*::Assemblé::Jeté::Piqué::*

Pointe shoes: The satin ballet shoes used by dancers when dancing sur les pointes. The ballet shoes of Marie Taglioni, the first major ballerina to dance on her points, were not blocked but were padded with cotton wool. Later (about 1862) the toes of the ballet slippers were stiffened (blocked) with glue and darned to give the dancer additional support. Today the toes of pointe shoes are reinforced with a box constructed of several layers of strong glue in between layers of material.

Tutu [tew-TEW] This is the short classical ballet skirt made of many layers of tarlatan or net. The romantic tutu is the long skirt reaching below the calf.

I'm sure you are all wondering why I've not updated my blog...well it's because I'm been at dance rehearsals over the weekend! Saturday we had finale rehearsal for a few hours and yesterday we had regular practice for the show. I only do ballet (this is ny first year on pointe) but Morgan takes tap, jazz, ballet, jitterbug, riverdance, and then she has a senior dance. Our recital is a big one with 2 acts each with a finale. This year's 1st act has 40 some dances and 2nd act has 27 or 28. Tonight we have pictures, tomorrow is another regular rehearsal on the stage, Wed. is dress rehearsal, and then Thurs., Fri., and Sat., are the shows. This is the dance studio's 30th anniversary...the 25th anniversary show lasted 5hrs. compared to the average 3hrs...so we'll see how long it lasts this year!!!