MAK Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Dd reported very similar exercises but her improvisation involved pretending to be in a pillow fight (with feather pillows naturally). Think they had fun with them this year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aballetlife Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Alfred71, swayback knees are also known as hyperextended knees. It's when the knees extend beyond straight hence the term swayback. It's seen as desirable in ballet as it can create a more asthetic line (I've just proof read that so many times! no errors this time, touch wood!!!) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I'm worried about some of you guys! You have very young dc but are displaying the same symptoms of madness and neuroticism that I have also. The difference being I have a teenager! How will you be by then?!! It is very funny...... Maybe a Dance Mum type programme beckons? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Alfred71, swayback knees are also known as hyperextended knees. It's when the knees extend beyond straight hence the term swayback. It's seen as desirable in ballet as it can create a more asthetic line Yes, that's it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amos73 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I'm worried about some of you guys! You have very young dc but are displaying the same symptoms of madness and neuroticism that I have also. The difference being I have a teenager! How will you be by then?!! It is very funny...... Maybe a Dance Mum type programme beckons? I can only imagine I will be a lot greyer and poorer by then ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petalviolet Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 I'm worried about some of you guys! You have very young dc but are displaying the same symptoms of madness and neuroticism that I have also. The difference being I have a teenager! How will you be by then?!! It is very funny...... Maybe a Dance Mum type programme beckons? Frankly I'm more concerned with last night's discovery that I lack all supporting tendons in my legs and now I'm wondering what's been keeping me up and trotting all these years? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred71 Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Thanks taxi4ballet that makes sense now! ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfred71 Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Ooh sorry aballetlife just realised you answered my swayback question! Ta muchly ???????? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) Re Achilles length - it is an interestingly (to me) widespread misconception among dance teachers and probably professionals (and in turn, ex-professionals who then teach and perpetuate the myth) that dancers with short Achilles' tendons will struggle to jump. They will indeed have less range in their Demi plié but a deep Demi plié isn't necessarily a prerequisite for a high jump! The strength for jumping comes from the glutes and hamstrings so if those muscles are strengthened, the jump will improve. On the other hand, if a dancer has too much Demi plié they sometimes 'get bogged down' in between jumps and struggle to get up again! And don't forget the connection between loose tendons/ligaments/general joint laxity and weakness..... Looseness does not always = good and tightness does not always = bad! Edited June 5, 2015 by drdance 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) Indeed drdance. It takes massive amounts of strength in the legs and glutes to jump and to enable dancers the use of their full range. I am sure there are many things that go together to enable ballon - strong feet, pliable achiles, strong legs and glutes, strong core (no myth being perpetuated - I'm pretty sure no dancer, teacher or ex professional would ever take any one item in isolation). There is no denying vocational schools look for pliable achiles (they also look very carefly at differences between each achiles). The extremes of anything are problematic. Edited June 5, 2015 by Harwel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 My dd's tight achilles has always meant that my she doesn't put her heels down fully (when landing etc), but then when we watch dvd's of the professionals' solos, quite a lot of them don't either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Taxi, it is very interesting to watch the students of New York City Ballet. Their training must be so very different from ours, as there seems to be no requirment for their heels to come down. Their heels seem to pop up all the time, not just in allegro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 drdance - good rational explanations of things we ballet mums really can get in a muddle & worry over, thank you! It does all come down to the fact that everyone is unique & we cannot (nor should we want to!) make our DC's into perfect technical machines. & let's not forget that a performance is only that if there is an audience to appreciate it....& each member of that too is unique with their own interpretations & emotions. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legseleven Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I have been told that SAB students and ?Vaganova-trained students are not trained to put their heels down between jumps. Why would one system of training differ from another in this regard? Do leg muscles develop differently if dancers do or don't put heels down between jumps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Russian training is less concerned with putting heels down. I think it's an aesthetic thing - higher jump versus 'neatness' of landings maybe? Although I'm not an expert in Russian training/technique so please correct me if I'm wrong! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aballetlife Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I don't know about Russian but I've heard at SAB they don't put the heels down as the movements are very fast as its Balanchine style, and supposed to be very light looking if that makes sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Russian training does expect heels down and aims for a soft deep plié. Balanchine technique doesn't put heels down for fast work. Incidentally in Scottish - HIghland dancing they don't put their heels down, but the technique still has some glorious jumps. In the ballet world there is an alternative view, like in Balanchine work, that tight tendons give you extra ping in your elastic and so actually is good for allegro! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Well if you look at sprinters/long jump/high jump they always take off from the ball of the foot so that's probably the most efficient way of using the elasticity in the lower leg to get the most power? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Is it a complete misconception that not putting heels down leads to shin splints? Drdance you probably know the answer to that. I know I was always told that, but that would seem ridiculous if NYCB don't put heels down, they would all be crippled with shin splints and that can't be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I think it is more to do with whether the dancer is smoothly using the full range of demi plié they have, or whether they are tensing the ankles which can mean the heel doesn't go down even with a long achilles tendon. Shin splints are more to do with this tensing, and with poor use of the toes, metatarsals and intinsic muscles of the foot in general. Aren't we getting a bit off topic here, perhaps mods should split off this discussion into a new thread? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Thanks pas de quatre. Yes gone way off topic! Sorry JA mums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie4dancin Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Yes haven't you just haha interesting as it might be... When I see the thread at the top of the doing dance I keep thinking there is more good news to read about from potential new ja's good luck to all those waiting for news xx c4d 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I've heard MA results are out..... (Harwel you are correct - it is mostly a misconception. 'Shin Splints' is an umbrella term for any condition causing shin pain and can be any one of several different conditions, all of which can have different causes! It's not as simple as to say that certain things will cause one, or any of the conditions but the causes can include biomechanical, so to do with alignment, excessive tension or tightness, muscular imbalances, overuse, changes in dance surfaces, impact.... the list goes on!) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Thank you drdance. That makes a lot of sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 No problem :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busymum Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Has anybody had any results yet? A friend says that they know of somebody with results from Eastleigh. I wondered if this was right. Would mean our London results wouldn't be too much longer then, maybe same time frame as last year's results. Fingers crossed that they are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southerndancemum Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 We were Eastleigh and nothing here. Thought it was end of the month for first lots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petalviolet Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Dontwanttoknowdontwanttoknowdontwanttoknow 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southerndancemum Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Dontwanttoknowdontwanttoknowdontwanttoknow Lol I must admit to ignoring dates and this thread as much as possible. Right with you 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing pickles Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Newcastle are usually the first results out and my younger dd auditioned there (older dd is already a JA) we haven't had any news yet. I think it will be next week 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busymum Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 (edited) Thanks everyone for clarifying. Did think it was a bit odd that there had been no news at all on here, so I had assumed results weren't out yet. I did ask friend was she sure. Now we know! Not too much longer to wait x Edited June 6, 2015 by Busymum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 My daughter has tight Achilles, we know this because she used to be a tip toe walker and still would be only for years and years of being taught how to stretch. Her tight Achilles used to show themselves in plies and jumps. Having said this it hasn't stopped her getting into vocational schools, but this is an area that she has had to work extremely hard on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csmith263 Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 No news for Birmingham yet though they did say end of June beginning of July! I'll be glad when my stomach doesn't flip every time my phone pings new email!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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