laura gabrielle ♡︎

marie dessert tabletop server

"after the frst world war, the production of fashion fans with fabric leaves declined in favor of advertising fans with paper leaves.

fans commemorating the allied victory are preserved at the army museum. during the interwar period, duvelleroy created fans made of ostrich feathers to adorn flappers.

the fan commissioned by Farida Zulfikar for her wedding to King Farouk of Egypt in 1938 was the company's last royal commission."

I thought I’d share some of the techniques I’ve learned that helped my dancing better than anything else.

#1 super-helpful revolutionary tip: Hamstrings! Use them! They help keep your hips from tilting forward and also keep your weight on top of your standing leg. It took a long time for me to make this a habit, but once I did, my balance immediately became ten times better. (And yet, mysteriously, my turns still suck.)

Your arms don’t start at your shoulders. They start at your back. If I think of extending my arms outward from my shoulder blades, it makes turns cleaner and easier. It’s impossible (or at the very least, difficult) to let your arms trail behind you if your back is engaged.

Listen to the music, and I don’t mean just the counts. A dancer whose movements reflect the music dynamically and emotionally is so much more interesting to watch. It’s also a lot of fun to do. (I tend to forget to do it, though. I have higher priorities, like not messing up combinations and pointing my toes and stuff.)

“If you think you need the barre, you don’t.” This was my teacher’s main rule my last semester in college. Basically, it means, try to never hold on to the barre, even–especially–during the hard stuff (adage, cough cough). The less you hold on to the barre, the stronger you’ll get.

A pair of pink ballet slippers, owned by Amy Winehouse. Size 6.