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


Michelle_Richer

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Michelle, I'm not trying to discourage you from contributing to this forum, but I think that Stirrups' suggestion of you starting your own blog is a really good one. Dave Wilson, who posts on this forum from time to time, has a blog about starting ballet completely from scratch as a 23 year old. Like you, he is extremely keen and spends as many hours a week doing ballet as his studies permit. He is also a member of a youth ballet company. I think that he writes under the moniker 'DaveTriesBallet' (that's also his Twitter name) and you may like to look at his blog and Twitter timeline for inspiration.

Michelle, I'm not trying to discourage you from contributing to this forum, but I think that Stirrups' suggestion of you starting your own blog is a really good one. Dave Wilson, who posts on this forum from time to time, has a blog about starting ballet completely from scratch as a 23 year old. Like you, he is extremely keen and spends as many hours a week doing ballet as his studies permit. He is also a member of a youth ballet company. I think that he writes under the moniker 'DaveTriesBallet' (that's also his Twitter name) and you may like to look at his blog and Twitter timeline for inspiration.

Michelle, Do start a blog, you will have many followers and you can 'own it' as it will be your own. I would follow your blog. Many of us really enjoy your contributions to the forum....some of the time.

 

But as for this forum I have rarely read the 'going back to ballet thread recently I haven't found it constructive. I read this forum for information and enjoyment and I haven't found that recently in the back to ballet thread. As for this thread maybe the moderators could re title it 'Michele R's Simply Adult ballet Blog'. Then I would dip on an out when I wanted to catch up with your ballet activities.

 

Edited for typos as usual

 

 

Julie Lyon

Edited by Nana Lily
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Quite rightly so too Julie. It was meant to have an element of humour in the suggestion.

 

I don't see what's different to this thread than the back to ballet thread. The common theme is it's totally dominated by Michelle R, with posters commenting now only on her activity. I don't see any value in it for me.

 

Sharing information about upcoming events or a brief example of an experience is helpful, but that not what this new thread is all about, for me anyhow.

 

I won't be making any more comments on this thread and don't intend reading it either.

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That's your choice obviously but I feel its being marginally rude to others who are trying to post in the way the thread was intended in what you say above NL.......and as Ive said before there's nothing you can do if other people don't post on the thread that much...so then it can get dominated by one person in this way. I do think it has made it difficult with this particular thread having been started as now not sure where to post comments in general.....mostly I'll probably leave them on the old thread but as I'm here now.......................

 

There's a step we were doing in class last night called Grand Jete en tournant. Has anyone else being doing this step. Is it true that both legs are supposed to meet in the air before separating again for the landing. Ive been doing it almost as a sort of scissor kick and though I can imagine the likes of Acosta et al doing this it just seems impossible for me at any rate!!!! Definitely not this lifetime round anyway :(

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Yes Lin we were taught to do that as a scissor kick as you describe a couple of weeks ago but we didn't spend very long on it, but then our teacher was off, she is not there this week so we are doing Extended barre with another teacher who is also a class member at our class, she has newly qualified in this and has her own class on Thursdays which I cannot make. Extended barre is very aerobic.

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Hi Lin and Fiz

 

You might find this clip interesting, the Grand Jete entournat is right at the end, I really love the technique of most of these moves as we have done many of them at ENB and Stamford, but they certainly do not look that good even from our teachers.

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKXAeQqf-lk

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PKXAeQqf-lk

 

Follow the link, not sure why its not displaying the video.
 

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Hi Fiz

I've drop a second link in, copy it into your URL address bar, it should run then. I also like the fact that they have included what Northern Ballet call a Pas de point (1.59 minutes), however our arm were in second, at ENB the front arm stretch was much longer almost to the foot but created a good line with the back arm, however the back foot remained on demi, it could not be grounded. but I guess that's different variations of the same move.

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The grand jete en tournant should indeed be executed with both legs meeting / passing at the height of the jump. The next development would then be to beat them! If they were not both there this would not be possible - something to aim for!!!

RK

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I'll keep trying then!

 

Actually did fall over in class today....trying to do a lame duck!! Rather appropriate I thought.

 

Again a right/left difference. This was going to the left. It was because I wasn't fully up on demi pointe during execution but its the first time have actually fallen over( had some near misses) since I started back again. Luckily nothing hurt except you do feel such an idiot! I carried on at half speed after that.

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There's a step we were doing in class last night called Grand Jete en tournant. Has anyone else being doing this step. Is it true that both legs are supposed to meet in the air before separating again for the landing. Ive been doing it almost as a sort of scissor kick and though I can imagine the likes of Acosta et al doing this it just seems impossible for me at any rate!!!! Definitely not this lifetime round anyway :(

Just to point out something that might be useful when looking for tips on these - different schools refer to them as completely different things! I think RAD call them grand jeté en tournant, but I've also heard them be called an entrelacé in the UK, and when I was in the States they were referred to as a tour jeté... very confusing! (There's a surprising difference between UK and US terminology - e.g. in barre work glissés are reffered to as degagés!).

 

And just to follow on from the mention of my blog (thank you for the kind words!) I'm more than happy to answer any questions anyone has about setting up a blog. I got some help when I first started, and am happy to pass on any knowledge I can!

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Lin:

Steady on, you need to save yourself for Swan Lake at the ROH, you have some Pose turns at the end of Odette’s solo to do. What type of lame duck turns were you doing, similar to the one Rejane showed us at the Giselle workshop. I prefer to start with a fondu on the supporting leg and a pas de basque with the gesturing leg, then into a type of soutenu which brings you back to the prep position again, I love them as travelling turns and with the fondu, the up and down is far more dramatic, but I think they look lovely and so do my Salsa friends when I get a chance to practice them on our wide open dance floor.

 

I’m really looking forward to Thursday when I get the Hall to myself after our local ballet class.

 

 

DavidW:

That’s not a US UK thing; those terms are used over here and also Jete when done at the barre. At Lincoln we came up with the convention that a degagés was 2 inches from the floor or 20 degrees with the gesturing foot, a glissés was 3 to 4 inches or 45 degrees, we never accommodated a jete at the barre, but it is a term used at ENB and City Academy.

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Battement Glisse and battement Jete do tend to get used interchangeably, another one is battement balance where we have highs and lows, we use this in my local class but no where else.

 

Another one in Pose and Pique turns.

 

Yes I wish they would standardise too.

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On the going back to ballet thread have posted a video of a young dancer who was one of the Prix de Lausanne prize winners last year Cesar Corrales....doing two lovely jete en tournant in his solo!!

 

On YouTube there is also a video of him being trained by his mother in Canada....and what a taskmaster she was!

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Yes I see it, but as I'm not welcome on that thread I keep off it. So what type of lame duck turns were you doing ?

 

PS I wish my mum was still around, I don't know what she would make of me in a Tutu.

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Re the lame ducks

The step I was doing is ridiculously nicknamed a lame duck though I can see why in a way especially when it's done badly like the likes of myself!!

I just can't remember offhand what the real name of the step actually is.

 

Anyone if you were travelling towards the right diagonal and doing a pose or pique turn you would step out onto the right supporting leg to do the turns each time with the left leg in retiree.

When it's a "lame duck" turn you first step out onto the right leg but then do the pose or pique turn on the left leg with the right in retiree.so it's a sort of step pose turn step pose turn sequence. It's actually harder to execute than a straight pose/piqué turn because you have further to turn to bet round ready to take the next step and you really have to have a strong piqué action to get up onto your leg and demi pointe position fully.

When they do come off its a nice step todo though. They are often combined with straight pose turns......one of each.....one of the variations from Le Corsaire ends in this combination.

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Hi Lin

 

Which turn should I use, a pose or a pique, I thought they were the same, especially as my dictionary of classical ballet says so, ha ha ha.

 

I’m still a little unsure with your description of lame duck turns, I will check out Le Corsaire as I have a DVD of the Kirov Ballet version, Im still waiting to find out from ENB what scenes we are doing for the Le Corsaire Rep Workshop.

 

 

We did extended barre at our Stamford class this afternoon, it was extremely aerobic, all of the girls were sweating buckets including our teacher, and it was a real workout. I have never worked so hard for a long time, I think it was compounded by the fact I had only just come from my Body balance class is Spalding.

 

Finally got a proper date for our performance at Lincoln, we are performing on both the Friday 6/12 and Saturday 7/12 which is good as I wanted to do the RAD Nutcracker Rep Workshop on Sunday the 8th, but not much sleep that night as it’s a car journey down to Kent early Sunday morning.

Our teacher has decided not to use “Giselle’s Friends Dance” for the show but use her own choreography, a little disappointing, but you cant win them all, its still in the melting pot at the Angles Theatre for consideration. At least my teacher has said I can video the sequence as soon as we start, so I should soon make short work of that.

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Hi Lin

 

Thank you for the Clip, that’s quit a bit different to what I was taught with Pas de basque as prep. What I really don’t understand with your type of turn, the dancer remains at the same height or at least almost, where with my kind of travelling turn there is quite a marked difference as you fondu the supporting leg on the pas de basque part.

 

I seemed to do a lot of allegro yesterday at both ENB and Pineapple, my legs and heels really took a pasting yesterday, especially with the 20 minute walk back to South Kensington station from ENB, then my right heel became extremely painful and I was worried it wouldn’t allow me to do pointe class tonight. When I got to pointe class it had been cancelled and ballet too, had a nice social chat with my teacher instead. She had emailed me but I had set off a little early to call and see my sister on the way.

 

I really enjoyed pineapple yesterday, even my grand jete’s seemed a lot better as I often land a little too heavy, also my leg stretch mid flight seemed much improved too, not sure if that was a fluke on a good day or what. I did manage to get a studio to myself after class and went through various bits from Giselle. One thing I’m really stuck on, is the very last bit, the travelling turns around the room (in a circle), that is definitely something we have never done in class. I also note Franziska didn’t do the circle of travelling turns in her Sleeping Beauty (Aurora Variation) Workshop that we both attended. I tried all sorts to get the spotting right, at one point I used spotting on each of the brackets supporting the barre’s around the room, at one pointe I thought is was working but when I repeated it, I was dizzy , so concluded it was a flop. Doing them in a strait line on the diagonal is not a problem but I cannot work out what the difference is, I guess it is significantly trickier as no one in any of my adult classes teaches them.

 

Having to find classes next week to cover half term breaks, where shall I look next?

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I hope this is of some use in terms of defining turns.

 

http://www.theballetbag.com/2009/10/31/bag-of-steps-turns/

 

The reason you might notice a difference in the initial step is that in clip posted they are on pointe and the dancer is stepping onto demi pointe out of the turn. It is best to step onto a flat foot when not on pointe but ensure that the turning leg is absolutely underneath you at the point of commencing turn otherwise your balance will be off and you will turn at an angle. As with all turns co-ordination is important to produce a fluid turn.

 

Travelling turns en manège (around room) have a different way of spotting but there are a few different schools of thought on this. It is an advanced step which in my opinion is not something that is useful to attempt until basic turning technique is refined and solid.

 

Hope this helps.

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Thanks for the turns info really helpful.

 

I think I can see what you mean Michelle as the "lame ducks" do look different when done on pointe as there is not quite so much rise and fall. When you talk about a pas de basque preparation though that is more usually with pas de basque turns which are very similar to soutenus turns but there is no raised leg into retiree(or passé as also called) in these.

 

Turning around the room is more difficult. I think there is a way of turning in a circle but you are travelling in straight lines a bit like a 50pence piece if you get what I mean. I think my brain is beginning just a little to adjust to turning as I'm not nearly as dizzy now turning to the right but the left is still problematic!!

 

And after all this talk of "lame ducks" they seem to be on the menu in classes this week!!

 

Last night in my Russian class the teacher finished this rather nice enchainement with two lame ducks into chainees and finishing in an arabesque pose (not a raised leg though) AND I noticed she called them tombe piqué turns! I had to smile to myself! Actually the teacher said "what lovely chainees Linda" last night .....what me .....cannot be!! But I think she was just acknowledging an improvement in my turning as there are some in that class who can positively whizz round and still come out of them neatly into an arabesque without a hint of a wobble!

I think when teachers put together really nice enchainements (and they are nearly always better when it's their own rather than syllabus choreography) whether adage or allegro and to lovely music it makes you work harder as you really want to be able to do it. Luckily in this Russian class certain things get repeated over 4-5 weeks so by the end can begin to have a really good go at it!

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Hi Balleteacher

 

Thank you for the video clip examples, very helpful.

 

Hi Lin

I know what you mean when you say the music makes you work harder, I strongly believe it gives you that extra bit of energy to push that extension, to pull up taller, what ever, it real, its pure magic and I love it.

 

Had a good class this morning with my local teacher Nicky, we also have a new dancer too. I did my first after class session at the hall when Nicky had left, she seems quite cool with things. I made sure no one stayed behind to watch as I don’t want to appear to undermine Nicky in any way.

 

For once I have everything together for Giselle’s variation, I have a lot sorted out, particularly orientation to the audience and keeping time with the music. Although I have run through the whole of it at least once this morning, I started refining it bit by bit with the odd tweak in choreography.

 

Although the Travelling turns en manège was at the end, I did spend a littele while with them going in a clockwise direction (As per the choreography), basically I planned the room out to 9 points and spotted accordingly, as first I went for a too wider circle. Finally I ended with a twelve point circle and a little wider, after a few of those the dizzyness had very significantly diminished. Next week it a 16 point spotting circle and hopefully by the end of the session I will have substituted a couple of pose turns at the end for chaines landing in a curtsey, by which time the whole of the sequence should be complete, but will still need a bit of polishing over the next few weeks. Next week I’m hoping to start on Swan Lake as there are several options, dependant if we have a guy for that workshop.  

 

The hall is now a permanent fixture in my training plan, it being invoiced to me each month.

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