bone structure. That is the bad news, because as adult ballet dancers we can do little or nothing about it. But there are other two important things we can work on. We can improve flexibility and strength of the muscles surrounding the hips.

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UNDERSTAND CORRECT TURNOUT Alignment Anatomically speaking, the turnout is not really a movement from the center to the side, but rather a rotation from the outside towards the back of your body. Start thinking of turnout as bringing your leg from the side to the back of your body and then under your body’s midline. This visualization will allow you to activate the hip muscles rather than the knees or feet. The very start of correct turnout is correct alignment. The hip has its widest range of motion when it is in a neutral position as opposed to when it is swayed either forward or backward. When applying turnout, your pelvis should be stable and your leg should rotate along the femur’s long axis (Daniels, 2007). Your torso should remain vertical, the knees pointing to the side and the kneecaps aligned over the second toes (Solomon et al., 2005). Visualize your turnout as working from the hips down.

Find the important muscles Hip external rotation is assisted by many muscles. But a particular group of muscles is the most effective: the deep six rotators (the deep six). Concentrating on isolating and reinforcing them is fundamental to avoid loading other muscles (Daniels, 2007). The “deep six”, also known as the lateral rotators or deep external rotators, are six small muscles placed under the gluteus maximus. They run at the back of the hip joint, behind our ischiofemoral ligament, and are attached to the outside head of our femur. By pulling the head of the femur towards the back of the pelvis, the deep six allow you to turnout (IADMS, 2011). (see next image for details on the deep six)

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

Work correctly and consciously at the barre

Do not rely on it as a crutch, but only as a support, by testing your balance now and then. You also want to keep your weight on the ball of your feet rather than on your heels. Take the time to concentrate at the barre, because it will make it easier for you to maintain turnout in center!

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• BE AWARE OF BAD HABITS Do not overuse the gluteus maximus Squeezing your glutes can shift your attention and muscle activation to the upper pelvis. You should instead concentrate “lower”, on your sitting bones, to engage the deep six. In a standing position, think of elongating and rotating your leg from the hip, with your feet pushing down into the floor while the hips lift away from the floor. Do not exploit floor friction Forcing your rotation from knees and ankles by using floor friction is probably the most common bad habit. Instead, think of rotating the upper leg in the hip socket. A good trick is always to take your first position into rise and then lower it with control. The rotation you land in, is your natural rotation. Don’t forget the supporting leg Both supporting and gesture leg should be rotated equally. Sometimes cheating could give the impression of a higher and more rotated gesture leg, but it is harmful in the long run to the quality of your movement. Do not tilt your pelvis forward Curving your lower back may make you feel like you can reach a wider turnout (it loosens the ilio-femoral ligaments, allowing for increased rotation of the legs in the hip socket) but it brings your alignment out of axis and therefore makes it more likely in the long term to get injured!

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

TRY THESE EXERCISES Side-lying Exercise (Haas, 2010) This exercise allows effectively locating and visualizing the deep six as well as strengthening them without too much engagement of secondary muscles: 1. Lie on your side with the bottom arm overhead and your head resting on it; 2. Bring your top arm on the floor in front of you; 3. Place the top leg bent and opened to the side (passeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; position) with the foot placed in front of the bottom leg, heel down; 4. Engage your core to reorganize your trunk; 5. As you exhale press your top leg towards the outside (better if against the resistance of the hand of a friend assisting you); 6. Keep the turnout working with the bottom leg too!!! 7. Hold for 6 seconds; 8. Relax; 9. Repeat 10 to 12 times.

Adult Ballet Magazine - NÂ°2

Face-down Lying exercise (Haas, 2010) This exercise is easy yet effective, but you really need to try it out a few times before you get it right. 1. Lie facedown; 2. Bring your legs in a demi-plie’ position; 3. Make sure your pelvis is neutral and your hip bones and public bone adhere to the floor– you should feel these bony parts flat on the floor at all times and never lifting; 4. Flex your feet and bring your heels to touch; 5. As you exhale, contract your abs to make sure you maintain the pelvis in a neutral position and push your heels together and down towards the floor; 6. Hold for 6 seconds; 7. Relax; 8. Repeat 10 to 12 times.

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

Good turnout requires balance between flexibility and strength. Some tightness in the hip muscles could prevent you from releasing into a better turnout, or it could cause bad pelvis alignment, which in turn is also a cause of limited turnout (Haas, 2010). The below stretches help relaxing the hip joints to move more freely into our range of rotation. Note: You should not do these stretches if it feels painful in the front of the hips and knees. • The ‘Fire Log Pose’ is an exercise suggested by The Ballet Blog (2016) and targets the Gluteus Medius, therefore targeting tightness in the back of the hips. 1. Sit with your legs in front and cross them; 2. Bring the heel of your right foot on top of your left knee; 3. Align the left heel under your right knee; 4. Both legs shin bones should be placed parallel over each other; 5. Lean back by supporting your trunk with your hands on the floor; 6. Slowly, let your knees drop out to the sides.

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

The hips might be tight in this position. If so you can place a pillow under your knee. Once you feel less tight you can try to gently lean forward from the hips with your upper body by keeping your spine straight. Breath in and out slowly, release when breathing out. • The Ballet Blog (2016) also suggests the ‘Yogi Sit’ to stretch the Piriformis. The exercise is particularly useful if you find that it is hard for you to maintain your turnout when gesturing your legs forward (“en devant”). 1. Sit on the floor with your legs forward; 2. Cross them so that you have one knee on top of the other; 3. Lean back by supporting your upper body with your hands; 4. Gently try to lean forward from the hips by keeping your spine elongated from your tailbone (this means your forward lean originates from the hips).

NOTES ON STRETCHING

We all know we need to stretch, but what we would like to add here is that rather than stretching just at the beginning and at the end of the class, we found the benefits of stretching throughout. Take a moment at the end of the tendu exercises to stretch your glutes and your inner thighs. The same goes for the fondus and the ronds-de-jambes. These are exercises that are usually executed slowly enough to really focus on rotation. If you gradually stretch your hips throughout class, you can work your turnout further and further. You will see the incremental improvement!

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A CLASSICAL BALLET :

Swan Lake

Composer: Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky Date of composition: 1875-1876

Original creation: Bolshoi Ballet on the 4th of March 1877

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If you would have to quote the most popular ballet of all times, what would you answer? Probably Swan Lake. Ask somebody who don’t know anything about ballet to quote one, he inevitably would say Swan Lake. Because that’s it: Swan Lake is the most popular and the most known of all the classical ballet. Inspired by Russian folk tales, its scenario is well known around the world. Let’s explore the story of this great piece of ballet. Swan Lake has different ends, and many variations in its history. This is the most common and the main scenario of this timeless ballet.

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Act 1 A magnificent park before a palace. Prince Siegfried is celebrating his birthday with his tutor, friends and peasants. The revelries are interrupted by Siegfried’s mother, the Queen, who is concerned about her son’s carefree lifestyle. She tells him that he must choose a bride at the Royal Ball the following evening. Siegfried is upset that he cannot marry for love. His friend Benno and the tutor try to lift his troubled mood. As evening falls, Benno sees a flock of swans flying overhead and suggests they go on a hunt. Siegfried and his friends take their crossbows and set off in pursuit of the swans.

Act 2 A lakeside clearing in a forest by the ruins of a chapel. A moonlit night. Siegfried has become separated from his friends. He arrives at the lakeside clearing, just as a flock of swans land nearby. He aims his crossbow at the swans, but freezes when one of them transforms into a beautiful maiden, Odette. At first, she is terrified of Siegfried. When he promises not to harm her, she tells him that she is the Swan Queen Odette. She and her companions are victims of a terrible spell cast by the evil owl-like sorcerer Rothbart. By day they are turned into swans and only at night, by the side of the enchanted lake – created from the tears of Odette’s mother – do they return to human form. The spell can only be broken if one who has never loved before swears to love Odette forever. Rothbart suddenly appears. Siegfried threatens to kill him but Odette intercedes – if Rothbart dies before the spell is broken, it can never be undone. As Rothbart disappears, the swan maidens fill the clearing. Siegfried breaks his crossbow, and sets about winning Odette’s trust as the two fall in love. But as dawn arrives, the evil spell draws Odette and her companions back to the lake and they are turned into swans again.

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

©Pixabay

44 ÂŠ Jack Devant

Adult Ballet Magazine - NÂ°2

Act 3 An opulent hall in the palace Guests arrive at the palace for a costume ball. Six princesses are presented to the prince, one of whom his mother hopes he will choose as his bride. Then Rothbart arrives in disguise with his enchantress daughter, Odile, who has also transformed to appear as Odette in all respects. Though the princesses try to attract the prince with their dances, Siegfried, mistaking Odile for Odette, has eyes only for her and dances with Odile. Odette appears as a vision and vainly tries to warn Siegfried that he is being deceived. But Siegfried remains oblivious and proclaims to the court that he intends to make Odile his wife. Rothbart shows Siegfried a magical vision of Odette and he realises his mistake. Grief-stricken, Siegfried hurries back to the lake.

Act 4 By the lakeside Odette is distraught at Siegfriedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s betrayal. The swan-maidens try to comfort her, but she is resigned to death. Siegfried returns to the lake and finds Odette. He makes a passionate apology. She forgives him and the pair reaffirm their love. Rothbart appears and insists that Siegfried fulfill his pledge to marry Odile, after which Odette will be transformed into a swan forever. Siegfried chooses to die alongside Odette and they leap into the lake. This breaks Rothbartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spell over the swan maidens, causing him to lose his power over them and he dies. In an apotheosis, the swan maidens watch as Siegfried and Odette ascend into the Heavens together, forever united in love.

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A list of account not to miss. With every issue of Adult Ballet Magazine, 10 Instagram accounts not to miss : 7 adult ballerinas and 3 professionnal or ballet student.

Adult Ballerinas @madeline.ballet 624 followers

@ditothebarre 366 followers

@ymtheresa 2485 followers

@nathalie_mxn 4371 followers

@sophiaballerina_ 585 followers

@clairehastings0406 2291 followers

@evilvendingmachine 2971 followers 46

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Professionnals

Ballet Students

@balletrusse 172k followers Maria Kochetkova is a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet.

@pascalerina 7980 followers Allie is studying ballet at School Cadence Ballet in Canada. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incredibly talented at her young age !

@ashlynmaeballerina 49,5k followers Ashlyn Mae is a beautiful and talented vegan ballerina. She has feet to fall in love for and dance so beautifully.

Adult Ballet Magazine - NÂ°2

The final word And that’s it guys, Adult Ballet Magazine 2 is already over. I truly hope that you liked this edition as much as the first one, and that ABM will continue to inspire people and give them hope and courage, and even decide some people to start ballet. Once again, I want to thanks all the people who worked with me on this second issue. Adult Ballet Magazine 2 would have been much less interesting and complete without them. I really hope that this beautiful adult ballet community will continue to grow, and keep showing people that it’s never too late to chase your dreams if your determined and dedicated. Please, let me know your thought about this issue, about the new kind of articles, like the one about turnout, more scentifically oriented. If you have ideas for the next edition, let me know too. I’m always in search of some new contents to enrich ABM. Thanks for reading this second edition until the end, thanks for your unending support each time I made an update about my work, and thanks for you patience while waiting for ABM 2. Lots of love and pointe shoes, Camille, from @nevertoolateforballet.

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2

©Pixabay

Adult Ballet Magazine

©Pixabay

®Camille DE ALMEIDA, @nevertoolateforballet 50

Adult Ballet Magazine - N°2