Show and Tell: Inside Jeanette and Patricia Delgado’s Dance Bag

Even without knowing their last name, it’s easy to tell that Patricia and Jeanette Delgado are sisters. They share the same appealing verve, but the contents of the two Miami-born Miami City Ballet principals’ dance bags have their distinctions. Some are more obvious than others. Both carry Lululemon dance bags, but different styles. “Mine has a place for sweaty clothes and tons of pockets,” says Patricia. And while they both keep their pointe shoes in a separate bag, for Patricia, the norm is 12 pairs, and for Jeanette, 8. What each sister can’t do without differs, too. For Patricia it’s the little black bag that contains her foot first-aid kit. For Jeanette, it’s her Luna bar. “I have an early breakfast, then class and three hours of rehearsal before lunch. After that first hour of rehearsal, I really need that bar,” says Jeanette. Neither dancer is superstitious, but Patricia relies on her iPod to keep herself grounded. “If I have a stressful rehearsal where I need to be calm, then I put my iPod on shuffle and tune everyone else out,” says Patricia. “It puts me in the moment.” What do they borrow from each other? “Sometimes sewing supplies. But I always know Patricia has her first-aid kit if I need something!” says Jeanette.

The Goods

Jeanette––Luna Bar, Traumeel (an anti-inflammatory ointment), folder for rehearsal notes and Yumiko dancewear info (she and another MCB dancer are reps for the leotards), cell phone (kept on vibrate), iPod; styling gel, hairspray, comb, pins, clips; Sigg limited-edition bottle from a Radiohead concert, deodorant, Sumbody vanilla body splash, pen, small mirror, make-up bag, scissors, rehearsal Don Q fan, corn pads, toe tape, pumice stone, 2nd Skin, foot massage ball, dental floss for sewing shoes, leg warmers, elastics to hold them up, Thera-Band, earring bag

Patricia––Bag with toe tape, corn cushions, toe spacers, 2nd Skin, moleskin, Neosporin; pen, sewing supplies, scissors, super glue, Sigg aluminum water bottle, tennis ball, foot massage ball, CryoDerm, Clif Builder’s Bars, journal, Anthropologie lip balm, Arnica tablets, Emergen-C, iPod, rehearsal CDs, CVS brand body splash, Burt’s Bees hand sanitizer, Traumeel; Thera-Band, plastic shorts, sweater, rehearsal Don Q fan, skirt