Standing on the platform.

It's not unusual in the beginning to experience difficulty locating and utilizing the whole platform. Don't give up! Remember to start in a plié, and slowly try to straighten both legs as you stand on the whole platform. Just as we did in class. It's better to do it right once, than practice a mistake over and over again. Below are two exercises that I recommend trying on a regular basis, to help with this initial phase. However you still need to combine these with the strengthening exercises we learnt in the first class. (Doming, toe swapping and the big toe exercise). Flexibility and strength need to go hand in hand.


Pointe Stretch:

1.  Kneel on the floor, with your legs in parallel. Make sure that your ankles are

    straight. The heels will be pressing up into your bottom. If there is a strong

    stretch across the front of your ankle, use a rolled up towel to reduce the stretch

    initially.

2. If there is a gentle stretch, hold this position and focus on relaxing the ankles

    while breathing normally. Make sure you just feel a gentle stretch across the front

    of the ankle and no pain in the back of the ankle.

3. If you do not feel a stretch, reach your hand around one knee and pull it gently

    up towards you. You should feel a gentle stretch across the front of the ankle.

    Hold for 10 seconds, breathing normally, and then repeat on the other side. Do

    this three times on each side. 

Having a good pointe range is essential before going up onto pointe. If you do not
have enough range in the front of your ankle, you will have to bend the knee to get
fully up onto the pointe platform. Otherwise you will be dancing on the back edge of
the platform which is not very safe!

Checklist!
The big toes should not come together and touch.
Make sure that you do not hitch the hip of the lifted leg, and your body should
remain straight and elongated.
If you feel that you are progressing well with this exercise after the first week,
you can progress on to hold for 30 seconds on each side.


Foot Massage:
Use a nice smelling cream or oil to make the massage easier and more enjoyable :)

1. Massage up the front of the shin in big long strokes. If this

muscle is tight it will block your pointe range. The muscles

may be tender but there should not be real pain with the

massage.

2. Feel for the space between your big toe bone and your 2nd

toe bone (1st & 2nd Metatarsals). Slowly work your way up

from the web space between the toes up into the middle of

the foot.

3. Do the same under the ball of the foot (try pulling your toes

back to give a bit of a stretch). You will often feel some sharp

points of tension. Work on these gently over time and you will

see good results.

4. Try massaging up the inside of the calf muscle. This is

especially good to work on if your toes scrunch up or if you

have any pain at the back of the ankle. Test out your pointe

range after massaging all area and see if you can feel the

difference. Try trading your Mum or Dad for a foot massage

on a regular basis!

Checklist!
Try and imagine that you are massaging 1cm deep into your foot, rather than just on the skin.
While you may feel quite tight and tender when you first start this massage, you should not feel pain afterwards.
Focus on internally asking the muscles to relax rather than just forcing your way through!

All exercises from Lisa Howell.