drdance

Depends what you use it for - IMHO the big rubber loops are much more effective to offer resistance for strengthening rather than non stretchy straps which will only help someone yank their leg up by their ear.....

Did it come with any guidance leaflet or link to a site? Is it a rubber band like a theraband? Or a loop of thicker rubber? Or a strap?

Bumping this thread - mods please can this be combined with the other?

I'm sure there was another thread on foam rollers where I posted some links - have a look in the archives using search facility

It really ought to be mentioned at the start when you make the commitment to attend the scheme. There are some that are primarily performance oriented and while they are expensive, you know that the expense leads to a performance with costumes etc and the only additional outlay then will be buying tickets to watch the performance when it comes round. If you are 'sold' a programme that is NOT performance oriented, and made your commitment to such a programme, who then throw in the additional option of a performance mid-way through the year, I consider this to be quite unfair, especially if they are then charging rehearsal fees and costume fees in addition. I know that costs have to be covered including teachers time, venue costs and materials but if someone then cannot participate due to this additional cost then at best a child will feel excluded, left out or isolated from their peers and at worst could be treated unfairly by the staff due to a perceived lack of commitment/effort. Having said that, I would like to hope that most dance teachers are understanding enough of personal circumstance and would hate to feel that someone was anxious or unable to participate due to costs - so try having a chat with the organiser/teacher and see if they can offer any advice or support.

Hi, Don't spend a vast amount - I find the one with various knobbly bits better than not but that's my personal preference. I don't think it really matters. TKMaxx is pretty good for picking one up under £10, or Tiger stores.

I think that the RAD have moved with the times. It might not be classical ballet as traditionally known, but their graded exam syllabi are EXAM syllabi - a series of enchainement to allow a snapshot of the pupil's progress. Good teachers will prepare students using as much or as little of the 'traditional' ballet class as they see fit and these days, dancers need to be versatile - contemporary ballet is performed by all of the main UK companies, after all. The Vocational Graded examination syllabi have more of the traditional exercises as appropriate. Movements such as double battement frappe, petit battements, batterie, grand plie in the centre, grand ronds de jambe and battements lents are much more advanced than grade 5! These come into Advanced foundation at the very earliest!

It's old news, but at least it's making the news (but very frustrating for those of us who were doing it 10 years ago!)

They haven't been 'moved much later'. Pirouettes in the 1990's syllabus first came in grade 5, from 5th, with no prior turning training. In the newer, current syllabus, turning skips are taught in grade 2, turning springs in grade 3, parallel pirouettes in grade 4 and turned out in grade 5. The strength on demi pointe on one leg is also developed much earlier - Grade 1 has a parallel step up onto demi pte, grade 2 has it turned out and parallel releves in the centre. Grade 3 has turned out releves at the barre and it's developed further from there.

It depends on the child - I have some really able children aged 6/7 who I start teaching the mechanism of pirouettes, as it's easier to get kids turning when they're younger. If your teacher is ONLY following an exam syllabus, then in RAD they learn turning skips first in grade 2, then turning springs in grade 3, then parallel pirouettes after that, moving to classical pirouettes in grade 4/5 and further. However, I would expect a vocationally - minded year 5 child to be able to attempt a single pirouette. Grades are irrelevant to a certain extent unless your teacher is only following an exam syllabus. The better teachers out there (IMHO) tend to include more than just in the exam spec especially if they have more able kids. Also don't forget that (as others have posted) a pirouette can be parallel, can be a 'spin' on one foot etc etc just to teach the feeling of turning.

Well you're doing the right thing! You'd be amazed by the number of people for whom this is NOT so obvious. Frustrating as it is, it happens.

FYI this is the area in which I am attempting to work! Prof Wyon was my director of studies during my PhD years which began 10 years ago. With him I worked at BRB and ENB doing fitness tests etc and developing training regimes but the trouble still exists where Artistic Directors are reluctant to give up some class/rehearsal time to allow dancers to cross-train. You simply cannot add more training into an already-packed timetable otherwise the dancers will become overtrained/burnt out and more susceptible to injury or illness anyway. Interestingly this afternoon I am meeting an AD of one of the 'big 4' schools to discuss this exact topic.....

Venue: MAC Birmingham. To reserve a place simply email director@midas-dance.org.uk. NB EARLY BIRD RATE ENDS TODAY!

Katymac, it's a good article :-)

Thanks Ponklemum ???? I'm glad it was worth the journey and I hope you enjoyed your day out too!

I wonder if all those teachers who say "they do all the work for you" or words to that effect have actually tried dancing in GMs? I tried a pair a few years ago and my goodness it made the muscles in my legs and feet work so much harder than my Capezios!

Colman this is something I'm going to be working on soon. The general consensus is that strength training is actually ok for children as long as it's not to the point where fatigue causes danger (same as in adults). The major factor to consider at that age is the immaturity of the skeleton (softness, especially at growth plates) and that more bone will develop at sites of strain causing problems later such as bone spurs. My advice based on where I am at with my reading around the topic and understanding so far would be to avoid anything repetitive that causes compression at and part of the body (ankle, spine, hip etc) and focus on building strength in large muscle groups using 'functional' movements such as squats, lunges, crawling on hands and knees or on hands and feet, throwing/catching, pulling/pushing.

Crikey.... that's a huge question, I could potentially write a book on this! In short - if you want to stress cardio, you need to get out of breath. Anything can do this - loads of games, fun activities, silly 'playground' or party games etc etc. If you want to add in a strength component that makes it slightly more challenging, and it largely depends what you really want to strengthen (legs/arms/core). One of my favourites for strength/cardio is wheelbarrow races although it targets predominantly arms and core. Working on flexibility is harder in terms of games/fun exercises - I prefer to focus on active flexibility these days which would be easier to make fun than passive flexibility but I'd need to think a bit harder about that one! To be continued!!!!

Awww I'm glad the roller is helping. Just be careful not to beat up those muscles too much!

Yes I think if I was being filmed by the BBC I'd be being a LOT more cautious!!!!!

Re: the pulling of the foot.... I will occasionally do this too (only in pre-school/pre-primary when we're already sitting on very slippery mats) - it's quick and the kids love it! The kids are so small, and it's done for a maximum of 5 seconds so it's not likely to be dangerous. Every time I do it though, I do have something in my head thinking "should you really be doing this?!" but in reality the risk of harm is calculated. I'm all for safe dance practice but I don't think we should be alarmist over things that don't have any evidence of actually causing problems.

Work for that 'suspension' in your grande jetés before doing them turning. Think about doing an extra little grand battlement of each leg at the height of your jump too.

Yes that whole pointe in outdoor shoes thing could cause chaos.... but on the other hand, I like a lot of the film's approach, it doesn't make being a ballet dancer look easy (sometimes children and parents see films and then come to class expecting to be superstars within weeks), and it delivers a message that hard work and passion will succeed over nastiness (and a pushy mum?!). Here's hoping it will be good....

Yes there's no point in rolling any tendons, and similarly the attachment points although yes most muscle attachment points are quite small except for at the ankle, and shoulder, where they get more tendinous. Basically stick to the middle of muscles and go from there!

A quick google search on 'using a foam roller' will give you some options, I believe. Just make sure you only roll/massage areas that are made of muscle and NOT the IT band down the outside of the leg! (as it's not made of muscle and is a non-stretchy structure, despite lots of people misunderstanding that it should be massaged/released).