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RachelC

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Everything posted by RachelC

  1. I danced pain free for years but then got shin splints in my 2nd month of full time training. It took 7 years to get to the bottom of the issue and it turns out I had a very weak ankle on that side so my foot rolled in every time I landed from, or took off for, a jump. This caused tendonitis and shin splints. I had no idea my ankle was weak as I hadn't had a problem with pointework, my teacher nearly had a heart attack when I said I'd been doing hops en pointe with the ankle strength of an average 7 year old! Basically I'd always had the weakness but it didn't cause a problem until my training hours increased. It's worth trying to see a GOOD dance physio. Unfortunately there are some rubbish ones out there. Which part of the country are you in?
  2. If you live even remotely near Essex there is a fantastic Grishko fitter who has a huge range of styles, she is the only stockist in the UK for some of them. I wore Freeds while training and I also found the platform went before the shank, so I would put a little pointe shoe glue on them over the weekend ready for the next week of classes. I now wear Gaynor Mindens and would never go back.
  3. I used to wear keymaker freeds too and it was a nightmare trying to find another shoe that suited me as well!
  4. For sale - black Katz split sole dance sneakers size 5 (Euro 38). Good used condition. £8 plus postage.
  5. For sale - pale pink and gold stretch tutu originally from Dance Direct. Not sure about size as the label has been cut out but my sister wore it as a slim 10/11 year old. There is some weakening to the stitching in the sides but no holes and it holds up fine when worn. Looking for £10 plus postage.
  6. Hello You have already had lots of great replies but I just wanted to add that regarding your trouble with coordination and picking things up - one of my adult students is very similar and it's because of her Dyspraxia. It certainly doesn't hold her back through and you might that those difficulties are just because of starting a new and very alien dance form. Exams definitely don't have an age limit and they are becoming more popular with adults. I was training for my RAD Advanced 2 last year at the age of 26, but have needed to put it on hold while I have a baby, so I will likely be 28 by the time I'm rest to take it. At the other end of the scale one of my adult students who started fairly recently has now taken her Grade 3 and Grade 4 exam.
  7. I was playing the music for tap exams last month and one of the students went very grey and said she felt faint. She wanted to continue so the examiner encouraged her to sit down and sip water between exercises. I don't think examiners can force students to stop the exam if they want to continue.
  8. Hi all Can anyone recommend somewhere for one off pas de deux classes/workshops? I did teacher rather than performance training, so apart from a bit of contemporary contact work I don't have pas de deux experience. I would like to choreograph some duets for my older students but I don't think copying off youtube is a good idea so I would like to learn a bit myself. I currently take advanced level classes so I'm (reasonably) in shape. I liked the look of the Ballet Cymru summer intensive, and I don't mind dancing with teenagers, but it's the week of my daughter's birthday. I wondered if any of the open dance studios in London would do some private lessons? Thanks
  9. You might find it useful doing lots of single-leg rises on your less confident side to really up the strength. I would also suggest standing close to the barre or to your teacher just as a mental prop. I've recently come back to ballet after 3 years off (plus having had a baby) and I'm working hard to get through my Advanced 2 exam. I've always been a fearless dancer but the first time I had to do a triple pirouette after my break I got completely stuck in the preparation and was just too scared to take off! And as for pointework... What I've found useful is taking several steps back and working there until I'm 100% comfortable. So lots and lots of single pirouettes, then doubles, until I trust my body again.
  10. First pair at 15 and no problems I soon caught up with girls that started at 11 or 12 and by 19 could out-foutte them easily
  11. I agree with what other posters have said about getting your parents and teacher together for a discussion. Also, a couple of things to add: Places such as London Studio Centre and Ballet West take students at 18 so you could still do A-levels alongside ballet classes before committing to full-time. You can do A-levels/ a degree/ more GCSEs at any age, but you can only dance while you are young. There is no reason why you couldn't focus on your dancing now and still get a good education once you are finished performing etc. It took until I was 19 to persuade my parents that dance was what I wanted to do ("but you are so clever why do you want to waste your brain", "music would be better", "but what if you get injured" etc) by which time it was too late to consider a performing career, but I found my passion was in teaching anyway and did a degree in Ballet Education (thus keeping my family happy with a BA in the bargain!). I hope it all works out for you xx
  12. I was Home-Educated from 5 - 18 and will do the same with my daughter when she is older (currently only 2.5 so life is nice and simple at the moment!). I did 4 GCSEs from home via the National Extension College (NEC) and then 2 A-levels. Many of my home-ed friends got into colleges and sixth forms with a handful of GCSEs or none at all, most institutions seem to like home-ed students regardless of official qualifications as they are usually very self-motivated and eager to learn. I did an Access to Higher Education course at my local college then went to RAD HQ on their BA Ballet Education course and the small number of GCSEs wasn't a problem at all. Home-education worked really well for me as I did short periods of study during the day and was left with lots of time for dance classes, music lessons and voluntary work. My friends in school ended up doing less and less extra-curricular stuff as their homework increased, or were run-down and stressed from trying to cram everything in. It's definitely not for everyone but it's more compatible with dance training than regular school.
  13. Hello You will need Intermediate to be accepted onto the BA Ballet Education course as well as getting through the audition, and at the end of the degree you will be an RAD Registered teacher. If you choose to do the Licentiate course as well as the BA you will need to pass Advanced 2 within a year of completing the licentiate program in order to use the initial LRAD (Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance) after your name. I don't know whet the entry requirements are for the Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies (also leads to RAD Registered Teacher status) but I hav a feeling you need to have passed Intermediate.
  14. I've always been taught to snatch my foot into a releve to prepare - that way your centre of gravity doesn't have to move and you are more stable. I've always told my students this too. However, when I was on a course last month the instructor said to rise onto the front foot, like your teacher was describing, as it is a more stable preparation and the disruption caused by slightly changing your centre of gravity is minimal. It could be a style thing, I'm RAD trained and this was an ISTD teacher. It might just be personal preference too.
  15. Most points have been covered already but I just wanted to reiterate the fact that starting pointework later doesn't mean your daughter will behind as she will progress much faster. I started at 15 so was strong and generally well co-ordinated as I was past my growth spurt. This made me a lot more fearless than my class mates as I had never experienced weak ankles or wobbling, so I had the confidence to go for double pirouettes or fouettes or hops on one leg or whatever new thing the others were worried about. I have to say though I've always been more of an ox than a swan! I think the issue with tap is that you need very relaxed ankles to get the movements fast and fluid enough, whereas with pointework they need to be fully stretched and braced. I wrote my undergrad dissertation on starting pointework so it's my particular 'nerd subject'
  16. I used to have this problem in my Bloch and Suffolk pointe shoes but never had any issues with my Freeds. I think it was a combination of slightly thicker shanks and a shoe that was a bit too short. I haven't ever tried filing the ends down but from attempting to deshank my old shoes to use a soft blocks I can say it's more difficult than it looks! If you want to try have a go on an old pair first because I made a right mess of mine just trying to find the end of the shank!
  17. People with high arches usually have weaker feet and ankles so strengething exercises such as heel raises, toe curls and theraband work will reduce the strain on your achilles. I had problems when I first started pointework and I found that although the aching lessened as I got stronger the thing that really helped was switching my normal ribbons for the bloch ones that have elastic inserts. I really can't recommend these highly enough, they still provide plenty of suppot but have enough give to not put pressure on the achilles.
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