It is exciting when your dance teacher tells you that it's time to start dancing ballet in pointe shoes. New, shiny, pink satin pointe shoes are beautiful. Every student has to have an idea of what they should look for in getting exactly the right fit. Hopefully the ballet store will have an area of floor for fitting ballet pointe shoes, and a ballet barre (bar) or chair back to use for support.
Here are a few points for every dance student to review. Do you have
*** narrow feet/wide feet
*** narrow heels/wide across metatarsal are
*** long toes/short toes
*** even length toes/varying lengths of toes (especially longer second toe)
*** flat arch and less deep toes/high domed arch and deeper toes/ankle bone higher above floor
All these elements determine the kind of pointe shoe you will work best in.
Pointe shoes must be snug enough to support the foot, yet not too tight. Cramped toe joints will not be able to work properly. Pain at the end of the toes from compression does not serve the dance student who needs to concentrate on accurate technique in order to build strength and avoid ballet injuries.
The boxes, or supportive area of pointe shoes around the toes, come in different widths and shapes. Therefore the platform, or part you actually stand up on, may be narrower or wider.
The vamp, or cloth extending from the box up over the metatarsal joints, also is made in different lengths to accommodate different foot shapes.
You will try on each shoe standing flat, in demi plie in second position (you need a little room for your feet to spread), and on pointe, using a barre or chair back for support (or a person). Of course, you do not want to break a pair of shoes when fitting.
Once you select a pair of shoes, take them to your teacher to review the fit. Keep them absolutely clean by standing on clean white paper or a towel, in case you end up returning them. Do not sew on ribbons and/or elastic before having your teacher see the fit.
You can get many more details about ballet pointe shoes and exercises to prepare for toe shoes, before you start pointe work.
Fitting ballet pointe shoes takes time, so don't be rushed at the ballet store.
Showing posts with label pointe shoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pointe shoes. Show all posts
Use the Ballet Barre to Improve Your Balance and Strengthen Your Ballet Technique
Be in pointe shoes as much as you can. Once you've gone beyond beginning pointe work, wearing the shoes for barre work is a good habit. The sole of the foot, and ankle, have to work so much more with every tendu, degage, and rise onto demi-pointe. The shoe resists, and the muscles get a better workout. If you're not in pointe shoes yet, read on for more ideas.
Be in pointe shoes as much as you can. Once you've gone beyond beginning pointe work, wearing the shoes for barre work is a good habit.
The sole of the foot, and ankle, have to work so much more with every tendu, degage, and rise onto demi-pointe. The shoe resists, and the muscles get a better workout.
If the thickness of the sole makes your foot wobble because it does lie flat on the floor, use a wood file, and shave the sole down lightly. You can get the sole close to flush with the satin, so that your foot will be flatter on the floor. Straining the ankles from wobbling is distracting, during ballet barre work.
Even wearing worn out pointe shoes is better than wearing soft shoes. There is still more effort needed, until the shoe is completely mushy.
If you're still pre-pointe, or an adult ballet beginner, here's some tips to help you gain from using the ballet barre properly:
*** understand correct weight placement on your feet (or supporting foot) which is, evenly distributed between the center of the heel, the area at the little toe joint at the outside of the foot, and the area at the big toe joint at the ball of the foot.
*** check frequently during barre work, by lifting your hand off the barre, that your weight has not moved back onto the heel.
*** additionally, at frequent opportunities, see if you can lift the heel of the supporting foot, and place back down, indicating that you are not back on your heel.
These two simple points show you how to use the ballet barre to improve your balance and strengthen your ballet technique.To get into pointe shoes faster, learn more about better ballet technique, and ballet positions.
Be in pointe shoes as much as you can. Once you've gone beyond beginning pointe work, wearing the shoes for barre work is a good habit.
The sole of the foot, and ankle, have to work so much more with every tendu, degage, and rise onto demi-pointe. The shoe resists, and the muscles get a better workout.
If the thickness of the sole makes your foot wobble because it does lie flat on the floor, use a wood file, and shave the sole down lightly. You can get the sole close to flush with the satin, so that your foot will be flatter on the floor. Straining the ankles from wobbling is distracting, during ballet barre work.
Even wearing worn out pointe shoes is better than wearing soft shoes. There is still more effort needed, until the shoe is completely mushy.
If you're still pre-pointe, or an adult ballet beginner, here's some tips to help you gain from using the ballet barre properly:
*** understand correct weight placement on your feet (or supporting foot) which is, evenly distributed between the center of the heel, the area at the little toe joint at the outside of the foot, and the area at the big toe joint at the ball of the foot.
*** check frequently during barre work, by lifting your hand off the barre, that your weight has not moved back onto the heel.
*** additionally, at frequent opportunities, see if you can lift the heel of the supporting foot, and place back down, indicating that you are not back on your heel.
These two simple points show you how to use the ballet barre to improve your balance and strengthen your ballet technique.To get into pointe shoes faster, learn more about better ballet technique, and ballet positions.
Making Progress In Ballet Shoes and Pointe Shoes By Understanding Basic Ballet Positions
Understanding basic ballet positions, to most people, means the five positions of the feet. Yet, a position more basic than those, is the position your body is in when you are standing with your feet parallel, in a comfortably held good posture. Understanding your personal starting point will help you progress faster.
You may not be asked to do this in a beginner (including adult beginner) ballet class. If your teacher skips this step, you can do it at home.
Stand in front of a mirror in your ballet clothes, or wear shorts and a tight top so you can see your knees, and your general posture. A hard floor is better than a plush carpet. Here are things to notice:
- are your feet evenly touching the floor with your weight distributed evenly between the center of your heel, the little toe joint area and the big toe joint area (this is often called "tripod")
- do your ankles roll inward or outward
- do your calves naturally stand in a straight line upward to your knees, or do they bow out slightly
- do your knees face the front or slightly inward
- are your hips and shoulders level or even a tiny bit uneven
- standing sideways to the mirror, are your knees above your ankles or do they over-straighten and curve behind you
- is there a small curve inward at the small of your back (everyone's natural curve will look different in relation to the shape of their gluteal muscles)
- can you pull the very bottom of your abdomen up and in without changing the tilt of your pelvis
- is your chest lifted allowing your shoulders to relax, not drooping forward
- is your neck relaxed - turn your head slightly from side to side, and up and down a little, to get into a relaxed position
Of course it is your teacher's job to notice all of this, but it gets you ahead if you can see these factors, and correct yourself as much as possible. Always ask for help if you need more information to be sure.
All of the above will determine how you will stand in first, second, third, fourth and fifth ballet positions. Aside from introducing the element of turn out, your understanding of posture and how your feet are placed on the floor, will determine how you progress learning basic ballet positions.
Learn more details about accurate ballet positions and movements like retire, releve, and how to correct your turnout and posture for dancing ballet in pointe shoes.
You may not be asked to do this in a beginner (including adult beginner) ballet class. If your teacher skips this step, you can do it at home.
Stand in front of a mirror in your ballet clothes, or wear shorts and a tight top so you can see your knees, and your general posture. A hard floor is better than a plush carpet. Here are things to notice:
- are your feet evenly touching the floor with your weight distributed evenly between the center of your heel, the little toe joint area and the big toe joint area (this is often called "tripod")
- do your ankles roll inward or outward
- do your calves naturally stand in a straight line upward to your knees, or do they bow out slightly
- do your knees face the front or slightly inward
- are your hips and shoulders level or even a tiny bit uneven
- standing sideways to the mirror, are your knees above your ankles or do they over-straighten and curve behind you
- is there a small curve inward at the small of your back (everyone's natural curve will look different in relation to the shape of their gluteal muscles)
- can you pull the very bottom of your abdomen up and in without changing the tilt of your pelvis
- is your chest lifted allowing your shoulders to relax, not drooping forward
- is your neck relaxed - turn your head slightly from side to side, and up and down a little, to get into a relaxed position
Of course it is your teacher's job to notice all of this, but it gets you ahead if you can see these factors, and correct yourself as much as possible. Always ask for help if you need more information to be sure.
All of the above will determine how you will stand in first, second, third, fourth and fifth ballet positions. Aside from introducing the element of turn out, your understanding of posture and how your feet are placed on the floor, will determine how you progress learning basic ballet positions.
Learn more details about accurate ballet positions and movements like retire, releve, and how to correct your turnout and posture for dancing ballet in pointe shoes.
Ballet Shoes and the Perfect Pointe Muscles
Both young and adult ballet beginners wonder when they can dance in pointe shoes. The process of training foot muscles begins in your very first ballet class. Learning accurate ballet technique from day one is your best way to get into pointe shoes faster. Following are a few tips for ballet training.
The proper use of foot muscles begins even before you pointe your foot. Here is a quick review:
Your street shoes! Do you wear supportive shoes generally? If you alternate between pointed toe high heels and flip-flops, you may decide to make a lifestyle change to help prepare your foot muscles for dancing ballet in pointe shoes.
High heels are usually pointed, angling in the big toe. This strains the soft tissues around the toe joint, and ultimately can lead to painful bunions.
High heels will usually throw your posture out of a neutral spine position - which means, that when neutral, all your natural spinal curves are in place, with no unnecessary tension compromising your neck/shoulder/spinal/hip joints. With all those with neutral spinal position in high heels please raise their hands...you get the idea that this would be rare.
High heels throw your weight forward off the "tripod" platform of even distribution from the middle heel point, to the point at the big toe metatarsal joint and the little toe metatarsal joint, thus the tripod metaphor. This will affect your posture and muscle tension required to go about life.
Flip-flops force the muscles in the sole of the foot (the exact muscles that ultimately allow you to control your positions and movements in point shoes) to clench, just to keep the shoes on! You get used to this, but it is a contraction of the foot you would not normally need if you were wearing supportive shoes. While foot massage, proper stretching, and other foot pampering can partly compensate for flip-flop wearing, would all those who wear flip-flops who daily massage and stretch their foot muscles please raise.....
Worn out oxfords and sneakers (for you men in ballet) will also compromise the daily use of your foot muscles. Your feet have to do what the shoes cannot.
In your first ballet class you will learn how to stand in first position. Here it will most likely be mentioned that your feet should be flat on the floor, foot muscles not clenched in any way. Thus you achieve the tripod weight distribution. If your feet pronate (ankles/arches dropping inwards) or supinate (rolling outwards) hopefully your teacher will notice and address your posture - spine/hips/knees/ankles, and locate the source of the pronation. Weak muscles will strengthen, and eventually you can remedy improper foot placement on the floor.
So you see, before you do your first demi plie as a young or adult ballet beginner, you can do a lot to improve your work in ballet shoes and pointe shoes .
The proper use of foot muscles begins even before you pointe your foot. Here is a quick review:
Your street shoes! Do you wear supportive shoes generally? If you alternate between pointed toe high heels and flip-flops, you may decide to make a lifestyle change to help prepare your foot muscles for dancing ballet in pointe shoes.
High heels are usually pointed, angling in the big toe. This strains the soft tissues around the toe joint, and ultimately can lead to painful bunions.
High heels will usually throw your posture out of a neutral spine position - which means, that when neutral, all your natural spinal curves are in place, with no unnecessary tension compromising your neck/shoulder/spinal/hip joints. With all those with neutral spinal position in high heels please raise their hands...you get the idea that this would be rare.
High heels throw your weight forward off the "tripod" platform of even distribution from the middle heel point, to the point at the big toe metatarsal joint and the little toe metatarsal joint, thus the tripod metaphor. This will affect your posture and muscle tension required to go about life.
Flip-flops force the muscles in the sole of the foot (the exact muscles that ultimately allow you to control your positions and movements in point shoes) to clench, just to keep the shoes on! You get used to this, but it is a contraction of the foot you would not normally need if you were wearing supportive shoes. While foot massage, proper stretching, and other foot pampering can partly compensate for flip-flop wearing, would all those who wear flip-flops who daily massage and stretch their foot muscles please raise.....
Worn out oxfords and sneakers (for you men in ballet) will also compromise the daily use of your foot muscles. Your feet have to do what the shoes cannot.
In your first ballet class you will learn how to stand in first position. Here it will most likely be mentioned that your feet should be flat on the floor, foot muscles not clenched in any way. Thus you achieve the tripod weight distribution. If your feet pronate (ankles/arches dropping inwards) or supinate (rolling outwards) hopefully your teacher will notice and address your posture - spine/hips/knees/ankles, and locate the source of the pronation. Weak muscles will strengthen, and eventually you can remedy improper foot placement on the floor.
So you see, before you do your first demi plie as a young or adult ballet beginner, you can do a lot to improve your work in ballet shoes and pointe shoes .
Men In Ballet Working in Pointe Shoes
Many men in ballet talk about dancing in pointe shoes and whether it is appropriate or even possible. Pointe shoes are made in men's sizes for the few classical ballets where pointe shoes for a male character are used. More importantly, developing foot muscles for ballet using pre-pointe exercises is an excellent idea for men in ballet classes.
For male adult beginners in ballet classes, there are many challenges.
Often strength in the large muscle groups is not one of them, especially if the men have been practicing high intensity interval training or weight resistance training.
However, the particular exercises for the intrinsic foot muscles do not show up often, even in ballet classes.
Here is where information about feet in general is needed for all dance students, and especially for men in adult ballet. Knowledge of foot muscles will prevent strain/sprain of the lower leg muscles and tendons, protecting the Achilles area. Developing awareness and strength in the foot muscles will prevent cramping and soreness in the feet.
If men in adult ballet classes wish to eventually get into pointe shoes to exercise and hone their footwork, they also need to know about foot types, and proper stretching of the ankle joint. Also, correct basic ballet technique - weight distribution on the feet, posture, turnout, and ballet positions, need to be understood completely. This education will give an adult dance student a better experience as well as faster progress.
Ballet is an excellent form of exercise. It compares to high intensity training. Ballet exercises are short, designed to challenge and completely load the muscles during the barre work. A well designed barre workout rests some muscle groups while engaging others, alternating, so as to warm up the whole body evenly.
For serious recreational ballet students, more is not necessarily better. Muscles need to recover properly, and several classes a week do not add strength. It would be better for an adult male ballet enthusiast to do an upper body training workout rather than another ballet class. If such a student feels unoccupied during off days - rent ballet movies, or ballet classes on DVD and study them while doing some gentle stretching on your floor.
Also do your pre-pointe foot exercises while watching your favorite ballerinas and their partners perform the amazing feats of classical repertoires. This trains your brain to assimilate the movement finesse it perceives, even when you are not active physically.
I think it is a great idea for men in ballet to eventually exercise in pointe shoes. It is not a necessity, and you can learn pre-pointe shoe ballet routines. If you are an adult dance student who would like to, get started! It is a long slow process for many, but you can reach your goal with good training.
For male adult beginners in ballet classes, there are many challenges.
Often strength in the large muscle groups is not one of them, especially if the men have been practicing high intensity interval training or weight resistance training.
However, the particular exercises for the intrinsic foot muscles do not show up often, even in ballet classes.
Here is where information about feet in general is needed for all dance students, and especially for men in adult ballet. Knowledge of foot muscles will prevent strain/sprain of the lower leg muscles and tendons, protecting the Achilles area. Developing awareness and strength in the foot muscles will prevent cramping and soreness in the feet.
If men in adult ballet classes wish to eventually get into pointe shoes to exercise and hone their footwork, they also need to know about foot types, and proper stretching of the ankle joint. Also, correct basic ballet technique - weight distribution on the feet, posture, turnout, and ballet positions, need to be understood completely. This education will give an adult dance student a better experience as well as faster progress.
Ballet is an excellent form of exercise. It compares to high intensity training. Ballet exercises are short, designed to challenge and completely load the muscles during the barre work. A well designed barre workout rests some muscle groups while engaging others, alternating, so as to warm up the whole body evenly.
For serious recreational ballet students, more is not necessarily better. Muscles need to recover properly, and several classes a week do not add strength. It would be better for an adult male ballet enthusiast to do an upper body training workout rather than another ballet class. If such a student feels unoccupied during off days - rent ballet movies, or ballet classes on DVD and study them while doing some gentle stretching on your floor.
Also do your pre-pointe foot exercises while watching your favorite ballerinas and their partners perform the amazing feats of classical repertoires. This trains your brain to assimilate the movement finesse it perceives, even when you are not active physically.
I think it is a great idea for men in ballet to eventually exercise in pointe shoes. It is not a necessity, and you can learn pre-pointe shoe ballet routines. If you are an adult dance student who would like to, get started! It is a long slow process for many, but you can reach your goal with good training.
So Many Pointe Shoes, Only Two Feet
Being able to dance ballet in pointe shoes is the result of years of careful practice. Young dance students in their first ballet class have visions of tutus and pink satin pointe shoes as they struggle with their first battment tendus, or ballet foot exercises.
While every ballet exercise is a workout involving posture, balance and turnout, every single pointing of the foot contributes to that day when the students go to the ballet store to seek exactly the right fit in pointe shoes. And when you get to the ballet store, so many pointe shoes!
Years before you get to the dance wear store to find the right pointe shoes, have you missed any opportunities to prepare?
Every ballet class is a pre-pointe class, if you want to look at it that way. Every battment tendu, battment degage, every releve, every jump, is a pre-pointe exercise.
It's all about your use of your feet. In a dance class, and between dance classes. From the way you stand on them, to the way you point them, to the way you support your foot muscles with posture, turnout and balance, involving your whole body.
It's also about the nutritional support you give them. And the rest and relaxation, perhaps using a pinkie ball or a foot roller to get rid of the residual tension after classes.
It's about your between-class-shoes, maybe not wearing the cute floppy type sandals, but wearing something more supportive. Glue some bling on your sneakers!
Okay, back to the ballet store to fit pointe shoes. Here you are with your two feet. Do you know your foot type?
Have you stood on a piece of paper and outlined the right and the left foot? It helps. Even a professional pointe shoe fitter will appreciate that.
Hopefully, you will find a good fit, the right brand, right style, etc., in your first few pairs. But ultimately, it's the strength of the foot muscles and the accuracy of your technique that will get you dancing in pointe shoes, as opposed to struggling with the exercises.
Whenever that is, do not be in a hurry. It's what you do BEFORE you wear pointe shoes that matters.
To get into pointe shoes faster, get The Perfect Pointe Book.
While every ballet exercise is a workout involving posture, balance and turnout, every single pointing of the foot contributes to that day when the students go to the ballet store to seek exactly the right fit in pointe shoes. And when you get to the ballet store, so many pointe shoes!
Years before you get to the dance wear store to find the right pointe shoes, have you missed any opportunities to prepare?
Every ballet class is a pre-pointe class, if you want to look at it that way. Every battment tendu, battment degage, every releve, every jump, is a pre-pointe exercise.
It's all about your use of your feet. In a dance class, and between dance classes. From the way you stand on them, to the way you point them, to the way you support your foot muscles with posture, turnout and balance, involving your whole body.
It's also about the nutritional support you give them. And the rest and relaxation, perhaps using a pinkie ball or a foot roller to get rid of the residual tension after classes.
It's about your between-class-shoes, maybe not wearing the cute floppy type sandals, but wearing something more supportive. Glue some bling on your sneakers!
Okay, back to the ballet store to fit pointe shoes. Here you are with your two feet. Do you know your foot type?
Have you stood on a piece of paper and outlined the right and the left foot? It helps. Even a professional pointe shoe fitter will appreciate that.
Hopefully, you will find a good fit, the right brand, right style, etc., in your first few pairs. But ultimately, it's the strength of the foot muscles and the accuracy of your technique that will get you dancing in pointe shoes, as opposed to struggling with the exercises.
Whenever that is, do not be in a hurry. It's what you do BEFORE you wear pointe shoes that matters.
To get into pointe shoes faster, get The Perfect Pointe Book.
Labels:
ballet exercises,
ballet store,
foot muscles,
pointe shoes
Develop the Perfect Foot Muscles For Pointe Shoes
Is there a perfect foot for ballet - or can any foot function perfectly if the ballet dancer has the correct understanding of how to use their foot muscles in pointe shoes? Even men in ballet want to work in pointe shoes to develop the fine foot muscles that will enhance balance and virtuoso allegro. Strengthening and stretching the hyper-mobile (very flexible motion) body and hypo-mobile (tighter motion) body requires accurate ballet movements.
All would-be ballerinas and plenty of men in ballet want to get into pointe shoes, and, faster. The good news is, the finer details are available to all dance students through a little extra reading, examining photos and watching videos. This terrific ballet education is accessible from dance experts near and far.
Preventing injuries such as sprained ankles, more typical of the hyper or extra mobile ankle and foot joints, and Achilles tendon injuries, more typical of the feet and ankles with less flexible movement, is not difficult if you learn correct basic ballet technique.
Ballet students, and particularly boys in ballet, who have tighter ankle and foot joints and flatter-shaped foot bones, can partially solve this disadvantage by learning how to massage their lower legs and feet. The constant strain to get that ballet line in the foot arch leads to excess tension in the calves and feet.
Using a pinkie ball (hard, small sports ball) or a golf ball, and rolling it under the arches with gentle pressure, eases the tension out of the muscles. Calf muscles can be massaged the same way. Sitting on the floor, the ball can be eased from behind the knee, down the calf muscles to the ankle area. Also check that you get the extra tension towards the outside of the calf, and the inside area.
The front of the calves, or your shins, can be tense as well. Kneeling on the floor, ease and press your pinky ball ( a golf ball will not work for this one) from just below the knee, down the front of the calf to the ankle, leaning into it to get the tension to release. After this, you may find a significant degree of increased mobility in the ankle joint, and a better line. Get even more information on using a pinkie ball to improve your muscle tone.
Hypo-mobile students are usually less likely to sprain ankles en pointe, but can be predisposed to Achilles Tendon issues, due to how hard they have to work the feet. A wonderful stretch for the calves is: standing on a book, a stair step, or a rolled up towel, rise up and then lower onto one foot, stretching past the level pointe, so the heels are lower. Alternating slowly and carefully, you'll feel a deep stretch.
Ballet students with the flexible high arch are lucky in that the ballet ideal has somehow become the large, domed instep over the top of the foot. However, much more strength and control is required to utilize this range of motion, and prevent injury. If you have this kind of mobility, one way to begin assessing your strength and control is to see if you can do 20 consecutive slow rises with no sickling out of the foot. That is the least control you need.
There are more advanced exercises for controlling the flexible ankle. Using a theraband, ensuring that the intrinsic (exclusive to the foot) muscles are being constantly strengthened are two ways to work toward the perfect function for dancing ballet in pointe shoes as safely as possible. Doing this will help prevent sprained ankles.
Download your own copy of how to dance ballet in pointe shoes and you will be able to develop perfect foot muscles.
All would-be ballerinas and plenty of men in ballet want to get into pointe shoes, and, faster. The good news is, the finer details are available to all dance students through a little extra reading, examining photos and watching videos. This terrific ballet education is accessible from dance experts near and far.
Preventing injuries such as sprained ankles, more typical of the hyper or extra mobile ankle and foot joints, and Achilles tendon injuries, more typical of the feet and ankles with less flexible movement, is not difficult if you learn correct basic ballet technique.
Ballet students, and particularly boys in ballet, who have tighter ankle and foot joints and flatter-shaped foot bones, can partially solve this disadvantage by learning how to massage their lower legs and feet. The constant strain to get that ballet line in the foot arch leads to excess tension in the calves and feet.
Using a pinkie ball (hard, small sports ball) or a golf ball, and rolling it under the arches with gentle pressure, eases the tension out of the muscles. Calf muscles can be massaged the same way. Sitting on the floor, the ball can be eased from behind the knee, down the calf muscles to the ankle area. Also check that you get the extra tension towards the outside of the calf, and the inside area.
The front of the calves, or your shins, can be tense as well. Kneeling on the floor, ease and press your pinky ball ( a golf ball will not work for this one) from just below the knee, down the front of the calf to the ankle, leaning into it to get the tension to release. After this, you may find a significant degree of increased mobility in the ankle joint, and a better line. Get even more information on using a pinkie ball to improve your muscle tone.
Hypo-mobile students are usually less likely to sprain ankles en pointe, but can be predisposed to Achilles Tendon issues, due to how hard they have to work the feet. A wonderful stretch for the calves is: standing on a book, a stair step, or a rolled up towel, rise up and then lower onto one foot, stretching past the level pointe, so the heels are lower. Alternating slowly and carefully, you'll feel a deep stretch.
Ballet students with the flexible high arch are lucky in that the ballet ideal has somehow become the large, domed instep over the top of the foot. However, much more strength and control is required to utilize this range of motion, and prevent injury. If you have this kind of mobility, one way to begin assessing your strength and control is to see if you can do 20 consecutive slow rises with no sickling out of the foot. That is the least control you need.
There are more advanced exercises for controlling the flexible ankle. Using a theraband, ensuring that the intrinsic (exclusive to the foot) muscles are being constantly strengthened are two ways to work toward the perfect function for dancing ballet in pointe shoes as safely as possible. Doing this will help prevent sprained ankles.
Download your own copy of how to dance ballet in pointe shoes and you will be able to develop perfect foot muscles.
Labels:
achilles tendon,
ballet,
men in ballet,
muscles,
pointe shoes,
sprained ankles
Muscle Tension Release In Ballet - Magnesium!
For success in ballet, sports and fitness, strong muscle tone must also result in fluid movement. This requires the minimal tension needed to execute a ballet movement, or ballet position, or a physical move as required in sports training. Magnesium is a nutritional super star. It improves function in the brain, bones and muscles. In team sports, advanced ballet in pointe shoes and pas de deux, magnesium is part of the nutrition that enhances ballet/sports/fitness success.
Magnesium is present in most of your body cells. It plays a starring role as a co-factor, meaning, it assists enzymes in catalysing (a catalyst is a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected) many necessary chemical reactions.
Magnesium affects many things that your ballet and sports require of you, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Here's a short list:
- nerve conduction, or the sending and receiving of messages affecting muscle response
- muscular movement affecting fluidity, accuracy and coordination
- bone metabolism, affecting your growth and development, as well as your immune system
- protein manufacture in the body which is extremely complex
- fat and carbohydrate metabolism. A new frontier being researched now is magnesium in relation to insulin resistance, which, once that condition begins, makes it harder to stay thin
- glucose utilization, affecting brain power and muscle power
Whether your goals in ballet/sports/fitness are personal and recreational, or professional, I'm sure you would want all the points made above functioning for optimum results in your muscles and brain.
Because magnesium allows the muscle contractions that occur to turn off, it helps control tension and spasms caused by over training, heavy practice or rehearsal days, and inaccurate technique.
Magnesium supplements can be bought in tablet or powder form. Always read labels, and select brands that do not have anything else added, except maybe fruit flavoring from natural sources that you recognize. Powdered magnesium digests faster. It's usually a good idea to take half the recommended dosage for a couple of days, to let your body get used to a nutrient that has been deficient. Magnesium can loosen the bowels at first, but that effect goes away within a day or so. Magnesium carbonate has the biggest affect this way. Magnesium citrate and magnesium lactate are known to digest better.
Because of the relaxing effect magnesium has, you may sleep more deeply, and high blood pressure may lower towards normal. Even irregularities of the heart muscle can be helped by magnesium.
Many flavoring foods are high in magnesium: dill, chives, celery seed, spearmint, sage, coriander and basil. Put fresh into salads or chopped and sprinkled on vegetables, meat or fish, these are all delicious.
So for strong bones, good muscle tone (which requires proper relaxation for strength), getting enough rest, and staying calm, eat magnesium! Best obtained from fresh foods, yet very helpful as a food-sourced supplement, it is a super star silent partner in your ballet/sports/fitness training.
Learn the different ways of achieving muscle tension release.
Magnesium is present in most of your body cells. It plays a starring role as a co-factor, meaning, it assists enzymes in catalysing (a catalyst is a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected) many necessary chemical reactions.
Magnesium affects many things that your ballet and sports require of you, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Here's a short list:
- nerve conduction, or the sending and receiving of messages affecting muscle response
- muscular movement affecting fluidity, accuracy and coordination
- bone metabolism, affecting your growth and development, as well as your immune system
- protein manufacture in the body which is extremely complex
- fat and carbohydrate metabolism. A new frontier being researched now is magnesium in relation to insulin resistance, which, once that condition begins, makes it harder to stay thin
- glucose utilization, affecting brain power and muscle power
Whether your goals in ballet/sports/fitness are personal and recreational, or professional, I'm sure you would want all the points made above functioning for optimum results in your muscles and brain.
Because magnesium allows the muscle contractions that occur to turn off, it helps control tension and spasms caused by over training, heavy practice or rehearsal days, and inaccurate technique.
Magnesium supplements can be bought in tablet or powder form. Always read labels, and select brands that do not have anything else added, except maybe fruit flavoring from natural sources that you recognize. Powdered magnesium digests faster. It's usually a good idea to take half the recommended dosage for a couple of days, to let your body get used to a nutrient that has been deficient. Magnesium can loosen the bowels at first, but that effect goes away within a day or so. Magnesium carbonate has the biggest affect this way. Magnesium citrate and magnesium lactate are known to digest better.
Because of the relaxing effect magnesium has, you may sleep more deeply, and high blood pressure may lower towards normal. Even irregularities of the heart muscle can be helped by magnesium.
Many flavoring foods are high in magnesium: dill, chives, celery seed, spearmint, sage, coriander and basil. Put fresh into salads or chopped and sprinkled on vegetables, meat or fish, these are all delicious.
So for strong bones, good muscle tone (which requires proper relaxation for strength), getting enough rest, and staying calm, eat magnesium! Best obtained from fresh foods, yet very helpful as a food-sourced supplement, it is a super star silent partner in your ballet/sports/fitness training.
Learn the different ways of achieving muscle tension release.
Some Highly Effective Tips For Ballet Summer Intensives Auditions - And The Nerves
Many ballet summer intensives require auditions. Some will accept a DVD or VHS tape of you dancing, and they will specify what they want to see, to determine the level and accuracy of your ballet technique and ballet positions. If you search on the internet for summer intensives, there are pages and pages of results to view.
Some schools tour with audition classes. Another outreach is, for example, The Princeton University summer intensive can be auditioned forin Toronto, Canada, at the National Ballet School.
Look for details on every web site. Some summer intensives offer housing in dorms or "host family" homes. Many do not offer any housing. Parents, I'm sure, are concerned about the kind of environment where the summer intensive they choose is located.
Many parents and ballet students want an out-in-nature environment where a school may offer more than ballet classes.
And many serious ballet students know that, in order to be able to audition for the college dance department of their choice later, they need to focus on ballet and other dance styles now, to the exclusion of all else.
Spending a couple of summers away from home can be helpful for ballet students. Some may discover that they do not agree with the ballet lifestyle after all, even though they love dancing. The intensity, the competition, the sub-culture aspect of dance, is not a life that is meant for everyone.
If this is true for you, or if your real talent will come out best in some other performance venue such as acting, modern dance, singing, or in another field entirely, the sooner you discover this, the better.
There are many ballet summer intensives to choose from. Some will require auditions, and at the least, DVD or VHS auditions. Be prepared to pay an audition fee, and bring a photo of you dancing, and perhaps a head shot, to leave at the audition, if requested. Audition nerves can be a challenge, but you can train your brain out of those if you know how to.
Also bear in mind that smaller more local schools may offer better classes, even though they do not bear a famous ballet school name or have famous guest faculty. Depending on your age and level of training, it may be better to stay close to home, and continue to benefit from smaller classes and the familiarity that has nurtured you so far. You will know when you are ready for a bigger and strange environment. Even if you feel the audition nerves, you will want to go for a bigger challenge.
If you feel like the audition nerves are going to be overwhelming, take a look at "Train Your Brain" by dance medicine specialist Deborah Vogel. It is not written just for ballet dancers, but for all young people, to help understand how you can replace negative thoughts with positive emotions, and from there, better any situation that you choose to change.
Whatever summer ballet intensive you find, once you are accepted and registered, you have a grand adventure to look forward to!
Some schools tour with audition classes. Another outreach is, for example, The Princeton University summer intensive can be auditioned forin Toronto, Canada, at the National Ballet School.
Look for details on every web site. Some summer intensives offer housing in dorms or "host family" homes. Many do not offer any housing. Parents, I'm sure, are concerned about the kind of environment where the summer intensive they choose is located.
Many parents and ballet students want an out-in-nature environment where a school may offer more than ballet classes.
And many serious ballet students know that, in order to be able to audition for the college dance department of their choice later, they need to focus on ballet and other dance styles now, to the exclusion of all else.
Spending a couple of summers away from home can be helpful for ballet students. Some may discover that they do not agree with the ballet lifestyle after all, even though they love dancing. The intensity, the competition, the sub-culture aspect of dance, is not a life that is meant for everyone.
If this is true for you, or if your real talent will come out best in some other performance venue such as acting, modern dance, singing, or in another field entirely, the sooner you discover this, the better.
There are many ballet summer intensives to choose from. Some will require auditions, and at the least, DVD or VHS auditions. Be prepared to pay an audition fee, and bring a photo of you dancing, and perhaps a head shot, to leave at the audition, if requested. Audition nerves can be a challenge, but you can train your brain out of those if you know how to.
Also bear in mind that smaller more local schools may offer better classes, even though they do not bear a famous ballet school name or have famous guest faculty. Depending on your age and level of training, it may be better to stay close to home, and continue to benefit from smaller classes and the familiarity that has nurtured you so far. You will know when you are ready for a bigger and strange environment. Even if you feel the audition nerves, you will want to go for a bigger challenge.
If you feel like the audition nerves are going to be overwhelming, take a look at "Train Your Brain" by dance medicine specialist Deborah Vogel. It is not written just for ballet dancers, but for all young people, to help understand how you can replace negative thoughts with positive emotions, and from there, better any situation that you choose to change.
Whatever summer ballet intensive you find, once you are accepted and registered, you have a grand adventure to look forward to!
How to Set Priorities With Your Corrections in Ballet Classes
Whenever you get corrections in class, how do you set priorities for fixing them? For example, if you get a correction while doing demi or grand plie, that's a priority to fix, because it will affect everything else you do.
Especially in pointe shoes, a flaw in how you do a plie will affect your posture, balance, strength of turnout, and go on to affect pirouettes and more.
It will also affect your allegro, or jumps.
If you get a correction later in the ballet barre work, that may be where your ballet teacher first noticed the error, in that class.
However, if your dance teacher does not address it further, it is up to you to figure out where in the basic ballet positions, ballet movements, or ballet technique, you need to go, to fix your correction.
As an example, if your teacher corrects tense or "spiky" fingers during a ronde de jambe a terre combination, you need to (after class) back-peddle mentally to figure out why your fingers are tense looking.
Relaxed hands and fingers are the result of strength in the core muscles. If the core muscles are strong enough to support posture, turnout and ballet positions, then there will not be any extra tension traveling to the neck, shoulders, and down the arms to the hands.
So, as your own experiment, see if there is any strain in your plie exercises in class. Do you understand what muscles should be working hard, and relaxing, at what point during the exercise? Tension in ballet is FLUID. It is always changing.
Understanding plies and tendus, in ballet, will lead to your understanding every aspect of ballet technique. Posture, turnout and balance are all equally important parts of ballet technique (including the proper use of the intrinsic foot muscles for demi pointe and full pointe). And most other dance techniques, not to mention football, tennis and more. (Tennis pros and football teams study ballet to develop footwork and prevent sports injuries). It's all about doing what the body can do, and not trying to make it do what it cannot do.
Try to relate all your corrections back to your basic ballet movements. If you can fix the most basic flaws in your ballet technique, you will fix many things that can go wrong in a ballet class.
Dancing ballet successfully does not depend on perfection. It does depend on you understanding how close to the ideal you are. And, what keeps you from the ideal - physique, muscle weakness, or lack of technical comprehension. I've taught ten year olds who had this sorted out within months of starting training in classical ballet. Something just clicked for them that way.
So wherever you are in your ballet training, start right now to analyze and set your priorities with your corrections in ballet class. Pick the most basic correction that you get, and focus on it. Search for the information that you need, and I bet you'll figure it out, and you'll be dancing ballet better.
Especially in pointe shoes, a flaw in how you do a plie will affect your posture, balance, strength of turnout, and go on to affect pirouettes and more.
It will also affect your allegro, or jumps.
If you get a correction later in the ballet barre work, that may be where your ballet teacher first noticed the error, in that class.
However, if your dance teacher does not address it further, it is up to you to figure out where in the basic ballet positions, ballet movements, or ballet technique, you need to go, to fix your correction.
As an example, if your teacher corrects tense or "spiky" fingers during a ronde de jambe a terre combination, you need to (after class) back-peddle mentally to figure out why your fingers are tense looking.
Relaxed hands and fingers are the result of strength in the core muscles. If the core muscles are strong enough to support posture, turnout and ballet positions, then there will not be any extra tension traveling to the neck, shoulders, and down the arms to the hands.
So, as your own experiment, see if there is any strain in your plie exercises in class. Do you understand what muscles should be working hard, and relaxing, at what point during the exercise? Tension in ballet is FLUID. It is always changing.
Understanding plies and tendus, in ballet, will lead to your understanding every aspect of ballet technique. Posture, turnout and balance are all equally important parts of ballet technique (including the proper use of the intrinsic foot muscles for demi pointe and full pointe). And most other dance techniques, not to mention football, tennis and more. (Tennis pros and football teams study ballet to develop footwork and prevent sports injuries). It's all about doing what the body can do, and not trying to make it do what it cannot do.
Try to relate all your corrections back to your basic ballet movements. If you can fix the most basic flaws in your ballet technique, you will fix many things that can go wrong in a ballet class.
Dancing ballet successfully does not depend on perfection. It does depend on you understanding how close to the ideal you are. And, what keeps you from the ideal - physique, muscle weakness, or lack of technical comprehension. I've taught ten year olds who had this sorted out within months of starting training in classical ballet. Something just clicked for them that way.
So wherever you are in your ballet training, start right now to analyze and set your priorities with your corrections in ballet class. Pick the most basic correction that you get, and focus on it. Search for the information that you need, and I bet you'll figure it out, and you'll be dancing ballet better.
Injuring the Hamstring and Patience With Rehabilitation in Ballet Shoes and Pointe Shoes
Patience with rehabilitation is not easy for ballet dancers. Muscle pulls are rarely serious, but without proper treatment and rehabilitation, they can become a chronic situation. With the hamstring muscle, which is involved in every ballet position and ballet movement in the lower body, special care is needed to keep it relaxed and stretched properly after ballet class.
The hamstring muscle, at the back of the thigh, must be strengthened to ensure that it is not out-powered by the quadriceps at the front of the thigh, causing imbalance in the body structure. If the quadriceps muscle is much stronger that the hamstrings, which is the usual case, it can pull on the hamstring muscle and cause injuries.
Other imbalances such as the misalignment of the pelvis can also lead to extra tension in the hamstrings. Chiropractic care is a necessary routine for would-be ballerinas and men in ballet.
Patience to warm up before class, and then afterward, to cool down with relaxed stretching, (meaning not in a rush, not when your mind is already focusing on something else), is extremely important for the hamstring. It is a large muscle with a plentiful blood supply that is capable of creating substantial inflammation and scar tissue once the muscle is pulled.
Growth spurts can cause imbalances as well, resulting in temporary loss of balance, flexibility and strength.
Without understanding these factors, well-trained and serious ballet students will struggle to work harder, endure a little more pain, and may become very frustrated when the expected optimum results don't show up. They might feel that they should be adding some cross training or more ballet classes. However, this will only irritate the hamstring injury.
Once a hamstring is pulled, and on the mend, stretching to do the splits should only be done after use of the pinky ball (as described in the dancing smart series) on the hamstrings, quads, gluts and even calves (why not while you're at it). And of course after a full class when you are at your warmest. Then stretch to feel a stretch, not to feel pain.
It's often a month or two after a hamstring pull, that the muscle will feel well again, with the best of care. With no special treatment, the muscle will be unwell, with the condition possibly lingering for months.
Work your best in ballet class to avoid injuring the hamstring muscle. Don't stretch with partners. Exercise patience with rehabilitation, and see a chiropractor or physio therapist for help. Strengthening and stretching properly will get you the best ballet positions, as well as years dancing in ballet shoes and pointe shoes.
The hamstring muscle, at the back of the thigh, must be strengthened to ensure that it is not out-powered by the quadriceps at the front of the thigh, causing imbalance in the body structure. If the quadriceps muscle is much stronger that the hamstrings, which is the usual case, it can pull on the hamstring muscle and cause injuries.
Other imbalances such as the misalignment of the pelvis can also lead to extra tension in the hamstrings. Chiropractic care is a necessary routine for would-be ballerinas and men in ballet.
Patience to warm up before class, and then afterward, to cool down with relaxed stretching, (meaning not in a rush, not when your mind is already focusing on something else), is extremely important for the hamstring. It is a large muscle with a plentiful blood supply that is capable of creating substantial inflammation and scar tissue once the muscle is pulled.
Growth spurts can cause imbalances as well, resulting in temporary loss of balance, flexibility and strength.
Without understanding these factors, well-trained and serious ballet students will struggle to work harder, endure a little more pain, and may become very frustrated when the expected optimum results don't show up. They might feel that they should be adding some cross training or more ballet classes. However, this will only irritate the hamstring injury.
Once a hamstring is pulled, and on the mend, stretching to do the splits should only be done after use of the pinky ball (as described in the dancing smart series) on the hamstrings, quads, gluts and even calves (why not while you're at it). And of course after a full class when you are at your warmest. Then stretch to feel a stretch, not to feel pain.
It's often a month or two after a hamstring pull, that the muscle will feel well again, with the best of care. With no special treatment, the muscle will be unwell, with the condition possibly lingering for months.
Work your best in ballet class to avoid injuring the hamstring muscle. Don't stretch with partners. Exercise patience with rehabilitation, and see a chiropractor or physio therapist for help. Strengthening and stretching properly will get you the best ballet positions, as well as years dancing in ballet shoes and pointe shoes.
How to Prevent Knee Injuries in Ballet Shoes and Pointe Shoes
If you are among those dancing in ballet shoes and pointe shoes, knowing why ballet technique is the way it is will help you prevent ballet injuries. Healthy knee function is not possible without healthy foot function. Also, in learning how to prevent knee injuries, understanding the function of the foot, knee, hip and spine connection is useful, at least in a general sense.
The knee joint is engineered beautifully. It has ligaments to prevent too much movement in any given direction, and a shock absorber as well, the meniscus behind the kneecap, or patella.
Classical ballet, and other athletic activity involves sudden change of direction, twisting, leaping, and sudden starts and stops.
Fortunately in ballet, we have turnout to assist us with these factors.
If our turnout is not strong, there is risk to the knee joint.
If our posture is incorrect, in the low back and core area, there is risk to the knee joint. Crunched and chronically tense rotator (turnout) muscles, quads (thigh muscles), hamstrings (back of thigh muscles), result from an incorrect pelvic position. This leads to nearly all the other muscles involved in ballet technique, ballet positions and ballet movements, being held in tense positions, instead of being fluid.
While tension is needed to dance ballet, tension should be fluid. The years of repetition in ballet training should result in the reflexes needed to constantly increase and release tension.
Think of your favorite ballerinas and leading male dancers. One of the observable qualities to their dancing is the effortlessness. They make it look so easy. You don't necessarily think of pillars of strength, although they are very strong. You can feel their fluidity when you watch them in difficult roles such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote and other classics.
So, back to the knee joints - ligaments and shocks are in place. We have turnout to make the best use of them.
Foot strength is a major factor. A high percentage of the general population pronates, that is, allows their feet to collapse toward the inner side, when they walk, run, dance, whenever their feet hit the ground.
Proper posture, use of turnout muscles, correcting hyper-extended knees placement, if hyper-extension is present, and strengthening of the intrinsic (exclusive to the foot) muscles can compensate for this factor and prevent knee injuries.
Knowing how to relax muscles after hard work, for instance with a pinkie ball, is a needed element in ballet training, as well. Not many ballet students have the time or opportunity to get regular massages. But hard working muscles must get relaxed, and must be given recovery time, neither of which factors are typical in ballet training.
If you are involved in ballet training and have ANY pain or persistent soreness in your knees, see a professional. A chiropractor, or physio-therapist with experience in dance or sports injuries will help you.
Also ask your ballet teacher to watch the finer details of your posture, turnout, and foot placement on the floor. These factors are never isolated. Educate yourself as well, with the expertly written dance manuals that are now available to anyone on the internet. The Perfect Pointe Book will give you the details you need to review your ballet technique in all the ways that it affects your knees.
Eat a healthy diet to support your ligaments and muscles. You will be able to prevent knee injuries and enjoy your dancing in ballet shoes and pointe shoes.
The knee joint is engineered beautifully. It has ligaments to prevent too much movement in any given direction, and a shock absorber as well, the meniscus behind the kneecap, or patella.
Classical ballet, and other athletic activity involves sudden change of direction, twisting, leaping, and sudden starts and stops.
Fortunately in ballet, we have turnout to assist us with these factors.
If our turnout is not strong, there is risk to the knee joint.
If our posture is incorrect, in the low back and core area, there is risk to the knee joint. Crunched and chronically tense rotator (turnout) muscles, quads (thigh muscles), hamstrings (back of thigh muscles), result from an incorrect pelvic position. This leads to nearly all the other muscles involved in ballet technique, ballet positions and ballet movements, being held in tense positions, instead of being fluid.
While tension is needed to dance ballet, tension should be fluid. The years of repetition in ballet training should result in the reflexes needed to constantly increase and release tension.
Think of your favorite ballerinas and leading male dancers. One of the observable qualities to their dancing is the effortlessness. They make it look so easy. You don't necessarily think of pillars of strength, although they are very strong. You can feel their fluidity when you watch them in difficult roles such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote and other classics.
So, back to the knee joints - ligaments and shocks are in place. We have turnout to make the best use of them.
Foot strength is a major factor. A high percentage of the general population pronates, that is, allows their feet to collapse toward the inner side, when they walk, run, dance, whenever their feet hit the ground.
Proper posture, use of turnout muscles, correcting hyper-extended knees placement, if hyper-extension is present, and strengthening of the intrinsic (exclusive to the foot) muscles can compensate for this factor and prevent knee injuries.
Knowing how to relax muscles after hard work, for instance with a pinkie ball, is a needed element in ballet training, as well. Not many ballet students have the time or opportunity to get regular massages. But hard working muscles must get relaxed, and must be given recovery time, neither of which factors are typical in ballet training.
If you are involved in ballet training and have ANY pain or persistent soreness in your knees, see a professional. A chiropractor, or physio-therapist with experience in dance or sports injuries will help you.
Also ask your ballet teacher to watch the finer details of your posture, turnout, and foot placement on the floor. These factors are never isolated. Educate yourself as well, with the expertly written dance manuals that are now available to anyone on the internet. The Perfect Pointe Book will give you the details you need to review your ballet technique in all the ways that it affects your knees.
Eat a healthy diet to support your ligaments and muscles. You will be able to prevent knee injuries and enjoy your dancing in ballet shoes and pointe shoes.
Many Nutcracker Versions Are Loved By Ballet Fans Around The World
Professional ballet dancers typically work through the holidays performing one of the Nutcracker versions, up to ten ballet performances a week. If you are a ballet student rehearsing for your local Nutcracker, get those pointe shoes ready! Always have an extras pair broken in and ready to go. If you are a ballet fan, get your Nutcracker tickets now. Check for group and student rates at your theaters, and consider giving Nutcracker tickets for holiday gifts.
The Nutcracker ballet versions that we can see now have developed from a rich history. The Nutcracker began as a somewhat dark story of magic, a fairy tale that we might not choose for our young children. Originally, Clara was a doll of the central character Maria. She came alive and helped the wounded Nutcracker doll who had engaged in heavy combat wit the Mouse King.
Tchaikovsky used some contemporary music, a popular children's song, as well as a contemporary song people played or sang as party guests departed for home. The full Nutcracker score that we know now developed in stages.
Anna Pavlova's Company performed a version of Nutcracker in 1915, choreographed by Ivan Clustine, called "Snowflakes". The Bolshoi Ballet presented a version of the ballet in 1919, choreographed by
Alexander Gorsky.
The Kirov Ballet's first Nutcracker version was presented 1929, and outside of Russia, the Vic-Wells Ballet produced the first English version in 1934, choreographed by Nicholas Sergueyev.
Lew Christensen is responsible for the first full-length American version of the Nutcracker, opened by the San Francisco Ballet, in 1954.
There are approximately 30 more professional full length versions of the Nutcracker that have endured through ballet history.
The magical character of Uncle Drosselmeyer has been portrayed in many imaginative ways. In some versions he is a character part with little dancing. In one version he is a tap dancer!
Many versions of the Nutcracker on DVD, are available to children everywhere.
The Nutcracker music, the lush costumes and sets, and the magic, has kept audiences entertained for generations. And, naturally, the Nutcracker has contributed to developing ballet audiences, as it is often the first ballet children see, and many are hooked for life.
http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/NutHist.html is a link taking you to the finer details of Nutcracker history.
Scampering mice, Snowflakes in pointe shoes, lights, music and magic - there are many Nutcracker versions for ballet dancers and ballet fans. Enjoy!
To browse ballet DVDs look here.
The Nutcracker ballet versions that we can see now have developed from a rich history. The Nutcracker began as a somewhat dark story of magic, a fairy tale that we might not choose for our young children. Originally, Clara was a doll of the central character Maria. She came alive and helped the wounded Nutcracker doll who had engaged in heavy combat wit the Mouse King.
Tchaikovsky used some contemporary music, a popular children's song, as well as a contemporary song people played or sang as party guests departed for home. The full Nutcracker score that we know now developed in stages.
Anna Pavlova's Company performed a version of Nutcracker in 1915, choreographed by Ivan Clustine, called "Snowflakes". The Bolshoi Ballet presented a version of the ballet in 1919, choreographed by
Alexander Gorsky.
The Kirov Ballet's first Nutcracker version was presented 1929, and outside of Russia, the Vic-Wells Ballet produced the first English version in 1934, choreographed by Nicholas Sergueyev.
Lew Christensen is responsible for the first full-length American version of the Nutcracker, opened by the San Francisco Ballet, in 1954.
There are approximately 30 more professional full length versions of the Nutcracker that have endured through ballet history.
The magical character of Uncle Drosselmeyer has been portrayed in many imaginative ways. In some versions he is a character part with little dancing. In one version he is a tap dancer!
Many versions of the Nutcracker on DVD, are available to children everywhere.
The Nutcracker music, the lush costumes and sets, and the magic, has kept audiences entertained for generations. And, naturally, the Nutcracker has contributed to developing ballet audiences, as it is often the first ballet children see, and many are hooked for life.
http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/NutHist.html is a link taking you to the finer details of Nutcracker history.
Scampering mice, Snowflakes in pointe shoes, lights, music and magic - there are many Nutcracker versions for ballet dancers and ballet fans. Enjoy!
To browse ballet DVDs look here.
Prevent Ballet and Dance Injuries in Your Nutcracker Season
Learning how to minimize the chance of dance injuries is an acquired skill. Warming up, having healthy snacks in your dance bag, and perhaps having an extra pair of pointe shoes ready to wear, will help you avoid ballet injuries.
Rehearsal schedules intensify as the Nutcracker season approaches. Everyone wants to do their best.
Muscle aches and pains after classes and rehearsals should not be ignored. Soaking sore and exhausted muscles in epsom salt baths, ( a form of magnesium) elevating your legs while sitting, and using a pinkie ball to rid your muscles of tension is exactly what your muscles deserve.
Knee injuries, sprained ankles and shin splints all result from inaccurate technique, that do not necessarily show up until dance schedules intensify. A little fatigue, emotional distractions, anxiety, poor sleep or poor diet all contribute to that moment of error or mis-timing when an accident happens.
Fresh foods are necessary to keep your strength up. Sugar weakens muscles and also contributes to inflammation. Do your best to eat well. Magnesium is a nutrient that helps relax muscles and can lead to better sleep. Green vegetables and salad foods are full of trace minerals that help carry lactic acids and other cellular wastes out of tired muscles. Lean proteins, and whole grain carbohydrates will put more nutritional support in your diet.
Dance medicine specialist and author Deborah Vogel writes:
"Four Warning Signs of an Injury
* Pain that gets progressively worse during class, rehearsal, work out, etc.
* Pain that comes after your class, rehearsal, or work out, and comes back the next day after less movement is done.
* Pain that appears when executing certain movements (e.g. during arabesque or landing a jump).
* No real sense of "pain" but a definite restriction of movement."
Pay attention to your body's signals. Ice tired and tense muscles even if they don't hurt. Take some deep breaths when you sit down to relax, or when you go to bed. Use a pinky ball to ease out tension, then do some very gentle stretching afterwards. Have a real day of rest, and catch up with non-dance activities.
Even when you are a recreational dance student, you get the most out of it if you act like pro. Ask your family graciously for extra help or rest time that you need, and let them know how much you appreciate their support.
This way you will really get to enjoy your experience of performing in ballet shoes and pointe shoes.
Read more about injury prevention, strength for pointe work, and muscle care at The Ballet Store.
Rehearsal schedules intensify as the Nutcracker season approaches. Everyone wants to do their best.
Muscle aches and pains after classes and rehearsals should not be ignored. Soaking sore and exhausted muscles in epsom salt baths, ( a form of magnesium) elevating your legs while sitting, and using a pinkie ball to rid your muscles of tension is exactly what your muscles deserve.
Knee injuries, sprained ankles and shin splints all result from inaccurate technique, that do not necessarily show up until dance schedules intensify. A little fatigue, emotional distractions, anxiety, poor sleep or poor diet all contribute to that moment of error or mis-timing when an accident happens.
Fresh foods are necessary to keep your strength up. Sugar weakens muscles and also contributes to inflammation. Do your best to eat well. Magnesium is a nutrient that helps relax muscles and can lead to better sleep. Green vegetables and salad foods are full of trace minerals that help carry lactic acids and other cellular wastes out of tired muscles. Lean proteins, and whole grain carbohydrates will put more nutritional support in your diet.
Dance medicine specialist and author Deborah Vogel writes:
"Four Warning Signs of an Injury
* Pain that gets progressively worse during class, rehearsal, work out, etc.
* Pain that comes after your class, rehearsal, or work out, and comes back the next day after less movement is done.
* Pain that appears when executing certain movements (e.g. during arabesque or landing a jump).
* No real sense of "pain" but a definite restriction of movement."
Pay attention to your body's signals. Ice tired and tense muscles even if they don't hurt. Take some deep breaths when you sit down to relax, or when you go to bed. Use a pinky ball to ease out tension, then do some very gentle stretching afterwards. Have a real day of rest, and catch up with non-dance activities.
Even when you are a recreational dance student, you get the most out of it if you act like pro. Ask your family graciously for extra help or rest time that you need, and let them know how much you appreciate their support.
This way you will really get to enjoy your experience of performing in ballet shoes and pointe shoes.
Read more about injury prevention, strength for pointe work, and muscle care at The Ballet Store.
A Cosy Little Chat About Pointe Shoes With a Nice Cup of Tea
I hear a lot from students whose local ballet store does not stock more than a couple of brands, Their pointe shoes feel terrible. So who's in control - your pointe shoe or foot muscles? If you are one of these troubled pointe shoe ballet dancers, get a nice cup of tea or a Starbucks latte if you prefer, and we'll have a cosy little chat about pointe shoes.
Of course you want to get exactly the right fit. So say your ballet store only sold Freeds, for example. Lengths and widths are commonly available. Freeds are hard shoes. They are wonderful for the higher arch, giving lots of support. They come in low and high vamps, good for short or long toes, so really they could be okay for everyone.
If you have a low arch and less flexible ankle joints, you need to break in your Freeds more. Same with Capezio's. Gambas are lighter shoes, go easy on them. Probably the first couple of classes will break them in fine.
I don't understand "good pointe shoes for beginners". If that means a softer shoe, does it also mean the beginner is not quite ready to go onto pointe?
I know that any dancer knows what I'm getting at - your foot muscles are in control, not the pointe shoes.
If your core muscles are weak, if you are still hyperextending your knees, if you haven't strengthened the sole of the foot muscles, then your pointe shoes will be in control.
If they don't fit perfectly (no shoe does, unless it's made for you), if you are wide at the metatarsal area, or forefront of the foot, and narrow at the heel, or vice versa, you will always have a little situation.
Here's some suggestions - always fit the pointe shoes for the larger foot. You may do the opposite with leather soft shoes, because they will stretch to fit. You are going to pad the shoe for the smaller foot a little more, rather than crunch the bigger foot and get bad blisters or an injury.
If you need wide pointe shoes for the metatarsal area, leaving the choice of pointe shoes too wide at the heels, then use a drug store brand heel grip or get a big bag of makeup wedgies and cut them to the exact size you need and glue into your shoes. Or roll your heels into the rosin box and then put them into your shoes.
I'm not going to go through every nuance of a shoe fit. Your foot muscles have to be strong enough to control the shoe. Your basic posture has to be correct so that you can be on balance.
If you get a pair of shoes with a slight deviation or a spot on the top of the box that presses into your foot, work on it with your hands, or use extra padding. Whether you stick a little foam, corn pad, or adhesive tape on your foot or on the shoe, it doesn't matter. Whatever works.
After two to three pairs of the pointe shoes that you can get still don't work out, you may have to try ordering a different brand on line. You are not going to waste a pair of shoes. If the length and width are correct, you may still have to work on the feel of it to suit yourself.
You have to get your muscles in charge. That's exercising every day, not doing bunches of releves or retires releves, but doing the basic sole of the foot exercises. Also, making sure you are using the floor and elongating your toes with every tendu and degage.
In other words, if you have a problem, look at your foot strength first, and your shoes second. Pick a pair a little too large rather than a little too short if you are in between. Too short, and too narrow, can lead to injury.
I'm not being sarcastic about the cosy little chat. There is a dazzling choice of pointe shoes in many ballet stores. If you don't have the variety in pointe shoes to select from, learn to adapt what you can get, or order online. If your foot muscles are strong and in control, you are unlikely to get injured from your shoes.
The Perfect Pointe Book provides you with all the details for developing foot strength.
Of course you want to get exactly the right fit. So say your ballet store only sold Freeds, for example. Lengths and widths are commonly available. Freeds are hard shoes. They are wonderful for the higher arch, giving lots of support. They come in low and high vamps, good for short or long toes, so really they could be okay for everyone.
If you have a low arch and less flexible ankle joints, you need to break in your Freeds more. Same with Capezio's. Gambas are lighter shoes, go easy on them. Probably the first couple of classes will break them in fine.
I don't understand "good pointe shoes for beginners". If that means a softer shoe, does it also mean the beginner is not quite ready to go onto pointe?
I know that any dancer knows what I'm getting at - your foot muscles are in control, not the pointe shoes.
If your core muscles are weak, if you are still hyperextending your knees, if you haven't strengthened the sole of the foot muscles, then your pointe shoes will be in control.
If they don't fit perfectly (no shoe does, unless it's made for you), if you are wide at the metatarsal area, or forefront of the foot, and narrow at the heel, or vice versa, you will always have a little situation.
Here's some suggestions - always fit the pointe shoes for the larger foot. You may do the opposite with leather soft shoes, because they will stretch to fit. You are going to pad the shoe for the smaller foot a little more, rather than crunch the bigger foot and get bad blisters or an injury.
If you need wide pointe shoes for the metatarsal area, leaving the choice of pointe shoes too wide at the heels, then use a drug store brand heel grip or get a big bag of makeup wedgies and cut them to the exact size you need and glue into your shoes. Or roll your heels into the rosin box and then put them into your shoes.
I'm not going to go through every nuance of a shoe fit. Your foot muscles have to be strong enough to control the shoe. Your basic posture has to be correct so that you can be on balance.
If you get a pair of shoes with a slight deviation or a spot on the top of the box that presses into your foot, work on it with your hands, or use extra padding. Whether you stick a little foam, corn pad, or adhesive tape on your foot or on the shoe, it doesn't matter. Whatever works.
After two to three pairs of the pointe shoes that you can get still don't work out, you may have to try ordering a different brand on line. You are not going to waste a pair of shoes. If the length and width are correct, you may still have to work on the feel of it to suit yourself.
You have to get your muscles in charge. That's exercising every day, not doing bunches of releves or retires releves, but doing the basic sole of the foot exercises. Also, making sure you are using the floor and elongating your toes with every tendu and degage.
In other words, if you have a problem, look at your foot strength first, and your shoes second. Pick a pair a little too large rather than a little too short if you are in between. Too short, and too narrow, can lead to injury.
I'm not being sarcastic about the cosy little chat. There is a dazzling choice of pointe shoes in many ballet stores. If you don't have the variety in pointe shoes to select from, learn to adapt what you can get, or order online. If your foot muscles are strong and in control, you are unlikely to get injured from your shoes.
The Perfect Pointe Book provides you with all the details for developing foot strength.
Use of the Theraband For Ballet Shoes and Pointe Shoes
There are many uses for the therabands, so I'll discuss a few here, focusing on the feet, toes and ankles. If you are already doing pointe work, these exercises will enhance your precision of technique, save your calf muscles from over-work, and increase your gracefulness in pointe shoes. Most ballet stores carry some brand of stretchy bands, and they can be ordered on line as well.
If you are in a pre-pointe class, or organizing your own pre-pointe practice, you can learn four basic exercises to strengthen the sole of the foot muscles, and then do them with a stretchy band. Feet and ankles must be strong enough before starting pointe work, for slow releves through the metatarsal area, and slow controlled lowering, without any sickle in or out of the ankle joint.
"Toe swapping" is done starting with the feet flat on the floor. Simply lift the big toes up, leaving the foot and the other toes flat. Do not lean the foot toward the big toes, the sole of the foot should rest on the floor with no twisting. Place the big toes down, and lift the other four toes. You may cramp, in which case stop and roll your foot over a tennis ball or pinkie ball, to relax the muscles.
Do this 10 times, a total of twenty lifts. Initially, you may find that your brain can't even find the muscles to do this precisely - but your brain-to-foot communication will improve. When your movements are precise, you can add the stretchy band. Sitting down with your legs straight in front of you, flex the feet and place the stretchy band behind the toes.
"Playing the piano" with the toes is just like it sounds - lift all toes to start, and place the big toe, the next toe, the next and so forth. Do the reverse, lifting the little toe, the next, and so forth. Relieve cramping if necessary, and do both movements 10 times each.
Once your movement is well-defined, add the stretchy band, sitting, feet and toes flexed, with the band behind the toes. Your toes will keep contact with the band, with more resistance when pressing against it. If you use the band before your movement is exact, it will not do much good. Try it and you'll see why, nothing really happens.
For ankles, if you are wobbly going up and down in slow releves, in soft shoes, you are not strong enough to be in pointe shoes. You must check your overall posture, use of the core muscles, turnout and how your feet rest on the floor when flat. Wobbling can be for many reasons. But, back to the ankles,
If you get corrections for sickling in where your weight goes towards the outside of your foot: sitting, legs straight, loop the band around your right foot, at the metatarsal area. Hold the band ends with your left hand. Pull the foot outward, and you will feel the muscles on the outside of the foot/ankle area working. Pull and hold for 10 seconds 10 times. Repeat other side.
If you go up onto demi pointe or pointe and your weight leans onto your big toe, you would loop the band and pull your foot inward, working the muscles on the inside of the foot/ankle area.
Another strengthening exercise is (sitting, legs straight out in front) to slowly stretch the feet, splaying the toes apart and stretching them long.(Meaning, DO NOT CURL YOUR TOES). You can use the theraband around the metatarsal area for resistance, except for one instance. If you have highly mobile ankle joints, repetitive pointing and compressing a pointed position can irritate the back of your ankles. You do not need that particular movement at all. You DO need to increase strength in the soles of the feet and to control slow rises with no loss of ankle control.
If you are a late starter or adult beginner in ballet, start these exercises now. Doing them 5-6 days a week will diminish the gap between your understanding of ballet technique, and the strength needed to do it.
In your slow releves onto pointe, and back down, your ankle should not lean or change angle in any way. If your big toe is much longer, you can use toe levelers in your pointe shoes. If your second toe is longer, you need to fit the shoes so that it can straighten, using padding for your other toes.
So three things: get strong, get control, prevent shin splints and other dance injuries.
Even with exactly the right fit in ballet pointe shoes, the shoes lend SUPPORT, the feet provide the CONTROL.
Get The Perfect Pointe Book - it is a wonderful complete dancer's guide for those who want to get into pointe shoes faster and more safely.
If you are in a pre-pointe class, or organizing your own pre-pointe practice, you can learn four basic exercises to strengthen the sole of the foot muscles, and then do them with a stretchy band. Feet and ankles must be strong enough before starting pointe work, for slow releves through the metatarsal area, and slow controlled lowering, without any sickle in or out of the ankle joint.
"Toe swapping" is done starting with the feet flat on the floor. Simply lift the big toes up, leaving the foot and the other toes flat. Do not lean the foot toward the big toes, the sole of the foot should rest on the floor with no twisting. Place the big toes down, and lift the other four toes. You may cramp, in which case stop and roll your foot over a tennis ball or pinkie ball, to relax the muscles.
Do this 10 times, a total of twenty lifts. Initially, you may find that your brain can't even find the muscles to do this precisely - but your brain-to-foot communication will improve. When your movements are precise, you can add the stretchy band. Sitting down with your legs straight in front of you, flex the feet and place the stretchy band behind the toes.
"Playing the piano" with the toes is just like it sounds - lift all toes to start, and place the big toe, the next toe, the next and so forth. Do the reverse, lifting the little toe, the next, and so forth. Relieve cramping if necessary, and do both movements 10 times each.
Once your movement is well-defined, add the stretchy band, sitting, feet and toes flexed, with the band behind the toes. Your toes will keep contact with the band, with more resistance when pressing against it. If you use the band before your movement is exact, it will not do much good. Try it and you'll see why, nothing really happens.
For ankles, if you are wobbly going up and down in slow releves, in soft shoes, you are not strong enough to be in pointe shoes. You must check your overall posture, use of the core muscles, turnout and how your feet rest on the floor when flat. Wobbling can be for many reasons. But, back to the ankles,
If you get corrections for sickling in where your weight goes towards the outside of your foot: sitting, legs straight, loop the band around your right foot, at the metatarsal area. Hold the band ends with your left hand. Pull the foot outward, and you will feel the muscles on the outside of the foot/ankle area working. Pull and hold for 10 seconds 10 times. Repeat other side.
If you go up onto demi pointe or pointe and your weight leans onto your big toe, you would loop the band and pull your foot inward, working the muscles on the inside of the foot/ankle area.
Another strengthening exercise is (sitting, legs straight out in front) to slowly stretch the feet, splaying the toes apart and stretching them long.(Meaning, DO NOT CURL YOUR TOES). You can use the theraband around the metatarsal area for resistance, except for one instance. If you have highly mobile ankle joints, repetitive pointing and compressing a pointed position can irritate the back of your ankles. You do not need that particular movement at all. You DO need to increase strength in the soles of the feet and to control slow rises with no loss of ankle control.
If you are a late starter or adult beginner in ballet, start these exercises now. Doing them 5-6 days a week will diminish the gap between your understanding of ballet technique, and the strength needed to do it.
In your slow releves onto pointe, and back down, your ankle should not lean or change angle in any way. If your big toe is much longer, you can use toe levelers in your pointe shoes. If your second toe is longer, you need to fit the shoes so that it can straighten, using padding for your other toes.
So three things: get strong, get control, prevent shin splints and other dance injuries.
Even with exactly the right fit in ballet pointe shoes, the shoes lend SUPPORT, the feet provide the CONTROL.
Get The Perfect Pointe Book - it is a wonderful complete dancer's guide for those who want to get into pointe shoes faster and more safely.
Labels:
ballet,
ballet store,
exercises,
muscle,
pointe shoes
How to Create More Flexibility in the Ankle Joint For Ballet and Pointe Shoes
For the less flexible ankle joint, safe stretching can be done daily to get you closer to the perfect look in pointe shoes . Avoid pain and muscle strain by ignoring some of the drastic measures you will see dancers do. Do not put your toes under the piano, for example, and pull your knees straighter. You are heading for foot injuries.
Many years ago a friend, a non-dancer, Vone Deporter and I would do yoga together a couple of times a week in the National Ballet School, in the evenings. We would play some relaxing music and do our own routines.
Over the weeks, I felt more flexible, slightly, and got good results, experiencing less aches and pains, and overall tension.
I used yoga to stretch the ballet way - forcing every position and deep breathing to distract myself from the pain. I thought I was getting into much better positions.
Vone, however, did yoga the gentle yoga way. She picked a few yoga positions and stretched comfortably with a stretchy feeling, but no pain. A few weeks later her positions were drastically more flexible than mine. She had no workout routines, no warm up routines, she'd just show up and do it.
That does not seem fair. I thought I was working much harder. But that was the way I was trained. Take it to the limit.
In recent years I've read much that has been written by dancer/dance medicine specialists who have a very different view on how dancers should treat their bodies. How to stretch the foot and ankle joints to improve the curve that is part of ballet fashion, is important.
Another moment I remember is watching Swan lake with Vone and her husband. Karen Kain was performing. Vone, an artist and student of human anatomy, leaned over and whispered "What's wrong with her feet?" Huh? What ballet student would not like to have feet like that?
It's a matter of perspective. So what is safe stretching for the top of the arch curve?
Author Deborah Vogel describes how to relax and knead out muscle tension down the front of the calves to the ankle area, using a Pinky ball. This is a small,dense, high bounce sports ball. If you sit down on your feet, you can roll the ball under the top of your calf muscle, below the knee joint. You will feel some very tender spots where the muscle is especially tense. If you lean into the ball on those spots, you will feel some release there. Do not push too hard, because you can do this every day, and gradually condition the muscle.
Working your way down the leg, you can knead and massage tension out of the muscles.
Now, you can do a stretch recommended by Lisa Howell, another dancer/dance medicine specialist who has written much about care of the feet for ballet dancers. Staying in this position (or stretching out for a few minutes if your feet are going to sleep) you can now slide your hand under one knee, and gently raise the lower leg up. Make sure your ankle is in a straight line, not sickled in or out. You will feel a stretch along the arch curve. Hold the stretch, relax and repeat 10 times, each side, every day.
This is a gentle stretch that produces results. You can also put the Pinky ball just higher than the tops of the metatarsal joints, and gently lean into it for an extra stretch.
None of this should produce pain. Look at an x-ray of the human foot and the many tiny foot bones. These bones and the soft tissues supporting them need to be treated gently in between your ballet classes. They are tough, but as you push them as far as they can go every day in the ballet studio, they deserve rest and care.
With these two exercises you can increase flexibility, avoid muscle sprain and foot injuries, and improve your look in pointe shoes.
Get more flexibility in the ankle joint and many more good ideas for improvements in your ballet and pointe shoe work.
Many years ago a friend, a non-dancer, Vone Deporter and I would do yoga together a couple of times a week in the National Ballet School, in the evenings. We would play some relaxing music and do our own routines.
Over the weeks, I felt more flexible, slightly, and got good results, experiencing less aches and pains, and overall tension.
I used yoga to stretch the ballet way - forcing every position and deep breathing to distract myself from the pain. I thought I was getting into much better positions.
Vone, however, did yoga the gentle yoga way. She picked a few yoga positions and stretched comfortably with a stretchy feeling, but no pain. A few weeks later her positions were drastically more flexible than mine. She had no workout routines, no warm up routines, she'd just show up and do it.
That does not seem fair. I thought I was working much harder. But that was the way I was trained. Take it to the limit.
In recent years I've read much that has been written by dancer/dance medicine specialists who have a very different view on how dancers should treat their bodies. How to stretch the foot and ankle joints to improve the curve that is part of ballet fashion, is important.
Another moment I remember is watching Swan lake with Vone and her husband. Karen Kain was performing. Vone, an artist and student of human anatomy, leaned over and whispered "What's wrong with her feet?" Huh? What ballet student would not like to have feet like that?
It's a matter of perspective. So what is safe stretching for the top of the arch curve?
Author Deborah Vogel describes how to relax and knead out muscle tension down the front of the calves to the ankle area, using a Pinky ball. This is a small,dense, high bounce sports ball. If you sit down on your feet, you can roll the ball under the top of your calf muscle, below the knee joint. You will feel some very tender spots where the muscle is especially tense. If you lean into the ball on those spots, you will feel some release there. Do not push too hard, because you can do this every day, and gradually condition the muscle.
Working your way down the leg, you can knead and massage tension out of the muscles.
Now, you can do a stretch recommended by Lisa Howell, another dancer/dance medicine specialist who has written much about care of the feet for ballet dancers. Staying in this position (or stretching out for a few minutes if your feet are going to sleep) you can now slide your hand under one knee, and gently raise the lower leg up. Make sure your ankle is in a straight line, not sickled in or out. You will feel a stretch along the arch curve. Hold the stretch, relax and repeat 10 times, each side, every day.
This is a gentle stretch that produces results. You can also put the Pinky ball just higher than the tops of the metatarsal joints, and gently lean into it for an extra stretch.
None of this should produce pain. Look at an x-ray of the human foot and the many tiny foot bones. These bones and the soft tissues supporting them need to be treated gently in between your ballet classes. They are tough, but as you push them as far as they can go every day in the ballet studio, they deserve rest and care.
With these two exercises you can increase flexibility, avoid muscle sprain and foot injuries, and improve your look in pointe shoes.
Get more flexibility in the ankle joint and many more good ideas for improvements in your ballet and pointe shoe work.
Labels:
avoid pain,
ballet,
flexibility,
foot injuries,
muscle sprain,
pointe shoes
Ballet Pointe Shoes For the Lower Arch
Many young would-be ballerinas are reaching for the top in their dreams, for the beautiful pink satin pointe shoes and Swan lake tutus. Then they get into ballet class, and eventually into pointe shoes and their feet just don't look quite right. Did something go wrong? No, but they just bumped into the wall of Fashion in ballet. And then they go on to learn......
.....that this is something they cannot change, at least not very much. The truth reveals itself - their feet will never, never, point like - well, like most dancers that you see in a professional ballet company.
Oh woe. And beyond woe. This is true heartbreak for the aspiring ballerina. Not only are young dancers chosen for professional ballet school training largely on their physical attributes (because most teachers sitting in on auditions do not necessarily know how to spot real talent, or the young auditionee in question just does not do a good audition that day), but let's face it, high arches in the top curve of the foot are - Ballet Fashion.
This really, truly sucks. It is is SO not fair. But, there is always hope.
I still continue to see that choreographers as well as teachers are addicted to physique, in ballet. Too bad for them.
I am amazed that not one person in my personal circle of friends has a yearly subscription to a ballet company, even though I am dazzled at the sheer NUMBER of ballet companies in this country. There is definitely a growing job market.
Here's the thing. If you have those lower arches that do not curve on top of your foot - there are 2 things you must do:
1. Get really strong in your feet so that you can do everything better than - everybody.
2. Find the exactly right fit and kind of pointe shoe that will support and show off your foot to its best advantage.
A place to start is with: Gambas, which are much softer than, say, Freeds. Try on every vamp height, and width that you can, in your local ballet store.
Try the Bloch Amelie which has a graded shank, for more subtle use of "going through the foot", a slightly V-shaped vamp, and gently curved insole.
But try every pointe shoe that you can. Get the latest and best professional manuals on preparing for pointe work. Let ballet fashion accommodate YOU.
Reaching for the top is the nature of artists. A foot muscle or two may have to be worked on. Ballet class is your routine opportunity. Ballet and pointe shoes can present obstacles - or your path to fulfillment. Is it your sole or your 'soul of art' that will be ultimately judged? Do your best, and do not lose your inspiration to succeed.
Go here to get an overview of the available ballet shoes, pointe shoes, ballet wear and professional ballet manuals that will help you fulfill your ballet dreams.
.....that this is something they cannot change, at least not very much. The truth reveals itself - their feet will never, never, point like - well, like most dancers that you see in a professional ballet company.
Oh woe. And beyond woe. This is true heartbreak for the aspiring ballerina. Not only are young dancers chosen for professional ballet school training largely on their physical attributes (because most teachers sitting in on auditions do not necessarily know how to spot real talent, or the young auditionee in question just does not do a good audition that day), but let's face it, high arches in the top curve of the foot are - Ballet Fashion.
This really, truly sucks. It is is SO not fair. But, there is always hope.
I still continue to see that choreographers as well as teachers are addicted to physique, in ballet. Too bad for them.
I am amazed that not one person in my personal circle of friends has a yearly subscription to a ballet company, even though I am dazzled at the sheer NUMBER of ballet companies in this country. There is definitely a growing job market.
Here's the thing. If you have those lower arches that do not curve on top of your foot - there are 2 things you must do:
1. Get really strong in your feet so that you can do everything better than - everybody.
2. Find the exactly right fit and kind of pointe shoe that will support and show off your foot to its best advantage.
A place to start is with: Gambas, which are much softer than, say, Freeds. Try on every vamp height, and width that you can, in your local ballet store.
Try the Bloch Amelie which has a graded shank, for more subtle use of "going through the foot", a slightly V-shaped vamp, and gently curved insole.
But try every pointe shoe that you can. Get the latest and best professional manuals on preparing for pointe work. Let ballet fashion accommodate YOU.
Reaching for the top is the nature of artists. A foot muscle or two may have to be worked on. Ballet class is your routine opportunity. Ballet and pointe shoes can present obstacles - or your path to fulfillment. Is it your sole or your 'soul of art' that will be ultimately judged? Do your best, and do not lose your inspiration to succeed.
Go here to get an overview of the available ballet shoes, pointe shoes, ballet wear and professional ballet manuals that will help you fulfill your ballet dreams.
Labels:
ballet,
ballet class,
muscle,
pointe shoes,
reaching for the top,
soul of art
Ballet Shoes, the Movie, With Emma Watson
This is great entertainment for children, with theater, dance, music, competition, and fierce family devotion. The drama, based on Noel Streatfeild's novel, the costumes, the characters, and the sets are wonderful. For Emma Watson fans, this is her first film outside of the Harry Potter series of films.
"Ballet Shoes" was originally published in 1937. This movie is a 2007 BBC Northern Ireland production starring Eileen Atkins, Peter Bowles, Richard Griffiths, Gemma Jones, and Harriet Walter.
The Fossils are 3 orphans "collected" by Great Uncle Matthew (referred to as Gum by the girls). They grow up as an unconventional family living in 1930's London. Sylvia, Gum's niece is left in Gum's house to raise the girls with her Nana.
Gum roams the world, and his absences become longer and longer. The household runs out of money, and Sylvia takes in boarders. She enrolls the girls in the Academy of Dance and Stage Training to further their education and prepare them to earn a comfortable living. The three ambitious girls discover their own personal calling and work hard to achieve their dreams.
Posy, the youngest girl, was collected by Gum along with a pair of pink satin pointe shoes, from a poor young mother who could not care for a baby while dancing ballet for a living. Despite the title, more of the story deals with Pauline and her developing acting career. "Ballet Shoes" centers on the girls' devotion to their family. They periodically renew a vow to be loyal and help one another.
The boarders at Gum's house are colorful human beings who become part of the family spirit. The film is inspiring and energetic. Scenes of London theater in the 30's are beautifully portrayed. Pauline rises to the demands of becoming a young wage earner, with an intense sense of responsibility to her sisters, Aunt Sylvia, and Nana. All the "good guys" win, and hopes and dreams are fulfilled for all.
"Ballet Shoes" is one of a series of "shoes" books by Noel Streatfeild, but has remained in the most popular position since 1937. It is an entertaining family film for all ages.
Get your pink satin ballet shoes here as well as everything to do with ballet.
"Ballet Shoes" was originally published in 1937. This movie is a 2007 BBC Northern Ireland production starring Eileen Atkins, Peter Bowles, Richard Griffiths, Gemma Jones, and Harriet Walter.
The Fossils are 3 orphans "collected" by Great Uncle Matthew (referred to as Gum by the girls). They grow up as an unconventional family living in 1930's London. Sylvia, Gum's niece is left in Gum's house to raise the girls with her Nana.
Gum roams the world, and his absences become longer and longer. The household runs out of money, and Sylvia takes in boarders. She enrolls the girls in the Academy of Dance and Stage Training to further their education and prepare them to earn a comfortable living. The three ambitious girls discover their own personal calling and work hard to achieve their dreams.
Posy, the youngest girl, was collected by Gum along with a pair of pink satin pointe shoes, from a poor young mother who could not care for a baby while dancing ballet for a living. Despite the title, more of the story deals with Pauline and her developing acting career. "Ballet Shoes" centers on the girls' devotion to their family. They periodically renew a vow to be loyal and help one another.
The boarders at Gum's house are colorful human beings who become part of the family spirit. The film is inspiring and energetic. Scenes of London theater in the 30's are beautifully portrayed. Pauline rises to the demands of becoming a young wage earner, with an intense sense of responsibility to her sisters, Aunt Sylvia, and Nana. All the "good guys" win, and hopes and dreams are fulfilled for all.
"Ballet Shoes" is one of a series of "shoes" books by Noel Streatfeild, but has remained in the most popular position since 1937. It is an entertaining family film for all ages.
Get your pink satin ballet shoes here as well as everything to do with ballet.
Labels:
ballet shoes,
Emma Watson,
Harry Potter,
pointe shoes
Train Your Brain and Activate the Body Mind Connection by Watching the Best Ballet Movies
When schedules are tight, dvd movies can offer a wonderful form of entertainment and escape. Whether you're in the mood for action adventure, romance, comedy, drama or the grueling technical moves and ballet positions, the world of ballet movies provides all.
Knowing that you can watch a movie in the spare time you choose for that, can give you something to look forward to. Even if, like many ballet students, you use the same time frame to sit on the floor and stretch, ice sore muscles or sew your ballet shoes or pointe shoes.
You can buy dvd movies nearly anywhere-many supermarkets, book stores, computer and gadget stores or specialty movie stores. Ebay and other online stores such as Amazon sell ballet movies.
Typical movie and game chain stores rent them by the day or week. But it is even more convenient to rent dvds through a mail-order service. These services allow you to drop the movies into a mail box. Many dvd movies contain added sections that show "the making of", interviews and out-takes - the mistakes that are made while filming the movie.
One of the reasons I encourage students to watch ballet DVDs is because they can view the technique they are trying to learn. Most teachers do not demonstrate with the finesse of a ballerina (unless they are one, and I mean at the top of the profession, since the term ballerina can get very loosely applied), and some teachers believe they should demonstrate very little, in advanced classes.
Firstly of course, you want to view the ballet story for its drama or comedy. Get swept away. That's what you want to do as a performer. Stop time, suspend thought, take your audience on a dramatic journey, or hypnotise them with spell-binding choreography and its flawless rendition.
Secondly, view it again and focus on the best technical parts. Maybe the dancers you admire have not trained the way you are training now. They execute dance in a different technical style. However, you can train your brain by watching and feeling the steps you focus on. Training your eye to spot technical points and excellent ballet positions is part of training your brain.
Another quality to watch for and enjoy is musicality. Professional dancers changed musical phrasing to hide technical shortcomings in some cases, and to highlight their strengths. Some good jumpers need more time in the air. Some ballerinas can do more turns. There is an art in their phrasing of the preparation steps, which then give the time they need.
Being sensitive to this element will improve your own work, ultimately.
The historical element of ballet is viewable now. Dance on film, particularly from old Russian productions, is available. You can watch the teachers of your teachers' teachers. One of my favorites is The Ballets Russes, a newer production with old footage and interviews with surviving ballerinas who escaped Bolshevik Russia and regrouped in Europe under Diaghilev.
The new productions and modern ballets are all there in the stores - particularly the online libraries.
So enjoy!
This online ballet library is exceptional.
Knowing that you can watch a movie in the spare time you choose for that, can give you something to look forward to. Even if, like many ballet students, you use the same time frame to sit on the floor and stretch, ice sore muscles or sew your ballet shoes or pointe shoes.
You can buy dvd movies nearly anywhere-many supermarkets, book stores, computer and gadget stores or specialty movie stores. Ebay and other online stores such as Amazon sell ballet movies.
Typical movie and game chain stores rent them by the day or week. But it is even more convenient to rent dvds through a mail-order service. These services allow you to drop the movies into a mail box. Many dvd movies contain added sections that show "the making of", interviews and out-takes - the mistakes that are made while filming the movie.
One of the reasons I encourage students to watch ballet DVDs is because they can view the technique they are trying to learn. Most teachers do not demonstrate with the finesse of a ballerina (unless they are one, and I mean at the top of the profession, since the term ballerina can get very loosely applied), and some teachers believe they should demonstrate very little, in advanced classes.
Firstly of course, you want to view the ballet story for its drama or comedy. Get swept away. That's what you want to do as a performer. Stop time, suspend thought, take your audience on a dramatic journey, or hypnotise them with spell-binding choreography and its flawless rendition.
Secondly, view it again and focus on the best technical parts. Maybe the dancers you admire have not trained the way you are training now. They execute dance in a different technical style. However, you can train your brain by watching and feeling the steps you focus on. Training your eye to spot technical points and excellent ballet positions is part of training your brain.
Another quality to watch for and enjoy is musicality. Professional dancers changed musical phrasing to hide technical shortcomings in some cases, and to highlight their strengths. Some good jumpers need more time in the air. Some ballerinas can do more turns. There is an art in their phrasing of the preparation steps, which then give the time they need.
Being sensitive to this element will improve your own work, ultimately.
The historical element of ballet is viewable now. Dance on film, particularly from old Russian productions, is available. You can watch the teachers of your teachers' teachers. One of my favorites is The Ballets Russes, a newer production with old footage and interviews with surviving ballerinas who escaped Bolshevik Russia and regrouped in Europe under Diaghilev.
The new productions and modern ballets are all there in the stores - particularly the online libraries.
So enjoy!
This online ballet library is exceptional.
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