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Taking Ballet Exams as an adult


JCS

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1 hour ago, Kate_N said:

 

Oh I know that feeling!

 

I was just trying to think about how an adult might get the same benefit from a syllabus, but without doing exams - as Peanut had said upthread that she found it difficult to get to classes consistently enough to do the syllabus work - that's the problem for adult learners: our brains catch up & surpass our bodies/ understanding of the work, but LIFE gets in the way ....

 

Sorry for double post but I saw the multiquote option too late!, I work incredibly hard & long hours but my 3 hours a week I set aside for dancing cannot be interrupted, for IF the exam specification recommends 150 hours of hands on (lessons to the syllabus) & 100 hours of general dancing exams aren't the be all & end all for everyone but for me it was a nice way to reward / underscore the hard work & you don't have to rush to the exam either, I became super focused on my exam to the point of obsession but then I did load myself under a lot of pressure & expectations it did however take some fun away from dance for the 2 months before the exam, I'm so much happier now using grade 7 as a base & just enjoying it again.

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2 hours ago, Kate_N said:

I was just trying to think about how an adult might get the same benefit from a syllabus, but without doing exams - as Peanut had said upthread that she found it difficult to get to classes consistently enough to do the syllabus work - that's the problem for adult learners: our brains catch up & surpass our bodies/ understanding of the work, but LIFE gets in the way ....

 

My teacher is very clear with all of us that if we can't commit to classes, we will not be doing the exam. Vocational RAD is not for everyone and if you can't come to the classes, you will not be ready for the exam in the way you need to be. However, she is very flexible within that position to enable as many people to dance as possible. A girl in my class has ballet clash with tap once a week. She does 2 classes of IF and a class of Intermediate every week to make up the required hours, as long as she's getting enough technique classes and understands the exam material, she doesn't need to do all IF classes. Another in IF has no intention of doing exams because she doesn't want to be a ballet dancer professionally, but she loves ballet and wants to increase her technique. She comes to class twice a week (was once a week but she decided to increase it this term) with the understanding that she will work hard but will not be entered for the exam. She has been in IF for 2 years and will probably move up to Intermediate with us next year even without an exam result. 

 

My teacher wants everyone to dance, and everyone to dance to a hi standard. You can do as many classes a week as you want, but you have to understand that if you're not committing the same hours of work as the others in the class you may not be entered for the exam, or you may take longer to be ready than those who are doing more, or you may have no intention of doing the exam at all! All are fine. I don't see why the same shouldn't be true for adults. Exams are a lovely goal to work towards, I feel like they cement my readiness to move up, and they're one more chance to perform to an audience (the examiner haha). But exams are not the reason I do ballet, if I wasn't feeling it then I would probably still do syllabus work (it really does make more sense to my brain and learning style than open class) I'd just save an extra hundred bucks a year hahaha.

 

I really do need to learn to be more succinct and stop writing essays as replies...

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  • 1 month later...

Help! I've been entered for two exams on the same day! I have Grade 6 first thing in the morning and then IF at around 2:30pm. I'm so worried, if I throw everything I have into Grade 6 then I'll be physically dead for IF, and IF is definitely my priority. Any words of advice? How to go all out for an hour, sit around for 5 hours, and then go all out again in IF which is already incredibly physically draining? 

 

On a different subject, my teacher has decided to make the dreadfully difficult Allegro 2 even harder because this week we've been doing all allegro in pointe shoes... She's trying to beat the sound out of them and increase our awareness of our feet but it's so horrible to do hahaha. My shoes are mostly dead by now so it's astonishing how hard it still is to articulate in a glissade.

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RAD elementary years ago was in my view (and DD's examiner teacher agrees) harder than the current intermediate. And considerably less exciting and beautiful! I still have the occasional nightmare about being asked to do the set adage en dedans with a rise at the end

 

There was a question on the first page about the "old" and current syllabi - as I remember it, the old Advanced was near to professional level, and then professional performance standard was achieved via the Solo Seal. I did Cechetti Advanced syllabus classes occasionally, and the repertoire called for all the skills. I particularly remember pirouettes in fifth from a grand plié, and the beautiful adage to some Mozart music with the renversé (forget which number that one was).

 

I think the RAD has watered down the vocational grades, to accommodate 3 times a week pupils. When I was doing these clases, the studio offered a mix of (old) Intermediate and Advanced 4-5 times a week. What they've done is to elongate out the steps - so there is a Foundation step, then Advanced is split into two steps. When I studied in graded syllabi (20-30 years ago!) those steps didn't exist. And it was quite a jump from Elementary to Intermediate. But you expected to stay for 2-3 years in each step.

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8 hours ago, Viv said:

Any words of advice? How to go all out for an hour, sit around for 5 hours, and then go all out again in IF which is already incredibly physically draining? 

 

Cross-training in preparation? Dancers have strength & flexibility but often lack aerobic fitness. Could you swim, or race-walk, or run or cycle in a gradual training timetable - almost as if preparing for a marathon ;) ?

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Two good workouts a day maybe, morning and evening, a few days a week? But whatever you do, don't sit around for five hours! I'd plan a good breakfast after the first exam - I certainly wouldn't want to eat much immediately before either exam - let that settle and then gently run through stuff and stretch on and off for the next couple of hours. 

 

I'm inclined to think a swim, a good stretch and a bit of barre work in the morning on days you have ballet classes would be a good plan, working up the intensity of the morning workout gently. Doing things like horse-riding for a few hours and then doing a karate class on the same day, or weights and stretching/strengthening in the morning and a few hours ballet in the evening  I've learned I need to ease into doing two sets of work in the one day.

 

[I'm saying swimming here because dance teachers I know seem to think it's relatively unlikely to do you any harm as a supplementary exercise. I hate swimming.]

Edited by Colman
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2 hours ago, Colman said:

<snip>

 

[I'm saying swimming here because dance teachers I know seem to think it's relatively unlikely to do you any harm as a supplementary exercise. I hate swimming.]

 swimming is good because  of the limited impact it has on the joints  vs   running  etc

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That sort of cross training sounds ideal, if only I didn't have to balance with the full time postgraduate study, work, internships and 7 hours dancing a week already... I think if anything I can stand the intensity, maybe (hopefully!) but the long break in between is going to be killer. All that time for lactic acid to build up! I'm thinking I may live on the foam roller. I'm a little concerned about stretching because all the research seems to say that leads to a drop in strength for several hours afterwards and I'd hate to have that happen.

 

 Oh and I just remembered! I was going to sew my undergarments into my exam leotard, but I wear different leotards for each level so I guess I'll spend some of my time ripping out the stitches and sewing it back into the new leotard. Or get two and pre-sew them.

 

Great tip about the food though, I hadn't even thought about the impact of going into a 2:30pm exam full, sleepy and probably slightly bloated. Just what you want right?

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A nice breakfast roll at 10am!

 

I wouldn't suggest stretching hard in the down time, just nice gentle range of motion stuff. I'm pretty sure the strength research is on heavy stretching to increase range, but I may  be wrong.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 8/9/2017 at 00:50, Viv said:

Help! I've been entered for two exams on the same day! I have Grade 6 first thing in the morning and then IF at around 2:30pm. I'm so worried, if I throw everything I have into Grade 6 then I'll be physically dead for IF, and IF is definitely my priority. Any words of advice? How to go all out for an hour, sit around for 5 hours, and then go all out again in IF which is already incredibly physically draining? 

 

On a different subject, my teacher has decided to make the dreadfully difficult Allegro 2 even harder because this week we've been doing all allegro in pointe shoes... She's trying to beat the sound out of them and increase our awareness of our feet but it's so horrible to do hahaha. My shoes are mostly dead by now so it's astonishing how hard it still is to articulate in a glissade.

Hi, Not too sure of the date for your exams so I might be a tad late on this post. 

 

I'm interested to know how your teacher was able to enter you for two exams on the same day. My DD missed out on RAD Intermediate this summer as she was taking her Grade 6. Her teacher informed her she would have to wait until the Autumn as "you can't take Graded and Voc exams at the same time" . So after the summer break she will have just a few weeks to get back up to speed before the exam. 

 

If you have taken the exams, I hope all went well for you.  

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2 hours ago, balletbean said:

Hi, Not too sure of the date for your exams so I might be a tad late on this post. 

 

I'm interested to know how your teacher was able to enter you for two exams on the same day. My DD missed out on RAD Intermediate this summer as she was taking her Grade 6. Her teacher informed her she would have to wait until the Autumn as "you can't take Graded and Voc exams at the same time" . So after the summer break she will have just a few weeks to get back up to speed before the exam. 

 

If you have taken the exams, I hope all went well for you.  

 

Not too late, I won't take them until October (unsure of exact dates yet) :) I'm not sure why exactly why teacher is able to enter me into two exams on the same day, it's an exam at the teachers own studio though if that potentially makes a difference. Some girls are even doing three exams in one session (two vocational and one graded)! This year we're having all ballet exams at the same time as no one was ready for the only other session in my region (July), so everyone at my studio from pre-primary through to Advanced 1 have exams in the same three days. Incidentally, another school may be joining with us for these exams making the exams push out to four days and therefore I may not have to do two exams on one day afterall! But they're still within the same 'session'.

 

This is not the first year my teacher has done it either.  I know someone who last year took Grade 8 one day and Advanced Foundation the next day without any cause for concern. Again it was at the teachers studio and not at an RAD hosted venue. You may have seen I'm in Australia which may make things a little different, but I'd be surprised if RAD run things differently between countries. Of course, because of where I live if you miss the October session you would need to fly 5 hours to the other side of the country to sit a different session which may make them more amenable to two exams at once. Another factor that might be taken into account is that my teacher is an examiner? Not sure what that would change but helpful to have all the factors that could be in the mix...

 

But if none of that applies, it may simply be that that's the rule of your DD's teacher rather than an RAD specific rule :) 

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As far as I'm aware there is nothing stopping you from taking more than one exam on the same day - the only reason could be if any vocational exams require you to have passed the previous level before taking the next exam as a condition of entry.

 

Oh, and the new RAD Adv exams are quite different from the old ones. Adv Foundation in particular is a massive step up from Inter, and Adv 2 is jolly tricky - Anna Rose O'Sullivan from the Royal Ballet performs one of the dances on the DVD.

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3 hours ago, Viv said:

 

Not too late, I won't take them until October (unsure of exact dates yet) :) I'm not sure why exactly why teacher is able to enter me into two exams on the same day, it's an exam at the teachers own studio though if that potentially makes a difference. Some girls are even doing three exams in one session (two vocational and one graded)! This year we're having all ballet exams at the same time as no one was ready for the only other session in my region (July), so everyone at my studio from pre-primary through to Advanced 1 have exams in the same three days. Incidentally, another school may be joining with us for these exams making the exams push out to four days and therefore I may not have to do two exams on one day afterall! But they're still within the same 'session'.

 

This is not the first year my teacher has done it either.  I know someone who last year took Grade 8 one day and Advanced Foundation the next day without any cause for concern. Again it was at the teachers studio and not at an RAD hosted venue. You may have seen I'm in Australia which may make things a little different, but I'd be surprised if RAD run things differently between countries. Of course, because of where I live if you miss the October session you would need to fly 5 hours to the other side of the country to sit a different session which may make them more amenable to two exams at once. Another factor that might be taken into account is that my teacher is an examiner? Not sure what that would change but helpful to have all the factors that could be in the mix...

 

But if none of that applies, it may simply be that that's the rule of your DD's teacher rather than an RAD specific rule :) 

Thank you,  Due to our geographical location an examiner visits us when all the schools in the area agree on certain dates. The vocational exam pupils are all grouped together for the exams as there aren't enough per school to warrant individual examinations (costs and time). It must be just my DD's teachers preference then rather than a RAD rule. Just mildly frustrating for my DD as she will have a few weeks of Inter with some pupils but also balance the Adv1 Foun with others. As long as she remembers where she should be and what time the mummy taxi picks up, I shall just go with the flow. 

PS Just heard DD received a Distinction for Grade 6 so fingers crossed for next exam. 

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7 hours ago, Vonrothbart said:

Our GDD has just got her results for her ADV 1 exam, 86 marks and a distinction. I know it doesn't mean that much but it's still nice seeing as she was only 14 when she took it, so well chuffed for her.

 

 

Congratulations! We've just started learning some of the Advanced 1 syllabus in one of my adult classes - it's definitely a huge step up from Intermediate & Advanced Foundation and we've started on the easy stuff. We're just giggling our way through the exercises but I'm getting more of it than I thought - I love the battements jetes exercise but the plie music must be the most dreary thing I've ever had to dance to (doesn't help I hate counting in 6's). Allegro 1 is nice but some of the later allegros look horrid - who wants to start a grand allegro with fouettes?!

 

Other reasons I love my teacher - she's got me doing pointe twice a week now (does it ever get easier?) and wants me to work towards my intermediate exam!

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

@JCS How are you going in preparing for your exam? Does it look like you'll be going ahead in November or December?

 

My exam is now 2.5 weeks away, though because of school holidays that translates to only 4 classes! :o And I have injured a nerve in my back so I am struggling to do any of the set work at the moment :( It's very disheartening to know you've been preparing all year for something and then a last minute injury can put you right off! I think I'll just be happy when the exam is finally over haha

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Well I have been quiet on the board because I got injured just before half term in the summer. There was a lot of marking and adapting and watching for the rest of the term.

 

If I am going to do the exam I need the go ahead at this afternoon's class so I can get the application in before I go on  a long-booked, ill-timed holiday.

 

Next stop on train Clapham Junction for the RAD. I will update this evening!

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Injuries! I feel like they've plagued my year. I'm at that odd stage of injury where it normally doesn't hurt while I'm dancing and then is crippling when I stop, which makes it difficult to know where to ease off. And with only 2 weeks to go I've already been entered for both my exams and as the physio hasn't said to stop it's just trying to manage the pain and get through the exam. My exam partner is also injured but unfortunately to the extent that she's had to pull out :( 

 

I'm sorry that you've had to sit out for so long but fingers crossed you get the go ahead this afternoon! Please let us know, it's nice to think there are a few of us going through this thing together :) 

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The possibility of doing the exam is still there; final decision next week. But I did the first session of the exam intensive at the RAD yesterday and there seemed to be so much more I could add. Also the exam could be as little as five weeks of lessons away and I only did allegro 2 full out for the first time on Saturday! I am thinking I will wait - although that does mean handling the Christmas break.

 

I am going to follow Sophie Rebecca's example and be videoed.

 

@Viv  it is so difficult to deal with injury. I hope all goes well with the final preparations for your exam.

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@JCS Even waiting till after Christmas isn't that long now! At least you're getting back to doing things full out now, the exam will be on you before you know it I'm sure :) 

 

I have had no alleviation in back pain after two weeks rest, so I'm booked into the GP to discuss pain relief and anti-inflammatories. With the exam in one week now (ahhhhhhhhh!) I need to start going full out again in classes this week. My physio has said dancing won't make the injury worse, it'll just hurt a bunch, but I'll go back to rest after the exam. Just want it to be over, excited to start learning something new again :) 

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@Viv I was persuaded to get over my panic. I had a private lesson when my teacher went over everything she had reservations about and she decided I was okay to go for it. I handed in the form and payment yesterday!

 

Sorry to hear your back is not better. I wish you all the best for the final push.

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@JCS How exciting! Congratulations :) When will your exam be?

I have an exam preparation workshop this week so I'll be able to see exactly how far I can push it. But I'm sure in the exam the adrenaline will hit and it'll be fine! 

 

1 hour ago, balletgremlin said:

Are there any of you who started pointe as adults? Please let me know it gets easier because at the moment it's practically impossible. My teacher has given me ankle/foot strengthening exercises I've been doing religiously and my progress is still negligible.

 

@balletgremlin I started pointe for the first time as an adult in February this year and unfortunately I'm still pretty crap... A bad fitting with my first pair of shoes didn't help, but a lack of flexibility in my ankles and serious weak toes have contributed to what is, quite frankly, awful pointe work haha. But I'm only 8 months in so I've come to terms with being crap, and we're doing a pointe piece in the end of year concert so I'll have a chance to work on it for the next few months. Though occassionally I do look back on my first few weeks en pointe where I thought I might as well give up to now, and realise I'm probably doing better than I thought :)  Are you already en pointe, or have you been given exercises to strengthen you pre-pointe? If the former, how long have you been doing it?

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@Viv I've been on pointe about a month now, I just cannot get my left foot to do as it's told and get over on the box, especially in echappes. I only did a few weeks of pre-pointe classes but do lots of other ballet classes during the week so my teacher said I already had the leg strength and could start on pointe.

 

There were several other adult dancers who started at the same time who just seem to have a knack for pointe and just get on with it and I can see their improvement. I don't know whether to blame my strength, flexibility, shoes or a combination of all the above. It could just be it's an entirely new feeling and one day it'll click and I'll be fine (like with brises - originally I couldn't even work out what I had to ask my brain to tell my feet to do) but it's so frustrating not being able to do something.

 

I know I'm new and I shouldn't expect to be any good but it doesn't stop me wanting to be.

 

On a more positive note, my teacher filmed me doing the intermediate foundation port de bras with an ex-ballerina  and I still think I looked great. Almost makes me wish I were workig towards my IF rather than intermediate exam.

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I have just started working on the Intermediate syllabus too. I'm very excited about it and love some of the exercises. I know all the barre exercises and kind of know the pirouettes, allegro and about half of Variation 1, but not yet entirely secure in doing some of it up to speed. That allegro 2! I'm an adult returner rather than a beginner, so I know the vocabulary and technique in theory - now it's a question of getting my aging body actually to do it properly. I have been doing foot and ankle strengthening exercises for a few months and had been intending to start pointe work after Christmas. However I'm probably going to need to get on with it sooner. We've been told that we should be doing every class in soft blocks, so I'm buying some this week and thinking about making a trip to Manchester or somewhere for a pointe shoe fitting. (Can anyone recommend a good shop in the North-West?)

 

BG, I know that feeling of wanting to be good and feeling frustrated by the reality of the speed of progress. However, look at it positively as a source of determination. Also, have you checked that your shoes really are the right ones for your feet? I think buying your first pair can be particularly difficult as at the point of buying them you don't know how they should feel or whether they're going to work for you, and it can take trying a few different brands/styles before you find the right ones. An expensive business, too!

 

Good luck.

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Well as you have said yourself a month really is nothing in terms of developing pointe work ability!!

 

I think this has been said before on other threads but it's not just about feet( though it's the feet which suffer!) You need to work on back and core strength to be really good on pointe 

Unfortunately from my own observations ....and I think it's something which probably only pertains to adult ballet classes....many people go on pointe when they are not really ready ...in my view anyway.....especially adults who are completely new to ballet and didn't do it as a child etc.

If people's knees are bent or people are literally having to haul" themselves up to get there it usually means that the back and leg muscles are not strong enough yet.....never mind the feet!! 

Im not saying this is the situation in your particular case ....it could be a shoe problem etc ....and in fact may take a while to find the perfect shoe for you. 

Anyway if as an adult you have been doing ballet for at least two- three years you may just need some patience!!  Even in younger girls who are en pointe at vocational school and so may be practising every day it still takes a couple of years usually to get really proficient in the centre.

 

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1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Well as you have said yourself a month really is nothing in terms of developing pointe work ability!!

 

I think this has been said before on other threads but it's not just about feet( though it's the feet which suffer!) You need to work on back and core strength to be really good on pointe 

Unfortunately from my own observations ....and I think it's something which probably only pertains to adult ballet classes....many people go on pointe when they are not really ready ...in my view anyway.....especially adults who are completely new to ballet and didn't do it as a child etc.

If people's knees are bent or people are literally having to haul" themselves up to get there it usually means that the back and leg muscles are not strong enough yet.....never mind the feet!! 

Im not saying this is the situation in your particular case ....it could be a shoe problem etc ....and in fact may take a while to find the perfect shoe for you. 

Anyway if as an adult you have been doing ballet for at least two- three years you may just need some patience!!  Even in younger girls who are en pointe at vocational school and so may be practising every day it still takes a couple of years usually to get really proficient in the centre.

 

the other problem is those who cannot separate why  responsible teachers  are waiting until children are age 11-12  with  how long you need to have been taking class ... 

the  lower age limits for pointe are physical  developmental limits  not  technique ones .

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@balletgremlin I think, like a great many things in ballet, you just have to resign yourself to sucking for a bit hahaha. You're training your body to move in an unnatural way, to do things we were never meant to do. I get the frustration, honestly I do, because my pointe work is the worst in the class. What I have to remind myself is that there's no use comparing yourself to anyone else. We all come into ballet with our own bodies, our own strength and flexibility issues. Perhaps you can't get over your boxes (yet!) but maybe you're really strong in your core. Maybe you've got that effortless upper body quality that disguises the feet working frantically below. Maybe the women you see around you who seem to have taken to pointe work quickly have done it before, or have been dancing longer than you, or have been doing pre-pointe longer. Or maybe they don't struggle to get over but have issues controlling their arms en pointe. Or remembering to plie, or point their feet in between movements. As humans, and particularly as adult dancers, we normally only focus on the things we're doing badly and see everyone else doing well. It's harder to recognise what you're doing well at that others might be struggling with, because you find that bit easy so why pay attention to it?

 

At the end of the day, think about when you first started ballet, you were a month into classes. Did you suck? Probably! We all do! Knowledge and skill is what you aim to have coming out of class, not going in. Give yourself a break, keep doing your strengthening exercises, and stop thinking in terms of day or weeks. It took me 2 months for my shoes to break in enough to even start getting over my boxes. If you want a booster, video yourself now and again in 6 months and then you'll start to recognise how far you've come.

 

@The_Red_Shoes Intermediate is lovely, isn't it? I've only done a few classes when I couldn't make my regular IF class, but the port de bras and variation 1 are so luxurious. It's hard though! Especially the allegro 2.

Edited by Viv
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10 hours ago, balletgremlin said:

@Viv I've been on pointe about a month now, I just cannot get my left foot to do as it's told and get over on the box, especially in echappes. I only did a few weeks of pre-pointe classes but do lots of other ballet classes during the week so my teacher said I already had the leg strength and could start on pointe.

 

 

Just wanted to say that my DD is almost 14, working on RAD Advanced Foundation (and Gr 6) and still has trouble getting over on her box with her left foot. Her feet look ok in normal ballet shoes but en pointe the left looks much weaker. The only solution we have come up with is to actually work on the left shoe so it bends more (in fact her teacher did a bit of work on it during a private so it's not just us experimenting). I suspect everyone has one foot 'better' than the other, just as we all have preferred sides for turning etc. I have also suggested she thinks about starting things from the left first when practising/marking, so it's not always the right doing more work.

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