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		<title>A Ballerina&#8217;s Love Affair With Pointe Shoes, Part IV. The Agony of Da Feet</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Conjure up an image of ballerinas spinning effortlessly en pointe and you're not likely to come up with, say blisters... or corns... or bunions. Yet the two go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly. Regardless of the shape of one's feet, though, the show must go on and every dancer if eventually faced with the unfortunate and painful prospect of having to dance with bloody toes.

 

There are work-arounds, of course. There have to be. That's where a dancer's best friend comes to the rescue: good old Dr. Scholl's. No, they don't just make arch supports and shoes that are the equivalent of wooden flip-flops. Many dancers rely heavily on Dr. Scholl's Blister Treatment, Corn Cushions (and remover), bunion cushions, and Moleskin Padding to protect wounds and sore spots when the going gets tough and the tough must keep going.
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.griercooper.com/2012/02/01/a-ballerinas-love-affair-with-pointe-shoes-part-iv-the-agony-of-da-feet/</link>
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		<title>One Ballerina&#8217;s Love Affair With Pointe Shoes, Part III.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[When I first began wearing pointe shoes, we wore them twice a week for 15 minutes at the end of class</span></span>, so one pair of shoes would last many months. By the time I was an upper-division dancer at the School of American Ballet I would go through several pairs in a week. At $60 a pop this was prohibitively expensive. (Today's prices are even more so; a recent visit to the Freed of London website showed a current price of $94 per pair, and Capezio shoes ranged from $63-79 per pair).]]></description>
		<link>http://www.griercooper.com/2012/01/27/one-ballerinas-love-affair-with-pointe-shoes/</link>
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		<title>Favorite Dance Films</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Mao's Last Dancer, Directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Bride of the Wind, Breaker Morant, Double Jeopardy), this is the true story of Li Cunxin, who was plucked from his village school room  and brought to Bejing to train as a classical ballet dancer, in accordance with Chairman Mao's great vision. The story unfolds as the boy is taken from his family and subjected to rigorous training by mostly cold-hearted instructors. His hard work and persistence pay off and  he develops into a dancer with enough promise that he is noticed by Houston Ballet choreographer Ben Stevenson and invited to come to America as a guest dancer.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.griercooper.com/2012/01/17/favorite-dance-films/</link>
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		<title>A Ballerina&#8217;s Love Affair With Pointe Shoes, Part II.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Once I had purchased my first pair of pointe shoes, the steep uphill climb of the learning curve began. There was a lot to learn: how to sew on the ribbons, care for the shoes, care for the feet in and out of the shoes and, of course, how to use the things. But during the course of the drive home from the dance store, the shoes remained nestled in their box in a mass of tissue paper.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.griercooper.com/2012/01/17/a-ballerinas-love-affair-with-pointe-shoes-part-ii/</link>
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		<title>My Love Affair With Pointe Shoes, Part I.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Every young ballerina dreams of the day she will first go up on pointe. Pointe shoes are the stuff of magic, where a dancer gives the illusion of floating or flying. (Before pointe shoes were developed, dancers were hoisted into the air on ropes and pulleys... but pointe shoes made it so much easier to move around the stage instead of just up and down). Pink satin gives pointe shoes an air of elegance, conjuring up images of fine ladies strutting about in even finer gowns made of billowing layers of stain and tulle. But in all honesty, wearing pointe shoes takes a lot of getting used to. They hurt like a mother.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.griercooper.com/2012/01/11/my-love-affair-with-pointe-shoes-part-i/</link>
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		<title>Strength Training For Dancers and Non-Dancers</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Dancers are known for their strength and grace, but they don't come without hard work. In addition to daily dance classes and rehearsals, dancers build strength through alternate methods such as yoga and Pilates. Both of these practices give dancers the extra boost they need to be better, stronger dancers and move ahead in their careers.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.griercooper.com/2011/12/13/strength-training-for-dancers-and-non-dancers/</link>
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		<title>&#8220;Bunheads&#8221; by Sophie Flack, Discussed by Another Ballerina</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I just finished reading Sophie Flack's “Bunheads”, a gritty, true-to-life story about Hannah Ward, a nineteen-year-old ballet dancer who has been happily devoting herself to the rigors of ballet life with the prestigious Manhattan Ballet: classes, rehearsals, performances and complicated backstage relationships. When she meets a handsome musician named Jacob, her life changes, and she is forced to decide what she really wants her future to look like.
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.griercooper.com/2011/12/01/bunheads-by-sophie-flack-discussed-by-another-ballerina/</link>
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		<title>Interview With Zippora Karz, Author and Ex-Soloist With New York City Ballet</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Zippora Karz is a former soloist ballerina with the New York City Ballet where she performed from 1983 through 1999. Diagnosed with juvenile diabetes in 1987, just as she was being featured in solo roles, she found a way to continue to live her dream despite her illness. She now serves as a teacher and repetiteur for the George Balanchine Trust, rehearsing and staging Balanchine’s choreography for a host of national and international dance companies. She is also a diabetes spokesperson and educator.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.griercooper.com/2011/11/16/interview-with-zippora-karz-author-and-ex-soloist-with-new-york-city-ballet/</link>
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		<title>Alonzo King&#8217;s LINES Ballet: A Review</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Alonzo King's LINES Ballet is not your typical ballet company for so many reasons. At the top of that list of reasons is mastery of fluid, flawless movement. The dancers are polished, amazingly capable athletes and artists. They are the closest thing to perfection I've ever witnessed.
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.griercooper.com/2011/10/24/alonzo-kings-lines-ballet-a-review/</link>
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		<title>Cynthia Leitich Smith&#8217;s &#8220;Jingle Dancer&#8221;: A Review</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Jenna lives for jingle dancing. Watching her grandma dance to the brum brum brum of the powwow drum, Jenna asks if she can dance at the next pow wow. “Next powwow, you could dance Girls,” Grandma answers. “But we don't have enough time to mail-order tins for rolling jingles.”But Jenna wants her dress to sing.]]></description>
		<link>http://www.griercooper.com/2011/10/05/cynthia-leitich-smiths-jingle-dancer-a-review/</link>
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