Productive stretching

Me, as I write this post ;)

I'm not saying that you have to agree with the author's opinions, but this is an interesting article. When it comes to stretching there are probably as many different opinions as there are dancers. The important part is to listen to your own body and find out what you need to include. The video clips of the exercises are reason enough to invest time here ( all films are under 30 seconds). Especially for everyone with injuries and local pain.

Productive stretching for dancers

Quote

Today, just a quote from another article. This is important enough to stand here alone. You'll find the article here.

" Distorting the back, either by crunching the lumbar vertebrae and splaying the rib cage open or by hunching the shoulders forward and tucking the pelvis under, affects every other part of the body. Since the proper placement of the torso is the foundation of any movement, a dancer with a misaligned spine will develop other deadly technique sins. Problems can ripple all the way down to the extremities and upward to the neck and head. The core will be loose, and unable to provide essential support. A pelvis that either tips back or tucks under will limit the range of motion in the hips. Christine Spizzo's students at the North Carolina School of the Arts constantly work on their placement. The one directive I give in class more than any other she says, is tailbone down, navel muscles lifted. She emphasizes that the tailbone lengthens downward without tucking under, and the navel muscles lift upward, not inward. This opposition allows the external rotator muscles to be actively engaged at the top of the thigh. Spizzo uses the expression the Four T's - no tucking, tipping, tilting or twisting of the pelvis - as a reminder for the students. "

Read

This article is well worth reading now when the local council (kommune) is threatening budget cuts; but also because it tells you a lot about the skills and attributes dance training can give you that aren't just specific to dance. Not least of all, the last paragraph is a call to arms. It is unfortunate but these days it is important to stand up and fight for what you believe in, not just for yourself but also for those who come after you. Read.

NB: Dole = arbeidsledig (mottar dagpenger)

Heart.

From Ballet Foundation on Facebook.

      

Denis Rodkin

Cardio in ballet: During allegro work your heart rate will go up. It is important not to just stop moving or sit down right after you do a combination. Keep moving. Your heart does not do well going from 100 miles and hour to 0. Walk it out- but don't put the strain on your heart by stopping completely. 

Quote...........

" The practice mirror is to be used for the correction of faults, not for a love affair, and the figure you watch should not become your dearest friend"

                                                                                          Agnes de Mille, choreographer.

Caution

A lot have asked about the various "popping and cracking" noises we hear within our joints. Here is a cautionary article written by a dance physical therapist, which should give you something to think about. Do remember that some of the noises are innocent though. The article also includes a good video about engaging the stomach muscles whilst enabling efficient breathing. So even just clicking through to watch the video is a good idea. The article is here.

A good thought.....

This was a post from Ballet Foundation on Facebook, something worth being reminded of 

now and then :)

"

As an advanced dancer realize and accept you ARE a role model. The dancers beneath you 

in level hold you in high esteem. They watch what you do when you arrive, when you 

enter  the room, what you pull from your bag, what you eat, what you say, how you work, 

AND  most of all they watch how you respect or disrespect your teachers/choreographers/

directors. You may not want to be in this position- but you are. Be careful, be responsible. 

This is your time to be a light to the future generation- so be a bright one! "

Read me :)

I came over this article today, which is a direct extension of what we talked about in our last class. Correction of the line through the pelvis, and thus engaging the correct muscles for each movement, including higher leg extensions. I know some of you have talked about lower back pain also, and this is a possible factor for you to consider. It is a long article (again) but well worth reading. You can at least skim through it, paying closer attention towards the end where the important points are highlighted. Give this article a try. :)

Breathing.

As dancers we need to be aware of how breathing is involved in the whole system of moving, right down to core stability. Many dancers hold their breath and often are not taught how to breathe properly. When we are babies we breathe very naturally, but unfortunately as children many of us learn that to "breathe in" means to suck in the stomach, reversing our pattern of breathing.

"By sucking our stomachs in, we force the air to stay in the top of the lungs, and often overuse the neck muscles to breathe. This is a major cause of neck tension in many people, and can exacerbate conditions such as asthma."
                                                                                                                                  Lisa Howell

• Lie on the floor, one hand resting gently on your upper chest and neck.
• Place the other hand on your diaphragm, where your ribs end, on the top of your stomach.
• Breathe naturally a few times, observing what moves and what doesn't.
• Then take a deep breath, and again observe what areas fill with air first.
• Notice if you are holding any tension in your neck or shoulders.
• Relax, and go back to natural breathing.

Muscles that are designed to be used for breathing are your diaphragm, a dome shaped muscle that sits under your lungs; and the muscles in between your ribs, the intercostals.

• Place one hand on your diaphragm and the other on the side of your ribs.
• Breathe gently in and see if you can expand the chest into both of your hands.
• Keep the breath slow, quiet and deep.
• If you are doing this correctly you should not get breathless.

Many dancers when told to use their stomach muscles, hold on too tightly with their outer abdominals, the obliques. These muscles attach from your ribs down onto your pelvis in a diagonal line. They are important for movement, but if they are gripping excessively the diaphragm and ribcage will not operate normally. This results in breathlessness whilst dancing, and also gives an odd profile (side view) to the dancer's stomach. It can also limit upper back mobility as the ribcage is held forward and down.

The more demanding a class gets, the more advanced technique you are required to master, the more stress is placed on your body. The fundamental building blocks of breathing, core strength, proprioception and knowledge (understanding) must be in place for progress to be made. It is never wasted time to go back over the basics every now and then :)

En Pointe!

A sneak peak at how some professionals break-in their pointe shoes. Baring in mind they have a much shorter time frame, often limited to one performance or even less.

Battement tendu

I'm so sorry this is such a long post :(  You don't have to read it all once, or necessarily agree with what is written. Take your time and think it through.

While something as ‘simple’ as a Tendu gets taught very early on in most ballet schools, and is one of the core movements of all ballet steps, it is one of the things that is often poorly understood. Getting these basics right is absolutely essential as dancers get more serious about dancing. Any faults in basic technique often result in all of the niggly foot, knee, hip and back issues. If you can grasp all of these minor details, this will set you up for just about everything else in your dancing. Battement tendu is the fundamental exercise for pointe work.

The Core Ingredients in Performing a Perfect Tendu Are:

1. Mastery of subtle, dynamic core control
2. Awareness and endurance of your standing leg turnout muscles
3. Control of the position of the supporting knee
4. Articulation of the ankle and mid foot
6. The ability to maintain length in the toes while fully working the ball of the foot

The following points outline what to, and what not to do in all of these. I hope this helps!

1. Mastery of subtle, dynamic core control:

The tendu, in my opinion, actually starts from deep in the core. The deep stability of the pelvis and spine is essential to being able to maintain stability on the standing leg. Without a stable base, you will have no  base to work your turnout from, which will result in the loss of your turnout and twisting in the knee of the standing leg.

This core stability is not the kind that you get from doing sit-ups and crunches or plank type exercises. These common abdominal exercises train all of the outer muscles (which are important in their own right) however they are not the ones you need for a Tendu. The core stability that is needed is a subtle, dynamic stability which is able to be maintained for a long period of time. This is described in many ways by dance teachers, such as “pulling up” or “hollowing” the tummy, or as “feeling your center” but many people overdo it and start to look stiff and wooden. Anatomically, it is a very subtle activation of your pelvic floor, deep abdominals (Transverses Abdominis) and the deepest back muscles (including Multifidus and Rotatores).

The key to knowing that you are using the right muscles is whether you can breathe at the same time. Many dancers grip so tightly with all of their abdominals, (that attach to the bottom of the ribs” that they cannot breathe. Therefore, the contraction only lasts a few moments, and cannot be maintained during movement, and especially in higher level exercises. 

2. Awareness and endurance of your standing leg turnout muscles:
Once you have mastered the core control you now have a base to work your turnout from. Most dancers have heard about the six deep external rotators that are our true turnout muscles, however when I ask students to point them out on a muscle chart or demonstrate any specific exercises for them, they struggle…

It is essential to know the difference between your standing leg turnout muscles, and the turnout muscles that are used for controlling the leg en fondu and en lair. Quadratus Femoris (QF) is the muscle that is best placed to turn out the femur in a standing position. We work a lot on isolating rotation of the femur using QF without contraction of the outer gluteals in order to ‘wake up’ these muscles.

Once you have found these turnout muscles, you must learn to use these muscles when standing and working in class. One of the best progressions is floor barre tendus. This is a great way to practice endurance of the core and standing leg turnout, as you focus on the articulation of the foot and ankle. Make sure that the feet are kept about 10cm off the floor to challenge your core control, while still keeping the legs in the correct alignment.

3. Control of the position of the knee:

Many people with hypermobile, hyper-extended knees find it difficult to control the position of the knees when moving from 5th position into a tendu. It is sometimes tricky to find the mid-point between  feeling ‘bent’ and over straight. The aim is to get a lengthened feeling in the leg, as though you are actually trying to create space in the knee joint. It is important not to “pull back” into the knees, and even the traditional instruction of “pulling up” can often create too much tension and build up of the quadriceps. The quadriceps are definitely active, just not bunching.

Many dancers with hyper extended knees tend to sit with their weight back on the heel, and then shift the hips out to “get the weight over the supporting leg”. This makes it very difficult to work in and out of 5th position.

The cue that I find works best is if the supporting foot is kept in the “Tripod Foot” position, with the feeling of going into a very small rise. Imagine that you are lifting the heel bone off the floor, but the skin is still touching! This means that you will be automatically lifted out of the leg, and this position, combined with good turnout and core control allows much more room for the working leg to move in and out of position. This should also remove the feeling of twisting that you might feel in the knee.

4. Articulation of the ankle and mid foot:

Finally we move onto the foot and ankle! It is important to be working through the foot correctly to gain all of the benefits of the exercise, and prepare the foot for later in the class. Exercises like “Pointe through the Demi pointe” are excellent mastering the action of plantarflexion at the ankle before pointing the ball of the foot (metatarsophalangeal joints) .

Practice your Tendus in parallel in the beginning to ensure that you can control core and the position of the standing leg while working the working foot through its movement. You should be focussing on getting full plantarflexion of the ankle before you start adding on the toes. Glide the foot forward, with a feeling of stability in your center and lengthening the leg from the back of the hip to the ball of the foot. Make sure that the both knees stays lengthened throughout, and the movement is smooth.

When working on your Tendus in turnout, cues such as “lead with the heel” are designed to encourage and maintain turnout of the working leg, but do make sure that the hips do not twist towards the working leg when practising this. You should have an awareness of working the turnout evenly on both legs throughout both phases of the movement.

When drawing the foot back to 5th position, cueing to pull the little toe back helps maintain turnout of the working leg, but take care not to twist the foot. If you are elevated on the supporting leg, there should be enough space to draw the foot in to close cleanly (No wiggling of the hips or bending of the knees!)
The ability to maintain length in the toes while fully working the ball of the foot:

The control of the muscles in the ball of the foot is one of the most important factors in preventing foot and ankle injuries, and Tendus are a great way to practice this. The secret is to incorporate the “Doming” exercise into every tendu you do in class. Take special care not to let the toes curl under when fully pointed. This is especially important for the big toe, as this can cause many problems if overused, including pain in the back of the ankle.

After working on all of that, the actual effort that is put into a Tendu should be very minimal. It is in the subtle activation, isolation and endurance of all of the components mentioned above that will really transform your dancing. My rule of thumb in this kind of work is to use the least amount of effort required to effectively perform the movement. As you practise over time, this effort will become less and less!

Strengthening

Many of us are experiencing problems standing on the whole platform as we go en pointe. We talked about this in the last class, and one of the most common problems was rolling out towards the little toe. This is known as "sickling", which can also be seen when extending the leg (ex: tendu/degagé). Otherwise known in my class as "banana foot" :) It is important to remember the line running down your leg from the hip joint, through the centre of the knee and the ankle, down to the second and third toes. And as we talked about, engaging the turnout muscles even when we are standing in parallel. Rolling towards the little toe (or big toe - known as "fishing") overstretches tendons and ligaments on the side of the ankle joint, weakening them and exposing them to acute injury should you come off pointe. Below is a short video showing an exercise I highly recommend, and as always I suggest working with a friend for optimum feedback.

Quote.

" Many other women kicked higher, balanced longer, or turned faster. These are poor substitutes for passion."

                                                                                                     Agnes de Mille, choreographer.

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.

Star.................................wars

It's well known Internet Law, that you can't have a blog without having a Star Wars post. But obviously it's important to stay relevant and on topic.........

Voila!

Inspiration

This is a beautiful picture. Can you? And make it look easy?

Anatomy of a pointe shoe.

Like any classes you take, you need to understand the tools you use. More especially so, when they can directly affect the health of your body. Over time we can replace any tools we need, but we only get one body, and you need to take care of it for the future too.

These illustrations are from the Bloch website, hence the free advertising. I'm not recommending that you buy  Bloch specifically, just that they have a lot of helpful information.

The shank is normally made from a number of layers of special materials. Each company has their own version and offers different strengths and combinations. Many also offer graduated shanks were the strength and flexibility varies along the length, according to what a dancer needs. the shank is comparable to the backbone in the human body - which should tell you how important it is. Beginners need to aim for something "soft" or "supple", unless otherwise directed.

The drawstring is either cotton cord or elastic and ensures a snug fit around the foot.

The vamp is the lower forward (hard) part of the shoe, including the box and platform. Amogst other things the length of your toes and your ability to roll up through the demi-pointe, decide the type of vamp you should have. The vamp throat describes the shape of the entrance area for the front of the foot. Most often a U or V shape. A "V" is better if you have extremely narrow feet.

The wings are the outer edges of the hardened box,either side of the vamp, running towards the heel. They are graduated so that they become softer the further up they come. They can vary in shape and hardness according to the manufacturer, and chosen to meet the dancer's needs. A longer wing can always be softened later. A wing that is too short will push your toes out of line.

The block/box is the name for the whole hardened area, including the vamp, wings and platform. It's made from a number of layers of materials (in differing sizes), with a special paste between each layer. Think papier maché. This is why moisture can ruin your shoe, and why you need to make sure they air-dry between classes. (Remember to take all the pads out).

The platform is the flattened end of the shoe where you stand/balance en pointe. Beware, not all platforms are flat!

The outsole is the part that is in contact with the floor and normally made of leather.

The pleats and platform are the first areas where the satin begins to wear away, and they can also be quite slippery. This is why we used to darn (sew) the ends of shoes. However these days you are luckier. Now you can buy suede patches which you trim and glue onto your shoe. Problem solved!

Whilst a pointe shoe is fairly straight forward in design, there are many components that can be varied. Furthermore, each company will have their own specific styles and material choices. Due to modern technology there are now many new options designed to aid the dancer. There are shoes with "silver nano particles" to aid healing, shoes with "TMT" which are moulded to your feet using heat (hair dryer) and cold air (fridge), and shoes with padding built into the construction. Be careful though when you're shopping, not all of these functions you are paying for, are truly necessary.

For anyone considering the American brand, Gaynor Minden, here is the link to their site. You need to set off a good amount of time and read everything they have to say before you purchase. On the left side of their page is a list of information pages, including how their fitting system works, that you need to work through. The more time you use and the more accurate you are, the better the result. You can also use these pages to find your ideal shoe and then ring to La Danse in Oslo to order.

I hope this helps a little, remember you can never ask too many questions. Sorry about the long posts, I'll try and keep them shorter from now on. :)

Protecting small feet :)

Before you start the process of finding the right pointe shoes you need to consider how you want to protect your feet.

 Unfortunately you must decide what kind of toe pad you want to use before you go en pointe. This is due to the fact that the type of toe pad you choose can effect the fitting of your shoes. These days there are many options and I'm not going to go through all of them, a spot of window-shopping online will soon get you updated. Who doesn't like window-shopping?

 However you need to be realistic. Blisters are caused by friction, and the more you stuff into your shoe, the more there is to rub against your skin. A fitted pointe shoe, strong feet and good technique should go a long way in protecting your feet. In the beginning you will be spending very little time actually en pointe anyhow, and it might not be as painful as you're expecting. It's perfectly possible (and preferable) to dance without padding. This will give you the benefit of being able to feel the floor as you dance and move the muscles of the foot freely. Regardless of all padding you can still expect the odd blister - although unlike pro-footballers we won't be rolling on the floor in pain. When it comes to blisters there are many specialist tapes available for dancers, they'll be listed along with toe pads, under pointe shoe accessories. But I'm sure the local chemist (Apotek) can also help you.

The traditional toe pad comes in many forms now. Avoid the original foam toe pads which flatten quickly and also absorb moisture (smelly).

Yuk!

You can now get them in lambs wool too, which has traditionally been used as a loose form of padding. Gellows, pillows for pointe, are a new brand to me, which also come in extra long. And Skinny Dips have a very lightweight material pad, although how much protection it gives is questionable. One possible solution is the Eurotard Feather Lites gel pads which will allow you to feel the floor, and I think could be cut down quite easily on the underside.

Feather Lites

Bunheads have a line of products for pointe shoes, the most known of which is their Ouch Pouch (below).

These have a thin layer of gel between two layers of material, which should ease some of the friction, but they also cover the whole forefoot. A good choice for those who are more squeamish but not otherwise recommended. You don't need padding under the toes regardless, but it can also affect your balance and hinder the proper use of the intrinsic muscles. If this is the way you choose then I recommend the Ouch Pouch Junior which has less padding on the underside.

Another product from Bunheads is their gel tips. They are elasticated fabric tubes with a gel coating on the inside, also good if you have a bruised toenail. They are available in many different shapes and forms, but you do need to remember to cut them down so blood flow is not restricted. (Below)

As I mentioned before lambs wool has traditionally been used as shoe padding and is still popular with many dancers. It is cheap, easy to form and can be placed exactly where you need it. I don't have any experience with this product unfortunately, but I do wonder how it is affected by moisture from the foot....

It's also worth mentioning that many, including professionals, use paper towels. You have to be extremely precise when you are folding and placing the towels but they are a cheap, plentiful and simple alternative.

One last alternative is a more modern type of gel pillow designed to be placed just in the toe of the shoe. It can also be used together with other types of protection. It should function well as a shock absorber, and there are types that can be formed or cut, so they function particulaly well for those who have a tapered foot ( a long big toe and gradually shorter toes). There aren't as many of these products so you will have to surf around a little more. (Picture below).

The one product that stands out for me is the Gaynor Minden Pointe Shoe Fitting Kit. It stands to reason that a shoe that fits perfectly will generate a lot less friction and provide better support = happy feet. This is a new product for me so I can't give any guarantees, but it looks very promising. (Below) Read more here: Gaynor Minden Pointe Shoe Fitting Kit

One last word about padding. You need to look at your feet and assess whether you have any larger spaces between your toes. If this is so, then you will need to use spacemakers or spreaders. You will also need to have these in place when you are fitting shoes. Their purpose is to hold the toe in line with the joint and the bones of the foot. Extremely important for the health of your foot, bones and joints.

There are countless dance shops online. I am not recommending any specific shop, neither have I included all of the available products. I am just trying to provide you with a starting point, from here you need to shop around (or be brave and try without!!). I have collected pictures from the following sites: IDS, Dance Direct and Discount Dance. Anyone buying pointe shoes from Gaynor Mindon needs to follow their guidance, and remember they have built-in protection in certain areas.

Good luck :)

Basics

Hello ladies :) we're starting with the basics.............try not to fall asleep.

1. You don't really need wet hair for a bun, but you do need hairspray for a performance.
2. It's often much better suited lower down, at the base of the skull.
3. Normally after you put the net on, you flatten the bun by hitting it with the back of your hairbrush. The aim is to make the hair as unobtrusive as possible
4. Yes! Hair clips. (USA = pins) They are necessary. Very necessary.
5. Did I remember to say hair clips are necessary?

This style is based on tradition, but also on practicality. Your hair should be in place before you enter the studio and you should not have to adjust it during class. Alternative styles (that lie flat to the head) are fine for the classroom, as long as they do not impede movement, and stay in place. With practice over time, this can be done in just a few minutes - even by me!

It's only a thought, but I find dressing the part often helps you to get into the right frame of mind. Classical ballet isn't a style of movement that falls naturally for the body. So it's possible that going through the routine of setting your hair up and changing to ballet clothes, can help to shift the focus of your mind before you enter the studio. A lot of professional performers, both in sports and the arts, have their own routines that are performed religiously before any class/performance. Whilst it might not affect the end result it may at least help the transition from daily life to dancer! Please also try and remember that you are the role models for all the younger dancers. They look up to you and strive to be just like you - even down to the hair on your head.

Inspiration

Hello ladies! Welcome :)

Mariinsky Ballet

                                                                                                                                               

Yes, this is going to be us - with a little bit of work. All together, beautiful and strong :)