esme

Hello Michelle I had an undiagnosed fracture of my foot two years ago which I recently found out. I have been seeing a dance physiotherapist in Edinburgh and he dry needles it and then shockwaves it. I've found this really helpful. Shockwaving is not particularly pleasant but has great results and might be worth considering - just a thought and quite a few physios use it.

Absolutely fabulous! Many congratulations, wonderful result

Hi Michelle I haven't been on the Forum for a wee while so am sorry to hear about your knee is still an issue but at least you now know what it is. I had the same problem a while ago and saw a Dance Physio who was absolutely brilliant but I don't mean to be a harbinger of doom, but, I was advised not to load my knee in any way and so could only do barre with no grand plies, no fondu, and no centre work where I was working through my knee and absolutely no jumping. I did what she said and did all the exercises religiously and eventually moved on from the foam roller/towel under my knee to squat and eventually being able to load the knee with the issue. It took weeks though, but it paid off greatly. She also put KT Tape on my knee and that also helped. Unfortunately I have since all of that injured my knee through landing really badly from a jump and my patella was out of place and I have had anterior knee pain ever since. So it is back to physio again but I am definitely on the mend and again have had to cut back on lots of different exercises in class. I hope you will be ok in time for all your adventures to Ballet West and subsequent performances with your partner but just take care and look after that knee! Best wishes Esme

Hi Michelle Your intensives at Ballet West do indeed sound intense! What a privilege to have one to one with Gillian coaching you on rep and how good to be able to share your passion with your boyfriend too. What are you performing in Saint Petersburg? I've just spent the afternoon sewing several pairs of pointe shoes and while I know my feet will hurt again initially, I'm actually looking forward to getting back to pointe and full class. Grand plies are a no no for me at the moment until this knee is completely sorted, so it is barre with demi plies and only centre adage for me at the moment but it will be worth it in the end. Hopefully very, very soon. That part of Scotland will be lovely in the summer and I'm sure you will have a wonderful time and learn lots.

That sounds impressive. Glad also to hear that your knee is better. I saw the Physio yesterday and finally my patella is back in place and KT taped and some more strengthening to do before I can do a full class and get back in the pointe shoes which she said should be in a couple of weeks - thank goodness! Foam rolling is great too. When you go to Ballet West do you do an individual intensive course of tuition or are you part of a group? It is such a beautiful setting. One final query are you doing pdd pirouettes on Demi and not pointe because of your knee? Anyway, keep up the good work!

Hi Michelle Yes the Health Studio at RB looks amazing. I'm lucky enough to have access to a similar studio near me where I do one-to-one gyrotonic sessions and also do gyrokinesis as well and it certainly does lengthen and strengthen - if you know what I mean! Both of these are great for injuries. Floor Barre is another good thing too, if you've got time. It sounds as if you have your knee issues covered, ballet can be such a killer! I've got hyperextended knees and suffer from time to time with injuries, and while sway backs look good, they can be a proverbial pain. Anyway good luck with all your classes look after that knee!

In response to Michelle's post - Have you had either an X-ray or scan of our knee, that way your Physio would know what's going on? Have you considered gyrotonics? I've had knee issues in the past and once I'd had my knee X rayed and scanned I took the results to a dance Physio who gave me the correct exercises to do. Also I wasn't to use rotation or turnout for 6 weeks and rest which drove me up the wall at the time but was so worth it. Gyrotonics is absolutely brilliant and I would highly recommend it - it is used extensively by ballet companies both for injured dancers and in everyday use. It is tailored to your needs and is amazing and very addictive. Also have had thought about KT taping! Your Physio could do that? Anyway good luck and take good care of that knee!

Done! It'll be really interesting to know the outcome!

The author was a professional ballet dancer with a very prestigious UK ballet company.

Hi I'd just like to thank everyone who has responded to my query, you have all been so helpful. Esme

That's great, thank you. I'll have a look now!

I have since emailed BATD and received a response that you cannot purchase their ballet syllabi because they would not want any person using these to teach without being part of BATD. I still find this very unusual, given that there is no such concern when accessing BBO syllabi. I did try!

I have worked how to PM!!

Thank you Fit and Float that is so kind of you. My next question is how do I PM you? I have emailed BATD but have not heard from them yet.

These comments from yourself and invisiblecircus are very interesting. I think I'll try and contact BATD again and see if I have any joy. They previously said that the dance school would have the syllabus, however, the dance studio wouldn't let you see the syllabus unless you were actually doing the grade which I found very odd. I'll try BATD again - fingers crossed!