March 21, 2013

Back to the Barre

After over a month of sitting around (trust me, it’s been killing me), I FINALLY get to go back to ballet tonight. As excited as I am, I’m also super nervous. It feels like forever since I’ve been at a barre and that my body will have forgotten everything.

amethyst

amethyst (Photo credit: McBeth)

Things like….

What if I forget some of the moves?

What if I can’t keep up anymore?

What if I’m in pain again?

…keep running through my mind.

I know I’ll make it through the class just fine (my teacher is super supportive and so are the women I take ballet with!) but I tend to be a nervous nellie. I’ve returned from long gaps between classes before, and I know I’ll work myself back up to the level I was at before. Unfortunately things like jumps (even though I hate them anyway) and pointe are probably out of the question for a while–but I’m still excited to be back in a ballet studio!

I’ll post an update with how the class went tomorrow!

How do you get yourself prepared to return to an athletic activity you haven’t done for a while?

 

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January 17, 2013

Ballet Studio and Instructor Reviews + Poll

I am finally, finally headed back to ballet tonight. I can’t wait, even though I know it’ll end up making me super sore.

Otherwise, I just wanted to remind everyone that you can still submit studio and teacher reviews at the following links:

Studio Review

Instructor Review

Those that have been submitted have been posted under the resource tab, so check them out! If anything is incorrect, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at adultballerinaproject@gmail.com.

Lastly, I was just curious if readers preferred stretching/ballet advice in video form or text/pictures. So let me know by taking the short poll below!

 

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January 15, 2013

Beginner Ballet Tips: Ballet Exercises at Home

Because, well, I’ve been stuck at home. I’ve had a stomach “flu” for the past three days now, and I haven’t been able to make it to ballet class (or outside the house, for that matter). I was supposed to return to ballet yesterday, and that didn’t quite happen, so  now I’ll be returning on Thursday and I couldn’t be more excited.

Here’s a video with some helpful ballet exercises (Pilates ones included, as well as some Theraband exercises):

I’m definitely looking forward to trying out that tendu one.

Thanks to Disney Ballerina! (I found the link on her sidebar)

Related articles

 

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January 7, 2013

Top Dance Blog Contest 2013: Recreational Dancer

topdanceblog_2013Hello Readers! Every year the fantastic website Dance Advantage holds a contest to try and find the best Dance Blogs on the web. I’ll be entering in the category of “Recreational Dancer” since this blog focuses on profiling beginner ballerinas, my own experience, as well as tips for adult ballet dancers.

The Top 20 blogs with the most comments make it into the finals. Comment on THIS post to show your support for the blog. You can share why you read your blog, why you think it’s special, share your favorite posts or simply state “I love the Adult Ballerina Project.”

Thank you for your support!

The link to the contest can be found here, if you’re interested.

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January 7, 2013

Beginner Ballet Tips: Strengthening Ankles

Français : Pied sur la pointe

Ankle strength plays a huge role in ballet, especially pointe. I’ve struggled a lot with my ankles so far, having to take some time off because of bad cases of tendonitis. However, I’ve been working to improve them through various exercises. Regardless of whether you’ve had ankle injuries in the past, these ankle strengthening exercises are useful to get ready for pointe work as well as ballet in general.

Prehab: Strengthen Your Ankles: While I was told to stay off my ankles in ballet, several of the different doctors that I saw recommended the last exercise in this article, writing with your feet. I find it’s super easy to fit this one into your routine because you can do it while watching TV or while lying in bed.

12 Ways to Build Ankle Strength:  This article, from Active.com lists a wide variety of ways to strengthen ankles, including Theraband exercises which are my favorite. Again, some of these, such as the balancing ones can be done pretty much at anytime.

What other exercises have you come across to strengthen your ankles?

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