Turns out... haha...
Anyway, to make a long story short, I stopped pointe over the summer, and wasn't going to start again, due to bunion pain that I eventually got sorted. Prior to quitting, though, I had gotten up to doing somewhat shaky double pirouettes to the right (my strong side for turns, but weak side for supporting leg---left foot/ankle is not as strong as the right) and to solid doubles to the left (weak side turning, but stronger supporting foot).
Then, the director of the ballet studio I take classes at asked me if I would be able to do their production of the Pied Piper, because they needed another girl for to be a townsperson. The catch: it was en pointe. I mentioned that I was concerned I wouldn't be strong enough en pointe because I'd been off nearly 4 months (and prior to that, eight years!). The director assured me that it would be okay, and the hardest thing to do would be the choreography that I had seen while watching the company audition*. I might not even have to do the pirouette in it, she said. So I was like, okay, I guess I can do it. So, as of yesterday, I've been back doing pointe work for a week. A singular week. This is relevant. One week after 4 months off, and prior to my break, I could only do double pirouettes.
Turns out, that is TOTALLY NOT THE HARDEST THING. Most of the problem is that I'm going to have to do a lot of cardio between now and the performance to get my stamina up. The other part of the problem is that the choreography would be less difficult if it were even slightly slower.
The last problem is not really one that I'm having, but the other girls are. One of the instructors has banned rosin because it's bad for the floor, but the floor is quite slippery, which I noticed during technique class, and we're doing a lot of traveling jumps, and it's a little terrifying trying to travel across a slippery floor in satin shoes.
Anyway, yesterday one of the girls that IS doing the pirouette in that bit of choreography was having difficulties with her foot turning in before the actual turn take-off. She was falling out of her pirouettes a lot when just practicing them and I mentioned this to her, and she moaned that she knew, but the floor was too slippery.
So I tried it, and I really tried to engage my turnout, and used a better plie in order to achieve this, and whaddya know---out popped a completely accidental triple. A complete three times around, and I didn't fall out of it. After which I said "well, that was a complete accident, and it's never
going to happen again." And then I tried it again, with the same mental
effort going towards maintaining turnout in the preparation,
and---voila---it happened again. Remember how the best I had gotten in the spring, after four months back on, was a double? Yeah! Turnout! Keeps you from flailing!
I didn't try my luck a third time xD
I've been doing a lot more modern lately, so I'm used to having the extra friction from bare feet. Anyway, I'm back en pointe and noticing now with both new shoes and slippery floors that turnout is actually kind of hard to maintain. But, it's totally helpful. Who knew that technique was there for a reason :P
* Step(R) step step step, piqué pirouette in arabesque to the R, failli through, jumping pas de basque to a piqué penché in Vaganova fourth arabesque, plié pas de bourré to fifth. Plié point to second with R foot, soutenu, plié point, soutenu, land fourth, double pirouette, pivot to croisé R.
Repeat that through the pas de bourré, then jeté tour (R), jeté tour, piqué half turn in passé to face upstage, jeté tour jeté tour piqué half turn, jeté tour jeté tour chaîné, chassé up into first arabesque, come down into B-plus. It's really not terrible. Lots of piqués, which are way easier than one-footed relevés.
