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Makeup application tips and tricks

4/3/2018

2 Comments

 
Below you will find some helpful tips and tricks to make your competition makeup application run as smooth as possible!
  • Use a Foundation Base
    • Using a foundation base creates a blank canvas, allowing colours to show up more vibrant.
    • It also ensures that all other makeup applied is adhered to the skin and will not slip off throughout the day. 
    • Foundation Bases can be liquid foundation, powder foundation, tinted moisturizer or mineral foundation.
    • Below are a few of my favourite foundations:
      • L'Oreal Pro Glow Foundation (for dryer skin) - Drugstore
      • L'Oreal Pro Matte Foundation (for oily skin) - Drugstore
      • Covergirl Outlast 3-In-1 Foundation (for normal skin) - Drugstore
      • Bare Minerals Original Powder Foundation (for highly sensitive skin) - Sephora
  • Set the Face with a Powder
    • Setting the face with a powder locks in the foundation base you have applied, and ensures it will stay all day. 
    • Using a powder is also important to take away any shine on the face. The bright stage lights can really emphasize any shine on the skin, so setting the face with a powder creates a smooth, shine-free base. 
    • Below are some great setting powders:
      • Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder - Drugstore
      • Maybelline Fit Me Powder - Drugstore
      • Cover FX Perfect Pressed Setting Powder - Sephora
  • How To: Winged Eyeliner
    • The best advice I can give for perfecting winged eyeliner is to find the right applicator for you. In my opinion, felt tip eyeliners are the easiest way to apply eyeliner.
    • Hold the eyeliner horizontally, instead of going straight into the eyelid.
    • Try doing small, short strokes instead of attempting to line the entire eyelid in one go. This minimizes mistakes and gives you more control over the shape of the eyeliner. 
    • For the wing, have the dancer look straight ahead as opposed to closing their eyes. This ensures you place the wing in the correct spot. Use the felt tip eyeliner shape to stamp on the wing on the outer corner. Then simply fill in the gaps.
    • At the end of this post is a photo of winged eyeliner to help you 
    • Below are some of my favourite eyeliners:
      • L'Oreal Infallible Super Slim Eyeliner - Drugstore
      • Annabelle Liquid Eyeliner - Drugstore
      • Kat Von D Tattoo Liner - Sephora
  • False Eyelashes 101
    • The first tip to help you easily apply false eyelashes is to trim them to fit your dancers eye!
      • Most false eyelashes come way too long for even adult eyelids. 
      • The eyelash should only take up 3/4 of your dancers eyelid.
      • Make sure to always trim the eyelash from the outer corner (usually longer eyelash hairs) so you don't lose the tapered effect in the inner corner. 
    • Before putting on glue, test the trimmed eyelash by placing it on the outer 3/4 your dancer's lash line to ensure you have trimmed enough off. 
      • You don't want any false eyelash poking your dancer in the inner corner of their eye. 
    • The most helpful tip I can give you for applying false eyelashes is to let the glue dry before attempting to place it on the eyelid!
      • Place the glue on the band of the false eyelash and wait at least 30 seconds for the glue to get tacky. 
      • This ensures that the eyelash won't slip and slide around, and instead will stick exactly where you place it. (Don't worry, since it is not fully dry you will still be able to adjust parts that aren't sitting right).
    • Another helpful trick is to have your dancer look down when applying the false eyelash, instead of having them close their eyes completely.
      • This keeps the lash line from folding/wrinkling when your dancer squints, and makes it easier for you to apply to false eyelash in the correct spot.
    • Try to place the eyelash as close to the lash line as possible, however still sticking it to the skin. 
      • The closer you are able to place the false eyelash to the dancer's lash line, the more secure it will be. 
    • After you have the eyelash glued where you want it, you can pinch the false lashes with your dancer's real lashes to really ensure they're stuck where you want them. This also blends the false lashes with the natural lashes to give the most seamless look possible.
    • You may choose any false eyelashes to apply that you wish. Simply avoid any coloured eyelashes, or eyelashes with sparkles/rhinestones. 
    • Below are some of my favourite false eyelash adhesives:
      • Duo Glue Eyelash Adhesive (squeeze tube) - Drugstore
      • Duo Glue Eyelash Adhesive (brush on) - Drugstore/Sephora
      • House of Lashes Eyelash Adhesive (brush on) - Sephora
  • Use a Makeup Setting Spray
    • Using a setting spray locks the makeup in place and ensures that it is going to stay all day, despite the sweat and quick changes. 
    • Below are some great makeup setting sprays:
      • NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray (for oily/normal skin) - Drugstore
      • NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray (for dry/normal skin) - Drugstore
      • Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray (normal skin) - Sephora
      • Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray (oily skin) - Sephora
      • Urban Decay Chill Makeup Setting Spray (dry skin) - Sephora
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2 Comments

Managing & Preventing Injuries in your Dancer

10/26/2016

3 Comments

 

By: Dr. Jennifer Kragten Ro

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Watching my daughters dance over the past few years has been an amazing experience. Not only are dancers some of the fittest, most flexible and strongest of athletes, their mental perseverance, social skills, and confidence is incredible. However, there is always a downside. Dancer’srepetitive motions, extreme stretching and unbalanced movements can cause a lot of strain, injury and pain throughout the body.

Some of the most common injuries I see as a chiropractor are headaches caused by vigorous head movements, low back strain from stretching and arching the lower back, ankle sprain, knee injuries and neck pain to say the least. These things just come with the territory. Any athlete who trains in a competitive sport, is bound to have some part of their body become overworked. The good news is, if you take care of your dancer’s body you can manage, heal and even prevent injuries from happening.

Here are some things you can do to help…

1. ICE ICE BABY!
Ice is very helpful to acute and chronic injuries. It helps by reducing pain, swelling, muscle spasm and inflammation at the site of injury. It’s also a great way to manage pain without turning to over the counter pain medications. You can use ice on and off throughout the day...but it is especially useful after a night of dance for those sore spots.

2. Epsom salt baths:
After a rigorous dance class your body can be pretty tired. By adding Epsom salts to a warm bath after dance you can help replenish magnesium levels in your body. Magnesium is extremely important for normal nerve and muscle function and helps to relieve muscle cramps, sprains, strains and inflammation. Kids today are verydepleted in Magnesium...so why not take a bath and absorb it through your skin? You can do this a few times a week even, just make sure to drink a glass of water after. Here’s the general recommendations...

​​Children under 60 lbs: Add 1/2 cup of salts to a standard size bath
Individuals between 60-100 lbs: Add 1 cup of salts to a standard size bath
Individuals between 100-150 lbs: Add 1 1/2 cup of salts to a standard size bath

3. Arnica Gel:
This product is a little secret gem I use all the time! Arnica has healing properties within it and is totally natural, fragrance free and doesn’t heat up on the skin (which is great for little ones who are sensitive). Arnica is effective for strains, sprains, bruises and chronic pain injuries. You can rub it on the area of concern 3-5 times a day and is safe to use. It’s easily found at health food stores, or grocery stores in the healthy living isle.

4. Take your vitamins!
When we replenish our bodies of the nutrients we are depleted in, our bodies function better.

The top 3 supplements I recommend for dancers are:
a) A good vitamin (free of dyes and artificial flavours). When our bodies have the proper nutrients from a good diet and a daily vitamin our body can feel and HEAL much better.
b) Probiotics. These help boost the immune system of dancers when they are overworked and overtired by increasing the healthy bacteria in our gut. 80% of our immunity is through our digestion so it’s important to have established a healthy environment in our bodies. When we aren’t sick as often, we avoid injuries.
c) Fish oil is extremely healthy for our bodies and our brains! And unfortunately kids and teens today are so depleted. Adding a teaspoon of fish oil every day can help boost brain function, increase proper hormone production, improve skin and digestion and especially control inflammation from injuries. There are so many benefits of fish oil I could write an entire article just on that!


In the next few months we will be coming up on the competitive season. As dancers and dance parents, we want to make sure our dancer is as healthy as possible. While it’s near impossible to prevent every injury from happening, we can definitely try to take care of ourselves as best we can.


Have a healthy day dancers!

Dr. Jenn
3 Comments

Things Dancers Stress About

10/13/2016

0 Comments

 
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Tonight I am going to write about some of the things dancers worry about and determine if it's "worth it" or not to allow that anxiety into your body.


​Comparing Yourself to Others:
It is natural to look at other dancers and wish you could jump, turn, bend or move like them. But being envious can actually ruin your own dancing. Remember, you are not in their body, you are in your body. Try not worry about what other dancers are able to do. Focus the energy you're using to look at other dancers on your own dancing. Each day try to push yourself a little further.

Audition/Performance Stress: You may not "feel ready" for a performance but that's anxiety talking and trying to bring you down. Stop that thinking right away and start transfering it into positive thoughts of focus. Try doing some breathing exercises to clear your mind. Don't stress! You have worked hard and you can do it.
Trying to Impress Others: We often do things to try to make other people happy. It could be a teacher, parent, friend or classmate. When it comes to dance we might try a little harder because we know dad is watching the class on the tv tonight....or grandma is here to observe the class...But most beautiful dancers are the ones who dance for themselves. I remember a judge commenting at a competition last season saying how the dancer had great technique and it was fantastic choreography but the dancer looked like they were having fun and "lived it" It was fun to watch them dance and you wanted to watch more.
Scheduling Stress:  It's difficult to juggle school, homework, dance and for some of us a part-time job. To lessen this stress, you have to stay organized and in control. Buy a calendar so that you can clearly mark when your assignments/homework are due. The more detailed you are on paper, the less you have to remember in your brain (save that room for choreography). I found if you have a routine and stick to it, life becomes a whole lot easier.
Remembering Choreography and/or Technique: Dancers are required to recall a lot of information. They have to remember how and when to jump, turn & plié... the choreography and the counts. It can be a lot to take in. One way to alleviate anxiety is to keep a dance notebook or video. If you have a cell phone ask someone to tape the run through so you can watch it again later. Often when practicing at home, I forget the next move...it is great to be able to go back and look at a video. It also helps to watch the video in your spare time to see what you need to improve on. Sometimes you feel like a move looks better than it is. I have watched some videos and realized that my shoulders are rising when I jump or my foot is not turned out enough.

"I do not try to dance better then anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself"- 

Mikhail Baryshnikov


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Why Ballet?

10/8/2016

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Like everything you do in life, there is always a starting place. When building a house, you don't start with the roof, you start by building a solid foundation. This is the same with dance. You must establish proper technique, and all teachers will tell you that Ballet is the foundation to all dance. 

Some students will say that Ballet is boring or slow, when in actuality Ballet is very rigorous and demanding and requires a great deal of physical and mental control.  Students will often say- " I only dance Hip Hop so I don't need Ballet training"  yet it has been shown that people who started in Hip Hop and found Ballet later say they "felt improvement in their ability to change weight quickly, hit cleans lines faster, focus and stay in the moment and became physically and mentally stronger" 

Think of Ballet technique as taking Vitamins.  Even if Ballet is not your main focus, the practice will supplement your dancing. It will help you maintain and improve overall technique, coordination, body awareness, flexibility, musicality, core strength and focus.
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"It's a Dancer Thing"

9/29/2016

1 Comment

 
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Has anyone ever asked you out of the blue if you are a dancer? Well if you are wondering how they know, it is probably the little things you do without even realizing!  If you are ever caught doing these 5 things, not to worry; it's a dancer thing:



1) We always have the best hair buns. Dancers tend to have a perfect top knot on our heads at all times. We rock solid buns in dance class so it never falls in our face, and we are also a Pro at the pretty polished look with no fly-aways for long days at dance competitions.

2) We are ALWAYS doing dance moves and can do them anywhere. Yes anywhere. We could be in a grocery store aisle and break into piques. We could practice our Tap dancing under our desk in class to the beat of someone's pencil hitting the paper. Of course, we get strange looks and the occasional "what are you doing?". There is no better way to explain it than "It's a dancer thing" 

3) We will say things like " I did a dance to this before!" followed by either short sections of the choreography, or full blown lip syncing to the lyrics. We are always marking the arms too! Especially in the car. "Arm-ography" was created by dancers in cars lol!

4) We show our training and technique even when we aren't trying. Dancers tend to have great posture and a lifted chest with every step they take. We walk with our shoulders down and neck lengthened. You may even catch us doing a penché if we drop something!

5) We can crack any part of our body on command. It feels great to us but everyone else is either concerned or disgusted. No morning is complete without a hip, knee, ankle, back, neck and wrist crack. And we will do it again mid plié at Ballet class that evening :)

So if you ever see us doing one of the above, just know we can't help it. Its in our blood, it's a dancer thing, and we wouldn't change it for the world. 

1 Comment

"Dance isn't even a sport"

9/23/2016

2 Comments

 
Typically people say dance is not a sport because it is not like others. It doesn't have a ball; we don't have weekly "games" to play in. What people don't realize is that a ball in most sports, is just like our routines we learn in class. Those "games" are our competitions. We have to train for it, just like any other athlete.  Dance might not be as aggressive, but they all have the same components. To be able to dance well, an individual needs to be flexible, strong, have stamina, endurance, balance, good sense of movement, proper turnout, straight lines, strong stage presence, but most importantly have the love and passion for what they are doing. All while looking graceful and light on our feet. So to me and any other dancer, we consider dance to be a sport just like any other. Actually, maybe even a bit harder than the rest of them ;) 
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2 Comments

Back to Dance at CSOD!

9/15/2016

1 Comment

 
​“I missed my friends from dance and it was nice to be back doing what I love!” said the dancers at CSOD. This dance season is going to be bigger and better than ever!
Here are some 5 simple daily practices to improve your dancing skils:
  1. Improve your dancing with morning stretches. It doesn’t have to be incredibly long or hard, but getting up and moving your body is a great way to start the day.
  2. Improve your dancing muscle memory. “Muscle memory” is a motor skill learned by repeating a movement. When you’re doing homework take a break and do a dance move that you are trying to perfect.
  3. Improve your dancing by eating healthy nutritious foods that fuel your body. Dancers need a lot of energy in order to have the stamina to dance in class and at performances.
  4. Improve your dancing by watching dance videos! There are millions on the Internet to get inspired by. Watch videos with the intent to learn from it, but not to copy it.
  5. Improve your dancing by PRACTICE. “A little practice never killed nobody” It makes you better, stronger, more confident and ready for your next class!
 
At CSOD we encourage you to have fun and most importantly be yourself. Dancing is about expressing who you are and being you! 
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FEBRUARY IS KINDNESS MONTH!

2/1/2016

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Love is in the air at CSOD this month, when we host our annual RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS WEEK from February 15-20th, 2016. We know that our dancers are kind and helpful ALL the time, but if any teacher or staff member sees an act of outstanding kindness (helping put mats away, helping another dancer, etc.) being performed by the dancer, they will be given a ballot to enter a draw for a great CSOD prize pack!

​Check out our positivity wall from this season's Positivity Challenge. Dancers were asked to write something kind about a fellow Dancer, Teacher, Staff or Parent. We had hundreds of kind notes once the wall was completed! I am so proud of our students! 
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Santa Came to Town!

11/30/2015

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This weekend was the annual Caledonia Santa Claus Parade! More than 60 CSOD dancers came out to celebrate this popular event by dancing in our studio's float! Here are a few images from the parade 😀
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Monday night fun!

9/21/2015

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Monday's are a great night to be at the studio because you will catch a glimpse at so many different styles! From Jazz to Acro, Highland to Contemporary, our dancers are doing it all!

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Caledonia Studio of Dance…...Come and See Why We Are the BEST.......905-765-8885....caledoniadance@hotmail.com
  • Main
  • About
    • Mission Statement & Code of Ethics
    • Faculty
    • Policies
    • A note from the Director
  • Classes
    • preschool
    • Rec Team
    • Comp Team >
      • DANCERS ONLY
  • Playland
  • SUMMER CAMP
    • SUMMER classes
  • Rent our Space
  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • PRIVATE LESSONS
  • Gallery
  • Comp team
  • year end survey
  • SUMMER PASS
  • BRIAR
  • COMP INTENSIVE sign up
  • First Day
  • SANTA PARADE