posts tagged "help"
ballet bust.
what is it about ballet that scares me so much right now? now that i’ve moved into NY i find myself terrified of stepping foot in a studio…but it gets worse.
i don’t even let myself think about ballet anymore. my walls are plastered with gaynor minden posters and NYCB foldouts, but i won’t let myself try to find a studio. I just can’t face ballet right now. What’s stopping me?
Maybe it’s that i have such strong feelings associated with ballet and after doing poorly at one class at a new studio (i had never done a promenade or adagio before that class) i’m shutting myself away from it so that i don’t have to face failure at something i used to not put pressure on myself about. And also, it brings up a slew of emotions that i don’t want to deal with.
At my old studio, we only did barre, then basically slow across the floor exercises, then we did leaps and jumps across the floor. it was no pressure and i liked it that way. but then another studio placed a lot of importance on moves i’d never ever heard of and did adagio and some other stuff in between…i hated that. is that a difference in methods? should i be looking for vaganova and not cecchetti?
i hope i can find whatever the problem is inside me and start taking classes again soon. and blogging. i miss blogging. thanks for staying followers you guys.
<3
ladies, what’s your favorite style of Yumiko? Thinking about buying one but I can’t decide which
SOOO..i’m having trouble with my submit!? It’s not showing up on my page at all despite the fact that it’s enabled, does anyone have any tips?
RE: Spotting
When/where do you pick a place to spot? I know eye level or just above, but do you focus on a point that is where you were originally facing, or do you spot someplace that you see while you’re spinning? (i hope that makes sense)…When should you pick a place to spot? Before you spin, as you’re pushing off, or as you’re turning? I also have issues picking a place that is at eye level - i always end up looking a little bit down and my posture looks terrible.
Thanks for any tips you may have!
today’s question…
Do you usually stretch in the morning before doing a warm up? I know most people obviously stretch before class, but on a day off do you stretch without warm muscles?
I’m not in classes every day and I find it really difficult to stretch without doing some warm up stuff. Without a barre i’m kind of a wuss. Chairs are a backup, but it just doesn’t feel the same when you’re trying to get limber on carpet.
edit:: someone just gave me some really great advice in the ask box that I think will help other people who have similar concerns… but per her request it will remain anon :)
“it’s really really important to stretch before stretching! it sounds funny, but you have to do a light warm up before and after class so that you don’t injure yourself. when you don’t have class, you should still stretch very lightly just to get your muscles warm and heated. and then you can stretch or have a class on your own or whatever you do.”
some questions du jour
pardon my improper french, but I have some questions that need some experienced dancer input!
1) We all know the ballet standards and classics, but how do you go about finding fantastic contemporary pieces? YouTube is great, but I’m not sure if I should be searching for specific choreographers or dancers who specialize in contemporary ballet, or whatever. What are some of your favorites?
2) Pointe. My goal is to be en pointe by January, which may or may not happen due to my level of experience, which is very low. I just bought a pair of signed pointe shoes online from the Australian Ballet, and they were the first pair I’d ever seen and held in person. I was completely surprised that the box (is it called a box?) isn’t a solid surface, but just a lining, among other things. I may be saying all of this completely incorrectly so please feel free to leave me a message correcting me or giving me general info on the anatomy of a pointe shoe. I guess my questions are: What should I be looking for in a pair of pointes? The ones i own now are Block Balance Europeans and they’re a size 5.5…I can’t wear them at all. My normal shoe size is about an 8 or 8.5, so what size should I look for in a pointe shoe? I have narrow feet and a pretty poor arch as well. I love the way the Blochs look because it doesn’t look like the box (??) is very tall. Would an “Aspiration”/Student line be better for someone beginning point, and why or why not? Do I need lambswool? Do the ribbons actually help with supporting your ankle?
To make it more simple…I’m looking for any information I can get about pointe shoes that will make me feel like less of an idiot when I go in to purchase my first pair. Thank you all so much in advance!
i am so frustrated with the amount i’m able to dance right now!!! I have 4 weeks until school ends, so it’s crackdown time for finals and juries. I absolutely hate that i’m only taking one class per week. I hate that the snobby rich girls in my dorm building always kick me out of the studio so i can’t practice, and i hate that i have to leave my studio at the end of the semester!!
Does anyone have tips for exercises that i can do without a barre or a wooden floor? All i’ve got is carpet in my room and the resistance sucks for anything but stretching, so i always end up stretching with cold muscles. Between having nothing to balance on and no full mirror I’m getting really discouraged.
question of the week
I was YouTube-ing fouette tutorials a few minutes ago and I stumbled across one particularly awful video by eHow.com. What caught my eye was this: A 10 year old was like “uhhh i know more than you do. your technique is bad.”
Little miss’ tips were: 1) turn out.
Duh.
2) HAMBURGER HANDS.
so, my experienced ballerinas, what are hamburger hands!?!?
ankle bone pain
Currently having issues with pointing the foot again. Every time i go to point i get a shooting pain on the outside/underside of the ankle bone. Might that be because i’m pointing the wrong way or because of a stretching issue?I have a pretty tight achilles, I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it, it just has been very difficult to get the proper kind of point Ideas or tips?
