Get to the Pointe — pointe

This week, Josephine dipped her toes in the Barbie Cinematic Universe for the first time. All of the Barbie ballet movies are set in the context of Barbie, telling her younger sister Kelly, fairy tales - with a ballet twist of course.  Since Josephine grew up with brothers, she never watched these movies. She was mostly interested to see how the children's movie would handle the darker themes of the ballet. There are many versions of Swan Lake globally, but in general, it's a tragic ending. Odette usually dies of heartbreak in swan form - and Black Swan really cashed in...

We went back in time to the 2022 YAGP Finals in Tampa, Florida! In this video, Josephine got to meet and for the Junior Division's 2nd place winner, Yerin Ok. Yerin is from the Korean Division of Youth Grand Prix, YGP. While chatting with this gorgeous dancer, Josephine got to see her rehearsal and performance shoes. They're actually the same brand, size, and shank - just a slight difference between models.  For rehearsal, Yerin wears the Maya. For performance, she wears the Maya Pro. The shoes are basically the same, but her softer and quieter performance shoe is broken in...

"are we cups people now" On this episode of 'traumatizing-josephine-with-the-ballet-internet,' we revisited the land of Instagram Reels! We don't wanna spoil the surprise. Just know there's some Barbie, some cups, some amazing things, and cute things. Ya know, just the usual ballet internet chaos that we love. What will Josephine make of it this time? Watch to find out!

Grab your tissues, everybody. This week Josephine reacted to Eugene Lee Yang's coming out video, simply titled "I'm Gay." Released on YouTube in 2019, this dance shot film tells Eugene's story. Born and raised in a conservative, Catholic town in Texas, he struggled through his adolescence with his sexuality, but also his Asian identity. The video shows the conflict he faced as an adult, and where he stands now. Needless to say, Josephine picked up a lot of what Eugene was putting down. As a fellow Korean, there were many moments of empathy. Like this video, we are also fundraising...

This week, we join Josephine back in Tampa, FL at YAGP Finals. And she's doing something a little different - discussing demi pointe shoes. Although it is not common in the U.S.A., demi pointe shoes are an intermediary shoe for students preparing for pointe. The outer construction looks pointe shoe like, but there is much less paste in the shoe overall than a pointe shoe, and no shank. Demi pointe shoes are meant only for practice at the barre, for feet and ankle exercises. Demi pointe shoes should NOT be worn in center because there is simply not enough support...