Hi, this is Celine's husband Benjamin. I thought I'd share some screenshots of a typical Skype conversation w/ my lovely shoe girl wife...
I am a lucky guy.
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Skype-ing with Celine
Hi, this is Celine's husband Benjamin. I thought I'd share some screenshots of a typical Skype conversation w/ my lovely shoe girl wife...The Trey McIntyre Project - I LOVED It!
I can't believe it's Thursday - I've been so busy. Wanted to get to this earlier...
Last Saturday evening some fellow dance fans and myself drove down to the Orange County Performing Arts Center to see the Trey McIntyre Project dance company.
I LOVED it!
"Ma Maison" (translate, "My House" - New Orleans was initially French, and also the Acadians (say 'Cajun') from Nova Scotia Canada were re-located (rounded up, and forcibly abducted to) to Louisiana three- four hundred years ago (that's why the food's so great!) with fabulous jazz band music was colorful, beautifully danced, poignant, funny and just delicious to watch. "Ma Maison" also used masks, which I loved for that commedia del'arte, carnivalesque touch.
I know, I do not sound like an academic intellectual dance critic - because I'm not that, I'm a dance lover. Not that the critics don't love the Trey McIntyre Project - they do!
"(serious)" was.....serious. It was not the kind of contemporary/classically-based dance that I enjoy - except that the execution was WONDERFUL and captivating. So who cares - entrancing to watch Chanel DaSilva, Jason Hartley and Brett Perry.
"Shape" was entertaining above all. Use of shapes (duh-uh) as props - well, I just don't want to give it away in case you have tickets for an upcoming show.
"The Sun Road" ahhhhh..... Trey McIntyre was inspired by visiting Glacier National Park. I had spent summers there as a child - close to my heart. But if you see this and have never been there, he presents a wonderful exhilarating visit with the choreography and film of the wild, wind-whipped vistas of that international border-defying land. The music of Paul Simon and Nina Simone lent irony and soulfulness. The music of Young Grey Horse lent a portal to another realm.
But then, dance offers us a portal to another realm, even while doing the grunge work of the ballet barre!
"The More I See You" took us from the theater, outside to the plaza, for viewing the dancers in cages, and film on the wall, with projected comments of the individual dancers personal history, likes, etc. This was entertaining for a couple of minutes, but I couldn't help thinking "I bet the dancers just HATE this!". But I could be wrong! And then I found myself thinking "just wait till they hit ----Minnesota?" (right, take everyone outside in October...January...).
Anyway, I still loved it.
Last Saturday evening some fellow dance fans and myself drove down to the Orange County Performing Arts Center to see the Trey McIntyre Project dance company.
I LOVED it!
"Ma Maison" (translate, "My House" - New Orleans was initially French, and also the Acadians (say 'Cajun') from Nova Scotia Canada were re-located (rounded up, and forcibly abducted to) to Louisiana three- four hundred years ago (that's why the food's so great!) with fabulous jazz band music was colorful, beautifully danced, poignant, funny and just delicious to watch. "Ma Maison" also used masks, which I loved for that commedia del'arte, carnivalesque touch.
I know, I do not sound like an academic intellectual dance critic - because I'm not that, I'm a dance lover. Not that the critics don't love the Trey McIntyre Project - they do!
"(serious)" was.....serious. It was not the kind of contemporary/classically-based dance that I enjoy - except that the execution was WONDERFUL and captivating. So who cares - entrancing to watch Chanel DaSilva, Jason Hartley and Brett Perry.
"Shape" was entertaining above all. Use of shapes (duh-uh) as props - well, I just don't want to give it away in case you have tickets for an upcoming show.
"The Sun Road" ahhhhh..... Trey McIntyre was inspired by visiting Glacier National Park. I had spent summers there as a child - close to my heart. But if you see this and have never been there, he presents a wonderful exhilarating visit with the choreography and film of the wild, wind-whipped vistas of that international border-defying land. The music of Paul Simon and Nina Simone lent irony and soulfulness. The music of Young Grey Horse lent a portal to another realm.
But then, dance offers us a portal to another realm, even while doing the grunge work of the ballet barre!
"The More I See You" took us from the theater, outside to the plaza, for viewing the dancers in cages, and film on the wall, with projected comments of the individual dancers personal history, likes, etc. This was entertaining for a couple of minutes, but I couldn't help thinking "I bet the dancers just HATE this!". But I could be wrong! And then I found myself thinking "just wait till they hit ----Minnesota?" (right, take everyone outside in October...January...).
Anyway, I still loved it.
Highly Effective Tips For Understanding How To Prevent Knee Injuries in Ballet and Dance
Anatomical information is going to help any ballet dancer survive better. Less pain, less struggle, and better results. How to prevent knee injuries in one area worthy of study. There are four ways a leg (hip,knee,ankle) can deviate from the postural plumb line of the body.
*** 1. Knees that angle in toward each other, with the feet facing straight forward; this is called tibial torsion. You can also see this clearly if you sit on a table and let the calves and feet dangle over the edge. Here your knees are straight in front of your thighs, and the lower part of the leg turns out.
Compensation for this is understanding and using your turnout from the hips, as best you can, and never allowing pronation, or "rolling ankles". It is easy for legs like this to get a good turnout in the foot positions, but it should be worked to get the leg as close as possible to postural plumb line.
***2. Knock knees is when the knees face forward when the feet are parallel, but the inside of the knees touch and the feet are apart on the floor, a little turned out, and slightly pronated (rolled in).
***3. Bowed legs. This where the knees turn in slightly and the outside of the calves bow outwards. The feet can rest comfortably close together. The feet may also pronate slightly, yet will come to a correct position, flat on the floor, when the turnout is held well in the hips and thighs. This may straighten out the whole leg in some cases.
***4. Hyper-extended legs, where the knees go beyond straight and the calves sway backwards. This will pull the body weight back onto the heels, and the thighs will turn in as a result (which can lead to tears around the knee). The correction of stacking the ankle, knee and hips above each other along the plumb line, strengthens the legs. It also corrects the weight on the whole foot, and keeps the body weight forward enough. Uncorrected, this will lead to other complexities of technical inaccuracies, especially in doing ballet on pointe, if they do not show up before that.
The knees are wonderfully engineered joints. The details are described well elsewhere. Suffice it to say they are held in place by muscles, ligaments and tendons, and when healthy, all the moving parts glide and move well. The knees bend and straighten a zillion times for dancers and sports enthusiasts, without mishap, if used correctly..
Turnout enables easy pivoting to change direction without straining the knees. Many athletes now study basic ballet and turnout to prevent knee injuries.
A sharp pain in the knee, a pop, any clicking or feeling of impeded movement around or under the knee warrants an immediate pause. Any dance teacher or sports coach will want you to get it looked at by a chiropractor or sports medicine practitioner right away.
Tears can occur in the tendons, ligaments and other supportive tissue around the knee. Usually ice and rest will reduce the inflammation and heal theses injuries. Sometimes tissue will tear off and go under the kneecap, and this must be removed.
Normal growth in kids and teens can cause imbalances in muscle flexibility and strength which can lead to injuries and inflammation from overuse. Regular stretching and relaxing efficiently with the help of a soft rubber ball rolled on tight muscles, can help this temporary condition.
Correct turnout, foot strength in landings, in fact all ballet position placement, helps protect the knee joints. A sprung floor is also essential, rather than dancing over concrete.
If you are a serious ballet student or athlete, take a look at the anatomy of the knee structure. It is brilliant, and you'll see clearly why you are taught the way you are, to prevent knee injuries in ballet shoes and pointe shoes, or on the fields and courts.
*** 1. Knees that angle in toward each other, with the feet facing straight forward; this is called tibial torsion. You can also see this clearly if you sit on a table and let the calves and feet dangle over the edge. Here your knees are straight in front of your thighs, and the lower part of the leg turns out.
Compensation for this is understanding and using your turnout from the hips, as best you can, and never allowing pronation, or "rolling ankles". It is easy for legs like this to get a good turnout in the foot positions, but it should be worked to get the leg as close as possible to postural plumb line.
***2. Knock knees is when the knees face forward when the feet are parallel, but the inside of the knees touch and the feet are apart on the floor, a little turned out, and slightly pronated (rolled in).
***3. Bowed legs. This where the knees turn in slightly and the outside of the calves bow outwards. The feet can rest comfortably close together. The feet may also pronate slightly, yet will come to a correct position, flat on the floor, when the turnout is held well in the hips and thighs. This may straighten out the whole leg in some cases.
***4. Hyper-extended legs, where the knees go beyond straight and the calves sway backwards. This will pull the body weight back onto the heels, and the thighs will turn in as a result (which can lead to tears around the knee). The correction of stacking the ankle, knee and hips above each other along the plumb line, strengthens the legs. It also corrects the weight on the whole foot, and keeps the body weight forward enough. Uncorrected, this will lead to other complexities of technical inaccuracies, especially in doing ballet on pointe, if they do not show up before that.
The knees are wonderfully engineered joints. The details are described well elsewhere. Suffice it to say they are held in place by muscles, ligaments and tendons, and when healthy, all the moving parts glide and move well. The knees bend and straighten a zillion times for dancers and sports enthusiasts, without mishap, if used correctly..
Turnout enables easy pivoting to change direction without straining the knees. Many athletes now study basic ballet and turnout to prevent knee injuries.
A sharp pain in the knee, a pop, any clicking or feeling of impeded movement around or under the knee warrants an immediate pause. Any dance teacher or sports coach will want you to get it looked at by a chiropractor or sports medicine practitioner right away.
Tears can occur in the tendons, ligaments and other supportive tissue around the knee. Usually ice and rest will reduce the inflammation and heal theses injuries. Sometimes tissue will tear off and go under the kneecap, and this must be removed.
Normal growth in kids and teens can cause imbalances in muscle flexibility and strength which can lead to injuries and inflammation from overuse. Regular stretching and relaxing efficiently with the help of a soft rubber ball rolled on tight muscles, can help this temporary condition.
Correct turnout, foot strength in landings, in fact all ballet position placement, helps protect the knee joints. A sprung floor is also essential, rather than dancing over concrete.
If you are a serious ballet student or athlete, take a look at the anatomy of the knee structure. It is brilliant, and you'll see clearly why you are taught the way you are, to prevent knee injuries in ballet shoes and pointe shoes, or on the fields and courts.
How to Avoid Overuse of the Achilles Tendon in Sports and Ballet
One of the too-common dance injuries is that of the achilles tendon. Runners and other athletes in sports training also suffer some over use inflammation, and even rupture of the achilles tendon. This tendon depends on muscle strength in the calf and the foot, to retain proper use. Following are some self-care tips that will help you avoid overuse and injury of your achilles tendons, and encourage courageous patience in better rehabilitation.
Tendonitis is all too-prevalent in dance injuries and sports injuries. In fact, when someone says "I have tendonitis" it usually refers to the achilles tendon, without being explained, it is that common. Inflammation, or "itis" can occur in any area of the body.
The achilles tendon comes from the lower end of the calf muscles, and inserts, or is attached, to the heel bone. The calf muscles above, and the intrinsic foot muscles below, are supposed to do all the actual work in moving the foot flexed, or extended (pointed, in ballet).
If the foot can flex and stretch without changing its angle (curving outward, or sickling out in ballet, or curving inward, sickling in or 'pigeon toes'), in most cases the tendon will not get irritated.
This is presuming that when you are standing on an even surface, the foot is not sloping inward, what people think of as "fallen arches", or is not sloping outward toward the little toe edge of the foot.
Runners and other athletes often work on uneven surfaces and depend on both strength and supportive shoes to minimize the variation in foot angle as it strikes the ground or pushes off. Ballet dancers absolutely depend on foot strength to prevent misuse, as they do not generally wear supports in their ballet shoes and pointe shoes. If needed, however, orthotics, or foot levelers, can be worn in dance shoes.
If a dancer or athlete has bowed legs, or hyper-extended legs, there will be an angle created just to have the feet flat on the floor. If this situation is understood, the student can be taught how to avoid inflammation of the achilles tendon through understanding, and correction of, or accurate compensation for, this particular anatomical detail.
Correcting the stance of hyper-extended legs by stacking the skeletal joints (ankles, knees, hips and on up) and holding turnout, will correct the natural pronation (fallen arches) of the feet on the floor. Sometimes this is not even visible to a glance in dancers, due to a strong built-up muscle structure that is deceptive. Even chiropractors and physio therapists have to test dancers' muscles extensively, in order not to miss this observation, until they gain experience with it.
As more and more athletes are studying ballet principles of turnout and footwork to gain an extra advantage in their performance, and prevent sports injuries, hopefully the area of hyper-extension will also be addressed.
Bowed legs require an angle of the foot, for it to be flat on the floor. In ballet, correct use of turnout, developing the intrinsic foot muscles, and always having the body weight placed correctly on the feet (hyper-extension and bowed legs tend to throw the weight back) minimizes the overuse and irritation of the achilles tendon.
Both ballet dancers and athletes need the understanding that poorly developed foot muscles lead to exhausting the calf muscles. This in turn creates tension, loss of muscle tone and strength, and the achilles tendon develops tendonitis.
Once inflammation has set in, rest, and icing must be applied. A courageous patience is needed in recovery, as the pressure to stay in the daily competitive drive for a an upcoming exam, performance or team try-out, must be resisted. You long term persistence in your chosen field depends on avoiding a chronic situation.
Ballet, dance, and sports injuries can be prevented. If you are a pre-pro, a would-be ballerina, a dedicated recreational dancer or athlete, study all you can about how to avoid overuse and injury of your achilles tendon.
Tendonitis is all too-prevalent in dance injuries and sports injuries. In fact, when someone says "I have tendonitis" it usually refers to the achilles tendon, without being explained, it is that common. Inflammation, or "itis" can occur in any area of the body.
The achilles tendon comes from the lower end of the calf muscles, and inserts, or is attached, to the heel bone. The calf muscles above, and the intrinsic foot muscles below, are supposed to do all the actual work in moving the foot flexed, or extended (pointed, in ballet).
If the foot can flex and stretch without changing its angle (curving outward, or sickling out in ballet, or curving inward, sickling in or 'pigeon toes'), in most cases the tendon will not get irritated.
This is presuming that when you are standing on an even surface, the foot is not sloping inward, what people think of as "fallen arches", or is not sloping outward toward the little toe edge of the foot.
Runners and other athletes often work on uneven surfaces and depend on both strength and supportive shoes to minimize the variation in foot angle as it strikes the ground or pushes off. Ballet dancers absolutely depend on foot strength to prevent misuse, as they do not generally wear supports in their ballet shoes and pointe shoes. If needed, however, orthotics, or foot levelers, can be worn in dance shoes.
If a dancer or athlete has bowed legs, or hyper-extended legs, there will be an angle created just to have the feet flat on the floor. If this situation is understood, the student can be taught how to avoid inflammation of the achilles tendon through understanding, and correction of, or accurate compensation for, this particular anatomical detail.
Correcting the stance of hyper-extended legs by stacking the skeletal joints (ankles, knees, hips and on up) and holding turnout, will correct the natural pronation (fallen arches) of the feet on the floor. Sometimes this is not even visible to a glance in dancers, due to a strong built-up muscle structure that is deceptive. Even chiropractors and physio therapists have to test dancers' muscles extensively, in order not to miss this observation, until they gain experience with it.
As more and more athletes are studying ballet principles of turnout and footwork to gain an extra advantage in their performance, and prevent sports injuries, hopefully the area of hyper-extension will also be addressed.
Bowed legs require an angle of the foot, for it to be flat on the floor. In ballet, correct use of turnout, developing the intrinsic foot muscles, and always having the body weight placed correctly on the feet (hyper-extension and bowed legs tend to throw the weight back) minimizes the overuse and irritation of the achilles tendon.
Both ballet dancers and athletes need the understanding that poorly developed foot muscles lead to exhausting the calf muscles. This in turn creates tension, loss of muscle tone and strength, and the achilles tendon develops tendonitis.
Once inflammation has set in, rest, and icing must be applied. A courageous patience is needed in recovery, as the pressure to stay in the daily competitive drive for a an upcoming exam, performance or team try-out, must be resisted. You long term persistence in your chosen field depends on avoiding a chronic situation.
Ballet, dance, and sports injuries can be prevented. If you are a pre-pro, a would-be ballerina, a dedicated recreational dancer or athlete, study all you can about how to avoid overuse and injury of your achilles tendon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
