"From Studio to Stage"

The State Ballet of Rhode Island, the longest standing semi-professional, regional ballet company in R.I., is continuing to bring audiences "Project Ballet Coffee Hour". This is a series of four events taking place within the 50 year old historic studio in Lincoln.

"From Studio to Stage" is one of the upcoming events which includes an "inside view of how a ballet is created, the training of a dancer, what inspires a choreographer, with music, lecture and visual performance." These will take place on March 6th and April 4th at 4 PM and again at 5 PM.

For directions or specifics, check out The SBRI (State Ballet of Rhode Island) website!

R.I. Remembers the Providence Dancing Cop

Tony Lepore is a former Providence police officer, who took directing traffic to a whole new level. He became bored with the traditional style of directing traffic and one day decided to dance on the job. Soon enough, the Providence Journal displayed a front page article about his "Making Traffic Flow with a Flair." The public reacted so positively that his superiors went along with it. He became very well known as the "dancing cop" and still today makes appearances.

You can read all about Tony Lepore, the Dancing Cop, on his webpage.

Controversial "Dancing"

So it's come to my attention that minors in the state of Rhode Island can be strippers.... Legally.

While browsing the web for articles relating to "dance," I came across an article on Projo.com with the title "Minors in R.I. can be strippers." I was obviously extremely curious and needed to find out what this is about.

According to the article, which was published on July 21, 2009, Rhode Island teens under the age of 18 can work in strip clubs, as long as they have work permits and are "off the pole" by 11:30 PM on school nights.

What?? Is anyone else baffled like me?!?

This realization came about when R.I. police were investigating a 16-year-old runaway, who apparently worked at Cheaters strip club. They found out about other 16 year olds working in strip clubs and decided to look into the issue. The police found that there is no state or city law stopping underage teens from stripping for money.

Sgt. Carl Weston says, "I've been doing this a long time, and I can't find anything that says it's illegal for a 16-year-old or 17-year-old to take her top off and dance." It's just so shocking that teenagers under the age of 18 cannot work power saws or bang nails up on roofs, but they can legally strip for money! "You can’t serve alcohol if you’re under 18," Weston said, "but you can be the target of a man's groping hands at age 16."

The article continues to state that "a teen stripper won't find work in Massachusetts, where state law prohibits anyone from hiring minors under the age of 18 for live performances involving sexual conduct."

Apparently, other states have mixed encounters about this issue. In Dallas, TX, when a 12 year old was found dancing nude in a strip club the city council passed rules banning minors from strip clubs.

On the other side of the spectrum-- an Iowa judge declared that a 17 year old performing a striptease at a strip club was an act of artistic expression, which is protected by the First Amendment.

I have to say, I completely agree with office Weston's statement that "it leads to a societal breakdown. These are just little girls." I know this isn't the type of dancing I will be blogging about, but I figured it was too interesting, and appalling, to not post.

Starting your Pointe Journey

LaBrie Dance is a homey dance store located in Smithfield, RI. They carry dance shoes for ballroom, pointe, ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and modern. LaBrie also carries dance sneakers which are ideal for hip hop and are used for many high school or college dance teams. They also carry dance leotards and accessories.

LaBrie is an awesome place to buy your first pair of pointe shoes. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful during this new experience. Pointe shoes are completely different than any other dance shoe and it's crucial for a beginner to have advice and guidence in finding the correct pair. Wearing and dancing in pointe shoes that do not fit correctly can not only be very, very painful, but very dangerous as well. A dancer could seriously hurt themselves in the wrong pair of pointe shoes.

LaBrie's website highlights some tips for pointe shoe fittings for anyone to read, not just their customers. Here are some of the tips with some of my own comments....

1 - Allow yourself plenty of time to be fitted for pointe shoes! It may take up to 90 minutes to find the pair that fits your feet best. This process also involves finding the right combination of shoe and padding.
(I know from experience that this is very true!! In my dance career I've been through at least seven pairs of pointe shoes and every time I got a new pair, it was not a speedy process. It is one hundred percent worth it, however, to be comfortable and happy with your pointe shoes)

2 - Be sure to trim your toenails before getting fitted.
(This is very important! When dancing in pointe shoes, you'll find that when your toenails are too short OR too long, it bothers your feet. It can be very painful if you forget to keep them at a comfortable length.)

3 - Avoid wearing tight and restricting clothing to the fitting. The fitter will ask you to stand in first and second position and clothing like miniskirts make this difficult.

4 - Try to have an open mind about different brand names or terminolgy. Many dancers give their opinion about pointe shoes, like Capezio is "too hard." This doesn't necessarily mean that you will experience the same feeling with that brand. All people's feet are different and pointe shoe brand names make many different types of shoes.
(Almost everyone in my pointe class had different types of pointe shoes. It depends on all different factors: the width of your feet, the length of your toes, the strength of your arch... and many more.)


I would definitely recommend LaBrie Dance to anyone looking for pointe shoes, or any dance shoes for that matter. I bought my first pair of pointe shoes there and many more pairs after. Each time I went there the staff was smiling and giving me the attention I needed. I even remember there being a friendly cat which walked around and greeted customers! I think his name was Pete... if you go to LaBrie, let me know if Pete's still there!!