December 17, 2012

Beginner Ballet Tips: Advice on Tendus

tendu

tendu (Photo credit: jahansell)

No matter what level you are in ballet, tendus are exercises that are essential in practice in any ballet class. DanceAdvantage.net has an excellent article on why tendus truly are important, which says:

It is through tendu that dancers become conscious of directing and eventually expelling energy through a stretched (or pointed) foot. It is also where strength is developed in the foot for taking off and landing with cushion in jumps. Without tendu (and its partner tendu jeté or dégagé) there would be no assemblé or grand jeté or entrechat quatre. Movements would lack the finish of a pointed foot and jumps would land awfully hard. But that’s not all that would be missing from classical or contemporary dance technique without tendu (Nichelle from Dance Advantage).Continue Reading

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December 11, 2012

Do you take classes over the holidays?

English: A ballet dancer doing barre work.

.(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the things we discussed on Tweetchat on Saturday was how we weren’t sure what we were going to do over the holidays–most of us don’t go to studios that offer classes over the holidays. The studios I attend do (with the exception of Christmas Eve and Day and New Year’s Eve and Day), however, I will be away at families’ houses for the majority of the holidays since I have a winter break at college. I plan on doing my ballet workout DVD and well as my modern dance DVD, in addition to lots of stretching and theraband exercises.

Do your studios offer classes over the holidays?

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December 3, 2012

Guest Post: Advice for Men in Ballet

The man presents the lady...

(Photo credit: fingle)

Last week ABP profiled Scott, who runs In the Wings and LoveBallet89, here. Enjoy his post on advice for men in ballet!

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“You take ballet?” “Seriously?”

That’s usually the reaction I get when people find out that I dance.

Let’s face it, ballet is an outside the box activity for an adult, period, much less for an adult male.

Men, especially in the South where I live, hunt and fish. They play golf. They play softball.

They don’t dance.

Continue Reading

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November 26, 2012

What was it like to get your first pair of pointe shoes?

Bloch Signature Rehearsal pointe shoes with a ...

Within the next couple of weeks, I’ll be going to get fitted for my first pair of pointe shoes at a store nearly everyone recommends in Philadelphia, The Rosin Box.

I’m not going to lie, I’m terrified. I’m worried they’re going to tell me I’m not ready. Or none of them will fit me. Or I’ll somehow spectacularly fail at something as simple as a shoe fitting because I’ve never worn pointe shoes before and I’m 21 years old. (Okay, I’m a worrier.)

So I want to know, what was getting your first pair of pointe shoes like? Were you nervous? Anything wish you’d done? I’ll be posting the answers in a separate page for future adult ballerinas to read and get your advice! Make sure you include what your first pointe shoe was!

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November 14, 2012

A Different Take On Stretching

I’m not going  to lie, I failed at keeping up with the 30 day stretch challenge. Between my injury and not being able to attend classes (which killed my motivation)–stretching for a full 30 minutes didn’t happen everyday.

split rock pose : sutro baths, san francisco (...

split rock pose : sutro baths, san francisco (2012) (Photo credit: torbakhopper)

Yesterday, when I talked to my boyfriend after his Tae Kwon Do class, he mentioned how his instructor said that instead of stretching for just one period a day, you instead should stretch for shorter intervals multiple times a day. This allows your body to get used to being stretched several times and not just being exposed to it once a day. This gymnastics article also says that “short, repeated exposure to stretching is more productive than a single intense or long bout of stretching.”

It’s better to stretch for 10 minutes a day than 70 minutes once a week–which is what I would end up doing because I’d avoid stretching and then try to make up for it

So for the next 30 days, my plan will be to try to stretch for still 30 minutes total a day, but in three segments: 10 minutes when I wake up, 10 minutes during my lunch break, and 10 minutes in the evening.

How are you working on becoming more flexible?

Filed Under: 30 Day Stretch Challenge, Ballet, Ballet Class, Info Tagged With: , , , , , 4 Comments