Jump to content

Moomin

Members
  • Posts

    581
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Moomin

  1. Can I have the progressing ballet technique one please?
  2. Do you need much larger than a uk 14? Most of the bigger brands like capezio and Bloch seem to stop at about that size. I was browsing an American site the other day and noticed they had a specific plus size section so that might give you more choice? If the ones mentioned I’ve had the capezio bratek and it’s pretty flattering and a decent thick material
  3. Freeds use paste (similar to papier-mâché- flour based) whereas most of the others use various glues to stiffen. The other materials in freeds are traditional, natural materials too, whereas some of the others now use plastics.
  4. Grishko make soft and super soft shoes which are just as easy to roll through as a freed. To be honest all the shoes including gaynor’s can be ‘rolled through’, if the student can’t its probably more that they have the wrong strength rather than a problem with the shoe. I wonder if your daughter could get away with Suffolk pointe shoes as the construction is the same as freed but they go down very narrow and are designed for different foot shapes
  5. I was going to say the same I think you’ll struggle with freed with a narrow and shallow foot. The lasts they use are not that shape! I know they will tailor make for rbs but if this isn’t available to you, she may struggle to find one. As far as models go I haven’t found one great for narrow feet, particularly if they are also shallow. Wineglass maker is more tapered and narrow than some others and may be worth trying. Will she be able to visit a freed specialist who is able to custom order? Or could she get away with another soft shoe such as merlet?
  6. They’re the same brand as Russian pointe, although there are some r class models that don’t appear to be available in Russian pointe. The wings are quite flexible but last reasonably well, probably depends on what brand and type you’re used to? I think they’re made from a flexible glue so last longer than paste shoes but some of the new grishko models seem to be pretty much rock solid and indestructible!
  7. Trend is definitely towards extreme flexibility and wearing very dead pointe shoes to fake the feet! Personally think a lot of it is quite ugly but there have always been fashions, at least we’ve moved away from the ultra skinny I suppose. I see many more video clips these days so not sure I agree that musicality etc is less considered than in previous days when we had mainly just photos
  8. I think the issue is the cost, at around £20 a ticket (no child reduction) it’s a very expensive cinema trip for a family! Many of the live touring productions are the same price or cheaper. I’m not totally sure why the live cinema events are so expensive?
  9. What are you hoping to do at the end of the course? Perform/ teach/ choreograph etc? Is your higher education in an area where you could work part time or flexibly self employed?
  10. If she’s got a bust I don’t think any sort of dance bra/ leotard/ body will support adequately. If it’s for a performance/ exam then these are adequate as a one off but for regular class she’s going to need a proper bra. Do the school restrict leotard styles? There are many tank and sleeved styles that will hide a bra and maybe even a wider strap camisole. If her bra is too high at the front could she get a 3/4 cup style or shorten the leotard straps? If the school are dictating one style of leotard which won’t work with any type of bra they really cant complain...
  11. https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/aqueous-cream-may-cause-skin-irritation https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/emollients
  12. Aqueous cream actually isn’t recommended as a moisturiser anymore and hasn’t been for quite some time due to it causing sensitivity reactions much more commonly than equivalent products. It’s only recommended for washing with instead of soap.
  13. Sorry to hear you have had such an awful time. I was going to suggest doublebase (not diprobase) as it has a nice texture for massage. Flexitol is a very good moisturiser but if your skin is very sensitive at the moment you may react to the urea in it. If you’re allowed heat on the foot you may like a parrafin foot bath, they are not that expensive
  14. Did you see Sarah at dancique? The other fitter is good but I’d say sarah is particularly good with difficult feet! What is the specific problem with the shoes? Are they bruising/ rubbing? Is she falling out of them? Not able to dance? Or just short wear time? The American site ballet talk for dancers do online shoe fittings from pictures which would give you a good idea of shoes to target to try and then look for somewhere that stocks those?
  15. You need to go to dancique in Birmingham if you can- sarah is a physio and will really look at her feet in a way most fitters don’t. They have lots of Russian pointe styles.
  16. Also bear in mind that I think for a traditional pointe shoe they quote the life as about 8 hours or something! Unfortunately high arches do kill shoes quickly although you might find when she’s training full time she’ll be stronger and the shoes will last better. Has she tried Russian pointe? They have loads of options which are meant to remove the need for custom shoes.
  17. Do you have a good pointe shoe fitter, what sort of area of the country are you in? Presumably her teachers feel that her shoes aren’t the correct fit, have they said in what way?
  18. Did you manage to try some non stretch shoes as well?
  19. Personally I’d ring a few and see what they have for her age. I don’t know of any of the mentioned schools but some schools will attract mainly serious students and your daughter may have to go with children younger than herself because the 11 year olds will have been training from a young age. Or she’ll be dropped into a high level class to suit her age which isn’t ideal either! Practically any school will introduce pointe work, so she should get her chance at that when she reaches the level and strength required wherever she goes. There are loads of good schools and opportunities in London, I’d look for somewhere that has something to particularly suit her as a slightly older near beginner. I don’t think it will be necessary to go to 2 different schools, there are loads of schools in London who will offer you 3,4 or more classes if you want them. If you go to 2 different schools it makes everything very complicated with timings as you change classes/ perform in shows or competitions etc and inevitably there are clashes.
  20. I find this too as I have compressible feet and it is worse with stretch shoes on top. I think Bloch zenith have quite a strong elastic in so you may feel better in the non stretch canvas or leather? tendu tights have quite a lot of material around the toes, and not too elasticated
  21. And I’d counter by saying the basic schooling in technique means that dancers don’t move naturally in a way that is displeasing, which is why teaching technique is so important! It becomes the natural way to move and you naturally express yourself in an aesthetic way, it isn’t a conscious decision. I agree with you that for me, some of the syllabi are not my cup of tea and I feel that I’m being taught to be a bit ‘mechanical’. However I think maybe it’s just that they don’t mimic my natural learning and movement so they feel unnatural to me whereas other people are much more comfortable. I remember free movement in exams when I was young, not great for me. On the surface yes this is a chance to express yourself but I’m not that type of person. I need to step back, think, research , try a few things and only then would I be able to really give my best. Which is actually more what you’d be doing in real life as a dancer. Different type of personality that likes to jump straight in would I’m sure perform much better! To be honest I’d expect any good teacher to be incorporating non syllabus work in to grades etc anyway I didn’t really read it as a thread about why we dance but I’ll be honest in saying I didn’t really quite get the jist of all the replies either!
  22. I disagree with you there amazing dancers are those who have worked incredibly hard to get an awesome technique AND who have a passion and expression. Ballet is all about aesthetics and expressing yourself but in a way that is pleasing to the audience. In ballet you have to express yourself in a way which looks beautiful and you’re not going to be off balance and fall over etc! That combination of the knowledge and scientific principles with the artistry is what makes ballet unique and special and irresistable for me! Everyone is different and on a spectrum, some more technique, some more expressive, many of us prefer one style over another. Personally if I see that a method ‘works’ and by doing a movement with a particular head/ body etc I’m on balance more and able to perform better then I think that’s a good thing and not stifling? I have certainly caught myself doing things that feel wonderful and expressive but look awful (must just be the distortion of the mirrors I’m sure🤣). This is why for me free classes aren’t ideal under a reasonable level of ballet because you can very easily end up looking like a bit of a mish mash of everything and it doesn’t look that pleasing to the eye
  23. Vaganova and cecchetti are training methods and philosophies of movement conceived by one person and handed down through generations whereas the RAD is an examing body so you’re not really comparing like with like. There are syllabi for those methods in this country but there are different ones in other countries based on the original principles. There will also be cecchetti and vaganova trained dancers who haven’t done exams. So the dancers won’t have had the exact same training as each other, whereas RAD syllabus is the same internationally I believe. So you can’t really compare although as someone has already highlighted vocational students need to be versatile and won’t just study any one syllabus
  24. I like tendu tights, they don’t ladder easily and they are less expensive than some of the others (think tendu is made by grishko)
×
×
  • Create New...