Taking Ballet Exams as an adult

[LinMM]

Yes in UK it’s easy in this dark time of year especially post Christmas and before the big New Year renewal to stay more on the couch and think I’ll start “that” tomorrow lol.....

[NeverTooOld]

Congratulations on your results and huge well done. I am working towards Intermediate Foundation - almost there, just struggling with the pointe exercise in the centre but I think that could be more a mental issue than anything else as I lack bravery to just go for it! I have also started grade 7 this year and am loving it. It is a huge syllabus but so pretty and fun to do!

[The_Red_Shoes]

Huge congrats to Ballet Gremlin and commiserations Viv.

 

I underwent big changes during lock down which led to me moving from one end of the country to the other (to be close to family) and consequently starting classes at a new school once they started up again in May. I had a big loss of stamina, flexibility and technique which at my age (I'm nearly 69) takes a lot of work to get back. I feel not exactly despondent but certainly less confident in my abilities. However my shoulder problem has cleared up.

 

I had the big disappointment of having two attempts at Grade 7 exam cancelled. At my new school the Grade 7 class is not at a suitable time for me, and the class is still at an early stage in learning the syllabus. So I have decided to jump on to Grade 8 which I am working on in a private lesson together with another elderly lady. I have also begun DR Level 2. I hope that I'll be able to return to Grade 7 later, as I did love it so much and had worked so hard on it.

 

Wishing all the other exam syllabus enthusiasts every success in 2022!

[EverHopeful]

I’m still very enthusiastic about doing the exams. I finally got my first Distinction this time ❤️ I already am planning to line up more exams as soon as I can! I love the challenge, I love to have a goal, I need something ambitious to work towards. 

[Viv]

Congratulations @DeveloppeD! That's a fantastic result. Which exam did you do?

[EverHopeful]

@Vivit was only grade 3, but I’m still proud of myself anyway. I worked so hard for it!

[NJH]

1 minute ago, DeveloppeD said:

@Vivit was only grade 3, but I’m still proud of myself anyway. I worked so hard for it!

no 'only'  about it , you did it  

[Angela Essex]

On 24/12/2021 at 00:52, Viv said:

Well, 3 years after completing my advanced foundation exam, I am finally going to be starting advanced 1 next year!!! I have done a bit in private lessons this year and know most of the material now, but there's a different level of fitness required to take an advanced level exam, and you simply can't achieve that with only a one hour private lesson a week, and not even every week at that.

 

It's going to be a massive struggle. After such a big break between exams (it will be 4 years by the time I actually take this exam!) my technique is nowhere near where it was when I did advanced foundation. A horrific grade 3 ankle sprain in 2019 has effectively kept me off pointe for close to two years and every time I start making progress (ie moving beyond the intermediate exam pointe exercises), something else in the ankle flares up. Currently battling posterior ankle impingement which means I'm off pointe again, I don't have the range in one ankle to do it safely  I am having an MRI soon to assess my ankle because the conservative approach I have been taking with my physio has plateaued. So hopefully the MRI will give us more clarity, we can get it sorted for once and all! Then just have 8 months to get advanced pointe ready! Totally realistic...

 

But despite the struggles already faced, and those yet to come, I am so so excited to finally be working towards an exam again. The commitment and dedication to a singular goal is something I've missed, and it will be hugely important in relearning how to put work/life boundaries back in place after they were smashed apart while working from home during the pandemic. Here's to a better year to come!

Hello Viv - I hope your ankle pain has settled down and that you had your MRI? I hope you don’t mind me contacting you, but I’ve been getting pain at the back of my ankle when I point my toes too and wondered if it was posterior impingement. May I ask what exercises your physio gave you please? 

[Viv]

On 09/01/2022 at 17:38, Angela Essex said:

Hello Viv - I hope your ankle pain has settled down and that you had your MRI? I hope you don’t mind me contacting you, but I’ve been getting pain at the back of my ankle when I point my toes too and wondered if it was posterior impingement. May I ask what exercises your physio gave you please? 

 

Unfortunately it's all a little complicated. I had the MRI and it shows no signs of posterior impingement. Instead it shows damage to the achilles tendon. My physio is baffled by it because I have no symptoms consistent with achilles tendinopathy (no pain jumping, no issues stretching the back of the ankle). I have all the classic signs of posterior impingement and was responding to treatment for posterior impingement, up to a point. There is apparently swelling in the fat pad behind my achilles which needs further investigation, so now I have to see a specialist. It looks like this isn't getting sorted before classes go back in February

 

It's hard to give an idea of exercises as they were super personalised depending on my pain and ankle flexibility at any given time. And of course I am not a trained physio and don't want to lead you astray or give any advice that isn't appropriate for your body. Essentially the goal from my treatment plan was reduce inflammation while simultaneously increasing strength, especially as my range improved. To reduce inflammation I did a nightly mix of anti-inflammatory gel and hirudoid cream liberally coated on the back of the ankle and heel, then wrapped my foot in glad wrap and kept it on overnight. I repeated this for 7 days. This really helped with the initial pain and I instantly got an inch more range. It was amazing! I've managed to keep that inch of range but have really struggled with increasing that further  Once I gained more range, my physio worked on strengthening in that range to take the pressures off the back of the ankle and stabilise the joint (and prevent further injury from instability). This was essentially the normal calf rises and intrinsic foot muscle exercises (toe push ups, doming), but with different distributions of weight, different repetitions, different height of the rise, all kind of things to strengthen without pushing too far and flaring it back up again. It was all the things I'd been doing before, but with the physio doing mobilisation and other techniques to slowly increase my range, before I would then strengthen in that range. It was very personal and specific. So please don't take this as any kind of medical advice or general treatment plan. It's more a testimony of the benefits of a good physio who knows how to work with dancers and is able to make a personalised plan!

[Angela Essex]

1 hour ago, Viv said:

 

Unfortunately it's all a little complicated. I had the MRI and it shows no signs of posterior impingement. Instead it shows damage to the achilles tendon. My physio is baffled by it because I have no symptoms consistent with achilles tendinopathy (no pain jumping, no issues stretching the back of the ankle). I have all the classic signs of posterior impingement and was responding to treatment for posterior impingement, up to a point. There is apparently swelling in the fat pad behind my achilles which needs further investigation, so now I have to see a specialist. It looks like this isn't getting sorted before classes go back in February

 

It's hard to give an idea of exercises as they were super personalised depending on my pain and ankle flexibility at any given time. And of course I am not a trained physio and don't want to lead you astray or give any advice that isn't appropriate for your body. Essentially the goal from my treatment plan was reduce inflammation while simultaneously increasing strength, especially as my range improved. To reduce inflammation I did a nightly mix of anti-inflammatory gel and hirudoid cream liberally coated on the back of the ankle and heel, then wrapped my foot in glad wrap and kept it on overnight. I repeated this for 7 days. This really helped with the initial pain and I instantly got an inch more range. It was amazing! I've managed to keep that inch of range but have really struggled with increasing that further  Once I gained more range, my physio worked on strengthening in that range to take the pressures off the back of the ankle and stabilise the joint (and prevent further injury from instability). This was essentially the normal calf rises and intrinsic foot muscle exercises (toe push ups, doming), but with different distributions of weight, different repetitions, different height of the rise, all kind of things to strengthen without pushing too far and flaring it back up again. It was all the things I'd been doing before, but with the physio doing mobilisation and other techniques to slowly increase my range, before I would then strengthen in that range. It was very personal and specific. So please don't take this as any kind of medical advice or general treatment plan. It's more a testimony of the benefits of a good physio who knows how to work with dancers and is able to make a personalised plan!

Gosh I’m really sorry to hear that it’s still ongoing that must be very frustrating for you. Thank you for detailing those exercises. It’s my first in person class back after Christmas tonight so I’m going to explain the situation to my teacher and ask her what I should do and if those exercises will be okay for me to do.

[DancePhysioUK]

On 09/01/2022 at 09:38, Angela Essex said:

Hello Viv - I hope your ankle pain has settled down and that you had your MRI? I hope you don’t mind me contacting you, but I’ve been getting pain at the back of my ankle when I point my toes too and wondered if it was posterior impingement. May I ask what exercises your physio gave you please? 

Hello,

 

Definitely if your pain persists would be good to go and get an assessment from a physio who has an idea or background in ballet/dance. Often dance related injuries can be missed due to the different pressure we put on ankles and feet. Has anyone checked for FHL (flexor hallucis longus) tendinitis? I'd say that is one of the top missed conditions for posterior ankle pain in dancers! Scans don't always show it either!

 

As Viv mentioned exercise prescription is so personal and it would depend on what's going on it that ankle. 

 

if our pain is 0/10 to 6/10 (subjectively) you should be okay to go ahead with calf raises (parallel, turned in and turned out). This will target nearly all of the muscles that cross the ankle no matter what is going on (and most of these muscles cross under the foot as well) Also balancing on one foot, either on a wobble board or cushion, is also great for some proprioception and fast twitch muscle recovery. Neither of these exercises should be enough to aggravate your pain so if it does definitely stop and seek advice in person.

 

Strength is the number one thing that will help going forward no matter what pathology - its just a matter of how much pain you're in.

 

Hopefully this is useful! 

[Angela Essex]

1 hour ago, DancePhysioUK said:

Hello,

 

Definitely if your pain persists would be good to go and get an assessment from a physio who has an idea or background in ballet/dance. Often dance related injuries can be missed due to the different pressure we put on ankles and feet. Has anyone checked for FHL (flexor hallucis longus) tendinitis? I'd say that is one of the top missed conditions for posterior ankle pain in dancers! Scans don't always show it either!

 

As Viv mentioned exercise prescription is so personal and it would depend on what's going on it that ankle. 

 

if our pain is 0/10 to 6/10 (subjectively) you should be okay to go ahead with calf raises (parallel, turned in and turned out). This will target nearly all of the muscles that cross the ankle no matter what is going on (and most of these muscles cross under the foot as well) Also balancing on one foot, either on a wobble board or cushion, is also great for some proprioception and fast twitch muscle recovery. Neither of these exercises should be enough to aggravate your pain so if it does definitely stop and seek advice in person.

 

Strength is the number one thing that will help going forward no matter what pathology - its just a matter of how much pain you're in.

 

Hopefully this is useful! 

Yes that is so kind of you to reply thank you. I got my first pointe shoes a couple of weeks ago and the back of my ankle was sore after the fitting having tried on lots of shoes. The fitter (Leanne of straight to the pointe) was extremely knowledgeable and spotted my left ankle was turning in and weaker than the right and this is the one that is the most sore. She reccomended a video on her you tube channel for ankle strengthening exercises which includes the same exercises you kindly detailed above. I’ve been doing 16-25 single leg and double leg raises in parallel and then another 25 double leg raises in first twice a day while I brush my teeth which has helped. The pain isn’t really very bad it’s between 0 and 1/10 (I have a high pain threshold and when I ruptured my appendix I said to doctors my pain was 3-4/10 so it’s hard to know how bad it is really). Anyway the exercises have helped heaps thank you 🙏 

[DancePhysioUK]

1 hour ago, Angela Essex said:

Yes that is so kind of you to reply thank you. I got my first pointe shoes a couple of weeks ago and the back of my ankle was sore after the fitting having tried on lots of shoes. The fitter (Leanne of straight to the pointe) was extremely knowledgeable and spotted my left ankle was turning in and weaker than the right and this is the one that is the most sore. She reccomended a video on her you tube channel for ankle strengthening exercises which includes the same exercises you kindly detailed above. I’ve been doing 16-25 single leg and double leg raises in parallel and then another 25 double leg raises in first twice a day while I brush my teeth which has helped. The pain isn’t really very bad it’s between 0 and 1/10 (I have a high pain threshold and when I ruptured my appendix I said to doctors my pain was 3-4/10 so it’s hard to know how bad it is really). Anyway the exercises have helped heaps thank you 🙏 

Ah interesting! and yes I know of Leanne, so in safe hands. Sounds like you're pretty strong as well doing that many raises. 

Sounds more of a compression injury, would be interesting to see if you're sinking into your shoes or actively lifting out of them and engaging these muscles whilst wearing them! Again, better to see someone in person. 

[LinMM]

Has your teacher actually said you are ready for pointe work Angela? As I’d had the impression you were in your first year of dancing? I know with adults if they have been doing other activities they can be generally very fit but ballet does use such specific muscles and especially pointework. 
It’s not just about whether you have strong feet or not it’s how strong the back and core muscles are so not too much pressure is descending down into the shoes!!! 
I hope you are getting good advice anyway. 

[Viv]

 Turning back to syllabus, I have now learned the Adv 1 variation 2. I think it may be my favourite variation of all the exams so far? I normally do the more classical variation 1 but I'm not sure I even want to learn it for Adv 1. Too much jumping and single leg releves for me 😂 Variation 2 is so languid and I love the maturity, it doesn't feel like a little kid exam dance, I feel like I can really give it something.

 

If anyone is interested in an update on the ankle (if you're not you can skip this part!) - Since the physio was uncertain about the results of my MRI, I went to see a specialist sports doc who confirmed the diagnosis of posterior impingement. We proceeded with a cortisone injection to try and calm down structures at the back of the ankle. I can now say heading into 6 weeks post injection my ankle feels better than it has in a year! I am a bit tight across the front of the ankle from being restricted for so long but stretching that foot now feels good instead of agonising. I am also having to re-train my brain into remembering what a properly pointed foot feels like, and that it's safe and pain free to go there! But it's nice to have a foot again and not a sad cashew at the end of my leg.

 

I have now done my first pointe class this year! Just rises in parallel and turnout at the barre and some echappes, but my teacher and physio are both pleased with the range of motion and stability of the ankle now. The focus is on increasing strength using my full range so when the cortisone wears off, I don't go back to crunching in the back of the ankle and re-inflaming those structures. Apparently I am sinking in my shoes a bit as I get fatigued, particularly in second, so that is going to be a focus going forward. I think part of it is having shoes that actually let me have a nice line of foot instead of pulling me backwards off my box, I'm used to having to brute force my feet to get over and now I need to learn how to lift up and let the feet work because they're strong, not by shoving against the floor. But I am finally feeling hopeful I can actually start progressing my advanced 1 pointe work. I got a 6 for pointe in adv foundation and I would like to maintain or even better that score, even despite the injuries.

[Angela Essex]

On 06/03/2022 at 11:34, LinMM said:

Has your teacher actually said you are ready for pointe work Angela? As I’d had the impression you were in your first year of dancing? I know with adults if they have been doing other activities they can be generally very fit but ballet does use such specific muscles and especially pointework. 
It’s not just about whether you have strong feet or not it’s how strong the back and core muscles are so not too much pressure is descending down into the shoes!!! 
I hope you are getting good advice anyway. 

Hello Lin, Yes my teacher told me to get some. Yes I have done a year of ballet so I was quite surprised. I’ve just been doing a few releves and roll throughs at the barre and the left ankle is still sore when I go up onto pointe and when I point my toes so I think I’m going to see a dance physio. If anyone knows a good one local to Essex I’d be grateful for a reccomendation. 

[Angela Essex]

On 12/03/2022 at 11:10, Viv said:

 Turning back to syllabus, I have now learned the Adv 1 variation 2. I think it may be my favourite variation of all the exams so far? I normally do the more classical variation 1 but I'm not sure I even want to learn it for Adv 1. Too much jumping and single leg releves for me 😂 Variation 2 is so languid and I love the maturity, it doesn't feel like a little kid exam dance, I feel like I can really give it something.

 

If anyone is interested in an update on the ankle (if you're not you can skip this part!) - Since the physio was uncertain about the results of my MRI, I went to see a specialist sports doc who confirmed the diagnosis of posterior impingement. We proceeded with a cortisone injection to try and calm down structures at the back of the ankle. I can now say heading into 6 weeks post injection my ankle feels better than it has in a year! I am a bit tight across the front of the ankle from being restricted for so long but stretching that foot now feels good instead of agonising. I am also having to re-train my brain into remembering what a properly pointed foot feels like, and that it's safe and pain free to go there! But it's nice to have a foot again and not a sad cashew at the end of my leg.

 

I have now done my first pointe class this year! Just rises in parallel and turnout at the barre and some echappes, but my teacher and physio are both pleased with the range of motion and stability of the ankle now. The focus is on increasing strength using my full range so when the cortisone wears off, I don't go back to crunching in the back of the ankle and re-inflaming those structures. Apparently I am sinking in my shoes a bit as I get fatigued, particularly in second, so that is going to be a focus going forward. I think part of it is having shoes that actually let me have a nice line of foot instead of pulling me backwards off my box, I'm used to having to brute force my feet to get over and now I need to learn how to lift up and let the feet work because they're strong, not by shoving against the floor. But I am finally feeling hopeful I can actually start progressing my advanced 1 pointe work. I got a 6 for pointe in adv foundation and I would like to maintain or even better that score, even despite the injuries.

I’m so glad your ankle has settled and you’re able to carry on with preparing for your exam Viv 🙌💗🩰

[LinMM]

Hi Angela sorry to hear about your ankle it could be just putting the emphasis on particular muscles that haven’t been used in that way before but nevertheless is annoying just as you are getting going. 
Somewhere back in the mists of time I’m sure there was a thread about good Dance Physios to go and see I don’t know whether you can do a search for it. If you can’t find a good recommendation then places like the Rambert ( behind National Theatre on the South Bank) have Health suites for their dancers with physios and I’m pretty sure you can book appointments there as a member of the general public. I think Central School might now have similar and the Royal of course however not sure what the cost would be!!! But I’m sure there will be some parent on here or other adult dancer who can recommend somebody they’ve seen. 
I could too but they live in Brighton! 
Anyway do take it easy till you get the problem sorted …..I know just how much extreme enthusiasm can sometimes take over where Dance is concerned!!! 
 

[Angela Essex]

14 hours ago, LinMM said:

Hi Angela sorry to hear about your ankle it could be just putting the emphasis on particular muscles that haven’t been used in that way before but nevertheless is annoying just as you are getting going. 
Somewhere back in the mists of time I’m sure there was a thread about good Dance Physios to go and see I don’t know whether you can do a search for it. If you can’t find a good recommendation then places like the Rambert ( behind National Theatre on the South Bank) have Health suites for their dancers with physios and I’m pretty sure you can book appointments there as a member of the general public. I think Central School might now have similar and the Royal of course however not sure what the cost would be!!! But I’m sure there will be some parent on here or other adult dancer who can recommend somebody they’ve seen. 
I could too but they live in Brighton! 
Anyway do take it easy till you get the problem sorted …..I know just how much extreme enthusiasm can sometimes take over where Dance is concerned!!! 
 

Thank you 🙏 I told my teacher about it today and we didn’t use the pointe shoes. A local dance physio attends one of her classes so she’s going to put me in touch with her. Fingers crossed it’ll get sorted soon. Yes ballet can be quite addictive so it can be hard to back off, but I’m leaving the pointe shoes alone until I’ve seen a physio now. 

[Viv]

Looking for inspiration. Just as the ankle got better, I dislocated by shoulder in contemporary. Just as that's healing, I get covid!

 

How is everyone progressing with their exam work? Anyone looking to take the plunge any time soon?

[The_Red_Shoes]

Oh Viv, how unfortunate. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

 

My Grade 8 preparation is going quite well. It's all in the body and now fine tuning and really concentrating on performance. I do really like the Etude Lyriqus. I'm enjoying the free movement (Dramatique) much more than in previous grades and I'm pleased with my Dance Russe which my teacher says really suits me. I still need to increase my stamina level to get through the Valse Printemps in one piece. It really is unrelenting.

 

However it's slightly on the back burner for the rest of this term as we're concentrating on end of year show, so will probably enter for exam in the autumn session or maybe even winter. There are just two of us and so it also depends on how my fellow student feels.

[NeverTooOld]

Sorry to hear about your shoulder and covid Viv, hope you recover soon! We are also pausing syllabus work temporarily as we have a show coming up in July so we're practising for that currently. I am almost there with most of Intermediate Foundation but still struggling with pointe work in the centre so need to get that sorted before doing the exam. Grade 7 is a work in progress as it is such a huge syllabus. Really enjoying it as there are some lovely exercises etc but a lot to learn! Will be a while before that one is exam ready!

[Angela Essex]

On 31/05/2022 at 14:22, Viv said:

Looking for inspiration. Just as the ankle got better, I dislocated by shoulder in contemporary. Just as that's healing, I get covid!

 

How is everyone progressing with their exam work? Anyone looking to take the plunge any time soon?

Oh dear! I hope your shoulder has recovered now? And that Covid hasn’t left you feeling too drained? When I had it I was lethargic for over a month afterwards.

 

I’m still chipping away at the rad intermediate foundation work. I saw a physio regards the sore Achilles and she said I was overusing my calf muscles as my hamstrings, quads and core is weak. To address this I’ve increased the amount of strength training I’m doing (back up to 3-4 x 30 mins weights a week) and am now back doing a tiny bit of pointe at the end of my weekly syllabus lesson. 
 

My teacher seems happy with most of the barre - says it’s at the standard of a merit currently, but the rest is mostly not at the standard of a pass (maybe port de bras and adage would scrape  a pass, but pirouettes, especially en dedans are a train wreck and we’ve not even started with the allegro 2 and 3 and only learnt the first little bit of variation 1.

 

I only started ballet just over a year ago now so I’m taking it slowly and using the syllabus to learn the basics of ballet. Tbh my teacher had wanted me to do the exam in December this year, but I think it’ll be next year or year after. How’s your exam preparations going Viv? Xx

[Viv]

Actually, I am feeling pretty good. The other week I performed my Advanced 1 variation on stage at a showcase for my dance school. This isn't such a big deal, except that it was my first time performing en pointe in 4 years! And I got through it all!!! 

 

I've now seen the video and while it is far from perfect, I am actually pretty darn pleased with it. And I'm never pleased with videos of my dancing haha. There are plenty of things to work on (timing, sickle foot in arabesque, loss of turnout when standing up from the floor), but there was also a lot there to like. There's still about 3 months until my exam so just have to knuckle down and try not to get injured (again). Plenty of time to fix the things that weren't so good in the video. But it's nice to be happy with where I'm at, just for once.

[Angela Essex]

8 hours ago, Viv said:

Actually, I am feeling pretty good. The other week I performed my Advanced 1 variation on stage at a showcase for my dance school. This isn't such a big deal, except that it was my first time performing en pointe in 4 years! And I got through it all!!! 

 

I've now seen the video and while it is far from perfect, I am actually pretty darn pleased with it. And I'm never pleased with videos of my dancing haha. There are plenty of things to work on (timing, sickle foot in arabesque, loss of turnout when standing up from the floor), but there was also a lot there to like. There's still about 3 months until my exam so just have to knuckle down and try not to get injured (again). Plenty of time to fix the things that weren't so good in the video. But it's nice to be happy with where I'm at, just for once.

Fabulous - pleased for you Viv. Congratulations on your performance ❤️

[EverHopeful]

What has everyone’s favourite grade been so far? 

[Kate_N]

I loved learning  the “old” Cechetti Advanced syllabus (before it was divided into levels 1and 2). The adages were so nice, as were the set port de bras - all really clean simple lovely dancey technique. 

[Angela Essex]

How’s everyone going with the exam work? Did anyone take their exams yet?

 

I’m still a long way from being ready for the intermediate foundation exam, but I’ve dealt with the pointe part of the syllabus now - I did my first exercise off the barre a couple of weeks ago now which went surprisingly well.
 

It was so exhilarating. When my teacher said it was time to do the centre pointe work I was thinking she was possibly a bit crazy and the thought of ‘well I’m either going to break my ankle or it’ll go fine’ did go through my mind. Luckily I completed the exercise a couple of times without any major errors. Ankles still in one piece. 

 

Pirouettes are improving but still not consistent or clean 😭. Adage and allegro 1 are getting there. I’m just starting to learn variation 1 which is really hard as I’ve not ever danced before I started ballet in 2021. It’s literally taken me hours of practice to even get how to do a pas de valse en tournant 🤯🤯🤯. I don’t think I’m a natural born dancer but god loves a trier😂 Oh and we’ve not done allegro 2 or 3 yet. Barre, pointe and port de bras are passable I think. 
 

Looking forward to hearing everyone’s updates.

[NeverTooOld]

Well done, seems like you're doing brilliantly especially since you've only been dancing for a short while. I am hoping to take my intermediate foundation in November but everything need 'polishing' a lot more and I am struggling with pointe work away from the barre still - total mental block I think as I let the fear get to me too much. The pointe exercises at the barre are absolutely fine! Allegro 2 is silly fast so I need to work on that, I find allegro 3 quite fun to do though. I'm also doing variation 1 which I don't know terribly well but it is a lovely dance so we will need to work hard on that when classes start again. It is so much fun though and I'm really enjoying having something to work towards.

[Peanut68]

Anyone on here experience of RAD Adv Foundation? It seems vocational training teens etc tend to miss this grade out & go straight to Adv 1. 
As on oldie who took Inter aged 50 but then had minimal dance during the covid years, is this a nuts idea to try join a class? I’d rather like to try grade 7 or 8 (as I think these don’t have pointe work & are possibly more ‘dancer’?) but issue is finding a class that’s suitable location/time/level/not just gif under 16’s.

Feeling I need a purpose of goal to get fitter again!

[balletgremlin]

Advanced Foundation is lovely. I was working towards taking my exam in November but ongoing hip issues means I've not been dancing for two months and not jumping or lifting my leg for several months before that.

 

7 & 8 are also really enjoyable. I took grade 7 in April (delayed from November 2019) and had to pull out of grade 8 because of my injury.

 

I'm always going to recommend doing as much dancing as possible, especially as I can't currently dance myself - I've got to live vicariously through others. I got used to dancing with teenagers young enough to be my daughters but do wish there were more classes for adults which focus on exams - I did some of the Discovering Repertoire syllabus with some 60+ year old women who all passed, some with merits. Felt very smug with my distinction.

[EverHopeful]

Massive congratulations on your distinction Ballet Gremlin! I tried my best but only got High Merits 

[Angela Essex]

On 26/08/2022 at 08:10, NeverTooOld said:

Well done, seems like you're doing brilliantly especially since you've only been dancing for a short while. I am hoping to take my intermediate foundation in November but everything need 'polishing' a lot more and I am struggling with pointe work away from the barre still - total mental block I think as I let the fear get to me too much. The pointe exercises at the barre are absolutely fine! Allegro 2 is silly fast so I need to work on that, I find allegro 3 quite fun to do though. I'm also doing variation 1 which I don't know terribly well but it is a lovely dance so we will need to work hard on that when classes start again. It is so much fun though and I'm really enjoying having something to work towards.

Fabulous job! Not long to go now. Good luck with the pointe off the barre. For me doing weight training for legs and core has helped my strength and confidence it’s just so hard to find time for weights on top of ballet not to mention work and family 🤯