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Mercina (Tourist Edition) ✈️

@ballercina

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i put the ina in ballerina 🕺
locations requested by @rachelcompton_dancestudio students

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‼️new series announcement‼️

since getting all over europe takes some time, i’ve decided to loop you in to my other little sightseeing project i’ve got going on! introducing, the Monopoly series.

I have planned to visit all the locations on the UK version of the Monopoly board, which we also use in New Zealand, as it is all named after places in London! I’m using a wheel to decide where I go, and making vlogs about each place to commemorate it.

my first episode is up now! you can find it linked in my story highlights. i hope you enjoy! 🎲 taken in London, United Kingdom by @ballercina

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a month ago

tilt jump at the top of the CN tower on the glass floor - Emily (G7B, JC) @emily_gruar and Rachel (owner) @bosslady.compton

ok - i’ll admit, this one is a bit embarrassing to post! while i was never a great jumper, age and weak joints have certainly not helped my ability! but i am nothing if not a go getter, even if my technique went out the window in the meantime!

The CN Tower is a 553.5 meter high communications and observations tower in downtown Toronto. It is the tallest free standing structure on land in the entire western world! a signature icon of Toronto’s skyline, it dwarves our own Auckland Skytower, which is a measly 328 meters tall.

The CN in CN Tower stands for “Canadian National” or “Canadas National”, named for the Canadian National Railway who built it. The building is designed to look like a Space Deck, and doubles as a both a tourist attraction and a broadcasting apparatus. taking just over two years to build, and four years to conceive of, the tower is makes Toronto’s skyline stand out amongst the rest.

Glass floors are a common trait in high rise buildings. They are super strong, and let you stand directly on top of clear glass to look all the way down below! The glass floor is on the lower level observation deck, as the highest peak is so high up it is constantly swaying. it’s a real weird feeling being up there! directly below the glass floor is Ripleys Aquarium - so at least if it does break, you are falling into water.

this is the last of my Canada series, and we move into some UK and Europe stuff now! keep your eyes peeled over the coming days - i’ve got an exciting new series planned that i hope you’ll enjoy by @ballercina

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2 months ago

straddle jump at niagara falls - requested by Emily (G7B, JC) @emily_gruar

ok, this isn’t technically a straddle jump. my original plan was to jump off the wall i’m sitting on and straddle in the air, but security stopped that plan in its tracks. after that, sitting was the safer option! so here is my straddle sit, outside the flower clock at niagara falls.

i’ve already told you a lot about niagara falls, so here are some extra pictures of the butterfly garden! the butterfly garden is part of niagara falls, the next bus stop after the flower clock you see behind me. it has tons of beautiful butterflies flying around, i even got lucky that a few landed on me! only temporarily of course.

i am working to get through the last of my canada posts, as i have some new and exciting projects in the works. i cant wait to share it with you! taken in Floral Clock - Niagara Falls ON by @ballercina

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3 months ago

use the handrail at Niagara Falls to do a forward split stretch, requested by Rachel (owner + teacher) @bosslady.compton

💧 while in Toronto, we took a quick trip out to spend the day at Niagara Falls, ON. not to be confused with the very close, similarly named Niagara Falls, NY! the waters of Niagara Falls seperate two countries - United States of America and Canada. for this trip, we decided it best to stick to the Canadian side!

🌊 Niagara Falls is a breathtaking marvel of nature, and definitely a must see attraction. you can take the train from Toronto (a very scenic journey, especially compared to the trains of London) and spend the day travelling up and down the length of the river. it has become quite the tourist attraction, with plenty to see and do aside from just the Falls - though they are the main attraction! as it was the off season when we went a lot of things were closed - including a massive part of the walkway where you could take pictures with both falls at once. however, we still got to do the behind the falls tour (bonus pictures!) which let you get up nice and close to the Horseshoe Falls - aka the Canadian Falls. they were much bigger and more impressive than the little American Falls which you can see in the stretching picture behind me!

💦despite it being the off season, there were still a significant amount of crowds around. i can’t imagine what it must be like in the peak of summer! we were fortunate enough to go on a ride (as i can always sniff out a good themed experience) which took us soaring through the falls and the underground caves and power station. in order to preserve the Falls for years to come, preservation efforts created weirs and canals to help slow the erosion created by all that water. preservation is a massive deal, as the falls can dump over 168,000m^3 per minute. that’s a lot of water! and, especially right up close, is very noisy

🚣🏼while famous for its stunts, we did not see anyone attempt to ride the falls - in a barrel, or otherwise. we did get to wave to lots of Americans - a novelty for someone who’s not used to seeing another country across the way! taken in Niagra Falls, Canada by @ballercina

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5 months ago

arabesque with a hockey stick, requested by Josh (Teacher) @joshgoodfello

🏒 unfortunately i couldn’t get my hands on a real ice hockey stick while in Canada, but i got the second best thing! both pictures taken at the Toronto Hockey Hall Of Fame, the first one with the statue outside (which i couldn’t touch) and the second with a replica mini souvenir stick from the gift shop (after i accurately kicked the shelf by trying to get my leg up, so low arabesque it is!). between the two of them, they make all the parts of the request!

🇨🇦Ice Hockey is the national sport of Canada. they have posters of all their players around the stadiums, the Hockey Hall Of Fame, and on advertisements. it was coming to the end of the season when we were there, so tickets were in high demand (~$800 canadian per ticket for nosebleeds!) so we couldn’t see the Maple Leaves, but we did go to a Bluejays game (baseball). Hockey has also had a resurgence of interest worldwide lately, thanks to the Olympics and tv shows featuring the game.

🏑 The bonus picture today is of me - in my younger years I was a Hockey player! I played Field Hockey at primary school, and this photo is when I won player of the day at about 8 years old. Hockey was a big sport, due to the professional Hockey turf we had access to. I don’t know how I would fair at Ice Hockey though! Fun fact - i still own that hockey stick. it was signed by a Blackstick who came to school and ran a workshop with us taken in Toronto Hockey Hall of Fames by @ballercina

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5 months ago

splits at the airport - requested by Emily (G7B, JC) @emily_gruar

🛬as part of my move/holiday adventure, i have to travel though five airports - WLG (Wellington), AKL (Auckland), YVR (Vancouver International), YYZ (Toronto Pearson) and LHR (London Heathrow). this picture is taken at Toronto Pearson airport, while waiting to board my next flight to London!

✈️ did you know that all airports in the world have a three letter code to help distinguish them. these are standardised to make it easier to distinguish, especially for places that have multiple airports. for example, Toronto has two international airports, and London has six international airports, three of which i was eligible to fly into - talk about a headache to figure out!

🛫travelling to the other side of the world takes a lot of time. since i wanted to do a stop in Canada, and spend a week there on holiday, i haven’t travelled the most direct route. this trip i will spend about 25 hours on board planes! it is the furthest from New Zealand i have ever travelled, and my first time flying internationally by myself. lots of big milestones!

our bonus picture is taken by the wonderful Claire (@cc.lair.e) who came to see me off at Auckland International Airport. this is me heading off into passport control and security, which is technically the point i left New Zealand soil! thanks so much to Claire for coming to see me off for my final NZ departure taken in YYZ Pearson International Airport, Toronto, Canada by @ballercina

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6 months ago

these are some of the fabulous students of @rachelcompton_dancestudio

the grade 2 jazz 2026 class requested places that i visit during my new life in the UK. the senior classes + teachers elaborated on this, and i currently have a list of about 20 places to visit, and dance poses to do in the pictures. plus about 5 in canada on the way over

pictures will not be posted live. this account and the list are a consistent work in progress, as requests have been placed for all over europe. requests welcome! by @ballercina

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6 months ago