Started Ballet at 31! Meet Sterlin in the new Behind the Dancer video!

Started Ballet at 31! Meet Sterlin in the new Behind the Dancer video!

Thursday, March 12, 2020

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In this third episode of Behind the Dancer you get to meet Sterlin - a ballet beginner as of five years ago who is now directing an adult ballet performance group and has started a professional dance company and school!!

I am so fortunate to get to dance and perform with Sterlin at Oklahoma City Ballet's school and reap the benefits of him paving the way for dancers of all ages and levels to get to perform, as you guys have seen in my performance vlogs throughout 2019!

After sharing this video with Abby before it went live, she sent me the perfect takeaway of listening to Sterlin tell his story!

"The main message I think is so great about Sterlin's video is that, yes, maybe you can't start that late in life and go pro, but you can start really late in life and still have legit involvement in the art and in the community. That it's not about going down the same track as students that start young and go pro, but creating and forging new tracks for people also doing what you are doing. And that just because it hasn't been done yet or isn't done as a standard, doesn't mean there isn't room for something new." - Abby

Enjoy the video and make sure to subscribe to us on YouTube for more!

Jana

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New Vlog! Pilates Exercise with Brittany Cavaco

New Vlog! Pilates Exercise with Brittany Cavaco

Monday, April 10, 2017

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This past week I hosted professional ballet dancer Brittany Cavaco while she was in town. I met Brittany last summer in Washington, D.C. when we got together to do a photo shoot! Her visit was a short two nights, but it was great to have some dancer slumber parties! :) I vlogged one of the days and she shared a really great pilates exercise to help with my knees. She also went to class with me and Kristin that night and I got TWO fouetté turns in a row, guys! Small progress, but progress! Watch it all in the vlog on our YouTube channel:

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6 Easy Snack Ideas for Dancers

6 Easy Snack Ideas for Dancers

Sunday, March 19, 2017

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This weekend I sat down with our friend, Kristin, for some snack talk! ;) You might recognize Kristin from a couple vlog videos of mine. Not only is she a great dancer, she's also a registered dietician. Since a lot of talk in our community lately has been about balancing work and family and ballet class, I thought it would be helpful to share some quick, easy, & healthy snack options for our crazy on-the-go schedules! We filmed a video with more details of each snack if you fancy getting your info that way :)

1.  Z U C C H I N I  C H O C O L A T E  C H I P  M U F F I N S

These muffins are an easy snack that will stay good through the week! Try making them in normal muffin/cupcake size and also in bite size! Kristin found & modified this recipe, using sour cream instead of greek yogurt, and adding 4 tablespoons of ground flax seen in place of flour for extra Omega-3s.

2.  G R A N O L A  B A R S

There are tons of granola bar options out there, so Kristin suggests finding a couple that you like the most and have them on hand. The ones we picked are: fig bars, granola cookie/cracker with peanut butter, cheese & crackers (cream cheese w/ chive pictured), & a trail mix bar.

3.  P E A N U T  B U T T E R ,  N U T E L L A ,  &  B A N A N A  W R A P

This is a slightly "heavier" well-balanced snack with protein, fat and carbs. Cut a large tortilla in half, spread nutella & peanut butter on it, top with slices of banana, and roll it up!

4.   C H O C O L A T E  M I L K  W I T H  F R U I T

Horizon makes an 8oz. pouch of chocolate milk making it really easy to get a serving of dairy, protein, and carbs. Enjoy it with a piece of fruit for an even more well-balanced snack. (tip: Kristin loves to drink a glass of chocolate milk as a recovery snack after class!)

5.   T U N A ,  C R A C K E R S ,  &  C H E E S E

Another good protein snack is to top crackers with tuna and/or cheese. You can switch this up by using saltine crackers, multi-grain crackers, different varieties of cheeses etc. This also works well with deli meat in place of tuna.

6.   T R A I L  M I X

Probably the easiest of all the snacks - a custom trail mix. We've made ours with an assortment of nuts (pecans, peanuts, pecans, pepitas), pistachios, cranberries & dried blueberries, dried banana, and dry dates. Mix all of these in a jar of choice to keep sealed at home or at work.

If you have any other great snack options you'd like to share, leave them in the comments below! Watch the video version of this post right here:

I hope everyone is having a happy and healthy year so far, as we inch our way into Spring!

Jana

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New Video! Collaboration with Kathryn Morgan

New Video! Collaboration with Kathryn Morgan

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

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Hello friends!

Yesterday we published an exciting video collaboration with former New York City Ballet soloist and fellow YouTuber, Kathryn Morgan! If you're aren't familiar with Kathryn's channel and/or her career, you should definitely take some time to explore her videos where she talks about her illness that led to her leaving her position with NYCB. It's a heartbreaking story, but she's making the most of the situation by sharing her experience and knowledge of professional ballet to aspiring dancers in her YouTube videos.

I was in New York City last week so Kathryn and I met up to film a video together and chat about all things ballet and YouTube! It was great to talk to someone else in this niche! We filmed ourselves talking about confidence in ballet class, as that's something we've both dealt with in varying levels and it's something I think every dancer deals with. We went over things like body issues, difficult steps, and "off days". It's a great discussion and I think it helped me, personally, getting to talk those things out with her!

After we filmed we went for dinner and dessert at Cafe Lalo - the charming cafe from the movie You've Got Mail. :)

It was a super fun evening and I wish Abby could have been there with us! Maybe one day?? Check out the video below and subscribe to both of our channels if you haven't already!

- Jana

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