Simply Adult Ballet: the progress of one adult dancer who took up ballet later in life

[NJH]

12 hours ago, Angela Essex said:

Hello Michelle,

 

Sorry you’re having a rough week, but impressive that you’ve started pointe work as an adult 🙌🙌🙌. It’s inspiring reading about your ballet journey. I started ballet in September at the ripe old age of 45 having literally never danced a step in my life and am loving it. I started on one class a week at my local dance school and recently joined Hannah Frosts Pineapple adult beginners ballet. Just wondering if there’s any adult beginners classes you’d recommend please? And any tips for adult beginners?  I’m in Essex, so the more local the better, but I’m thinking I might have to travel or do more zoom classes? Many thanks in advance  🙏

significant numbers of people  who take up ballet as adults or  return to ballet having stopped as youngsters before going en pointe  get en pointe  in a  relatively timely manner. 

Unfortunately as i understand  it a lot of essex seems to be stuck heading into the smoke for class  ... 

[Angela Essex]

26 minutes ago, NJH said:

significant numbers of people  who take up ballet as adults or  return to ballet having stopped as youngsters before going en pointe  get en pointe  in a  relatively timely manner. 

Unfortunately as i understand  it a lot of essex seems to be stuck heading into the smoke for class  ... 

Wow really NJH, I had no idea. I’d been thinking pointe work was the result of many years hard graft - how inspiring though. I’m 45 so I’m thinking it’s not necessarily going to happen for me on account of my age, but I’d literally be happy just to take a beginners class and not be the worst one there for a change at this stage of proceedings 😂 

Yes, Pineapple for me tomorrow night. Suppose I’d best get used to travelling about to classes 😭

[NJH]

54 minutes ago, Angela Essex said:

Wow really NJH, I had no idea. I’d been thinking pointe work was the result of many years hard graft - how inspiring though. I’m 45 so I’m thinking it’s not necessarily going to happen for me on account of my age, but I’d literally be happy just to take a beginners class and not be the worst one there for a change at this stage of proceedings 😂 

Yes, Pineapple for me tomorrow night. Suppose I’d best get used to travelling about to classes 😭

i started taking class  at 39 , i was en pointe , at the barre in  beginning pinte class at 41 ...  i'm 44 now but  we have had  lockdowns etc  in the way but just before lockdown 1 was doing some stuff in the centre and could do a passable pose turn en pointe ...  getting back to that , but i asm glutton who averages aobut 5 or 6 hours of class a week (as well as a full time job)

[Colman]

I started at the age you are bow

1 hour ago, Angela Essex said:

Wow really NJH, I had no idea. I’d been thinking pointe work was the result of many years hard graft - how inspiring though. I’m 45 so I’m thinking it’s not necessarily going to happen for me on account of my age,

I was your age when I started, and I’ve done a little pointe work as a giant guy. A lot of adults older than you have, so assuming you’re not unable to for some physical reason it’s a matter of strength and technique. Should be doable after a few years serious ballet if you want.

[Meetmeatthebarre]

1 hour ago, Angela Essex said:

Wow really NJH, I had no idea. I’d been thinking pointe work was the result of many years hard graft - how inspiring though.

 

I think what beginning "pointe work" means is vastly different between individuals. If you have getting pointe shoes and doing slow rises at the barre for several months as a definition, then that is going to require a lot less training than aiming to transition to do everything on pointe that one can do in flat shoes in a reasonable amount of time. There are long debates about which method works best for pre-professional children, but as an adult where vocation isn't a goal - I don't think there's anything wrong with aiming for what gives you joy in the safest (teacher-approved) way possible. I have dance friends in their fifties who just want the experience and have gone en pointe earlier, but stayed at the barre for months doing basic exercises, if not years (and still are there). 

 

 

[Angela Essex]

7 hours ago, NJH said:

i started taking class  at 39 , i was en pointe , at the barre in  beginning pinte class at 41 ...  i'm 44 now but  we have had  lockdowns etc  in the way but just before lockdown 1 was doing some stuff in the centre and could do a passable pose turn en pointe ...  getting back to that , but i asm glutton who averages aobut 5 or 6 hours of class a week (as well as a full time job)

Wow that is impressive 🙌🙌🙌 I am struggling to fit my 2 classes in a week, what with work, kids and weight training, but I’d love to get to that stage eventually. Think I might have to start planning for a third class each week …..

[Tango Dancer]

8 hours ago, Meetmeatthebarre said:

 

I think what beginning "pointe work" means is vastly different between individuals. If you have getting pointe shoes and doing slow rises at the barre for several months as a definition, then that is going to require a lot less training than aiming to transition to do everything on pointe that one can do in flat shoes in a reasonable amount of time. There are long debates about which method works best for pre-professional children, but as an adult where vocation isn't a goal - I don't think there's anything wrong with aiming for what gives you joy in the safest (teacher-approved) way possible. I have dance friends in their fifties who just want the experience and have gone en pointe earlier, but stayed at the barre for months doing basic exercises, if not years (and still are there). 

 

 

 

Definitely! As an adult it's up to you what you want to do and in what timeframe.  I've been dancing for over 3 years now and have no desire to go en pointe at all because I just don't like the idea.  I've someone in one of my classes who started about the same time I did and she started pointe in the spring.  As long as you're doing something safe and your body feels ok with it, then it's up to you whether and when to go for it.  Doing things as an adult gives you a lot more freedom and the only wrong things to do are things that are dangerous or antisocial.  

[LinMM]

If you find a good teacher they should be able to advise you when you are ready for pointe work. 
It’s difficult with adults as it may also depend what else they do as well as ballet as to how strong both feet and body are. 
I do see some people on pointe who have hardly a grasp of the ballet basics and this is not such a good idea.
But once your centre demi pointe work is strong so you can do a decent pirouette, pose turn, soutenus turn etc across the room (and this can take at least a couple of years of classes) then you should be in a position to have a go. 
Timing is always difficult because as NJH said above progress may depend on how many classes you are taking a week plus other activities. 
I did quite a bit of pointe work when younger as a teenager and in 20’s and 30’s but when I returned to ballet as a MUCH older person (62) after a 21 year gap I decided I wouldn’t try with pointe work again as I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it to my own satisfaction and you certainly don’t need pointe shoes to dance! But I know people in their 60’s and even 70’s who do pointe work still because they enjoy it 😳  
And that’s the main thing really if you enjoy it and feel you are making progress to a degree you’re happy with then why not! 

[Michelle_Richer]

On 08/12/2021 at 09:34, Angela Essex said:

Hello Michelle,

 

 I started on one class a week at my local dance school and recently joined Hannah Frosts Pineapple adult beginners ballet. Just wondering if there’s any adult beginners classes you’d recommend please? And any tips for adult beginners?  I’m in Essex, so the more local the better, but I’m thinking I might have to travel or do more zoom classes? Many thanks in advance  🙏

I'm afraid I cant help you with recommendations for Adult Beginner Classes as my knowledge of those is not current. For me I started with a little local class in my village, but I guess the most significant for me was English National Ballet and RAD Adults Associates at Elmhurst, to be fair ENB was a stepping stone to get early access to the higher levels, as I was already a participant at beginner level I was in the system, so I would get access to priority booking before those outside of the system had access, but never the less I enjoyed the beginner classes there.

 

RAD was somewhat different, initially I joined to only attend their Improvers 2 class ( equivalent to RAD grades 6 to 😎 and their Body Conditioning class. That meant I was hanging around for quite some time between the classes, so one of the admin ladies ask me if I would like to do the Improver 1 class and RAD would allow me to do the Absolute Beginner class for free. As that would help them to have more examples for the absolute beginners to follow, and of course I was happy to oblige. Needless to say I enjoyed that too.

 

As for classes Pineapple, I have only ever done an Elementary class with someone called Maggie, and various other teachers when she has been away. That class was a fair bit up from beginner level, but it depends how ambitious you are and able to work outside your comfort zone.

 

As for any tips, don’t be put off by others that are at a more advanced stage that you, be happy that your ballet is better today than it was yesterday, that real progress.

When you start to move ahead, and see those that are just beginning, don’t resent them for holding the class back, but help them. It is especially helpful in the centre when you a doing a sequences in small groups, the last few to go through are often those stragglers that are struggling, do go with them so they can follow you, even if its your second time around. I often did this at ENB what ever the level.

 

Above all listen to your body as you start gain confidence and push things.

Remember ballet is not easy.

 

 

Meetmeatthebarre

 

I love you comment “I think what beginning "pointe work" means is vastly different between individuals.” For me I have two objectives:

 

Firstly to be have the ability to dance PDD’s en pointe, particularly promenades and pirouettes as it not the same in ballet flats do to the amount of contact resistance.

 

Secondly, I really want to complete the whole my Cecchetti Advance 2 syllabus “TEMPS DE POINTE” section, which of course is all pointe work.

 

Finally although not planned, as I had no intention of dancing solo’s en pointe, as I'm happy to showcase them without. Practically I can see I will need to remain pointe-fit and to that end I can foresee the need to utilize my solo rep being done en pointe as a matter of necessity.

 

 

LinMM

If you find a good teacher they should be able to advise you when you are ready for pointe work.

 

I'm not sure that applies in my case as most teacher would refuse to teach me pointe work, but non of them were displaying “Good Teacher” labels.

 

However what I can say is that I have experienced teachers holding me back due to political correctness. A case in point was in doing pirouettes, I was doing double turns quite early at ENB, but my teacher stopped me, they had to be singles. I virtually lost the muscle memory of doubles and it took me along time to regain it through another teacher,

A similar thing happened with cabrioles, we had two classes merge at ENB to become the advanced class, level 3 and level 4, I was in 3, level 3 had to do assembles and level 4 cabrioles in the same exercise, needless to say I did cabrioles and got told off. Some years earlier I had be doing cabrioles well enough to perform on stage .

 

Update on the Double Glazing saga

 

I note your comment “Sometimes it pays to shop around and get a few people in to view the job before you choose who gets the contract if you not in a hurry etc.” we did and the common theme running though most sales reps that called, would not actually give us a quotation unless we would place an actual order with them.

 

The company we chose did provide the quotation, its a national company and manufacture too, its EYG, all looked good.

 

The position at the moment is another installation team is coming out to us on Saturday the 18 of December, to be fair I have no confidence they will turn up which really leaves us in a real mess over the whole of the Christmas period, and especially as we originally planned the installation for mid October based on there 10week lead time. I guess you cant win them all.

[Michelle_Richer]

My pointe-work teacher had said she would have me in the centre by Christmas, initially I thought that target was quite ambitious . However as the end of term approached it seamed even more unlikely, mainly due to a flare up of athletes foot between my pinky toe and the toe next to it on the right foot, this was further aggravated with my new pointe shoes where I had gone for the hard shank version of my old shoes, mainly as the regular shanks weren't available at the time. The problem with the hard shank is, it occupies a little more space inside the shoe itself making it quite tight but only for the right foot. I did try swapping the shoes over, but I guess my right foot is slightly larger than my left.

The week before my last week, things were so bad that I decided to do my pointe class in my Russian Rubins, they seams to be so much more comfortable, however the size of the block in contact with the floor seam to be smaller and both my teacher and I thought balance would be more difficult in the Rubins rather than the Blochs. Work facing the barre seamed similar and unremarkable, however working at right-angles to the barre with only one hand for support was really difficult, personally I felt I had lost a lot of strength, but I couldn’t explain it. My teacher also made the remark that the previous week I was an awful lot better.

 

We were down to the last 5 minutes of class and I decided to see if I could squeeze my Bloch pointe shoes on, strangely enough they seamed to go on quite easily although the little toe was quite painful, single handed rises at right-angles to the barre was a breeze as was releve 5th . Then it dawned on me, The Bloch pointe shoes were partially broken in by exercising it them for several weeks, whilst the Rubins had rarely been warn. Grrrr I was really annoyed at my self as I had felt I had wasted that class.

 

For the last week of term I partially rested the feet from point work for a couple of days prior to my class, in order to be able to work with the Bloch shoes even if they were somewhat uncomfortable.

We did the usual barre both facing and at right-angles to it, then it was a case of my first exercise in the centre.

This was a simple burree, at first I forgot everything I had been doing at the barre and was starting with a releve 5^th until my teacher corrected me, needless to say I felt really stupid.

Getting on to pointe wasn't a problem, that was quite easy, but coming down at the beginning was a bit like a crash landing, but that was soon fixed. Once it was mastered we added moving around and also adding Port de Bras to the exercise, I really loved it.

We did try another routine containing a number of retires and a turning pique pas de buree, but by this time my right foot was extremely sore and it was end of class, so that routine was postponed for that week. The next day was my on-line pointe class, on my warm-up prior to the class it was obvious that my right foot would not be able to take it, so I postponed attending the class but still received the video recording to catch up.

 

As we have had a two week Christmas break, I have utilized that time to treat and rest the affected foot, so I am ready to resume starting up again on pointe on Monday the 3^rd Jan. I have also increased the shoe size for the right foot a half size bigger which seams more comfortable but only time will tell.

 

Double Glazing Saga

We finally got a couple of guy which knew what they were doing and installed both our Lounge French doors and the Dining room window as well as finishing off some of the work outstanding by the previous installers. However it still leaves our kitchen window to be done. At least we only have two rooms now cluttered up with furniture etc., my home gym and a small bedroom.

 

Christmas this year was certainly memorable, not only from the double glazing saga but from a water leak too.

The day before Christmas eve we had damp stains from a leak appear on our dining room sealing. At first we thought it was from our central heating system but later found it was a leaking seam in our hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard. Needless to say I had to drain it down and had no hot water over Christmas other than from the kettle or the shower, but needs must. We have a new cylinder on order for delivery 2^nd week in January.

 

Cant wait to get back to ballet in 2022 and get some mileage in the centre en pointe, as I soon want to develop PDD routines en pointe with Adrian my partner as soon as its practically possible.

 

[Michelle_Richer]

Just when I though things were going to get interesting with my pointe work.

 

Last Sunday was supposed to be the beginning when Adrian and I started work on our PDD’s for our summer showcase, normally it would be something from the ballet we had chosen to study, for this year its La Bayadere.

 

However I have chosen a different approach, to try out different PDD routines en pointe and just see what looks feasible in developing. My rep coach who is also one of my pointe-work teachers is also helping me with this by proving the building block so to speak to achieve this objective. The work with my point teacher was to start this week.

 

Then BOOM

Adrian was a little off colour Saturday, but by Sunday when we intended to experiment with a few ideas, he was quite poorly, he said to me he thought is may be COVID and needless to say we ran a Lateral Flow Test on him and sure enough it was positive, from that point everything changed as he went into self isolation.

I tested and I was still negative, according to the rules I didn’t need to self isolate, however I felt I needed to isolate the best I could from Adrian so from that point we maintained social distancing and both wore masks were we were in the same room together other than for meals so we increased our distance apart. To be fair wearing a mask for very long period started to dig into my ear and became very painful.

Once we had the positive response, we had to photograph the test result which in turn produced a code for the Track and Trace app on the phone, later we had a phone call from the track and trace people asking us to go back 7 days with names where possible, but address with postcodes complete with contact telephone numbers, that takes a lot head scratching to recall all that detail.

For me it was about all the people I was likely to see during the week to come, I cancelled my Monday Pilates as every one there is unmasked, and with the cold weather ventilation may be an issue, the risk seamed to high. Everyone else I explained I wasn't required to isolate but I would keep them updated with my Lateral Flow Test result, every one was happy to continue subject to the result for that day being negative.

By the end of Wednesday I was beginning to feel very tired, but I had been doing several hours of pointe practice in my studio, so that wasn't out of the ordinary, I also detected what felt like the beginnings of a saw throat, but again that wasn't unusual for me, so I took some Strepsils.

Thursday I was up early as that was the day of my pointe classes, before I had any food or drink I took a Lateral Flow Test, for a start we thought I was clear, the valid processing period for the type of test we had was 15 to 30mins, at 15mins it looked clear however at 30mins the “T” line was barely visible but never the less there was something there. As a result I cancelled my classes for that day, however as intensity of the result was so vague, I thought it may have been wrongly interpreting it and it may have been a false positive, consequently I retook the test later in that day. This time the result was a clear positive although the intensity wasn't as high as the “C” line, therefore Thursday was my day 0 of self isolation, the only advantage I had if you can call it that, is Adrian and I no longer needed to wear a mask when we were in each others company. During the day I didn’t feel too bad other than an irritating throat but very tired.

 

Day 1 (today) I first got up to go to the loo about 5am, initially I though I was much better until I tried to cough, and my whole ribcage just felt solid and hurt like hell. It seams that the congestion has loosened but I just cant get it up as its really painful, its just so annoying and debilitating. I finally got up around 8am, in my winter woollies to keep warm.  After breakfast got a cushion and laid on the floor in front of the fire and half dozed, just punctuated with painful coughing,

 

According to Adrian, things get better after day 3, Adrian at the moment is at day 5 but still positive, although the intensity of his red “T” line is somewhat diminished, we are hoping tomorrow will be his first negative response and hopefully Sunday is still negative so he can stop isolating. For the moment Adrian still has the couch but it doesn't trouble him.

 

One of the rules I really don’t understand and are not comfortable with, if at day 10 your LFT result is still positive, you may now cease self isolation.

 

Day 1 for me has been a really rough day as I'm trying to suppress the involuntary action of wanting to cough, as it really painful, just hoping that improves on day 2 and I can cough more freely to clear my lungs.

 

I guess at the end of all this, it has the positive effect of increasing my antibodies for a while.

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Michelle_Richer

[Jan McNulty]

I'm so sorry to hear this Michelle.  I hope you do not feel any worse and that your recovery goes well.

[LinMM]

Sorry to hear about you and Adrian Michelle hope you are both feeling better very soon. 

Regards to what you said about not needing to isolate after day 10 I think that’s only if you are symptom free and have a negative test by then. Obviously some people get Covid more badly than others so symptoms may last longer so if still coughing a lot on day 10 then you could still be infectious. It’s just that most people are free of symptoms by Day 7 or 8 so as long as have a negative test on day 10 and are asymptomatic by then you should be free to go. 
The people I know who had Covid much earlier on ...pre vaccination ...so during 2020 ....seemed to have had it more badly where it was lasting around 2-3 weeks.... than those who have had it more recently ....in last three months... where it’s not lasted much longer than 5-7 days. 
Perhaps you can book a nice treat for yourselves when you’ve recovered. 

[Angela Essex]

14 hours ago, Michelle_Richer said:

Just when I though things were going to get interesting with my pointe work.

 

Last Sunday was supposed to be the beginning when Adrian and I started work on our PDD’s for our summer showcase, normally it would be something from the ballet we had chosen to study, for this year its La Bayadere.

 

However I have chosen a different approach, to try out different PDD routines en pointe and just see what looks feasible in developing. My rep coach who is also one of my pointe-work teachers is also helping me with this by proving the building block so to speak to achieve this objective. The work with my point teacher was to start this week.

 

Then BOOM

Adrian was a little off colour Saturday, but by Sunday when we intended to experiment with a few ideas, he was quite poorly, he said to me he thought is may be COVID and needless to say we ran a Lateral Flow Test on him and sure enough it was positive, from that point everything changed as he went into self isolation.

I tested and I was still negative, according to the rules I didn’t need to self isolate, however I felt I needed to isolate the best I could from Adrian so from that point we maintained social distancing and both wore masks were we were in the same room together other than for meals so we increased our distance apart. To be fair wearing a mask for very long period started to dig into my ear and became very painful.

Once we had the positive response, we had to photograph the test result which in turn produced a code for the Track and Trace app on the phone, later we had a phone call from the track and trace people asking us to go back 7 days with names where possible, but address with postcodes complete with contact telephone numbers, that takes a lot head scratching to recall all that detail.

For me it was about all the people I was likely to see during the week to come, I cancelled my Monday Pilates as every one there is unmasked, and with the cold weather ventilation may be an issue, the risk seamed to high. Everyone else I explained I wasn't required to isolate but I would keep them updated with my Lateral Flow Test result, every one was happy to continue subject to the result for that day being negative.

By the end of Wednesday I was beginning to feel very tired, but I had been doing several hours of pointe practice in my studio, so that wasn't out of the ordinary, I also detected what felt like the beginnings of a saw throat, but again that wasn't unusual for me, so I took some Strepsils.

Thursday I was up early as that was the day of my pointe classes, before I had any food or drink I took a Lateral Flow Test, for a start we thought I was clear, the valid processing period for the type of test we had was 15 to 30mins, at 15mins it looked clear however at 30mins the “T” line was barely visible but never the less there was something there. As a result I cancelled my classes for that day, however as intensity of the result was so vague, I thought it may have been wrongly interpreting it and it may have been a false positive, consequently I retook the test later in that day. This time the result was a clear positive although the intensity wasn't as high as the “C” line, therefore Thursday was my day 0 of self isolation, the only advantage I had if you can call it that, is Adrian and I no longer needed to wear a mask when we were in each others company. During the day I didn’t feel too bad other than an irritating throat but very tired.

 

Day 1 (today) I first got up to go to the loo about 5am, initially I though I was much better until I tried to cough, and my whole ribcage just felt solid and hurt like hell. It seams that the congestion has loosened but I just cant get it up as its really painful, its just so annoying and debilitating. I finally got up around 8am, in my winter woollies to keep warm.  After breakfast got a cushion and laid on the floor in front of the fire and half dozed, just punctuated with painful coughing,

 

According to Adrian, things get better after day 3, Adrian at the moment is at day 5 but still positive, although the intensity of his red “T” line is somewhat diminished, we are hoping tomorrow will be his first negative response and hopefully Sunday is still negative so he can stop isolating. For the moment Adrian still has the couch but it doesn't trouble him.

 

One of the rules I really don’t understand and are not comfortable with, if at day 10 your LFT result is still positive, you may now cease self isolation.

 

Day 1 for me has been a really rough day as I'm trying to suppress the involuntary action of wanting to cough, as it really painful, just hoping that improves on day 2 and I can cough more freely to clear my lungs.

 

I guess at the end of all this, it has the positive effect of increasing my antibodies for a while.

 

Hello Michelle,

 

I’m so sorry to hear you and your partner have Covid. I hope you are both feeling better very soon. I too tested positive 4 days ago now and I feel your frustration about not being able to dance. I am really annoyed as it’s caused me to miss my second ever private lesson. I’d only just found a teacher that teaches adults for exams and she said I’d be doing my rad intermediate and pointe work at the end of this year or next year 😮 Also missed  my usual weekly pineapple zoom class with Hannah Frost which I really look forward to every week. I hate missing class 😭

[Michelle_Richer]

15 hours ago, LinMM said:

Regards to what you said about not needing to isolate after day 10 I think that’s only if you are symptom free and have a negative test by then. Obviously some people get Covid more badly than others so symptoms may last longer so if still coughing a lot on day 10 then you could still be infectious. It’s just that most people are free of symptoms by Day 7 or 8 so as long as have a negative test on day 10 and are asymptomatic by then you should be free to go.  

Hi Linda

This is what the Track and Trace app states under “Testing and Self-isolation advice has changed”

“If you have tested positive for COVID-19, you can end self-isolation after 5 full days, provided you get a negative rapid lateral flow test on day 5 and day 6 and you do not have a high temperature.”

 

“If either test is positive , it is important to continue to self-isolate until you get 2 negative rapid lateral flow test a day apart, or you have completed 10full days of self isolation.”

 

It doesn't qualify the 10 days any further, however it would seam logical to apply from para 1 “and you do not have a high temperature.”, to mean you no longer have any symptoms.

 

However my own observation of myself and Adrian is that we really didn’t clearly display any symptoms. Neither of us had a high temperature as we checked for this several times.

There didn’t appear to be any loss of taste or smell

As for continuous couch, in pre day 0 and to some extent on day 0, I had a bit of a sore and irritable throat which I was trying clear by making a noise in my throat and of course swallowing and the occasional cough. I certainly wouldn't have described it as a continuous couch.

Later during Day 1, although I wanted to couch to clear my lungs, it was too painful to do so.

Day 2 Although things are still quite painful, the urge to cough seams somewhat diminished.

 

My conclusion is that we haven't had any proper symptoms all the way through, the only common denominator with both of us, it went strait to our lungs and we were both very tied and lethargic.

Adrian at the moment is at day 6, although he thought at 15 mins he was clear, by 30mins the “T” line was barely detectable, so he is still positive, but only just.

 

Its also worth mentioning that there are two types of kits, the procedures are a little different between them, one does nose and throat with a longish swab, the other does just the nose with a shorter swab, but the processing procedures and timing are a little different.

 

While I was in my hair salon last Wednesday I heard 2 ladies chatting with the stylist saying that they had both gone for 16 days before they got negative responses, I wasn't part of that conversation but my assumption was it was quite recent.

 

I love your comment “Perhaps you can book a nice treat for yourselves when you’ve recovered” would you believe we have had to cancel 3 booking between us for last week.

Adrian had booked to see Liverpool v Arsenal at the Emirates stadium, unfortunately he couldn’t get a refund for the ticket of around £100, although he did recover his train fair.

I had booked for us both to see a show locally on Saturday evening, that has been credited, I had also booked to go with one of my friends on Sunday to see Ballet In Cinema Bolshoi Jewels, again that was refunded.

 

Edited January 22, 2022 by Michelle_Richer

[LinMM]

I believe some of the PCR tests are set up

so sensitively ( saw a really good programme about this) that they are picking up bits of virus long after the person has been infected sometimes even six weeks later which is ridiculous! As if you are symptom free by then you would be no longer infectious but getting positive test results!!  Hopefully the Lateral Flow are not quite so sensitive so just pick up the virus when it’s important ...when you are actually infectious. 
If I was self employed there is no way I’d take six weeks off work if had recovered but getting a positive result. 
If you have the Omicron version apparently you don't lose your taste and smell with this one it’s more like a really bad cold although a friend of mine who did have a really bad cold a few months after Covid said the cold was worse than the Covid lol! 
I realise this isn’t the case for everybody but I’m sure being vaccinated does shield you from the worst effects. 

Well looks like you will have to plan some new treats Michelle!! 
One of these days when Adrian comes south for a footie match you could come with him and we could meet up for a meal and a catch up. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Michelle_Richer]

On 22/01/2022 at 12:50, Angela Essex said:

Hello Michelle,

 

I’m so sorry to hear you and your partner have Covid. I hope you are both feeling better very soon. I too tested positive 4 days ago now and I feel your frustration about not being able to dance. I am really annoyed as it’s caused me to miss my second ever private lesson. I’d only just found a teacher that teaches adults for exams and she said I’d be doing my rad intermediate and pointe work at the end of this year or next year 😮 Also missed  my usual weekly pineapple zoom class with Hannah Frost which I really look forward to every week. I hate missing class 😭

Hi Angela

 

You must just about be in the clear now and getting ready to resume your classes

I guess to some extent I have the advantage of having my own studio, but to be fair my head-space as been elsewhere and ballet far from my mind.

However I’m at day 3 and as my Adrian said things start to get better at day 3. At least I have lost the tightness of my chest and I can freely cough to clear the rubbish from my lungs and of course I feel more better in my self, so much so the pointe shoes will be back on tomorrow. If I feel up to it I will run through the video recording of last Thursdays on-line pointe class which of course I missed.

I'm just hoping at the very latest I get my two negative responses by Day 7, Adrian is waiting for his second negative response in his Day 8 tomorrow.

 

 

Hi Linda

 

I love your comment “One of these days when Adrian comes south for a footie match you could come with him and we could meet up for a meal and a catch up. “

 

Adrian had already been check the rail route from Peterborough to Brighton and I did mention going with him for shopping and a possible catch up with you, so great minds think alike. However he is waiting to see what happens about televising the match, as that determines when the match starts which has an effect on our rail journey times.

Date of the Brighton v Liverpool match is the 12th of March, so not very far away.

[Michelle_Richer]

First full week back after COVID at least I’ve been able to do both of my pointe classes to dispense the fear of losing strength during classes missed.

 

When I started to recover from the doldrums of COVID, I started to look at various styles of PDD promenades. Last Sunday Adrian started up his ballet sessions with me, our centre work was to try out various promenades with me en pointe, to be fair it was quite disappointing, particularly the single hand led promenades. Essentially Adrian hand was extremely floppy and I couldn’t adjust my centre of balance against it, then we tried the beginning promenade from the Grand Pas d Deux of the Nutcracker, that went like a dream and I could see Adrian's eye light up with success. We had at least one we could do without much trouble.

 

Following that I started to look at PDDs from the two ballets Adrian and I are showcasing from, which is La Bayadere and Le Corsaire. I am really inspired by Bolshoi's Pas de Esclave from Le Corsaire, as most of the promenades are either two handed or uses support from the guys body, another unknown for me is the difference in dancing the normal traditional ballet movement which I am used to in ballet slippers, now with my pointe shoes.

 

I guess one of the biggest difficulties to deal with is fear and self belief. Last week whilst in my own studio, I tried pose turns, I managed to get 3 off successfully before loosing my nerve.

One of the biggest issues is the fear of sliding off pointe, I know when I'm doing pointe at the studio in Lincoln even at the barre I have to use rosin, as the floor is extremely slippery to pointe shoes. My own studio is less so, but at this weeks on-line class at the barre I had at least 2 minor slipps, thankfully without injury.

 

Needless to say yesterday on my way back from pointe class at Lincoln, I called at the Starlite Direct store in Sleaford and bought some rosin for my own studio.

 

The plan at the moment is to focus on,only doing one PDD en pointe as a mainly training exercise, with the others still in normal ballet slippers, which I believe is achievable.

I know its not going to be easy, if it was I probably wouldn't be doing it, but both me and Adrian still have a lot to learn and experience on this road, and with the help of our lovely teacher and coach who has agreed to provide the necessary building blocks to help us on our way, I shall be eternally grateful.

[Michelle_Richer]

At least some sense of normality is returning to my ballet plans and activities, I am back with Adrian my partner showcasing our rep again this year. At least I have had the opportunity to come up with what I believe is a realistic plan. Originally we were planning on wrapping two years work together based on pieces from the Ballet Le Corsaire and La Bayadere.

 

As one of my prime objectives is to dance at least one piece en pointe, we have decided to limit the rep to Le Corsaire and the piece we have chosen to showcase en pointe is Pas de Esclave, the solos will remain in ballet flats as usual. To that end I have allocated an hour one-to-one of pointe work a week with only half an hour to the rep itself as we covered most of the rep last year, so theoretically it only needs refreshing.

 

I guess in a way that is an over simplification of what we are trying to achieve en pointe, as I have already given my teacher the pointe work info for my Cecchetti Advanced 2 syllabus and as its not worlds away from what we are already doing, we will incorporate it into my training where appropriate.

 

One of the changes I had to make in my studio to support pointe work is to incorporate a longer portable barre, as my 1.5m barre isn't long enough for some of the travelling barre combinations. In reality I have removed the 3m barre from the wall and fitted 3 portable supports, that is also more useful to the lady that come for a 2 hour elementary ballet session with me each week.

 

The only real issues with my pointe work is the niggles of ingrowing toe nails, keeping them trimmed. Also an ongoing issue with athletes foot, or so I am told. That only effect the space between my pinky toe and the one next to it. A few months ago I had a medi pedi (Medical Pedicure), the lady that did it had trained as a dancer including ballet in her younger days and confirmed it was athletes foot and recommended I carry on treating it. I have for many months been treating it several times a day with Canesten between and around the toes the effected toes without any real degree of success (the skin between them is white).

 

I have since switched to Daktarin Intensiv cream but no noticeable improvement yet.

Over Christmas I deliberately refrained from doing any pointe work for 3 weeks, and yes that foot was pain free for a week or so and gradually came back. I have tried doing a 4 day break, but that is not enough to have any meaningful effect.

 

The strange thing is as both of my pointe classes fall on the same day, after I have had my hour of one-to-one in the morning, later that evening a have a further half an hour on-line class. By the time that class comes round with a little bit of pre-class warmup, my little toe on the right foot becomes extremely sore and I sometimes think it might be better to skip that class occasionally, but as the numbers attending are low I would feel I was letting everyone down. However what is strange my right foot seams in some way to improve, perhaps its just numb, but I'm always able to complete the class with the feet at the end feeling better than when I started. Well that lasts until I take the pointe shoes off, and for a short while that toe hurts like hell.

 

My dilemma is as I really want to be able work en pointe for up to 3 hours a day for around 6 days a week without too much discomfort. As at the moment the level of discomfort is not helping my confidence in doing the things I need to do like a series of Pose turns en-pointe, I know I have the capability to do them easily, but when the pain/discomfort is present in my right pivoting foot, psychologically my body wants to protect itself from possible injury and just wont let it GRRR.

 

On the one hand I can increase the training to build up calluses and possibly reduce the discomfort in the long run or I guess go through different pointe shoes again, but my initial pointe shoe fitting was fine, it was my right foot that changed.

If anyone has any ideas that may help I would be extremely grateful.

 

Stopping pointe is not an option I'm already at least 18 months in and I know now if I stop, the mountain will be too high to climb to get back where I am now.

 

[Peony]

Michelle if you go to your GP they can take a skin scraping and get it tested to see what is going on and what treatment is needed. Or could it perhaps be a soft corn?

[DVDfan]

Not sure if this is any use to a dedicated dancer, but in my experience athlete's foot loves warmth and damp, and hates fresh air. Creams won't shift it but going bare foot or in cotton sports socks (the kind that looks like towelling) will.  Also, wear sandals instead of shoes whenever you can.

Just a thought.

[Anna C]

1 hour ago, DVDfan said:

Not sure if this is any use to a dedicated dancer, but in my experience athlete's foot loves warmth and damp, and hates fresh air. Creams won't shift it but going bare foot or in cotton sports socks (the kind that looks like towelling) will.  Also, wear sandals instead of shoes whenever you can.

Just a thought.

 

Agree, and antifungal powder/powder spray between the toes tends to keep the skin drier than cream.  I agree that getting it checked to make sure it’s not a soft corn is sensible.

 

Michelle, if you have more than one pointe class in one day, are your shoes having the time to dry out properly between sessions?

[LinMM]

I occasionally get athletes foot or similar usually between the 3rd and 4th toes which can get shoved together a bit too much because of my bunion. I use Daktarin but the powder not the cream and usually find it very effective. 

[Michelle_Richer]

Hi Poeny

 

I'm extremely reluctant to approach my GP or at least the one that gets allocated to me, I think he’s likely to regard my foot problem as self inflicted and I shouldn’t be wearing pointe shoes, there's no love lost between us. Its a thought if nothing else help to follow the path of a sample scraping for analysis via a medical podiatrist Its certainly something bear in mind.

 

Hi DVDFan

 

Your remarks makes a lot of sense as the two creams I’ve tried haven't been very effective, I had considered wearing sandles but with the wet winter weather it was a bit of a non starter. At least I can wear them around the house as I am doing now. Both with the Dakrarin and Canesten, I used to use socks that were 80% cotton but not the towelling type.

 

 

Hi Anna C

 

The antifungal powder / spray is certainly an idea I'm now checking out as I do have some Daktarin AKTIV spray powder that I have been using in my pointe shoes between sessions and also in the toe protectors to help prevent spreading the infection.

 

As for do my pointe shoes have time to dry out between the two pointe classes, most probably as one is in morning and the other at 7.30pm that evening which is on-line. However that is an over simplification as the prep for my 7.30pm evening class is usually at least a couple of hours including running through the video of the previous weeks class, if at all possible I try and give my feet a 15 to 20 minute break with the pointe shoes off, just before the class. To be fair I have never found the shoes to be wet inside, but the toe protectors are.

 

 

Hi LinMM

 

Thanks for your observation of Daktarin powder too, as that's what I’m trying next, however I do have some Lamasil spray in my collection , but its very much a liquid.

 

Thank you everyone for your remarks, they are well appreciated and given me alternative avenues to follow x.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Michelle_Richer

[Peony]

Other thing you can try Michelle is anti fungal powder in all shoes/ slippers and tumble dry or iron all socks and tights to get rid of fungal spores. You’re right podiatrist is likely to be the best idea if no change 

[Michelle_Richer]

Its been a while since I was last on the forum, however I think a special thank you is in order for the feet advice I was give about the problem I had with my been suffering with since starting pointe work just over 18 months ago.

Now that problem for the past 2 or 3 weeks appears to be totally cleared up. It was down to a soft corn, which the podiatrist removed with a scalpel, that in itself didn’t clear the problem completely, but continuing to use Daktarin spray and keeping the feet well ventilated did finish the job.

 

That said, I still have a bit of a problem with ingrowing toe nails, mainly the big toe on the Left foot, although my Podiatrist did both of them for me.

Any ideas in dealing with ingrowing toe nails to stop it affecting pointe work would be very much appreciated.

 

This last month seams to have had time consumed away from ballet.

 

First our boat safety certificate (like an MOT) expired at the end of March and has to be renewed otherwise our boat has to be removed from our river even though we technically own the river to half way across it. That wasn't strait forward as had we changed the propulsion method from petrol to electric which required a good deal of modification and as usual we were fighting time to get it done, thankfully that's all finished.

 

Secondly a  few family health problems including my nephew that died of COVID Pneumonia which was hell of a shock even though he was classed as vulnerable as a type 1 diabetic.

 

However I did get one boost of enthusiasm when I met my old Cecchetti teacher at the cinema showing Northern Ballet’s “Merlin”, she seamed a little disappointed that I had suspended my Advanced 2 studies in place of my rep and pointe work. However I did mention I will be taking it back up after September including the Advance 2 Syllabus pointe work.

 

As for the most part this year I have been focusing on pointe-work, last week at my one-to-one class we continued the pointe work to include particular phrases of the Pas de Esclave rep that I will be show casing this year. My teacher took the part of Adrian (my PDD partner) to allow me to experience those pieces that are danced up on pointe prior to attempting to dance with him on pointe, which would otherwise be a new unknown experience for both of us and probably not end well. Lot of work still to be done there.

 

At least now I can now build up teaching Adrian the PDE on ballet flats first, so he is familiar with the rep, then we can break it down later to enhance it to accommodate my working enpointe. Shall we make it in time, I'm really not sure and its not easy, but it is the only piece this year we are showcasing enpointe, the rest of the rep will be danced on ballet flats.

 

As it is we are doing our show case a bit earlier this year as we are using a large performance studio locally, unfortunately we could only get in the last week in July as its booked for summer schools.

Traditionally we would have held our summer showcase in Scotland, in fact we still have our hotel already booked for August, that still remains and Adrian and I will use it as our summer holiday, but at the same time we will pop into our old school and see our ballet coach of many years, it will be good to see her again.

 

Once the Showcase is out of the way, traditionally I would be starting on the rep for next year in the new term. This year I want to continue my pointe work studies and although my pointe work teacher is not Cecchetti trained, she has agreed to coach me through the Advance 2 pointe work syllabus exercises, she has already seen the pointe work training videos.

 

[Jan McNulty]

I'm so sorry to hear about the death of your nephew Michelle and your family's other health problems.

 

Re your toes:  I had a problem with ingrowing toenails some years ago and kept getting a recurrent infection.  The doctor referred me to the chiropodist who recommended a procedure whereby a thin strip down each side of the nail was removed.  I've not had any problems since.  Obviously I'm not a dancer but my toenails are still functional.

[Michelle_Richer]

22 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Re your toes:  I had a problem with ingrowing toenails some years ago and kept getting a recurrent infection.  The doctor referred me to the chiropodist who recommended a procedure whereby a thin strip down each side of the nail was removed.  I've not had any problems since.  Obviously I'm not a dancer but my toenails are still functional.

Hi Jan

 

That procedure sounds very much just what I need, especially the nail outside of my left foot big toe.

 

That was especially painful after yesterdays morning pointe class where I was doing pose turn on the diagonal. The Right foot which was the pivoting foot was no problem, it when I came down from retire with the left (gesturing) foot, it caused a slight sideways movement that pushed the big toe against the side of the box and that aggravated it somewhat.

Another thing that finds the spot is standing in preparation with the left foot tendu derrière , where some of the weight rest on the outside edge of the left foot (when turned out), I know technically I really shouldn’t be resting on it, but practically there is some and that causes it to hurt like hell.

 

Does that procedure you described have a name?

[Jan McNulty]

I'm sure it will have a name but the chiropodist just described what she was going to do to me.

 

The one thing I would say is that when I had my first nail done it was still infected as the infection wouldn't clear and it was incredibly painful when the chiropodist put the needle in to deaden the toe.

 

I didn't have any pain at all with either toe when they unfroze after the procedure.  You will probably have to be careful for a couple of weeks after.

[Michelle_Richer]

This may appear to be a silly question, but it arose from me ordering a new pair of pointe shoes, especially as I have knocked the last pair out in about 2 months.

I was asked if I wanted any suede tips for them, I declined but just bought the ribbons and elastic for them, but that got me thinking, hence the following questions:

 

Darning the ends of the platform is supposed to extent the life of the satin on the platform, if so by what order of magnitude.

 

Also gluing a suede tip onto the platform is also supposed to have a similar effect.

 

First of all what is the merit of each individually?

 

Also is there any merit in doing both?

 

Finally is the tread the same for darning as for sewing the ribbons on, if different what is it called?

[2dancersmum]

Michelle, either method would help preserve the satin on the platform of your pointe shoes though I was under the impression that it was done more to make it less slippy for dancing. A glued-on suede patch would probably outlast your pointe shoes but you do need use a strong glue rather than a fabric glue. 

 

My DD has always preferred darned shoes, which I darned initially before she took over. For darning you either want embroidery thread (comes as 6 strands together and you want to use three) or you can use a pointe shoe darning thread like the one in the link https://www.dancewear.co.uk/product/darning-thread-for-pointe-shoe/

[Michelle_Richer]

On 11/05/2022 at 21:30, 2dancersmum said:

Michelle, either method would help preserve the satin on the platform of your pointe shoes though I was under the impression that it was done more to make it less slippy for dancing. A glued-on suede patch would probably outlast your pointe shoes but you do need use a strong glue rather than a fabric glue. 

 

My DD has always preferred darned shoes, which I darned initially before she took over. For darning you either want embroidery thread (comes as 6 strands together and you want to use three) or you can use a pointe shoe darning thread like the one in the link https://www.dancewear.co.uk/product/darning-thread-for-pointe-shoe/

Hi 2Dancermum

 

Thank you that's really helpful, I note your comment “ A glued-on suede patch would probably outlast your pointe shoes”, whilst that sounds fabulous and makes sense, I have to ask the question Why are pointe shoes not made with suede patches on the platform, I guess there must be a downside too.

OK about not using fabric glue, some time ago I did buy some “Tendu quick pointe shoe glue” and some “Bloch Pointe Glue”, both are based on cyanoacrylate (super glue) I guess they are not suitable for gluing the suede patches but are used for gluing between the shank layers. However I have some adhesive Klebfest by Renia which I bought some time ago from a ballet shop in Liverpool, although the instruction on the tube never mentions ballet or pointe shoes, the procedure does seam to reflect that described on Youtube videos of fitting these patches. I guess I will have to give it a try on some old pointe shoes.

 

The link you sent me on the Tendu pointe shoe darning thread, it seams I already have some, to be fair I bought it some time ago from my local ballet store (Starlite Direct) and though it was thread that is used for sewing ribbons and elastic to pointe shoes, as yet I have never run out of my original (Bunhead Stitch Kit) thread, looking at it now the darning thread does look a little thicker.

 

Whilst I love the idea of extending the life of my pointe shoes with Suede tips, I'm wondering how worthwhile darning the platform area is both from how long it will last, and of course the reduction in slippyness. At the moment the studio I use for my pointe classes is quite slippy and I have to use rosin to combat that, but it is somewhat messy. My own studio which uses both a harlequin spring floor and their vial covering is not quite so slippy and consequently I seldom use rosin on it.

However I have booked a different and much larger studio for our summer showcase at the end of July, its made of wood and extremely slippy, at least it used to be, my teacher is checking it out next week when she is over there.

 

Thank you again x

[Michelle_Richer]

Toe Problems

Just over a week ago during my Thursday morning pointe class, my ingrowing toe nails were really playing up, so much so I couldn’t couldn’t support myself on a single leg, and consequently our centre work went to pot. I had tried to book an appointment with my Podiatrist, earlier that week but couldn't get in until the 22 June, oh poo. They did say if a cancellation became available, they would contact me.

 

Later that afternoon, I visited one of my physio guys and as usual he checked with me everything was ok, so I had a bit of a mown about no being able to see my podiatrist, he recommended a lady that had her clinic quite close to him that he used, but did caution me that she may be too busy as well.

The following day I contacted her first thing and mentioned the problem I was having, at first she was hesitant about when she could see me, until I mention she had come highly recommended by one of my physio who is also a client oh hers. I guess that did the trick as she game me an appointment for mid day the following day , Whoopee.

 

Fortunately she did an assessment of my feet first and told me the problem wasn't actually an ingrowing toe nail and didn’t require an operation, but a soft corn under the nail which was a lot less expensive to treat . I had notice the difference in the big toe nail colours when I removed the nail varnish the previous night, and the problem one was very dark towards the side, which turned out to be the fact it had been bleeding.

 

The Podiatrist treat the offending big toe nail and gave me some GEHWOL nail softener solution which is also supposed to heal the soft corn underneath. While Podiatrist was there, she also tidied up all my toe nails, and to be fair they do feel much better, but never the less there is still a little discomfort left.

 

I have attended both of my pointe classes this week and quite a lot of prep work but laid of the centre work to give it a chance to heal, although I have done quite a bit of single leg work at the barre, I'm ready for the centre next week, especially as I have more movements to check out with my teacher toward the PDD I'm doing with Adrian for our showcase in July.

 

One very welcome surprise I got from my Thursday morning pointe teacher, when I mentioned that after the summer break I would like us to work through the Cecchetti Advance 2 Syllabus pointe work. She said she was excited for us to get started on it, for me that brilliant.

 

 

Pointe Shoe Suede tips

I have fitted Tendu Suede tips with Tendu glue to my old very battered Bloch strong shank Hannah pointe shoes, I haven't detected any undesirable effects as yet . This pussles me as suede is not automatically cover to the platform, however I do have some Russian Rubin's that has a material similar to suede on the platforms which definitely isn't silk.

 

I have bought a new pair Block Hannah’s which I haven't as yet sewn the elastic and ribbons on, but unless there is a plausible good reason why I shouldn’t fit Suede tips, they will definitely be going on and used during our showcase.