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

[Fiz]

180 degrees is attainable but if it causes the dancer to roll his or her feet, the angle should be reduced until the dancer's feet are stable.

[taxi4ballet]

Do some of you believe that "teachers" are right all of the time?

 

If you would like a ballet question from me Fiz what is the correct angle for first position for the feet is it 180 or is it somewhere between  that and 90 degrees? discuss

The teacher is more likely to be right than the student, most of the time IMHO

 

I'm not a ballet dancer, but I believe that the correct angle in first position would depend on the the student's current level of training; and natural turnout which is dependent on each person's individual physique.

[Anna C]

Straceydor, please don't add to the drama in this thread. There is enough going on already.

 

Nobody has said teachers are "gods".

Nobody has said that teachers are not human.

Nobody has said teachers are right all the time.

 

If a student of any age attends a class on any subject, then I believe the teacher should be afforded respect and courtesy. If a pupil knows more - or thinks they know more - than the teacher, why go to the class?

 

There is a difference between being a "thinking dancer" who asks questions, and a dancer who believes that they know as much as or more than the teacher, and who basically does his or her own thing with no regard for either the teacher or fellow pupils who are in class to learn. If there was such a pupil in your child's class, annoying other students and contradicting the teacher, what would your reaction be? Mine would be to wonder why the pupil in question was there in the first place.

 

You seem to be rather cross and in your vehement defence of Michelle, you seem to be trying to provoke more argument. I say again, that is not constructive.

 

Can we please stop discussing this issue now and let a degree of calm descend.

[LinMM]

Thankyou S and P

[FullContretemps]

Lin brisees are one of my bugbears too! They just seem like very hard work and never seem to look nice when I do them (unless it is a massive one with lots of momentum from the preparation). I think maybe I find it hard to get off the floor enough to get the second leg up to do the beat. They work better with a cheat I have discovered myself doing of taking a little extra step with the front foot (if doing a brisee over) to 'push off' from, so now trying to make them work without doing that!

 

With regards your question about how far they travel I have been asked to do them differently (with different dynamics is maybe a good way of explaining) in different contexts. In petit allegro they tend to be smaller and more on the spot; in grand allegro more travelling. But that is only from thinking back on free classes so feel free to correct, those people who actually know!

 

I have issues with back flexibility/getting leg up derriere too - it goes up at the front fine, goes up-ish in second but I need more strength to get it there slowly/keep it there but derriere feels very restricted. Trying to work out how much of it is hip contruction and how much I can work on it. Anjuli's exercise sounds really good so I will be trying it as soon as mean tendonitis has gone away and I am back to the studio properly!

 

Edited to add last paragraph

Edited January 14, 2014 by FullContretemps

[Dancer Sugar Plum]

Hi Dancer Sugar Plum

 

Firstly thank you for replying to my post, for a while I thought I was never going to get a response when I turned things around and said these are the issue I want to address, any ideas?. I thought for a moment, here we go, nothing to criticise, they must be Sunday afternoon dancers not to be taken seriously. But at least you replied.

 

If someone shows concern for me, of course I will thank them, it is only right and proper in my book to do so. Similarly I usually thank the teacher and pianist at virtually every class I go to, that just me, for them it’s recognition that they are appreciated.

 

As for being picked on I thought Tulip had summed that up well in post #372, however I do feel things were getting catty with constant reference to me returning to beginner classes because it seemed very much as if this was down to the fact I didn’t belong to the same club of attending many years ballet classes. One point I made many times but it fell on deaf ears, time is not on my side.

 

OK about the leg extension ('improved and sustained leg extension'), first of all flexibility to get it there is reasonably OK, I'm 5ft 3, with momentum I can top 5ft 7, but I cannot do a static lift and hold. I have already spoke to a number of teachers on this one, most seem to think I should be happy with what I have (Grrr they must think I'm old and past it), one of my teachers did bring in a number of books covering this item, but generally I'm doing those things anyway. I'm not saying I haven't improved things, as I'm basically from a scientific background I tend to measure things, admittedly the only measurements are devant. When I first started to record my results my dead lift for the right leg was 2ft 11, now its best is 4ft 2, the left leg was 3ft 6, best now 4ft 8. One element that accounts for about 6inches is a Splits stretch when warm before hand. Difference between best and average at most is a couple of inches.

 

As for lifting on and off the barre, that really is no problem. I have both fixed and portable barres in my own studio, the fixed is 3ft 3 high, the portable which is a double barre is 3ft bottom, and 3ft 10 top.

 

As for where it is in second, I'm not really sure other than it is above 90, but not as much as 135, but I can hold it there in class. I always resist the fall, otherwise if you just let it go the foot flexes which look rubbish, however I am aware that my foot is not quite as strait as I would like it, so I hold that tension there until the foot hits tendu on the decent. For me to get above 135degrees on the developee used in Odette's solo with the double beat would be the icing on the cake.

 

I think the key to this is to be able to contact and utilise the iliopsoas, rather than rely on the abs, I'm not sure I'm doing that, or doing that properly. I know in our body balance class we go into a tree pose, well at least the others do, I go for a retire with a flat supporting foot, my toe is always above the knee and I think my working leg is at 90 degrees to the body. That is certainly a lot harder than the tree pose which is taught there, by my instructor does not seem to mind as she knows of my ballet background. That is supposed to use the iliopsoas, but I'm not sure how to visualise or sense it in any meaningful way.

 

As my Body Balance Instructor is a qualified full time gym instructor that seems to know her way around muscle groups etc, and Body Balance consists of a good deal of Pilate and Yoga. As for turnout and alignment, I will worry about those.

 

Backbends, yes I will try Anjuly’s suggestions. We seem to have a good deal of opportunity in Body Balance to exercise this one and I do push my limits as far as I dare, and I can certainly feel the pinch in my lower back, but I am sure I should be able to go further.

 

 

Michelle,

 

I was disappointed to read that you were still of the opinion that people said your teachers, physio and technique were 'rubbish'. Since I had made comments on what I had learned about ballet technique and physios in this thread, I assume you would include me in the list of people who had 'rubbished' you.

 

I agree with a lot of the latest comments made by forum members and I was tempted not to reply at first. I agree with everything Spannerandpony said in post 417. But I wanted to set the record straight that I made my comments based on what I had learned as an adult dancer. This is something I've already said before. For example, when I voiced my concerns about some physios, I did not mean that your physio was definetly the same. The same goes for ballet teachers and pointe work. I have voiced what I have learnt that is considered safe practice, that is all. And I hoped people such as yourself found it useful.

 

In fact, the same goes for the opinion I gave about the suitability of your Body Balance instructor to help you with your extensions. When I voiced that she may not be suitable for your needs, I based it on the fact that she had not done ballet before. It was not an attack on her, or your choice to go to her classes. The same goes for all other comments I've made about teachers and physios.

 

So with the same frame of mind, and since I had started replying to your request, it's only fair that I should finish my response, based on your reply to my post. There may be forum readers who are wondering about the same thing as you are.

 

You mentioned in your reply that your Body Balance instructor has had experience with pilates and yoga. In that case you may find that she can help with your extensions. But since I have never done Body Balance classes I may not be the best person to comment on her suitability. Or indeed, any Body Balance Instructor.

 

The other potential 'problem' you may find, is since your instructor has not done ballet, you may find yourself spending a lot of time having to explain ballet terms. So if, say, you have an hour private lesson with her, where you are having to explain ballet terms and technique, you may not get as much done as you would like, had you worked with someone who knew, say, what the difference between a develope and a fondu was. It then becomes more expensive for you because you would need to pay for another lesson to cover everything you wanted to do, which was not covered in the first lesson.

 

You said that ballet teachers you have approached seemed unwilling to give private lessons (This was the impression I got). Based only on my experience, a lot of teachers already have packed schedules. It was mentioned/hinted in another thread that some people found it difficult to obtain private lessons for their DDs and DSs. So if you're having no luck in this area, you may find it useful to ask one of your teachers to check that you are doing an exercise correctly. For example, ask a teacher to check you are doing Anjuli's leg-off-the-barre excercise with correct alignment and not using the wrong muscles to raise the working leg. If you have a teacher who has an excellent eye for detail, even better.

 

I would also suggest, if she/he is too busy to look at you straight after the class you are about to do, ask if she/he would be free to look at you right before or after another class. That way, you are only taking up a few minutes of his/her time at the most. And it's always useful for a teacher to check alignment and that you are using the correct muscles in whatever you do.

 

My other point is about the term 'beginners'. I get the sense you do not like the label and do not want to be associated with the label. I also get the sense that because other forum users, including myself, have suggested doing simple classes, that this is an indication we believe you are 'rubbish'. I believe you have the wrong end of the stick.

 

There is no shame in anyone being an adult ballet beginner. Please note that I am not defining your dance level here. I had said that I personally found doing lower-level classes useful for consolidating my own technique. From what I inderstand, even the professional dancers can see the benefit of doing simple classes.

 

Also, I've found that teachers are able to 'place' you mentally. I've mentioned earlier on that I have a teacher who says she can tell how much training someone has had based on their plies. Anjuli has described something similar. But most teachers don't actually say, 'You are a beginner level dancer', or, 'You are an advanced dancer'. However, it's impossible to 'hide' your level; your level shows in class. It shows in the way you try to do the steps or movements correctly. So there is no point in anyone arguing what level dancer they are on a forum.

 

This also relates to your request for better extensions. It is great that you are keen to improve, but in a lot of ways your extensions don't matter at all. Teachers can still tell the technical level of a dancer, and how good they are. It's about how you got to that extension, what muscles you use and how you get back to 5th (it's usually 5th). Higher is not always better because someone could be raising their legs higher but using the wrong muscles. Again, I am just sharing what I have learnt.

 

I hope some of this is of help to you.

[Dancer Sugar Plum]

Teachers can still tell the technical level of a dancer, and how good they are.

 

I meant 'Teachers can still tell the technical level of a dancer, and how good they are, regardless of the height of their extensions.'

Edited January 14, 2014 by Dancer Sugar Plum

[Tulip]

We are not here to argue, we are here to support each other. That what nearly all of us love about this forum. Time to move on everyone and let's not feed any negativity any further.

[Michelle_Richer]

Hi Dancer Sugar Plum

 

I appreciate your informative response, but I think it’s a time to draw a line under the controversial exchanges I have had, and apologise to those people that feel I have been disrespectful or alienated my any of my comments. As for my injuries etc that is now a closed book.

 

That said I’m still interested in help along the lines I indicate, I think I exhausted most of the avenues with the teacher’s, My local teacher would often give me an extra 10 to 15 minutes after class for most things which was good early on when I was very inquisitive. As for extension, she was like most, I should be happy with what I had as it higher than anyone in her class, she also made the point she did not want to see high extension devant if you could not achieve the same derriere, to some extent that does make sense, and of course alignment had to be spot on, otherwise if one did a superman as she called it, you were really in trouble.

 

I usually a extra 5 minutes or so from most of my teachers, that why I make it a point of thanking them and the pianist at most classes I attend, that is a not so common occurrence with other dancers.

 

As for private tuition, you are right, most teachers are pretty well fully booked, I did for a while have private slot before class, but that has now got snaffled up with the pointe class, and this week that has been lost to Tap prep for an exam.

 

But there are always options; I have an excellent rep coach who I’m hoping to start with in February and she does know my quite well and has agreed to coach me.

 

We are not here to argue, we are here to support each other. That what nearly all of us love about this forum. Time to move on everyone and let's not feed any negativity any further.

I totally agree.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Michelle_Richer

[LinMM]

Have you thought of having a private session with Franziska Rosenzweig?

 

You can make a list of things you want to work on (I only got through half of mine.....but I did say I didn't necessarily expect to cover everything in one session) You will still do a warm up of barre exercises though. It's amazing how hard to have to work in a private session and can achieve and more importantly clarify a lot.

 

If you get no joy with the teachers you work with I would consider her and you have done some of her workshops so do know her a little.

 

Don't worry too much about extensions they will come with practice over time. But you can make whatever your current extension happens to be look even better by really giving attention to the upper body and how you use this to express the extension so to speak....not very well put but hope you get my intention!

Am glad to see you are recovering well from your injury would like to see how your classes went tonight as I know Tuesday is your big day with ENB classes etc....how did that go today!!

Linda x

[LinMM]

Full Contretemps what is "hip contruction "

 

Is this some restriction the hip comes into with older age or injury?

I must admit I am surprised this time round how restricted my hip and lower back area feels to,when younger. I'm hoping its just a years out of practice thing and not some horrible endplace Ive come up against!!!!

 

I think that floor exercise sounds good Balleteacher. I do know this exercise but sometimes it's working out which ones are the most appropriate at any given time. When this becomes weight bearing it turns into what is called the "Dancers Pose" in yoga.......where you take hold of the foot of the leg being raised(bent.....not straight) and extend the opposing arm.....obviously no turnout.....but this might help with hip extension. I had been advised not to do this with my recent back problem but had the all clear from the osteo today......he doesn't need to see me for a few months unless I do something to injure myself. He is quite sanguine about dancers and injuries he says you can't expect not to get an injury from time to time if you do ballet but its still better to take the risk......he is very approving of me doing ballet inspite of my age!.....

[Thecatsmother]

Given the discussion re allegro steps this might be interesting viewing as she has a lovely light quality to jumps and covers a number of steps http://youtu.be/PKXAeQqf-lk

[Michelle_Richer]

Hi Lin

 

No I don’t think Franziska would be a suitable choice for me, don’t get me wrong, she is a nice teacher and I like her, but her classes contain a lot of packing. If I'm sharing it with a class of other dancers, I cannot complain, but if Im paying a premium for a one to one that’s another story.

 

I know my comment about teacher bounced somewhat and was interpreted as a disrespectful, but you may remember when we both did the Aurora variation with Franziska, I raised the comment about the number of retire’s at the beginning of the variation with Franziska as I was doing full number, Franziska had simplified it by one, but then the majority of the class started using the full number as it basically fitted with the music, then Franziska said, Michelle’s right we will use 4 I think it was. Where possible I try and exceed expectation not come into conflict with the teacher, but I recognise it is a fine line..

 

I have someone already and you already know who she is, we share the same mind-set and passion and I really don’t want to talk about her on here.

 

In any case Lin my interest is in repertoire coaching, that where my heart truly lies, it’s about tidying up the technique and presentation skills associated with it.

 

My return to ENB was never planned for this week, it’s too soon. I start with LAB on Thursday at RAD HQ having missed one week already, However Tom has sent me a video of the rep that was done last week, so today has given me a chance to get to grips with it, so catch up will be no problem. ENB, Lincoln and private hire of my old teacher’s hall come on line next week, then everything else the following week including the RAD Swan Lake Workshop if it able to fly.

 

Extension had to be worked at, as it has reached a plateau for me. 90 degree is nothing that’s easy, I need to be above 135, its purely strength I need, I know I have reasonable strong Abs I’ve worked on them long enough, but unfortunately I do not know how to contact and utilise the iliopsoas properly. At the moments it’s a bit academic as I have a new minor issue and I have been banned from doing splits for the next 12 week, which is instrumental in my flexibility.

[Michelle_Richer]

Hi Balleteacher

 

Very nice, could you tell me what the movement is called that starts as a pas de chat but ends as at 1.59minutes.

 

I know that particular DVD as I have his entire collection, its an extremely good reference.

[Thecatsmother]

To me it's just a pas de chat which ends with front foot to tendu en fondu facing slightly to croise. Instead of going 'up up land' as you would in a conventional pas de chat you would go 'up up pointe tendu' to end. It's almost a pas de pointe if that makes sense but I have a habit of making up names of steps to explain them rather than because they exist. Turnout on landing would be important with this one but you could practice a normal pas de chat landed on two feet and then do the pointe tendu after before removing the second foot landing of the pas de chat and replacing with a pointe.

[FullContretemps]

Haha Lin it was a typo! I meant hip construction - I am guessing that the shape of the pelvis will mean there is a physical limit to possible extension height but I may be wrong as I don't know much about anatomy!

[LinMM]

That's a relief then ......I thought it might be some weird medical word!

[LinMM]

Hi Michelle yes sorry Ihad forgot you had had a lesson with X who is great as we know! ....as I know it's more repertoire you like to work on.

In a private lesson with Franziska of course you would be working on what you wanted so not quite the same as a workshop where she has planned it all.

 

Not so much on the Beauty variation but on the Tchaikovsky one I was adapting the choreography anyway!....only doing one retire to the back with the right leg and then one devant with the left because the required number was just too fast for me.....two retires to the back and then one en avant using the left leg twice......I couldn't fit them in up to speed.....but as long as it fitted with music and ended up on the correct foot for the next bit it was okay. As soon as I saw the video I knew if it wasn't adapted in parts I would have to anyway!

But those workshops are more demanding than City Academy......which are aimed very generally at beginners and more experienced......Franziskas workshops are really aimed at roughly Intermediate level and not so much beginners level.

Hope the ENB goes well next week anyway.

Did you see Le Corsaire in the end? What did you think of it.....there's a thread to report back on Corsaire performances if you wanted.

[Jan McNulty]

Hi Michelle,

 

I second Lin in that I would love to hear what you thought of Le Corsaire if you were able to get to the performance.

 

Here's the link to the discussion

[Michelle_Richer]

Hi Lin

 

I guess I’m not looking at the standards of the workshops itself, as I would rate them similar. However I’m looking more at the personal aspects of the teacher and their relationship towards me. For me its not about the workshop itself because I will have prepared in advance the aspects I want to take away, generally those will be associated with Solo variations. In any case what we did with Aurora variation was still simplified somewhat, the tricky petti-battements were removed and the petti-developpe-glissard thing added, which was really nice and fitted in well. But the ending of the high leg travelling turns around the room were removed completely.

 

For solo rolls my model is based on that of professional performers, mostly RB but sometimes Bolshoi, but I will look at aspects of several to best match my own ability and artistic preference. I need a teacher that is not going to get upset if I start to add in the more difficult aspects of that rep, but who is inclined to recognise it and push me further. That exists with our lady at City, and In that I realise I am extremely lucky. But at the same time if I’m performing a corps be ballet part, then I am bound to do the same as everyone else, that’s only fair.

 

You also have to remember I have a lot of contact with all repertoire provides, I try not to leave anything to chance. Some are extremely responsive others not.

 

I’m sure next week is going to be as challenging as this one, as I’m getting back together bit by bit, and yes it’s a slow job.

 

Yes I did go to see Le Corsaire, that was my first real trip out and it was a fantastic day and my bodily bits managed to hold together. I met several lovely people at the Coliseum to chat to including a Spanish ballerina.

 

I won’t add anything to the Le Corsaire link as I was quite scathing to ENB last time when they did “Swan Lake in the Round”, but I did really enjoy their performance, their corps de ballet synchronisation and sense of timing was brilliant as was the lines and positioning of formations. It was far superior to the RB Jewels which I had seen a couple of weeks or so previously. But for me there was a little something, but I will put that down to something I missed due to my lack of concentration (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

Edited January 15, 2014 by Michelle_Richer

[Jan McNulty]

Michelle, I've just had a look at the Swan Lake thread.  I didn't think your comments were particularly scathing.

[Michelle_Richer]

To me it's just a pas de chat which ends with front foot to tendu en fondu facing slightly to croise. Instead of going 'up up land' as you would in a conventional pas de chat you would go 'up up pointe tendu' to end. It's almost a pas de pointe if that makes sense but I have a habit of making up names of steps to explain them rather than because they exist. Turnout on landing would be important with this one but you could practice a normal pas de chat landed on two feet and then do the pointe tendu after before removing the second foot landing of the pas de chat and replacing with a pointe.

 

Thank you, that makes perfect sense, for a moment I thought it looked like something we did at ENB a couple of terms ago before our teacher went off with an injury, it was in fact different as I did make a comment about it on the forum, possibly on the old thread, it was described by my teacher as a Pas de chat glissard, something she made up to describe it, but it was quite different to this one, but the end looked a little similar.

 

In any case I have done this one before as an ending position on an enchainment at my Stamford class some time ago.

[Michelle_Richer]

It was back to ballet for me this week (Thurs), it was the first time I had been to RAD HQ for LAB in the evening. I had given myself lots of time as I arrive at Kings Cross just before 4.30pm and I had to book in at RAD reception between 7-7.30pm. The weather was against me as it was raining, but I did have an umbrella. It seemed to be a long wait for the 170 Bus at Victoria, it arrived at 5.25pm, the journey seem to take forever due to the rush hour traffic, twice the driver switched the engine off as traffic wasn’t moving, lot of people just gave up and got off the bus, at one stage I was tempted as I see the time ticking by. I was finally dropped off at 6.35pm on a journey that should have been 15-20minute.

 

At class we had a short barre session of about half an hour, I was expecting Plies to be an issue with my heels being very stiff, but they seem to feel fine. Tendu’s from 5th in devant and derriere were OK but to a la seconde were rubbish, the snappiness and precision had gone, they were all over the place Grrr, it was really frustrating. Everything else went fairly smoothly until I came to Grand Battements, these were a little unusual for me as we rotated the body by 90 degree after each movement. Every movement with the right leg was fine, the left devant was also fine, but when I hit left a la seconde above 90 degrees, I hit an injury that dated back before Christmas at my Body Balance class, however it was checked out by my physio on my last visit when she banned me from doing splits type exercise, however although I had a tubular support bandage over it, I had forgotten about its presents. When I hit that injury I yelped and my teacher suggested I leave that leg much lower, if necessary at a Tendu, however I was able to carry on with it just below 90.

 

Centre work went better than expected even jumps which I was a bit worried about. About an hour and a quarter was spent on rep for our show, the first piece I had a little familiarity with as I was sent the previous weeks video, however I was allocated a position on the opposite side of the room to which I had learnt, so my brain got a little reprogramming for the opposite leg etc. The other bit, I think was new to everyone. There was a third piece but three of us did not do that as it was taught last term and it was only intended as a recap for the other dancers. Grrr I would have loved to have learnt that piece, the classes presentation of that dance was brilliant. The evening with LAB just flew by, it was fantastic, there is just so much for me to learn and raise my presentational skills, its my No 1 class now, my kind of ballet school.

 

By the end of the evening my heels were starting to get a little sore but not troublesome. Fortunately I didn’t have to catch the bus back to Victoria as our Teacher gave me and another girl a lift to Clapham Junction Station as it was pouring down with rain when we left the RAD premises. One the last leg of the train journey before Peterborough I decided to massage my ankles, then subjected them to a number of fully flexing reps on each foot to warm the muscles and preserve the flexibility. When I got off the train my heels were far better than they had been for a long time. That little bit of therapy certainly has merit. I finally arrived home at 1am happy and fulfilled with being back at ballet.

Edited January 17, 2014 by Michelle_Richer

[Sheila Beelam]

Glad to hear your back at class Michelle, certainly sounds like a good one

Sx

[Michelle_Richer]

Thank you Sheila

 

I have two Salsa sessions this weekend too, so I'm hoping everything holds together and I can bring two more classes in next week, so that will give me the opportunity to pop across to Southend, otherwise time just runs out once I'm back fulltime.

[taxi4ballet]

Really pleased to hear you are recovering so well from your injury

[LinMM]

Great news Michelle so pleased you are back again just be a bit careful after a gap and listen to your heels

 

I found it infuriating on the Jan 4th workshop which was my first class back after three weeks or so of nothing that everytime I went up into releve my calves got cramp!! Something that hasn't happened for a long time but they calmed down after an hour or so.

 

It's so nice also to now be able to do side and back bends without holding back again after my back problem.

 

Your LAB class sounds good I'm still pondering this for the summer term but can't do Thursdays so will have a look at their website I believe there may be a Tuesday class as well. If it finishes by 9.30 latest then I could do in one day as I don't think I could justify staying over even though it would be free every week!!

I'll make my mind up after the Spring Intensive. But also now into the mix is....another class has been added by the Russian teacher I go to so now she is teaching on Tuesdays as well as Wednesdays! Ive just been doing the Wednesday class still but am thinking of adding the Tuesday after half term. She says I can do it every other week at first if I want to see how it goes as then it will be three classes in three days! (Which I know you will think is a piece of cake!!)

[Michelle_Richer]

Hi Lin

 

I’m still very cautious about my heels, I have an issue with the Gracilis muscle in my left leg, generally its not a problem, it’s only at certain angles like high leg extension to a la seconde. The trouble is I tend to forget about it, and then I inadvertently catch it with a vengeance.

 

One of the things I have found, I don’t measure the effect of my heels until the following morning, if they feel bad at night, they will be much worse in the morning, as was the case when I was unable to walk.

 

Tonight (Sat) I have been at a Salsa party, well that’s what we call it but we do lots of different dances including fun solo line ups. Tonight we did something called the Charleston Stroll which is danced solo. At our venue we have three different levels; the couple that organise and run the event were at the top level, a guy (Guest teacher), me and two other girls on the second level. The rest of the dancers were on the main dance floor. We all danced the stroll to a medium speed Charleston track, nothing special which lasted out 3 minute. The guy of the couple said we will do another one which is a bit faster, well that was an understatement, the guy that was at the same level as me decided to join those on the dance floor, he obviously knew what was coming. The new track we had was very fast and very snappy, and very allegro, fortunately the only raised leg was my right and I used all the extension I could muster, I was also in my ballet slippers as I love to feel the floor. What I didn’t know, our organiser had chained two tracks together giving a duration of over 7.5 minutes, that certainly shook the cobwebs away, apart from being quite exhausting, and several gave up, we had to carry on, the majority were following us, after all they were our captive audience and was the diners at this venue. At the end of all that I suddenly thought my legs feel really fantastic; better see what they feel like in the morning.

 

As things are going, I don’t think it will be my legs that will give up first, it could well be my brain, as I am now dealing with something like 6 different classical ballet a month and many of those have multiple scenes to be danced.

 

LAB is brilliant but not for the faint hearted, you will see when you get to the Spring Intensive, and it is intensive. February we will find out what we are dancing, and of course there will be a performance at the end. I’m not sure how the solo rolls will be handled as to if you have a choice or not, those will be taught separately to the corps de ballet pieces. I most definitely will be doing any or all of the solo rolls that come my way and hopefully I will have appropriate tutus for them too.

 

When you mentioned summer term, is that after 5th July as that is when our Gala performance is, and I’m going to have to raise my game enormously for this one, as many at our Salsa party tonight want to come and see me perform there, they are even talking of hiring some form of mini bus, does this mean I have a fan club Ha ha ha. But seriously I have to work harder and smarter than I have ever done before.

[LinMM]

No the summer term would be the series of lessons starting after Easter.....so late April to July.

But perhaps they have different terms then if your performance is on July 5th. When I think about it it's probably not that realistic going up to London once a week for a ballet lesson when there is excellent quality teaching right here on my doorstep!!..... and I am quite happy just doing a variety of weekend workshops really where repertoire is concerned.

 

Hopefully see you on the 1st Feb anyway

[Michelle_Richer]

This next week is my last leisurely week, as I'm only adding in Lincoln and ENB plus the hire of the hall. However there is lots of practice and familiarity I want to do, but I have to do it with caution so I can ramp up to full time the following week. The real tricky thing is having the confidence to book things for the near future like hotels, course fees and advance rail fairs which still have some degree of risk.

 

All my classes now other than ENB do performances at some time or other, the rest I have shed, but a little sorry about some I've lost, never the less I will still visit them on the odd occasions where my main classes breaks are different to theirs.

 

Yes I will see you on the 1st of Feb for Giselle, especially as we are supposed to be doing Giselle's variation this time, not sure if we will be doing the same Pas de deux as last time, but Mr T said he was going when I see him last Thursday. I just hope my ankles and legs are sufficiently healed for the jumps and hops in Giselle's variation, again I don't know how much simplification will be added by our teacher, I will give it a very guarded run through at the hall on Thursday.

[Michelle_Richer]

Two more classes added this week to gently scale up after injury. The first (Lincoln) went reasonable OK, the only thing that seem different was Pose turns, using the right leg as the pivoting leg everything thing seemed OK, but on the left it seemed odd, I still managed to spot and get to my destination, but the quality of the turn wasn’t there, it somehow seemed awkward, but it difficult to pin point just what.

 

The second was ENB which was in fact two classes, level 2 and level 3. As usual I arrived early and someone let me in a little before time, so I got my extra half hour of practice in the studio. My circular travelling turns seem to have deteriorated, I tried them several times but seem to have lost it for the time being, not sure if its just lack of practice or attributable to my injury. Level 2 class went fine, even the travelling turns which were quite basic. I held back on everything that required an extension of my left leg especially grand batterments in a la seconde.

 

By the time Level 3 came round I was feeling a bit more confident about the muscle that had been pulled in my left leg, not a twinge from it. So when it came to grand battements in a la seconde I hesitantly let it go above 90 in second, no twinge, but never the less I really dare not push it too, as at this stage that was brilliant. However as the night went on I did start to tire, especially after the jumps. The final thing we did was Glissard and assemblie travelling right, then left and repeating them. Travelling right was no problem, plenty of power in the left foot to launch the assemblie but in the other direction the right foot was much weaker and was seriously tired, and basically just got worse. I was really warn out at the end of that session and my heels were starting to get sore too.

 

When I left ENB , it was cold, raining, and I hadn’t got the energy to hurry along to the tube station which is a good 20minutes away, thankfully I had my umbrella. By this time I was starting to get more than a little worried about my ankles, I know if I have problems the night before, the following morning is worst. One stop before my final stop at Peterborough I got the resistance band out and exercised both feet before the train came to a halt, that definitely helps. Once home, correct application of heel drop protocol followed by ice on the ankles for ten minutes seems to restore them somewhat.

 

The following morning apart from being slightly stiff I’m still mobile and once I get moving things are fine. Today I engaged in a slightly different therapy, retail therapy. I visited Just Ballet in Southend-on-Sea to check out some tutu’s, my legs are much better since my purse is much lighter when I now.

[Sheila Beelam]

Feeling inspired after seeing Michelle in the shop today, so I ventured out to a new adult ballet class. Carpe Diem and all that jazz

Being used to syllabus work it confused my wee brain but enjoyed the challenge of new things and felt I earned my glass of wine after, thanks Michelle!

Sx

[LinMM]

So was this a free non grade class then Sheila? I always think its good to do at least one free class(if you have the time that is) because it does keep the old brain on its toes so to speak! Grade classes are great for really being able to work on and perfect (well in theory) exercises/enchainements but free classes are so enjoyable as you are not sure what's coming so have to concentrate like mad to pick up quickly enough to do justice!!

 

Have you seen the tutus shown this week on the other thread here....Cinqballet I think it's called.....a small Russian company. I don't like the idea of wearing a tutu that much for myself .......I know Michelle is enjoying reminding me I may have to for this Spring Intensive but haven't worn one for over 27 years now and would still need to lose about another stone for tutu purposes so I don't look like a rather large dumpling!!

However the tutus on that thread are quite nice as they are a little longer than the really sticky out ones which suit people with lovely thin legs etc. They are the nearest to a tutu that I could envisage wearing but would still rather not!!

Good luck with the new class anyway!!