If I had a dollar...

...for every time that I realized that my problem is that I am not engaging my abs, I would be just rolling in money. 

On the one hand, it's a huge cheer-up for my day, since I can do something I've been trying to do all x amount of time; however, there's also the moment of "why weren't you just using proper technique to begin with?!" 

Some discoveries I've made in the last year:

1.  En dehors pirouettes: Big duh moment, but engaging your core while turning keeps you up for another rotation or two.  Especially the lower abs region. 

2.  En dedans fouettes: This has more to do with a tip from our principal dancer, which is that if you are turning with your arms in fifth, put them farther forward than you think you ought to.  This keeps you from flinging your back and keeps your ribs knit together and you don't have to strain to engage your abs.  Immediately after she gave us this correction I did a flawless double TO THE LEFT and landed it like a Real Dancer.  And I've been consistently nailing those ever since, except on my bad days.  Which may or may not be days when I just plain forget to use my abs. 

3.  Plie developpe en pointe to the front: Well, this one is highly specific, but there is a line of choreography in our studio's Dewdrop that has you bourree into a developpe front, in plie, en pointe, that I just kept falling out of and kept falling out of.  Then a week before the performance I had the thought: "abs?"  And like magic, it worked.  Well, not magic.  Technique. 

4.  Fouette turns en dehors in attitude front: This one is a total no-brainer.  Helps you keep your leg up in a nice attitude without falling backwards from that opposition.  Happily I figured this one out very quickly with the aid of our director, who asked if I could keep my leg a little higher, and upon seeing me struggle, said, "yeah, it's really hard on your abs, but keep trying" and I went "oh.  Right." 

5.  Pique en dehors pirouettes: Which I realize should be a subset of the en dehors pirouettes in (1), but damned if I wasn't falling everywhere the other day trying to do doubles when I finally realized I should engage my core and suddenly everything was beautiful at the ballet. 

6.  Balances:  Every balance, all the time, everywhere, everything is better with abs. 

7.  En dedans pirouettes in attitude: Yeah, yeah, another turn, another front attitude, and I realize that if I want to hold that balance (uh-huh, it's got a balance too) so that it looks like I really am a floaty dewdrop fairy, all I have to do is... engage my abs about two steps before I plie into that turn.  I actually discovered that one pretty early on in the game. But at that point in the choreography I was working more on my technical and physical stamina, because A. that part wears you the eff out, and B. there are two of those turns in the part, one in the middle right before a massive jumping sequence and one at the end when I'm about to die but still have to look like a fairy for four measures of bourree and four saute arabesques.  Followed by an en dehors pirouette where all I do is yank in my abs and pray. 

Those are the main ones, but there are others too.  They work every time, and every time I think I was such a doofus for not just maintaining the core right off the bat. 

Part of my regimen since the start of this season (i.e., September) is core work every MWF.  I have noticed the effects.  Even on my jumps... which was unexpected.  But you get great ballon if your hips and core are supported! 

Also, yes, welcome back to me.  I have been dancing since my last post, just not writing about it. 

Challenge of the week: March 23rd, 2015

Location:  Center

Combination:  Adagio

Step:  The full challenge sequence is: developpé croisé front, elevé, close to high fifth, release back leg into third (Vaganova) arabesque (still on your balance), quarter promenade still on demi pointe to first (Vaganova) arabesque, lower heel. 

Challenge:  Maintaining balance!

Success?: Only one direction (balancing on my right leg).  My core placement and support is much better on the right side, so although I could do everything until the promenade on both sides, to the left, the promenade just fell apart. 

Tip:  Remember that your core holds you up, and pulls you out of your hips.  Stay pulled up on your supporting side throughout the balance, and place your arms with precision and decision.  Do the whole rotation to the same degree with every part---i.e., don't yank the heel on your supporting leg around and leave the gesture leg (new term I've recently seen; I like it) out where it was.  Don't turn just your hip and have it poking out while the rest of your body is still in its previous position.

Also, use your eyes and look up and out to where you're facing. 

One of my friends, who used to dance at a conservatory in Brazil, reported that Sylvie Guillem was capable of doing a full promenade en pointe with no partner.  That's just crazy. 

Studio etiquette: Space

One thing that separates experienced dancers from beginners is how they treat space in the studio.  At best, those who do not follow studio space rules irritate those who do or expect it.  At worst, they get in the way and get themselves or someone else injured.

Unfortunately, a lot of these rules ARE unspoken.  Which means that you have to figure them out as you go.  But to start you out, here's my top list of spatial etiquette tips.  

Barre 

1. Don't stand too close to other people.  Pretty obvious, right?  You should be as evenly spaced as possible.  Preferably you should be able to do a grand battement front and back with room to spare.  I think it's cute when younger dancers start a class and they're all awkwardly crowded together in some parts with nobody in others. 
2. If unavoidable:  turn to the inside diagonal when doing things that risk putting your foot upside someone's head or kicking them in the arm.  Be especially conscious during high arabesques--the person behind you likely has their arm up and in front as well.  
3. In general, those with long legs need more space.  If you are this dancer, be conscious.  If you are next to this dancer, be courteous. 
4. In the corner:  Make sure that your battements a la second will not result in two feet crashing into each other.  
5. This is probably my own pet peeve, but if you cannot go through class without constantly gripping the barre and pulling around on it, please, PLEASE do not stand on center barre unless absolutely necessary.  These barres move.  If someone pulls on it from one side, the person from the other side loses the barre. 

Center 

1. Same as barre!  Don't stand too close to other people.  
2. Stagger for mirror access--this can be difficult in really crowded classes, but in general, try not to stand directly in front of someone.  
   
3. Standing in front vs back: 
• if you don't know the combination, don't stand in the front.  
• If you're in a mixed class of professionals and non-professionals, I think it's usually that professionals have the right of way and go in the front. 
• Similarly, advanced dancers get first rights to the front.  
4. If you're in the front line, actually be in the front line.  Don't stand halfway back and crowd everybody else behind you.  Don't be shy.  It's not like the instructor can't see you anyway. There's nobody in front of you! 
5. If doing something in two groups, and you're not going, stand against the wall/barre.  Do not get in the way of the people dancing.  Do not obscure their view to the mirror.  If marking, mark next to the wall or clearly out of the way.  I repeat, do NOT get in the way of the people dancing.  This is dangerous for both you and the dancer, but you are the one that will get kicked during a grand battement to the back.  

Across the floor 

1. ...don't stand too close to other people.  :)
2.   If you can see another person without looking in the mirror, it is YOUR job to stay out of their way.  They cannot see behind them.  They do not know you are there.  If you are too close, back up.  Use a low leg.  Make space somehow.  This is the same as when you're doing choreography and the director reminds the girls in the back that they're responsible for holding the line, not the person in front--who can't see where people are behind them. 
3.  People travel differently.  If you find you have gotten too close before something like a pirouette or a big battement, readjust.  
4.  When switching groups without stopping music, NEVER retreat into traffic.  If the combination starts from the back and moves forward, continue forward and then break like the Red Sea and go out to the walls.  
• If, when doing this, you are moving up the side walls and the next group is approaching in such a way that you might get in the way moving past, stay where you are and wait until the coast is clear.  





5.  When waiting your turn, again, like center, wait on the wall.  Basically make it so that if the person runs into you, they would have also gotten themselves tangled in a piano or the barre or something else equally unpleasant.  
6. Big movers should be aware that they are big movers and be prepared to readjust or travel less.  Those that are not big movers should be aware that others may be moving more, and not stand to block them.  Particularly dangerous during grand allegro.  It's best to go with people that move approximately the same amount as you.  

General 

1.  When readjusting, be aware of the people around you.  Take a quick look around.  Don't just move backwards into people.  (This is the one exception for the responsibility of people in the back--if you're doing something not in the combination, you are now responsible for everybody.)
2.  When exiting/entering a studio during a class, do not get in the way of people that are still dancing
• Barre: Unless absolutely necessary (nosebleed, vomiting, other emergency), wait until a break between combinations or sides.  
• Center:  Hug the walls.  If you are dancing and suddenly have to exit, just get to a wall as quickly and safely as possible and then hug the wall to leave. 
3. The best tip is to set yourself up for success.  Space yourself well prior to the combination.  It's much harder to fix spacing while you're actually dancing.  

~*~

What rules have I forgotten?  Or what are your pet peeves? 

Challenge of the week: March 16th, 2015

I have missed a couple of weeks!  My apologies.  The last two weeks have been really busy in my department.

This one is not so much physically difficult; it is just outside the realm of what we normally do and requires some speed and coordination.  

Location:  Center

Combination:  Petit allegro

Step:  The full combination involved a lot of cissones--this particular one was after a large sissonne ouverte to croise with the back leg in attitude, and then two running steps and an assemble.  And then sissonne fermee a la seconde towards the front leg, turning a quarter turn (and changing legs, as one is wont to do), sissonne fermee to the front leg turning another quarter, sissonne with another quarter, sissonne to face front again.  Tada! 

Challenge:  Since this was at speed, doing tidy sissonnes is challenging, but also coordinating the turning and the arms and the head. 

Success?: I'm pretty sure I got it; at least, I turned the right direction and ended up with the correct foot in front. 

Tip:  For speed, like the teacher described, think of being in a box and not doing one of the grand sissonnes that you may be more accustomed to.  That way you won't travel too much, and it'll be easier to switch directions and turn on the next jump.

For coordination... well... practice?  XD that's totally unhelpful.  Also, if you can't do side to side sissonnes rapidly WITHOUT turning, do master those first.  The turning is somewhat natural if you follow the line of the sissonne; for example, jumping towards the left, you bring your left shoulder backwards (so you turn counterclockwise, viewed from above).  Then you just keep moving your left shoulder back for all the jumps. 

Challenge of the week: March 2nd, 2015

Location:  Center

Combination:  Preparation jumps for petit allegro

Step:  The full combination involved some eight counts of straight up-and-down jumps (first first fifth x2, or changement x8), then jump to second, jump to fifth, jump to fourth, double/triple pirouette, land fifth, entre chat quatre. 

Doing a double gives you a count to prepare, or a count to land in fifth after, but doing a triple felt better for me, timing-wise.

Challenge:  Landing the fourth position jump in such a way that you are prepared to immediately pirouette out of it. 


Success?: Yes!  And it was fabulous, because I had just had a horrific pirouette exercise--the floor was too slippery for me to maintain my turnout through the whole preparation.  Anyway, I put some water on my heels and bottom of the toes (closest to the arch) before this combination and went for the triple, and actually nailed it on both sides.  So that was cool. 

Tip:  Technique, technique, technique... whenever I physically and mentally engage my technique, and experience drastic improvements, I just laugh at myself for not having engaged it in the first place.  I actually remember to do turnout and core before pirouettes now. 

- Be soft and supported in the plié, not tense because you're anticipating going back up for the pirouette. 
- Remember all those tendu-temps liés through fourth and having the right sized fourth position, with your weight in the middle, immediately. 
- Support through the core and pelvis.  Because why not?  It'll make sure you don't collapse in the plié and lose that lovely buoyancy.  And it'll hold you together in your turn.  Just all kinds of good things.
- "Use the music."  It works for me, but might not for everybody.  Don't panic that you don't have time to slip slowly into the preparation and wiggle around getting it just right.  Pull out all the stops (technique-wise) and spot with the music.  If your technique isn't reliably there at speed, never fear!  Keep dancing and working at it.  It'll come.  

Pointe shoes: Hard shank? Soft shank? Part II: Dancing

The continuation of the eternal debate.

In my last post, I addressed the foot issue, and how shank strength depends on if you need extra stiffness to prevent yourself from going too far over and overly stressing muscles/tendons/ligaments, or if you need less resistance to compensate for a naturally less flexible foot and/or ankle.  In this section, I'm going to talk about the second half of the list.

1.  Do you have high, flexible arches that are prone to falling over the pointe?  Or do you have an ankle that makes a straight line and a moderate arch (like mine)?  Or do you have inflexible ankle that doesn't go fully vertical, and a tendency to not get over the box?  (I imagine you could have combination flexible arch/inflexible ankle, but I have to admit I have not met many folks like this.)
2.  Do you have strong feet, or weak feet?  Strong ankles, or weak ankles?  Often, but not always, natural flexibility and natural strength are in inverse relation.
3.  Are you tall?  Broad?  Heavy?  Tiny?  
4.  Do you have strong or weak hips, quads, and core?
5.  What are you trying to do in your shoe?  Fast relevés that you need to pop up for?  Hops on pointe?  A soft adagio?  Long balances?  Jumps?  Repeated pirouettes?  Les Sylphides?  (That's the ballet that always comes up when people mention wanting a softer shoe...)
6.  How badly do you not want to buy another pair of shoes in two days?  (This, and this blog in general, applies to amateurs, not professionals, of course!)

Last time, I talked about strength in the feet and ankles.  However, you need far more than just strong feet and ankles to dance en pointe.

While I do not recommend getting a harder shank and box in order to just "sit" en pointe instead of actually engaging, each dancer newly en pointe will have to find where their shoes are hard enough to enable them to dance, but soft enough to ensure proper technique and development.

Here's the description of Aspirations:

Bloch's Aspiration is built for students. This pointe shoe features a harder, more supportive box that assists the beginner. Its full shank is designed to flex at the "three-quarter" position.

The harder, more supportive box and full shank are helpful for balances, I've found.  That is, once you're up on the shoe, it holds you up.  On a new shoe, I have actually been able to disengage through the hip, core, leg--actually all the way down into the ankle and foot--and still balance on the shoe (on one foot, no less).  I don't actually like this.  It makes it hard to roll down, on top of the obvious damage this would do to my technique.  However, if you don't actually have those muscles, this is a helpful feature.

I'm not saying that everybody should go out and buy hard boxes and shanks so they don't have to strengthen their technique and muscle tone!  However, people max out their strength at different ranges.  New students are still developing these muscles.  Why would you get a shoe that you can't do anything on at all? 

~*~

The balancing point plays into point 5, which is "What are you trying to do with your shoes?"  Here's a list of things I like to do with various shoes:

1.  New, hard: strengthening two-footed elevé, working feet through each stage of the rise. 
2.  Fairly hard, but not new: hops on pointe, bouncy relevés where I don't have as much time to plié, bourrés, if I were to ever do a lot of partner work with long balances, probably this hardness until I developed the requisite strength to go down to number 3. 
3.  Middling, still with some resistance on the demi pointe: things with a lot of piqués, pirouettes, more "flashy" choreography that may be combined with smoother relevés, bourrés
4.  Soft shank with smooth roll-through in demi pointe: things with a lot of relevés, things with lots of jumps (two bonuses: quiet, and less resistance going into the jump), fouettés, softer or Romantic choreography
5.  Approaching dead: strengthening ankles, hip, quads, core with relevés and one-footed elevés; easy rehearsal

Giselle is an interesting challenge because of the infamous hops on pointe combined with the obviously delicate choreography.  That's when you just go shopping for stronger legs and ankles. 

My favorite shank strength is 4, with 3 close behind.  At 4 I've also finally gotten rid of that hard box that comes with the Aspirations XD

If you poll the interwebs, you'll find very similar preferences among dancers.  Here's what Paloma Herrera of the beautiful feet says.  Here's what a bunch of dancers on a forum say. 

Since I'm somewhat paranoid, and since I don't dance en pointe enough to kill shoes immediately, I have gotten into the habit of wearing shoes until they're just a little bit too hard for the role I want, calomining them (did you know that there are matte pointe shoes available??), and wearing them once or twice again to make sure they're where I want, and then "rinsing and repeating."  That way I always have two or three pairs of shoes I could potentially wear for a performance, just in case something dreadful happens to one.

It helps that Aspirations are cheap, and I can get three pairs at once and wear them all until they're where I want them.  In fact, I've just gotten one pair to number 3 on the above list.  I'm going to finish sewing the next pair and start wearing them.  

~*~

Finally, there's the issue of how pointe shoes can cost anywhere from 40 to 100 dollars per pair.  If you're not a professional, you don't have a shoe allowance.  Remember the quote that I opened with?  The one that said that Blochs are for beginners because they break in so fast?  Well... if you can afford new shoes every week/day, that's not really a problem!  If your combination of flexibility, strength, and dancing works best with a soft shank, that's awesome... except that shoes die.  And then you go roll around in the bathtubs gold coins that you receive as a dancer and buy new shoes with whatever sticks--oh wait, that's right, there are no bathtubs of gold. 

Professionals with their shoe allowances and strong feet and glorious technique can break in their shoes right where they want them, wear lovely soft shoes, and kill them in a day.  But alas, we students and amateurs cannot afford this luxury. 

Which is why Gaynor Mindens are supposed to be excellent (albeit pricy).  The theory is that they start at one shank strength and STAY THERE.  You don't have to get super hard shanks; Gaynor Mindens are offered through I think five levels of shank strength, from extra hard to nearly dead.  But instead of going from nearly to dead to six feet under in one class, they will stay at nearly dead.  

There's actually a girl at my studio that has strong (but not flexible) feet and ankles, is taller, and average weight (for normal humans, not dancers).  I think she likes hard shanks because they don't die as fast on her, but if that weren't an issue, I think she would do better in a medium to softer shank. 

~*~

So, there you have it.  Very strong feet, ankles, core, and technique... hell, everything... hold up the dancer, and require less support from the shoe.  However, we are not these people.  Or these people.  Or these people.  Nor are we rolling in money.  That's okay!  Do the best and safest with what you have.

Challenge of the week: Feb 23rd, 2015

Location: Barre, or with a partner, or if you're really awesome, just in the center.  En pointe is an additional challenge. 

Combination: Frappés and petits battements, originally

Step: This is actually at the end, where you face diagonally into the barre, on full relevé, and start your petits battements with the inside leg.  Find your balance (== let go of the barre) while still beating.  Hold balance.  End petits battements with leg in coup de pied back.  On your balance, lift your leg to full attitude back, and your arms en haut (en couronne, fifth position, etc.). 

If you're really cool, developpé attitude leg back, close fifth (still on relevé and on your balance) and turn back away from the diagonal, and open your other leg a la seconde, along with your arms. 

Challenge:  Not falling on your face!  lol

- You really find out if you're doing petit battements with your hip or your knee.
- You really find out where on your hip you're placed when changing poses.

Success?: Doing all balance pose switches on my balance is actually a challenge I set to myself, not one that is required in the class.  In class we are not required to do the entire sequence on your balance (you only find your balance when already in attitude). I'm pretty good at this one, though not entirely consistent.  I am nearing 100% consistency when the right leg is the supporting leg.  Meanwhile, the left hip is still not as strong at pulling UP.  Of course.

When I started engaging my core more, my "hit" percentage went up drastically.  I finally understood how, rather counter-intuitively, it's your core and abs that actually help you lift your leg up to the attitude.  And I can feel the engagement every time I do it properly. And then, because this is a fairly taxing balance to maintain even in technique shoes, I admire the dancers in the Rose Adagio and Don Q pas de deux even more (Paloma Herrera and Angel Corella, ABT, PDD from DQ.  Attitude at 1:38.)

Tip: As with everything ballet, the engagement is not a clench or a forced position. Engage your core, engage your hip. 

I like doing very slow elevés up and down in first, second, and fifth and maintaining the lift in the hip and the engagement in the core.  Doing these en pointe (in the center!), especially in first and second position, amplifies any weaknesses you may have in these areas.  Most (non-professional, beginner, etc.) dancers fall backwards doing very slow elevés due to the core not being fully knit together (and sometimes ankles doing things they're not supposed to do). 

Pointe shoes: Hard shank? Soft shank? Part I: Flexibility and strength

This is one of those topics that gets tossed around a lot.  There are a lot of differing beliefs.  For example:

"That's why Bloch shoes are for beginners.  People with strong feet kill them too fast.  You need hard shoes because your feet are strong."

This obviously suggests that hard shoes are for advanced dancers, and soft shoes are for beginners.  But what about:

"Her feet were so strong that she didn't even need shoes to go en pointe.  She would demonstrate for us when teaching and relevé all the way up in bare feet.  It was so crazy!"

This statement is completely the opposite from the first--it suggests that dancers with very strong feet don't need support from the shoe at all.  Then there's the now-pervasive argument about Gaynor Mindens:

"My studio doesn't allow Gaynor Mindens.  They don't make you work because they hold you up."

"I knew a girl that wore Gaynor Mindens, and once she switched to a Grishko and she couldn't even get up on the shank."

Gaynor Mindens are tricky.  I have some thoughts about them, but I'll save them for later.  For now, I'm going to write about "traditional" shoes in hard and soft shanks.  Is it true that strong dancers should get hard shanks?  Or is a soft shoe the true hallmark of strong feet?

I have to admit, one of the reasons that I'm writing this is because I was (quietly) a little offended by the first statement, that Blochs are for beginners.  I wear Bloch Aspirations.  These are actually the shoe I've worn since my first (quickly killed) pair of pointe shoes, which were Gambas.  I had a brief diversion into a pair of Gaynor Mindens, but they didn't fit quite right, so I ended up going back to Aspirations and am pretty happy with them.  They're also cheap.  So that's a bonus.

(My sister, on the other hand, never seemed to really find a shoe that she liked, and bounced around between lots of different shoes.)

I would not consider myself a beginner.  But, recently I've uncovered a secret love of soft shoes. I like softer shoes because they let me really articulate through every millimeter of the relevé.  I like softer shoes because I don't get thrown up to the top of the platform.   I like softer shoes because when I'm jumping I don't sound like a grandfather clock being thrown down the stairs--and it takes FAR less effort to get the same height in softer shoes!  I like balancing in softer shoes because I can consistently negotiate just where my weight is, instead of being encouraged in a certain direction by a harder shank.  I just wish I could get my shoes to the perfect malleable wonderful softness and have them STAY there, instead of wearing out.

Also, here's the real reason I originally started looking into pointe shoe shanks: in high school, I had my hard shoe on my right (stronger) and my soft shoe on the left (weaker), but these days I have the soft shoe on my right, and the hard one on the left.  The right foot just breaks the shoe in faster, so I don't have to do anything special (I actually used to soften up a shoe on my right foot and then switch sides).  

~*~

When considering shank strength, there are multiple factors to consider.  In Part I, I'm not going to talk about everything--I'm going to limit myself to the first three points, and how they apply to getting over the shoe properly. 

1.  Do you have high, flexible arches that are prone to falling over the pointe?  Or do you have an ankle that makes a straight line and a moderate arch (like mine)?  Or do you have inflexible ankle that doesn't go fully vertical, and a tendency to not get over the box?  (I imagine you could have combination flexible arch/inflexible ankle, but I have to admit I have not met many folks like this.)
2.  Do you have strong feet, or weak feet?  Strong ankles, or weak ankles?  Often, but not always, natural flexibility and natural strength are in inverse relation.
3.  Are you tall?  Broad?  Heavy?  Tiny?  
4.  Do you have strong or weak hips, quads, and core?
5.  What are you trying to do in your shoe?  Fast relevés that you need to pop up for?  Hops on pointe?  A soft adagio?  Long balances?  Jumps?  Repeated pirouettes?  Les Sylphides?  (That's the ballet that always comes up when people mention wanting a softer shoe...)
6.  How badly do you not want to buy another pair of shoes in two days?  (This, and this blog in general, applies to amateurs, not professionals, of course!)

Getting over on the pointe is the most important thing, and is intimately paired with maintaining the proper position.  They're the salt 'n' pepper of pointework.  Or maybe the bread and butter. 

There are three general categories: too far over, correctly over, and under.  Let's consider point 1, foot/arch/ankle flexibility:

- Those ballet-blessed with high, flexible arches and ankles have wonderful lines, but a tendency to go too far over the box (risking injury).
- Those with middlingly flexible arches and ankles look less "idealistically" pretty, but have less of a tendency to fall over the box.
- Those with a less flexible ankle have the tendency to not get properly on top of the box (high risk for falling and skidding).

(I've seen this graphic floating around a lot--it's not mine!  But I don't know its origin.  Also, the over-the-box shoe is really unflattering...)

Basically, a hard shank lends its stiffness to the highly flexible foot, and a soft shank lends its flexibility to the less flexible foot.  The shank is the equalizer.  Those with high and flexible arches are often encouraged to go with a hard shank in order to lower the risk of going too far over and breaking important pieces of anatomy. 

Let's continue to point 2: strength of foot.

- Stronger feet achieve the point; stronger ankles can maintain correct position;
- Weaker feet/ankles are lacking in these areas.

So, say you are completely blessed and have very strong, very flexible feet and ankles.  You will likely still want a shank on the harder side, so you have a little more room for error, but strong technique and muscles will also prevent you from going too far over the shoe and, of course, breaking important pieces of anatomy.  Or perhaps a higher vamp will help you stay in the shoe and over the box, and you can use a softer shank.  Strong and flexible feet with weak ankles will almost certainly want a stronger shank to support the ankle and help maintain position. 

On the other hand, say you are cursed with weak, inflexible feet and ankles.  Not only will you have a hard time getting over the box at all, but maintaining the position will be difficult.  My educated guess is that a medium shank would be best here---enough flexibility to encourage getting on top of the box, but enough support to be able to use the shoe to maintain the full point, as the ankle muscles are not yet available. 

I don't want to do all the permutations, but the other two "extreme" cases are weak but flexible, for which I would definitely suggest a hard shank, since the muscles are not available to maintain correct position and the shoe is needed for support.  Meanwhile, strong but inflexible would likely do better with a medium-soft to soft shank. 

Point 3 actually doesn't really have much to do with achieving and maintaining position, except that you need strong feet relative to your build.  I'm 5'8" and 140 pounds, and all else being equal, would do better with a harder shank than someone at 5'5" and 105 pounds, OR, I need much stronger feet.  Just extra weight being on the dancer puts more stress on the shank.  I've also seen very slender dancers (especially young, short ones) have a hard time getting the arch to show up in the shoe at all, just because there's nothing pressing down on the shoe.

~*~

These different factors explain why there are various thoughts that "hard shoes are for beginners" "soft shoes are for beginners" (but nobody says anything about the lonely, neglected medium shoe).

- For beginners with average to inflexible feet, it's easier to get over the box on a soft shank.  Even if beginners are strong for technique class, they do not yet have the strength in the muscles required for pointe.  (And, as I think I've mentioned before, pointework just amplifies all your flaws!)  Thus, just getting up on the box at all is extremely difficult with a hard shoe--even if it'll hold you there when you do get up.
- On the other hand, lots of flexibility or more weakness in the ankles really does need a harder shank to avoid injury.

At the same time, some teachers require hard shanks for everyone.  This covers the extra flexible people, and also puts new pointe feet through a boot camp (pointe camp?) of getting stronger--as long as the students are ACTUALLY working the shoe, and not just hanging out behind the full pointe.  I'd be surprised if people recommended soft for all, since that puts the flexible people at risk. 

I wish I could make a 3D table on here, with dimensions of flexibility, ankle strength, and foot strength, and figure out what each would need. 

So, there you have it.  Whatever you have to say about Gaynor Minden, their shank advice is spot on, though does not address the dancing part of the equation, which is what I will get to in Part II.  There are also other discussions on forums that pick apart these issues.  I'm really not making stuff up and throwing it out there because someone said soft shoes were for beginners!

The British are coming!

The girls at my studio are abuzz because the Royal Ballet is coming to the US for a summer 2015 tour.  They're performing in Washington DC (June 9-14), Chicago (June 18-21), and New York* (June 23-28).  In the first two cities they're doing Don Q and in New York they're doing a bunch of other repertoire.

In some comment somewhere I saw that someone apparently really, really didn't want the RB to perform Alice.  I have to say, I really don't understand not liking the RB production of Alice in Wonderland!  When you have tapping...




And this pas de deux...



Though personally, I like the pas de deux better with Lauren Cuthbertson and Sergei Polunin.  It's not quite as technically smooth (partner-wise) but it feels more genuine.  And softer?  Younger?  More innocent and Alice-like?  But, still, I do really like that pas.  How can you hate Alice?!

The summer in New York is just full of ballet. In addition to the Royal Ballet tour, ABT has an amazing lineup for June.  La Bayadère, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, and Cinderella.  Swan Lake and Cinderella are in the same time period as the Royal Ballet tour if you want to pack full a week in NYC!  ABT also happens to be saying good-bye to a couple of my favorite dancers: Xiomara Reyes and Paloma Herrera.

My parents may or may not be coming to visit me/NYC around that time (their last visit to NYC was disappointing, because their companions didn't want to walk around much), so hopefully some ballet will be in our trip.

*Look, I've fallen into the very NYS habit of calling New York City "New York."  When I first got here, I was always slightly annoyed by people calling NYC "New York."  "Where are you going for break?" "New York."  ("But you're already HERE!!")

Challenge of the week: February 16th, 2015

Location: From the corner

Combination: Corner turns (en pointe, but I'm sure that's not what makes this difficult--in fact, it may be easier en pointe than in technique shoes)

Step: Piqué en dedans (single), piqué en dedans (single), double piqué turn en dedans with arms on the hips, taking up the same amount of time for this double as you did for both of the singles combined. 

I'm pretty sure the arms on the hips don't really matter either, but it does bring your "circle" inward and make it harder to turn slowly---like when you're on the twirly chair as a kid and you spin around really fast when you bring your legs in? 

Challenge: Stopping your turning momentum just enough to take up the full four (three, not counting the final plié) counts for two pirouettes without stopping it SO much that you don't get around.  It also helps if you alter the timing a little.  Usually for double piqué en dedans, the timing is to get AROUND right away.  USUALLY, the combination is single, single, double, single, and the challenge is getting your back around fast enough to do both turns before the 7, 8.  In this case, you almost have to piqué without turning, and then using your balance, spot, turnout, back, etc. to get around. 

Success?: It took me a couple of runs on both sides before I was able to consistently get it (to the right) and mostly get it (to the left).  

Tip: A. use your plié; B. do NOT let your turnout fail in the takeoff.  Nailing the turnout will help you both balance and time the "body pirouette."  C.  Timing thusly (counting a fast 8, rather than a 1 and 2 and):

1 pique pirouette 2 plie, 3 pique pirouette 4 plie,  5 pique 6 pirouette 7 pirouette 8 plie

In the "5 pique" it is kind of a slow half-turn, or at least it is the way I'm doing it.  I got this method to work on the left side (though not as consistently as on the right), so it can't be something I'm just "ramming through" on my strong side.

Challenge of the week: February 9th, 2015

I'm going to start a "challenge of the week."  The classes I take with the company usually have one truly difficult thing (for me... lol) per week, which THEY all work on all week and then I come in on Fridays and am the one flapping around.  The Saturday class usually goes better, haha. 

I actually want to give one from two weeks ago, because it's the one that made me want to do this. 


Location:  Center

Combination: Adagio

Step:  Sousu in croise, arms a la seconde.  Slow port de bras forward while on full demi (or 3/4, whatever your studio calls it) point, moving arms to fifth as normal at the bottom.  Come back up.
 
Challenge:  Holding your glutes and quads firm enough to balance while changing your center of gravity quite drastically.  Coming back up is much harder, though I'm not sure if that is due to the fact that your muscles are tired, or because it's merely the switch in momentum/direction. 

Success?:  We did the adagio twice on Friday and twice on Saturday.  I got it the second time on Saturday on both sides. The first time on Saturday I made it down but had to fling myself back up instead of doing it slowly. 

Tip: Keep your eyes focused more or less as you would for a penche.  That is, in a straight line out, or perhaps a little above where a straight line from your eyes would be.  At the barre, we normally do pdbras with our face turned to the side, but that just makes it unreasonably difficult.

Pirouettes

Good day in class today.  I actually did a perfectly balanced quadruple en dehors pirouette from fourth to the right (phew, that's a lot of qualifiers!).  I attempted two more, but both times I hopped at about the 3.5 mark.  I also did in our adagio a very nice slow double "adagio pirouette" (en dehors from fourth also) that was smooth and balanced, arms in fifth, AND the teacher saw it and commented.  So yeah, a good day!

I've recently been experimenting with different preparation stances for en dehors pirouettes from fourth.  When I was in Spain, I took classes at a Balanchine (and Bournonville, but mainly Balanchine) school, and they weren't of the philosophy that adult/open class people could do whatever technique they had learned.  Thus, I had to learn the straight back leg preparation, which was not what I had learned as a kid. 

I didn't like it much at the time, but it didn't have much effect on me.  Then I did modern instead of ballet for a year, and when I came BACK to ballet, my turns were all wonky and I couldn't do quadruples anymore.  (I unfairly attribute this to having become accustomed to turning in bare feet.)  But, I had the best luck with a straight back leg preparation.  I'm not entirely sure why this is.  I don't actually know why Balanchine preparations are that way---I don't know if he liked the aesthetic, or the physical effect.  I've seen one source that says it's because it provides an element of surprise (i.e., you don't necessarily know that they're about to pirouette if their back leg is straight). 

What I'm actually doing now is a bit of a mix.  I think the girls at my studio mostly do the whole fourth position with both legs bent, but I start in a lunge-like fourth and the draw the foot in the half beat before.  Now, if we're doing the crazy petit allegro that one of the soloists in the company gave, that landed in the fourth IN the half beat before a double turn in one count (a FAST count), obviously there's no time to switch, and I just start out with both legs bent. 

Anyway, this new prep gives a deeper plie for me, which helped me get that quad today.  I think it also helped me really secure the turnout on the standing leg. 

However, the ACTUAL recent improvement to my balance in pirouettes is knitting my core as I push off for the pirouette.  Whenever I have a bad turn combination, I usually realize afterward that I was being lazy in the core. 

In sum, technique.  It works again.  It really isn't just a look. 

That "duh" moment

I recently noticed that my port des bras side to the left (so the right side is stretched) is MUCH less flexible than the other way.  I wondered if it was because I sleep funny (my right shoulder is also stiffer, stronger, but has weird pain at certain angles with certain pressure---specifically those that occur if I scrub a countertop with my arm stretched too far).

I had a modern class on Monday that used a lot of upper body strength and flexibility, and I was really sore in these particular side spots.  Yesterday I realized I am probably stiff on one side because I have a cross-body messenger bag with the weight on the right.  Duh.  So it's back to the backpack, which has the added bonus of holding more things and not looking so dingy---the messenger bag is a bright yellow, or at least it is for the day after it's washed.

I don't know if this change will affect any of my 12 goals for 12 weeks, but perhaps it will at least have a positive effect in general moving life. 

12 goals for 12 weeks

My left foot (Ankle? Hip?) is my weak one.  I think it's both physical and mental.  I get a little nervous every time I have to do something en pointe on my left leg.

In any case, the best demonstration of this is that I can do fouettes to the LEFT en pointe, but not to the right.  This is the opposite as in technique shoes, where I am better to the right.  My dominant rotational direction is clockwise (when viewing from above), or to the right.  But, en pointe, the weak foot trumps and my weaker turning direction is the only way that works (because it's on my stronger leg).

I'm supposed to be Summer Fairy in Cinderella this spring and it was described to me as a part that was "beautiful" and that needed a "STRONG" dancer, so now I'm really nervous that she's overestimated me.  So, I've made a resolution.  I made a PVC DIY barre, and I have wood floors at home, so I have no reason to not do this.

Conveniently, I have 12 goals for 12 weeks.  

General body goals for April 25 (performance date):

1.  Splits in both directions (I actually recently regained my ability to do splits to the right!!  I haven't been doing that since I was like 15.)
2.  Stronger iliopsoas for better extensions.  I might have to work on my dancer's hip on the left hip (it's more severe on that side)
3.  Get my modern abs back... I used to have pretty decent core strength.  No longer. 
4.  More flexible back.  The first thing I have to do is figure out my mattress problem.  I think I've got it sorted now, but I need more nights sleeping like this to be sure.
5.  I know this is not a big deal for ballet, but I want my modern triceps back, too...
6.  Work my stamina up.  I nearly died after that Dewdrop role.  

Leg/foot-specific goals:

7.  There's an upper inner quad muscle that I don't really have.  It comes from pulling up in balances.  I have them sufficiently to balance well in technique shoes but en pointe, those muscles fatigue very quickly.  I would like that muscle.
8.  Get my left foot to stop sickling in the passe.  I don't know why exactly it does this... I think it has to do with my left hip being weak/stuck from dancer's hip, and I'm kind of digging into my knee to hold it up.
9.  Strengthen both feet.  I want to be able to do bourrees and pas de courus for real and for long distances.  I mean, look at them.  Just look at them.     
10.  ESPECIALLY strengthen the left and make sure that I get into the mental habit of doing releves on it to full power.  I don't know if it's just that my right leg always does a full, strong releve and my left doesn't, or if my right leg actually gets away with a bad one too but is better formed/stronger/etc. and so it doesn't matter.
11.  I want to be able to do one-footed eleves on both legs...
12.  I want to be able to do at least 8 fouettes in both directions (consistently).  I'm almost there for the left side but obviously to the right, on the left leg, is much weaker.  It's not that I can't do ANY fouettes.  I just lose it faster.

Most of these will take daily work, though I'm a fan of alternating days so that muscles don't just get tired and worn out.  I don't know exactly what to do about iliopsoas strengthening.  I did a couple of exercises two weeks ago, and the next day I had class, and the adagio KILLED.  I don't want to be that sore for class.  Perhaps I need to do exercises with less intensity. 

Today I started on my leg/foot goals by putting on my dying pointe shoes and doing the exercise we start pointe class with: grand plie, roll up to full pointe IN the grand plie, straighten up, roll down, do three times each in first and second, plus a normal releve and balance; two times in fifth (the hardest position) with two releves and a port de bras forward and back in sousu.  My hips and upper inner quads scream at me every week for this exercise.  So... I'm going to do them more than once a week. (Stop screaming, or I'll give you something to scream about?)

The bubonic nutcracker

This is an extremely delayed post, but the story must be told.

I was asked to dance with the company again for the Nutcracker, which had five performances: November 30, a school performance in the morning on December 12, and then three more Dec 12-14. 

The part I was doing was "side tea" (perhaps the cream vessel?), along with another girl as side tea (sugar bowl?  Or were we teacups?) and the main tea herself (the teapot?).  It's a fine part, even though it's not a main part.  It's one of those parts that is easy enough to "just do," but hard to do well.  I didn't have anything else in the first act, which was actually nice because the dressing rooms were packed.  And I got to help with all the quick changes!

Anyway, the November performance went well.  Then there was another two weeks of rehearsals, and the proverbial excrement started to hit the fan.

Early in the week of the performances, I got an email from the director asking if I would be able to understudy Snow.  Apparently there were no understudies (for 2 demisoloists, 6 first corps, and 8 second corps... and also not for the Snow Queen and King either), and one of the first corps dancers had gotten ill.  It was a cold that was so bad that she was kept out of school with a fever and hacking cough.  They thought it was the flu, but they went to the doctor and it wasn't.

So, I learned that part off of videos.  Luckily, the dancer was able to come back to dance, though she was still obviously ill and "out of shape" (for a high schooler) from nearly a week not dancing.

Then, everybody started getting sick.  Some were so sick that they couldn't even get out of bed.  On Friday morning, we found out that a lieutenant mouse was out with the stomach flu, so our Dewdrop filled in for that part, as she had done it several years ago and only had to review the choreography a little.  She did that part both Friday morning and afternoon.  She said she was starting to feel like a cold was coming on, but it would be okay (and since she had finals coming up, she absolutely would NOT allow herself to get sick!).

Meanwhile, both Spanish female roles and the Snow Queen/Marzipan/Flowers demisoloist are clearly being affected by some chest cold or something, though they are still dancing.

Saturday I arrive at the theater for the call and everybody is abuzz because our Dewdrop is so ill that she can't even stand.  And... of course... she has no understudy either.  She's never missed a performance in her life until now.  The director was down trying to figure out what to do.  Should last year's Dewdrop do it?  She really didn't want to make her, since she didn't quite remember the choreography and she was already doing Columbine, Russian, Snow, and Flowers.  The two Flowers demisoloists offered to just make stuff up where it would be awkward if there wasn't someone on stage, but the director didn't like that idea.

Then she turns to me, since I have only one part, and I actually have an understudy.  She says, would you be able to do this?  I know it's a lot to ask, but I just can't put more pressure on [former Dewdrop with four parts this year].  All you have to do is go out in the beginning of the waltz and bow to Clara, and then in the diagonal just do the step, and for the rest of it it'll look fine if there's not someone there... so you can just run off...

We also find out that the male Spanish dancer is just half-dead on his feet and carrying around a bucket.  He's also the Harlequin doll in the party scene, without an understudy (seeing a theme here??  lol), so last year's Harlequin (this year's teapot) fills in. 

So the seamstress lets out the bodice for me and finds a tutu, and we figure out how exactly I'm going to do the quick change from Magic Castle to Tea (since my understudy couldn't do the actual tea variation, but only the finale).  A girl in Spanish/Flowers remembers that there's a youtube video of Waltz rehearsal, so during Act I I am literally in the hallway in my tutu and bodice and learning the part via this girl's phone.  I've only been back on pointe for four months at this point, so there's no way I'm doing those fouettes... figure I'll do some turns from fifth instead. Really try to learn the parts where it looks super awkward if nobody's there.

The director comes back down after the first act and asks if I'm okay, or if I need anything, and tells me how to do the bow, tells me that there's a little part in Magic Castle where someone tells me something and I tell Sugar Plum something, which I had never noticed before in all our rehearsals (oops).  Then I realize that I have minor partner stuff in the finale and find the guy that I'd be doing it with to make sure I know what I'm doing.  Meanwhile, chaos around me with people all hacking up lungs and pulling plastic snow out of their bodices and changing for Act II.  Putting up my Tea costume so I can do the MINUTE AND A HALF fast change.

That fast change was probably the worst part of that whole performance.  We nearly didn't make it, and the other two Tea dancers were panicking XD oh, other than the part where I nearly ran into the Russian dancer in the finale because I thought my entrance was eight counts earlier than it was, and then I had to kneel awkwardly early on the stage while the little rosebuds came out and did their thing (which is when I was supposed to come on... with them).  The actual Dewdrop part didn't go terribly, though I did forget some of it and had to improvise.  It was okay.  I mostly stayed in the center and tried to not run into anyone.

The next day, I was supposed to do the part again, but the night before I had been watching the actual DVDs of the performances (the ones that I had to learn Snow) and learning the part.  It went much better.  I didn't have to improvise at all!  And I wasn't even close to running into Russian! 

- Our Harlequin/male Spanish dancer was better but still weak.  He didn't need to keep a bucket backstage for this performance.  Also happily, his brother did not get sick (Snow King/Marzipan)
- Various younger dancers in parts like mice and angels were getting ill
- Snow Queen/Marzipan/etc. came to warm-up feverish and dizzy (but she powered through!)
- Lieutenant soldier/party teen was ill, but he powered through too
- Both Spanish dancers still coughing, sometimes onstage during their variation (but they held that renverse in unison the last time and it was FANTASTIC)
- Tea stayed remarkably healthy, despite all of us being in the dressing room of pestilence together
- Arabian was still getting over her Cold of Death
- One of the lambs in Marzipan was ill as well (luckily, he had an understudy)

The moral of this story is to always have understudies.  And to eat chicken noodle soup before performances.

Ballet elitism

(Pre-post note:  I am NOT referring to places like conservatories, art/dance high schools, etc. where wanting to and being able to dance/practice all the time is the REASON you are at that school.)

As an adult dancer, I appreciate that there are people that will let me take class even though there's no chance I'm going to be a professional.  I especially appreciate that people will let me take class, and even perform, even though I am unable to devote as much time to it as would be ideal.

Take the ballet company I'm performing with, for example.  I take one or two classes a week, partly to stay in ballet shape and partially to get strong enough to do a full ballet en pointe.  At my old home studio, two classes a week (90 minutes technique, 30 minutes pointe = one class) was the bare minimum for you to even be taking classes after a certain level.  And I understand completely that ballet is a discipline that requires some devotion, as any activity is--and since most people don't have a studio in their house, class essentially serves as practice.  I get it.  I used to practice seven hours of piano a week.  And three hours of violin.  Four hours of ballet (plus another two or three hours weekly of rehearsal for performances) is totally on par with that.

Once my mom voiced concerns to my ballet teacher about me only being able to take two lessons, and my teacher said she shouldn't worry, since I picked up choreography quickly and my technique was solid.  Okay, cool, so I get to perform as a teenager and it's great, even though I'm not taking 4 or 5 classes a week.

At the same time, however, since I wasn't "devoted" enough, and I wasn't going to be professional, I was passed over for "big flowers" for a couple of years in favor of girls who were less secure en pointe, seemingly only because they took more classes than me and didn't say outright that they didn't want to be professional dancers.  

It has come to my attention that my current ballet company requires its "senior dancers" to take nine classes a week.  NINE.  One short of double digits.  These classes are selected from company classes and level 6/7 (out of 10) classes, two pointe classes, and one partnering class.  One of the pointe classes is during a company class, so none of the senior dancers do that one.  So these dancers are taking class Monday through Saturday.  A sample schedule might be:

Monday: Technique class, 4:00 - 5:30
Technique class (level 6/7), 5:30 - 7

Tuesday: Technique class, 4:00 - 5:30
Partnering class, 5:30 - 6:30

Wednesday: Technique class, 4:00 - 5:30

Thursday: Technique class, 4:00 - 5:30

Friday: Technique class, 4:00 - 5:30
Pointe class, 6:00 - 7:00

Saturday: Technique class, 12:30 - 2

On top of this, the dancers have rehearsals approximately 5 hours a week, and the rehearsal schedule is not the same every week.  That's insane.  I don't know if the director is actually lenient or not--she might be, as she is with me, because obviously as a grad student I can't do this.   From what I know, though, at least the girls that I am dancing with are at the studio Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday for class (from my own observation), as well as Tuesday, because I hear them talk about the partnering classes.

Let's discuss the implications of this.

1.  Dancers are essentially told that if they want to perform, they must drop all other activities.  Now, it may be the case that they can be "auxiliary dancers" or something in name only but actually dance in senior dancer roles.  But as far as I can see, only younger and/or less proficient dancers are labeled auxiliary/apprentices.

2.  In a similar vein senior dancers must sacrifice some college "desirability" because they cannot hold authority positions in things like the school paper, debate club, theater, etc. etc. that require you to meet extensively outside of school.  They are at the studio from 4-7/8 six days a week.  Note: classes in this school district end at 3:30, so no, you can't make a meeting after school. Not having these club opportunities also decreases the possibility of having solid relationships with teachers that can write you recommendation letters. 

3.  Senior dancers must have families that can afford nine classes a week.  Now, it might be that you're capped at 6 classes a week, since that's the highest price I can find, or that company classes are free/reduced (but you still have to pay for the extra three classes), and that there are some scholarships.  However, that's still quite a lot of money. 

4.  Senior dancers must have families that are well-off to the degree that the dancers do not need "normal" after-school jobs (i.e., jobs without connections that are sympathetic to the fact that you can only work 5 hours a week).  You know, for paying for pointe shoes, paying for leotards and tights, paying for makeup, etc.

So, to me, this requirement for 9 classes favors an elite class and tells people (like me in high school) that they're not worthy of being on stage unless they're sacrificing everything else.  Again, there might be some things that I am missing but from what I can tell, these girls are scrambling with homework from AP classes and 18 hours of class/rehearsal, so I feel like they can't possibly be doing too much else.

I really don't like this attitude, implicit or explicit, in ballet/dance, or any arena really.  At this age, or any age where "being a professional" is not in the least the end goal, it's completely absurd. 

So I only want to, or can afford to, ride a horse once a week for one hour.  So I'm not planning to be an Olympic-level show-jumper.  Does that mean that I shouldn't learn how to ride?  Should I not ever go to little local horse shows just for fun?

I'm not able to devote 20 hours a week to piano, so does that mean I shouldn't even bother learning?  That even if, in 7 hours a week I get to the level where I -could- study music at a conservatory, I shouldn't be performing?

Because I can't devote 20 hours a week to studying mathematical theory and am not planning to be a mathematician, I shouldn't learn math, or that I shouldn't "perform" by using math in everyday life?  (Throwing that one in for absurdity.)

I don't see why it should apply to ballet, either.  And even if it's the case that this ballet studio is actually more lax than its printed rules, it is still true that at my old studio, people that intended to continue dance post-high school were favored for roles DESPITE the fact that I had better technique, learned choreography faster, and was a better overall dancer.  (Throwing modesty out the window here, it's true.)  And it turns out that I'm still dancing anyway so why does it matter?

Turns out technique is actually helpful

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. 

Dance is like dressage for people

This is a dance blog, but dance is just dressage for people*.  For those of you that don't know what dressage is:

This is not me.  This will never be me, and I have no regrets.  But I do really love ponies.


Today I commented to my roommate that I finally made some improvement on my posture in my riding lesson, after seeing in a video of myself, what was going wrong.  She thought it was so weird that I've been riding for over four years and there are still things that I can improve on.  Important note: she does not ride.  However, is there anything you can be unimprovable in after just four years?  This isn't entirely rhetorical; I honestly cannot come up with anything that you can't improve on after four years.  Perhaps double-clicking?  But in terms of skill sets that involve tremendous motor coordination, it's not really the time that's the issue--it's more the concept of achieving perfection at all, ever (those that know my "professional" research would know how hard it is for me to NOT talk about speech control right now).

Anyway, my modern instructor has been really trying very hard to get me to improve my posture, mostly opening through the shoulders and lengthening the back.  So I'm working on my posture.  I want better posture.  I want this posture to be strong but not tense, self-supporting, and consistent across conditions: low distraction, medium distraction, and high distraction.  Now, here are the conditions that I am applying posture to, along with benefits and challenges:

Everyday life: 

This is the easiest one to do, and thus the first step.  When I'm walking, sitting, or standing, it just takes one small mental reminder to open the shoulders, lengthen my middle back, and support with my core.  As I'm writing this blog post, I am doing this. 

Pros:  Well, good posture is good for you anyway.  Specifically, I've noticed that my back is more flexible and also less painful than it has been in the recent past.  Some of this could be due to my recent increase in overall activity (~ 3 dance classes a week, + riding lesson every week), but it isn't the existence of dance alone that has caused this improvement, as my weekly ballet class last year did not cause the same improvement.

Challenges:  Remembering, mostly; however, this is just the creation of good habits.  Even when I remember, almost without fail I will revert back to the original closed shoulders within 5 minutes.  It is, however, getting better. 

Dance class: 

This is the next easiest to do.   During my modern class, for example, I can remember to carry myself with (more) correct posture.  Remarkably, a lot of this involves releasing tension.  Importantly, not clenching down the shoulders, but rather pulling them down and back without pinching at the shoulder blades, as well as lengthening the middle back without pinching on the spine.  Sometimes I find that my hands have locked into position, but completely relaxing them will make my shoulders also relax.

Pros:  Better lines, better technique; application of the posture here also builds on the same benefits as in the "everyday" category, like flexibility through the back and less pain.  Slightly improved balance (greater effect en pointe).  Also--improved abs. 

Challenges:  Doing completely atypical things with my feet, remembering what the order of the atypical things is, and still maintaining a posture that I must devote conscious energy to.   Most challenging with lengthy or very difficult choreography.

Riding: 

This, for me, is the most challenging.  The biggest influencing factor in ranking, I think, is simply how long I've been doing each:  I've been dancing since I was 2 and a half, but only riding since I was 18.  Another challenge is, of course, that you are working on the back of an animal that is being so pleasant as to cart your butt around.  The last thing you want to do is unnecessarily burden their back and their mouth.

Anyway, I started jumping almost two years ago.  Now that I've accomplished my goals of not looking down before jumps (which leads to falling off) and having fair consistency in counting strides (the lack of which can also lead to falling off), I'm trying to work on my position, both at all gaits while flatting (walk/trot/canter), as well as my jump position.

- No worming at the (sitting) trot or canter;
- Relaxing the seat (this whole "relaxing" thing seems to be a recurring phenomenon);
- Supporting through the core;
- Low, relaxed shoulders;
- Weight centered; specifically, weight not too far forward, and
- Lengthened and flat upper and middle back.

Here is me riding Freckles about 8 months ago.  I am doing the worm:  

Here is me riding Elvis a week ago:

Here is me riding Freckles today:

 So, this is better (I'm not looking at anything below the knee):

I had a video taken last week and this week because I could feel that something was going wrong, but I wasn't sure where it was.  Turns out, it wasn't just the jumping itself that was the problem!  The root of the problem is at the canter.  Collapsing in the upper/middle back (and, at the extreme end, being one of these guys) during the canter was not setting me up for a good jump position.  Sur-prise!

Pros:  Magically, having good posture also prevents my weight from falling too far forward.  And being too far forward means you will probably fall.  And falling from four or five feet up, going from 15 or so mph to a dead stop (when you hit the ground), is very painful.  And quite dangerous.  I'm not saying that you won't fall if you have good posture, but it seems to help the stickability.  On the horse's end, you are carrying your own weight more efficiently, which is always helpful for them.

Challenges:  Running around in the woods at 15-20 mph with very little actually between you riding happily on your horse and you being wrapped around a tree comes with some adrenaline.  The reaction of humans when they are doing something that is fast and frightening is to curl up into the fetal position and protect the noggin.   And this is the opposite of good posture!  Instead, you (I) need to work on a., never actually hitting the mental panic button, and b., building in a relaxed, supported posture into riding.  Some people naturally come this way; others (like me) need a bit of poking and prodding. 

My poking and prodding is mostly self-motivated in riding, though the general posture ideal was catalyzed by my modern instructor.  I hope to turn my posture into another success story like how I semi-permanently banished severe pronation (and pain).  Start with the basics, like brushing my teeth or waiting for the bus, and work up to running around the woods with ponies.

* This is the opposite of the normal conclusion, or "dressage is dance for horses."  I also started dancing 15 years before I started riding.  But this direction is more appropriate for a dance blog. 

I'm a jumper

In addition to my open ballet class, I'm also taking a modern class this semester.  The unclimbable mountain of every class is her major adagio-allegro double whammy that takes a good 15 minutes to learn by 8s.  Usually 4 counts of very slow 8, so you might as well call it 8 counts of 8.  They're great, though, and we do them over and over in two groups so we can figure out what we were actually supposed to do while the other group is going.


Normally we don't jump, really not at all, which is a shame.   My extensions are only so-so, my knees look perpetually bent from the inside, and my back will be forever thrown by some spinning falls off of horses.  But my jumps are good.  Petit allegro, grand allegro, turns, grand waltzes, whatever, if something is "for boys," I like doing them and I'm good at it.  After poking my knees at barre trying to get me to "straighten all the way," my instructors invariably see me jump and go, "oh look!  You are good for something."

I'm definitely bragging here, but it's my one claim to ballet okay-ness.

Anyway, we don't jump a ton in my modern class, so my modern instructor has never really seen my jumps, but today... oh, today.  We did THREE medium-allegro combinations from side to side, kind of like interval training because she made sure we knew what we were doing a couple of times across the floor, and then asked the musician to vamp up the speed, and then vamp it up again, and again.  And then we did a second combination, and then a third.  And she was very pleased with my jumps.  She SAID so.  To the CLASS.  In one of the crazy-fast renditions of the second combination she said, "Watch how Robin barely touches the floor--well, she hits with a very good plie, but then immediately pushes off.  That's how she can do it so fast."

That's all.  It was a good class. 

(Combinations:

1.  Moving from stage left to right.  8 counts.

Tombe onto right foot (1), coupe pivot as if going into a jete tour (and), saute arabesque on R leg facing UsR (2 and), run run to face DsL (3 and), rond de jambe R arching towards working leg, side to front (4), step onto R (and), pique facing DsL onto L (5) plie on L (and), grand jete a la seconde to R facing front (6) step (and), grand jete R leg front facing stage R (7) step (and), chug with R leg in passe, curving upper back (8 and).

2.  Moving from stage left to right.  10 counts.

R leg degage side, upper back arch away from leg (1) step (and), step (2) L leg degage side, upper back arch away from leg (and), step step to face DsL in parallel (3 and), degage parallel arabesque R leg (4) step back onto demi pointe onto R leg (and), step demi pointe L leg, arching upper back backwards (5) step forward plie parallel onto R leg (and), little pas de chat in parallel with L leg to passe first, starting to come out of the arch (6) step plie pivoting to turned out coupe, facing stage R (and), step backward onto L leg and saute with R leg arabesque (7 and), step backward onto R leg and saute with L leg arabesque (8 and), land fourth with R leg front (9 and), jump forward in fourth, arching upper back backwards (10 and). 

3.  Moving from stage left to right.  8 counts. 

Saute on L leg, facing front, R leg passe, upper back arched backwards (1 and), step onto R leg, facing DsL and saute with L leg in arabesque (2 and), grand jete backwards with R leg brushing back, L leg ending in a degage front (3 and), coupe, saute on L leg with R leg extended a la seconde (4 and), run run to face UsR (5 and), grand jete R leg forward (6 and), step fouette saute R leg extended, (7 and), little hitchkick to change legs so L leg is in low attitude back (8).  )

Risk taking

For my dance classes at UW-Madison I had to sign my life away.  You know, disclaimer, dancing is inherently dangerous and you risk serious injury, etc., etc., don't sue us when you're whisked away on a stretcher, etc.  I never really think about dance as a dangerous activity, but obviously it is--how else would professionals get so seriously injured on the job?  Things can break or snap or strain in all kinds of ways.  Just look at this slow motion!

Anyway, there's nothing quite like pointework to make you realize that this stuff is scary.  You know that part in Black Swan where she's doing the fouettés in front of the mirror, and they have that slow motion bit, and then her toenail cracks?  Yeah, I think of that every time I go en pointe now.  Thanks a lot, Black Swan.

But sometimes you have to take the risk.  Today I went to a ballet class with a different teacher, who didn't know how long (short!) I've been doing pointe.  Which is, of course, two months, if we're being generous--six weeks if you count the number of classes I've taken. 

I don't do an actual pointe class; I just do the last part of barre and the first part of center.  Initially I was putting them on after stretching because we always did relevés and elevés between barre and center.  But every class I've been adding a little bit more, like the corner waltz or corner turns.  Today our corner turns were two piqué turns en dedans, then one en dehors, tombé onto the working foot, and then turn on that foot, en dedans.

My initial reaction to this combination was "Hm, I wonder if I can even do this en pointe..."  But I tried it.  And I didn't break anything, but then I found out that it was actually a fouetté, and not a one-footed pirouette.  So I tried it that way, and it worked, and then the teacher says:

"You can do a double, you know.  The fouetté will whip you around for it."
Me:  "Er... not en pointe, I don't think!"
Her:  "Yes, you can!"  
Me:  "Well... I guess I can try..."

So I did, to the left, and I actually managed a double, which is amazing because not only was I turning on my weaker left leg, but also turning in the left direction, which is my weaker direction.  It only worked once; the second time I was slightly off and didn't make it around twice.  But now my biggest pointe accomplishment is a double fouetté en dedans to the left.  All because I managed to block out that image of bones shattering.  :D