ChocChip

ILoveballet2804, My first assumption is that your ballet teacher is a "tough cookie" person. A person who always has the highest expectations of herself and she might have been applying the same criteria to her students. I've had a teacher like that (not a ballet teacher but her behavior was the same). What happens to students being taught for years by teacher like yours is: the strongest birds reach the sky and the rest fall emotionally wounded for the rest of their lives having complexes, low self-esteem and self-doubts if they didn't drop the class on time. I am going to tell you a little story which is not related to ballet but it is related to the kind of person your teacher is: "extremely demanding, pushy, and never showing appreciating of your progress". I have always been highly intellectual person and my parents saw that potential in me since I was very young. They were very demanding, I got yelled for a very occasional B (I usually had straight As) and they never ever said even once "You are doing well" or "We are proud of you". My high graded were always taken for granted. This is a pattern that happens in many families actually. A kid being treated like this for a long time starts to push itself even harder just to get its' parents approval (and love correspondingly). Very often the kid starts to feel that it is really not doing well enough (because never gets approval), and becomes a very ambitious person in time. The worst thing that can happen is that the kid growing up, becoming a teenager, then becoming a young woman/man, becomes so focused on its parents ambitions and demands that it doesn't get the chance to explore its own inclinations and personality and chooses a profession or life not because it wants it but because it has been pushed in that direction all its life.

That's a hell of a workout young lady! Doing it every day I mean... I am kidding but it's kind of true. I remember being 15-18 years old doing 2 hours of workout at home every day. Sometimes I missed only one day in the week but it was sometimes... I had so much extra energy and doing exercises was fun all the time. •ballet - plies, tendus, foot stretches, grand battements, changement. Iloveballet2804, What do you mean by "changement"? Is this a ballet term?

LinMM, OK, let's answer one thing after another. "Interestingly enough on the Going Back to Ballet thread something has come up today about third and fifth." I am going to read that thread. It seems promising. Thank you! "If you are a complete adult beginner I think your teacher should be encouraging you to use third and first at the moment rather than fifth." We were 6 to 8 women in the adult class, age 18-35, most us hadn't done ballet before. So I think it was difficult for all of us. I think we were looking "a bit" grotesque most of the time... My opinion is that my teacher was bored and she was trying to rush things and she made us advance too quickly. 2 hours peer week is nothing for ballet after all... or I think so... That rush made me think about changing the studio even before I moved. "I think it is always hard for teachers of Adult ballet as there are usually not enough people(unless you live in a really big city like London) to split the class and often there is a wide range of ability within one class...." I don't live in UK. I live in Eastern Europe. I don't know why everybody assume I come from UK. Probably because my English is good. "I really love the Vaganova style but am not sure how well set up they are for teaching ADULTS. This method was originally devised for teaching vocational children already highly selected.....and professional dancers. I'm not sure it's ever been adapted for teaching true amateurs.....so you do need a creative and perceptive teacher I think to understand the difficulties of the adult learner......otherwise they are just blindly teaching and applying a system not suited for the purpose." I don't think Vaganova method is developed for educating only future professional ballet dancers. It is just one of the methods and like all methods it starts from "A and B". And of course teachers of each country that has their own method will say that their method is the best. I have read in an official article somewhere on an Russian site that Vaganova method is considered the safest method... if taught correctly it can avoid injuries best. Here are two articles about the Vaganova Method: http://vaganovaacademy.com/A/AYVaganova http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaganova_method Every ballet dancer or teacher in my country has been taught in Vaganova method. It is universal method as far as I know - it shouldn't matter that we are adults. "Again I am VERY lucky as I do have such a teacher here where I live. I will ask her though whether there are any teaching DVDs." I am happy that you have found the teacher you like and need. All information about DVDs is going to be useful. Thanks! "At the basic level I still think you would be okay with an RAD DVD say grades 1-5 just to practice basic exercises and at this level should not interfere that much with the Vaganova teaching." I have watched all the videos of this man Maestro Greenwood. His lesson are free and available online so I think I will not err putting a link to his official youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/onlineballetclass He talks a lot and in details but it does help to understand the exercise correctly. I watched his plie, tendu, jete and rond de jambe videos because this is all I know anyway. I don't know what method he teaches but I didn't seen any difference from what he teaches and what I have been taught. P.S. I am afraid I may look a bit ridiculous talking so much about ballet when having only 3 months of dancing experience. I am a huge ballet fan and I watch a lot of ballet, read articles about ballet, watch educational videos, behind the scenes videos and of course go to ballet performances regularly.

I haven't found DVDs with Vaganova training so far. I will keep looking.

Thanks, LinMM, Do you do a ballet class or pilates class once a week? I couldn't understand. I was recommended the front frog stretching ( http://dance.about.com/od/stretchingflexibility/ss/Splits-Stretches_5.htm ) for improving the turnout and I try to do it at least two times when I happen to do some exercises now. Hopefully the beginners class in the fall will start from scratch. I had missed the first months of the class and it took me about a month just to get my feet together in fifth position. And at that time the teacher already made us to do the tendus and jetes directly from fifth position. It was impossible for me to get this exercises correctly that quickly. I wasn't able to do them properly even from first position. Shortly after that the teacher started to make us do the plies on demi-pointe. I assume she was slightly bored to teach such a beginners class and wanted us to advance more quickly but I can not judge her because I am not an expert. I suppose I can do a class, then repeat the same exercises at home after two-three days to stay fit (not to lose the turnout). I already have the barre at home. I am asking this because teachers say it is not recommended to do ballet without supervision. I understand I can do many different exercises (not ballet) at home, but I think the turnout will suffer. Does anyone do barre exercises at home?

My country's ballet training is entirely Vaganova training, Russian training. Unfortunately... no swimming pool or sport studios or dance studios nearby. I can do long walks. But when the winter comes and it starts snowing heavily I can only do exercises at home. I think what will suffer most when having only one ballet class a week will be the turnout.

Hi everyone, First of all I think I should say that my question is referring to an adult true beginner ballet student who has had only 3 months of ballet training as a whole (I am talking about me here). I wrote a topic earlier this year about my aches and issues here: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/3815-how-to-properly-execute-a-tendu-with-2nd-long-toe/ Quick review of my "ballet story": I am 29. I had never done ballet in my whole life before. I started taking adult beginners ballet classes in the beginning of this year. I took them for 3 months. I had missed the first 3 months of the class and because I had no previous ballet training I started to have physical issues (ballet training got too tough for me). So I decided this fall/autumn to restart the true beginners class. It's a summer break now, no ballet classes anywhere... The big problem is: Because of financial problems my partner and I had to move to the very suburbs of the capital and now I have to get on a train and travel one hour and a half to get to the capital and then get on a bus or tube to where the studio is. All studios I checked have their adult classes late and the best I can do is attend a ballet class only once a week no matter where the studio is. Approximately it would take me 3 hours to get to the studio, have a class and then 3 hours to get back home and I would not get home earlier than 12am. And in the winter is very very cold, snow and ice everywhere..horrible...but I want to dance ballet! I think the ballet summer break is good for me. My partner attached a 1.5 meter barre in my room. There's a little space surrounding it - 2 meters by 1.5 meters. Now I do only some stretching, trying to finally accomplish my side-split. And about the barre... I just stand straight and face the wall, hold the barre and do the five positions of the feet/legs. I thing with the time my hips are getting looser and looser and the rotation needed for the classical ballet is finally starting to become more natural to my body. I have to change the studio. There are two studios that can be good for my new location. But still I can go there only once a week. When I meet the teacher I will talk to her and ask her whether I can do 2 classes per day. One earlier with the little kids beginners and then the latest class which is the adult beginners class. I have taken waltz and salsa lessons some time ago. But ballet is nothing like regular dances. If I miss a regular dance class I will miss some new steps. If I miss a ballet class my body will lose its fitness very quickly and the next ballet class which is going to be a week from then will be extremely difficult and painful. I can even injure myself. I adore ballet and I want to keep studying ballet. I know doing ballet without supervision in not recommended but I can take a ballet class only once a week ... let's say Monday for example. What exercises can I do at home to help my body stay fit till the next lesson? I have a barre at home as I already said and my floor is good enough for my ballet slippers. Can I do the basics - plies and tendus? Is that safe? Ballet teachers and experienced ballet students please advise. Thank you!

Thank you for sharing this with us! I have seen some of Charlie Chaplin's films but not this one. I find this forum valuable when it comes to popping out names of ballets documentaries, films, etc. I haven't heard of before. I watched Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" last month... so much talent in one individual - it's unbelievable! I heard someone commenting Maya Plisetskaya once - "Plisetskaya is not a name in ballet history, she is an epoch!". This could be said about Charlie Chaplin too, replacing "ballet" with "film".

When I first heard about this 3D production of the Mariinsky I was like "What the hell...". After a day or two thinking about it, I decided I was willing to give it a shot if I could be able to see it (they are not going to show it in cinemas where I live, so it is just a dream, but still I think it is worthy to give it shot.). Perhaps if I sit in the first row I'm gonna have Kondaurova dancing in my lap. Technologies evolve, social structures change, people change... Creating 3D ballet productions was inevitable. At the same time I've seen very good complete revivals of ballets recently like Esmeralda, Paquita (full version) and Ondine. And definitely ballet choreographers, producers and companies' directors are not that stupid to turn ballet into a commercial entertainment. Ballet was an elitary art in the past and it still is ... kind of... As long as ballet companies stick to the classics era and its values and looks, they could definitely do 3D ballets, even holographic ballets. And I agree with Shmendrick. 20 pounds in not pricey for watching 3D live broadcast from the Mariinsky.

I feel discriminated against on this forum! That's the reason I deleted my location!

JanetMcNulty, I have read the Community Guidelines. I am wondering why you give a notice only to me but not to Mayerling79 as well. After I read the Guidelines I didn't post any links. When I wanted to post the "Esmeralda age 17", I put only the caption here. Then I saw Mayerling79 posted two video clips of La Bayadere on this topic from unofficial sources and she posted another one with the Petit Mort on the "Nureyev & Friends" topic and nobody of the moderators said anything to her or warned her about her posts. And I've seen some other videos on other old topics as well (again from unofficial sources). So I figured I could post one link here related to this topic. Please let me know what the rules exactly are because I start to feel that rules don't apply to everybody the same way. If you say no youtube links at all it should apply to everyone shouldn't it?

Anjuli, your expert opinion is always appreciated! I would like to ask you to have a look of this video and if you have the time to make a brief assessment of it. The video shows Evgenia Obraztsova and Vladislav Lantratov perform Grand Pas from Don Quixote on "Big Ballet" TV show (finale/gala concert). For those who don't know the background of these ballet dancers: Evgenia is Vaganova-trained and spent many years with the Mariinsky. They didn't want to give her leading roles and she moved to Bolshoi. Now she is a principal dancer there. Vladimir is trained in the The Bolshoi Ballet Academy and now he is first soloist with the Bolshoi. I thought it was appropriate to post this video here because both these two dancers dance leading roles at the Bolshoi at the moment and (hopefully my next words will sound right) they present the Bolshoi's present image to the world. Bolshoi's level of technique and artistry, etc... If you can't open the link above, there is the exact same video here (it has worse quality though): And one question. I am quoting Anjuli_Bai here: "As I was taught it - by a pre-Vaganova Russian teacher..." I don't know what pre-Vaganova Russian teacher is. A teacher trained in ballet technique prior to the Vaganova method Agrippina Vaganova developed?

Grand Tier Left, I understood what you meant the first time. I was trying to say that I didn't have much observation about RB male dancers, so I didn't know what standards of technique "are set" by the best male dancers there. I am sorry if my speech may seem to sound impolite from time to time but English is not my native language. I am not an expert either. When I started the topic I kept saying "lifting of the leg". Thankfully to Janet McNulty who posted a diagram at #4 now I know it is called "developpe a la second".

alison, I'll do my best to stay on topic. My apologies!

The Royal Ballet is very far away from me to watch live performances. Unfortunately I have never ever seen a ballet dancer pulling their tongues out. Probably my screen is two small. I've seen only two productions of RB, both with Alina Cojocaru - Giselle and Sleeping Beauty and I loved both of them. Alina is one my top favorite ballerinas. She's just so perfect for these roles. I thinks she will still have that innocent look even when she turns her eighties. She is my favorite Aurora ever! Pulling tongues out sounds really disgusting as described by annamicro. No matter the reason, concentration or not, it does seem to look disgusting. Grand Tier Left, all present male principals and first soloist from Bolshoi and Mariinsky do 180 degrees on their grand jetes in classical ballets. It looks really beautiful. But they don't do oversplits. They look athletic but they all dance with style and elegance. I can say most of the ballet I watch is Russian. I don't know what is going on with the RB male dancers.