Ballet is a wonderful experience for little girls and boys.  They get to dance out fairy tales instead of just reading them. I wish you and your child the best in your ballet experience.  If you live in the Sta. Rosa, Laguna area, you can reach me at 09083020319 for ballet classes.  Mention this blog for a free class.

Perhaps your kid is about to have look into that Canon camera in a ballet pictorial setting. Here are some practical tips:

• 1.) Come early! - In a production pictorial setting, you have to put on a costume or wear special make up.  For this reason, call time is usually 1hr before the scheduled shoot.  By coming late, you run the risk of not wearing the costume properly or putting on the best make-up.   In some cases, you may even damage the costume.
• 2.) Wear make-up before getting to the site. - If your circumstances permit and no special make-up is required, you should have your kid wear make-up before arriving at the photoshoot.  This way, you can focus on his/her costume.
• 3.) Keep the kids busy. -  Do what you can to keep your kid preoccupied while sitting down.  Bring books or games that will keep him/her from running around and destroying his/her costume. Pictorials usually take long because of the number of kids to be shot, so you have to bring quite a number of books and games.
• 4.) Bring food. - Because of the long wait time, bring along some snacks.  However, don’t let your kid eat brownies or other dark colored stuff unless you want his/her teeth to have stains.  You should also stay away from messy stuff like cream pies as they may spill on the costume.
• 5.) Bring a good container for the costume. - Bring a container that keeps the costume from being damaged during transport or storage.
• 6.) Practice your child’s smile. -  It’s interesting that we had to nag kids to smile. Have your child practice smiling the night before. It would even be better if you have a mock pictorial!

Hopefully this makes your pictorial experience more memorable in a positive way. Smile!

When choosing a style for your child you should consider the what of the following aspects you want to develop:

1.) Musicality

2.) Acting/Character on Stage

3.) Expression and creativity

4.) Physical control/flexibility

5.) Physical strength

If you want musicality, then jazz, tap and hip-hop. The dependency of these styles on beats and syncopation makes them ideal for this goal.  For character and acting, the classical is the best.  It teaches you to carry yourself like a prince or princess.  If you want to foster creativity and expression, then nothing beats contemporary.

As far as physical training is concerned,  Classical Ballet and Contemporary develop great control over muscle groups.  Classical leg battements and port de bras define peripheral muscles.  Arabesques and pirouettes develop the back and abdominals.  Contemporary contractions and releases develop the core. Think about contemporary dancers rolling like on the floor like rugs.   Hip-hop is known for exposive moves.  Jazz is notable for pelvic and hip isolations.

Among the styles, contemporary appears to confuse some people.  A co-teacher of mine in ballet commented that contemporary is like jazz.  They are actually not.  To understand what contemporary, we go back to its roots.  In the early part of the 20th century,  dancers hated the “fairy tale” like quality of ballet so they developed a more realist, earthy style known as Modern Dance.  In this style, dancers would use the floor and contract their bodies.  In the 60’s some dancers emphasized that natural movement was dance.  Improvisation and natural movement marked what is known as post-modern dance. The combination of Modern and Post-Modern  is now called Contemporary.

After choosing the style, you then consider the teacher.  Is the teacher really a dancer? How long did he/she dance? Where did he/she get the training? Is he/she part of a guild or network of teachers that oversees the quality of instruction? Are the rates reasonable? In my case, I danced for about 3 years before working in industry for 15 years.  After that I returned to ballet as a teacher.  I am part of the Christ centered  ACTS Manila consortium of teachers and ballet schools.  You can call me to compare my rates with other teachers in my area.

Only after considering the teacher should you consider the studio. I have taught ballet in small kindergarten classrooms.  A good teacher should be able to improvise teaching methods to meet the needs of the students.  I teach in 60 sq. m. church hall at Laguna Bel Air 2, Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Philippines.  You can call me at 09083020319 for a free ballet or contemporary class.

My entry route to Divisoria was through Binondo where the you see the famous Chinatown arch landmark after passing the Jones Bridge and the original Savory restaurant. The next landmark you will find is the rotonda where you will see the Binondo Church. Traffic was so bad, I got off at Starbucks and began my hunt in Juan Luna St. Take a look at where I got off.

This is where Juan Luna St. starts coming from Binondo.

**JUAN LUNA STREET

WHAT YOU WILL FIND: t-shirts (wholesale), t-shirt printing, commercial paper, printing and binding supplies, office equipment and supplies and a lot of banks in

Juan Luna Bridge - On the left side of the bridge, you will find  Ilaya and Tabora, New Divisoria Mall, M. de Santos etc.. On the right, you will find Juan Luna Plaza, Meisic Mall and 168 Mall. If you go straight up, you’ll end up on C.M. Recto Ave. where you will find Tutuban Mall.

** I turned left 2 streets after the bridge and bought 2 packs of jewelry foam from this lady who didn’t mind my taking a picture of her.

**COMMONER’S COMMERCIAL

This is how Commoner’s Commercial looks like. These guys were sport enough to “candidly” pose for me. Ü

WHAT YOU WILL FIND: acrylic boxes (be sure to bring a sample of the item you want to box so you can choose your size), plastic bags, sando bags, plastic bags with adhesive, kraft paper bags, round magnets, french fries boxes, plastic containers, cups and boxes for food or baked stuff, acrylic sheets, bubble wrap, cling wrap, colored wire, jewelry tags, paper and other packaging stuff.

** MORNING GLORY

Not quite sure if this is Morning Glory or Good Morning but nevertheless they’re both on the same street and both of these store sell sewing stuff.

WHAT YOU WILL FIND: all kinds of beads, thread, glitter, ric rac, lace, fabric flowers, sequins, buttons, ribbons and all kinds of jewelry and sewing stuff that you can imagine.

**WELLMANSON SEWING NOTIONS

I don’t have a picture of the store, but yes, there is a Wellmanson store in Divisoria.

WHAT YOU WILL FIND: jewelry making materials, findings, beads, jewelry tools, glitter, feathers, ric rac, lace, swarovski crystals, little wire tie twisties,

**TUTUBAN MALL COMPLEX

I just discovered that Tutuban Mall was divided into three buildings - am not quite sure if this is how they’re called : 1) Prime (where National bookstore is)  2) Block (the building with the escalator 3) and Cluster (the one parallel to Recto)

99 Slice and Dice Steak resto - So far this is where we always eat when we are in Divisoria.  We usually have the beef salpicao and kangkong. Affordable and tasty.

I discovered that there were other interesting places to eat just outside Tutuban Prime, near the parking lot. Maybe we’ll try them next time:

This is where we parked. This is directly behind Tutuban Prime.

I asked the security guard to pose for me (feeling John L. hahaha) Ü

Finally, this is what happens when the malls close. NIGHT MARKET!!!!!!! Pardon the blur. I was trying to shoot while in a moving car. Ü I just wanted to show how the shopping is still relentless even at night.

If you’ll notice, my pictures start out bright under the heat of the summer sun and end with  street lights and headlights galore. That’s how long it took us in Divisoria. I think I’ve walked my feet to death. It felt like walking on a treadmill that you can’t get off from. aaaaack.

Overall, despite all the hassles and difficulties of shopping here, Divisoria is still the mother of all markets hands down.

Check out the first post I did on Divisoria here—> http://teystirol.com/2009/11/17/decoding-divisoria/

Hope this post helps someone. HAPPY SHOPPING EVERYONE!!!!!

First stop, TRAVEL CAFE PHILIPPINES - Greenbelt 5

Kids are the best sales people you  can find. We had tried Travel Cafe for a quick snack of pandesal and tsokolate é a couple of years ago so when we passed by the resto with the grandparents, they enthusiastically recommended the place to them. Of course, how could the old folks decline with two persuasive adorable little sales tots. Ü Lunch it is!

My son ordered the tomato soup in a bread bowl…

… while the old folks ordered this deconstructed kare-kare dish. In contrast to kare-kare being served stew-style, the meat and veggies were served on a plate with the kare-kare sauce poured on top like gravy. Quite interesting. I liked the flavor although I would have preferred it to be drenched with more sauce.

Aside from the above we also sampled their adobo and beef ( I forgot the name of the dish but it was yummy and it was gone before I could take a pic). The old folks ended the meal with a hot mug of Cordillera Coffee served in a clay mug with a cute little “pitsel” for the milk- extremely hot and a bit pricey. I’m no coffee drinker but I  sipped a little bit just to taste and boy! it was a like a shot of nicotine straight to my veins! (barako sa tapang! very brave - joke Ü hehehe)

Next stop, MINI SHABU-SHABU - Bonifacio Hi Street

I took a shot of the interiors, nope, these are not cardboard displays…

… this geisha was directly above me Ü

Finally, the food… healthy and guilt-free…

…. a little bit guilty

Über guilty!!!!!!

… prepare to meet thy maker!

awww…

The kids had fun cooking their own food, although the little one had more fun cooking than eating.

You can almost smell it right?

One last look before they go into the hot pot!

Happy and satisfied! Ü

Today, I have a family of my own - a husband, two kids. We have our own car, but it was just the other day that I realized something missing from it. I received an email that reminded me what it was. I quickly rummaged through our house to find it and when I finally did, tears welled up in my eyes. My childhood came flooding back to me and the little memento I found was the only witness to all those years of riding with my father. This little memento had been hanging in every car that we had. They are my old and tattered little red shoes that I wore when I was a baby. My father kept and preserved them and hung them on the rearview mirror in each and every car we ever had. Maybe my father wanted to remember me whenever he saw my shoes hanging on the mirror. Maybe he wanted me to be close by… to be within reach… to be his little baby even if he knew I was pursuing my own career. When we sold the Mitsubishi Lancer, I forgot all about those shoes. I got married, moved house and had kids. There was no place to hang them… until today. Thanks to that email, I can now hang my little red shoes once again. This time it’s to remind me of my father and how much he is still a part of my life. Hopefully, I can do the same for my own children - that they too will have many, many fond memories of riding with mom and dad in the car. Thank you, daddy. I love you and miss you.

(here are my little red shoes hanging in our car today)

Thank you Nuffnang for emailing me about this contest.