“I realized that there were many girls that were my age that had just recently started ballet, and had to take class with a whole room full of girls who could do over-splits, triple pirouettes, and could lift their legs to their ears. I began looking at ballet blogs, and reading ballet books, but I could never find exactly what I was looking for. I felt like I needed 10 years of ballet training within a couple of weeks. Things like class etiquette, recital how-tos, and special stretches to boost my extension. I could only imagine that there were more girls like me looking for the same things.”
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Ready, Set, Stop: How To Teach Mind-Body Skills By Not Moving
To illustrate this, I ask my students to become aware of how their body feels as it works against gravity. I ask them to put their hands above their heads and then to be still. I remind them, “you are in charge of your body,” “your brain tells your body what to do,” and then we wait.
Pas de Deux: Two Career Dancers On Pregnancy
Balancing any career with motherhood has its challenges but mother/dancers certainly face some unique concerns and questions. To produce a picture of what it is like for mothers who are also professional dancers, I spoke with two dancing moms, one a ballet dancer, one a contemporary dance artist and choreographer. In this first installment, we discuss pregnancy and what it is like to dance and perform while expecting.
What You Can Do To Improve Tendu (and why it is crucial)
Tendu may take second after plié in your dance class warmups but don’t underestimate its importance to pretty much every bit of dance technique. Here are some tips on how to use your working and standing leg and your foot during battement tendu.
Pointe Readiness and What To Expect
Every ballet dancer wants to dance en pointe. But not every ballet dancer should. How will your teacher decide if you are ready? Why might she decide you are not? And what can you expect from a pointe class?
9 Tips for Improving Pirouettes
5. “Connect” your arms to your back – you should feel and imagine width across the back and shoulder blades and the arms should maintain their position (don’t “wind-up” for a turn)
6. Take off from a properly placed and expansive plié for power in the turn.
7. Strengthen your ankles supporting the relevé – if you are wobbly, sickled, or pronated, this will ruin your turn.
8. Mentally, make a choice to come down from the turn, don’t “let” gravity make the choice for you.