More: Tibial Torsion, Anterior Pelvic Tilt

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor. I have no medical training. I do NOT recommend anyone to attempt anything I am about to discuss in this post. To do so could provide serious injury! Furthermore, should I post at a later time positive results from attempting the things described in this post, this still does not mean I recommend anyone trying anything here. I have personally done a lot of research on what I will be attempting (I have exceptional research abilities including the ability to decipher professional jargon and understand it), but since I have never been trained, I could totally be screwing up. "Screwing up" can result in serious injuries and the possibility that if something were to go wrong, I may not be able to dance anymore. I accept these risks personally, but again- I do NOT recommend ANYONE to attempt this on your own and without the help of a trained professional.

I've been reading more on tibial torsion and anterior pelvic tilt. This video is short and simple and says that the rotation of my foot outwards (tibial torsion) can be caused by an IT band that is too tight. That makes sense.

I've also been reading about kinesio taping. I mentioned that I tried it before on my knee, and it did indeed turn my knee out some. But I've been reading more and decided to order real kinesio tape, along with leukotape, which is mentioned often. I got four boxes of KT on eBay, precut at 2" x 10", with 20 per box. It was $25 and seemed like the best deal; most of what I want to try (so far) involves strips about that long. The LT was $10, and I didn't get nearly as much, but I can always get more.

I totally don't recommend doing this, but I'm taking the DIY approach here. No, I have no training in what I'm going to do, but it honestly doesn't look that difficult. The hardest part seems to be how much to stretch the tape, so I'll take it easy and hardly stretch it at all. As for where it goes, I've found two sources that pretty much tell me what I need to know.

This (pdf) discusses a study that was done on taping to fix anterior pelvic tilt (with positive results). The actual instructions for taping are on page 8, and while I haven't had to use terms like "medially" and "obliquely" in quite some time, I think I can figure it out. There is also a handy photo showing what it looks like on page 20.

As for the tibial torsion, I will use the video I used before along with this (pdf). The tibial torsion taping is explained starting on page 52. (This video shows how to make a "tab".) There are also a lot of different techniques given for different issues, but I'm only focused on these two.

So I think I have enough info to work with, although I will continue researching. (Note that the links I have posted are not the sum total of all I've read by any means.) I'm excited for my tape to come in, and- of course- will post updates on all of this once I have everything and get going!

MDM Ballet Shoes!

OMG, I just ran to the mailbox to check the mail because I'd seen that my shoes were being delivered today. And yes! There they were. I rushed back home and, of course, put them on right away. (After skimming the bright red STOP instructions telling me to not make so much as an indentation in the shoes in case I needed to return them.) They fit!

MDM Elemental Leather Split Sole Ballet Shoes. Mine have the logo and sole writing in pink. 

The insole to the MDM shoes. They provide resistance to help build strength, shock absorption for jumps, and can help the wearer sense pronation.

I went with the MDM Elemental Leather Split Soles. The "Intrinsic" line is canvas, and they have a "Reflex" version of each. The Reflex shoes are designed more for a lot of demi-pointe work, because they have a little piece in them that expands and contracts when the foot goes back and forth to demi. Since I'm nowhere near a lot of demi, I went for the leather. Here was my initial impressions of the MDM Elemental Split Sole Leather Ballet Shoes:

1. Look! There's the hot pink insole!
2. This shoe feels like it should go on the other foot. (I don't think they are made like that, but switching felt better for some reason- I've been like this with all of my shoes, so I think it's a mental thing!) I switched and it was fine.
3. Cool! My first pair of split soles!
4. The leather is SO SOFT!
5. The toes fit... almost perfectly (at first). I have a much longer second toe than "big" toe, and my third one is long, too, so shoes that come right against my toes tend to make a bump or two where those long toes are having to bend at the top until the shoes get stretched out. 
6. The leather is SO SOFT that #3 isn't going to be an issue; I can tell this right away. The other instruction sheet that came with them also says that they mold very easily, and I've read another review stating that their shoes were molding in the first class.
7. There is no extra baggage anywhere around the shoes. When I point my foot, it's a very nice, clean line, so unlike the full soles I've been wearing.
8. The heel doesn't dig into my foot like my other shoes. (I can feel the edges of the suede.)
9. My pointed foot looks great! 
10. Cool, they even come with a little satin bag to carry them in!

Then I tried on one of the new ones and one of my first pair of leather ballet shoes. Immediately, I noticed that my old ones, full-soles, provided pretty much no resistance to the pointing/arching of my feet, while the MDM shoes definitely provide resistance. It was like being barefoot with my old shoe. And, yes, when I pointed the foot with the old shoe, the arch was not a clean line at all. It bunched up in the front, wrinkling some here and there. With the MDM, it showed my arch beautifully.

Note: Before ordering, I took the fit quiz to show which sizes would be best for my feet. It worked well. The ones I ordered are my shoe size (7.5) with a medium width, but the Intrinsic (canvas) line would have been half a size down and narrow (7N) while the Elemental Reflex would have been a whole size down and wide. (6.5W) So yeah, take the quiz!

I'm definitely keeping these. I'm wondering if my teacher will say anything about wearing split soles as a beginner, because if so, I'll be like "No! Check it!" and show her the awesomeness of advancements in ballet shoes.

I'm so excited. I am going to save these for class, or at least try to! I do my ballet work at home on carpet, which wears down the suede soles of my shoes. My first leather ones are very worn and the suede is pretty much slippery- but that's helpful to me on carpet because I can slide my feet without them catching so much on the carpet. (I haven't gotten into turns much, so that doesn't really matter.) I'd love to have a spare pair for home, though! When those wear out, I'll definitely use them at home, too!

I will have photos soon! I've also gotten several new leotards and such that I want to show you. (Including a chiffon ballet skirt I picked up for $7... at Walmart! It's the 14/16 kids size, and it fits me. [I wear a 1 or 3 in jeans]).

A week and a half til real pre-professional ballet classes! Woot!!

Progress Update

Merry Christmas!

I FINALLY got to do a bit of ballet today. I've been so busy with the holidays and running around like crazy that I just haven't had the time to get any in lately- and I've hated it! I'm slowly but surely making progress. My turnout is definitely improving- I'm starting to feel it more regularly in my hips instead of legs, and I'm getting a little better maintaining turnout. Here are a few progress photos.

Improvements in turnout. But wow are my arms and shoulders tense! (Really waiting on feedback from a real teacher before I work much on my arms. Also, new leotard that's not a plain tank or short sleeve that actually fits nicely! It's got criss-crosses in the back. I'm thinking if I can find a high-neck camisole, I may actually feel comfortable in that.)

Right foot close to 90 degrees.

Left foot getting there. I can't really maintain such a decent turnout yet, but I'm still happy to be improving.

Good Tips on Improving Technique

1. Set small goals. If you have a hard time keeping your insteps lifted, focus on just that for several classes.  It may mean lowering your leg a little in grand battement or rond de jambe en l’air, but it’s okay to sacrifice height for alignment and proper use of the feet.  If you aren’t using your feet properly, nothing else is going to get better either.
2. Listen to corrections that are given to anyone in class. Just because the teacher may not have singled you out doesn’t mean that what they’re telling someone else doesn’t apply to you as well.
3. Write down corrections after class in a notebook, and refer to them often. The more you are able to concentrate on applying corrections to your dancing the faster you will improve.
4. Mark. When the teacher is showing a combination for the first time, it helps you remember it better if you mark it with her.  The same holds true when you are in the center and watching another group perform.  Mark the steps in time with the music to cement the combination more clearly in your head.  Don’t, however, focus so much on this that you are unable to observe the other dancers.  Watching others is a great way to learn and improve.
5. Pay attention to detail. ...

Read more at InsideBallet.com

Frustration, motivation, pas de bourrée, arched feet

I've developed this habit of coming home from work, BSing around for a bit to win down from work (usually on the computer, and part of it is because I've been doing some serious eBaying for Christmas gifts lately), and then doing ballet. The problem with this is that by the time I get through with a good ballet session, it's time to hop in the shower and get in bed... or I can sacrifice more time doing ballet to do a few things after ballet. I think I need to start coming right home and putting on my leotard. That way, if I do ballet first, I can have time after that to wind down for bed, and I'll hopefully use that time more diligently towards things I want to do instead of just aimlessly doing stuff.

Today, I was getting a bit frustrated with ballet. I am not so happy with myself in that I have missed way more than usual in the past week. I was just busy (and then I was on vacation and lazy relaxed). I'm at the point where I'm finding things a little repetitive again. I've done Tamra Chace's over and over again, except the last one where she suddenly flies through the first exercise or two and I get lost and lose interest. I've done that one video with Kathryn Morgan, though I still want to get to the other two.

I'm getting to a point where I have the basic movements down and am now able to work more on form, on technique- keeping my standing hip pulled up, actually accessing those deep turnout muscles (still very hard to keep up, but I'm more mindful of it and definitely improving), focusing on relaxing my body from being so tense. But I've more or less been doing the same videos over and over and over for more than two months now. I'm antsy to change things up, but I don't know how- or I do, but lack the motivation for some reason.

I think part of me is overwhelmed by just how much there is to learn. I mean, yes, it's exciting to learn and perfect- but I've never been a disciplined person. I've never worked on really honing in technique on something like this, not something physical, not something so new and foreign, really. It's always been hard for me to stick to things, especially through times like this, where the motivation has waned and I have to find it again- by myself and on my own.

One of the things I've been slacking on has been, well, everything BUT technique. I haven't been doing my stretching or working out like I was. In fact, I think that the next couple of times I put on my leotard, besides my warmup and a few basic moves, I'm going to do more of what I just said instead of working on technique. THAT is how I am going to change things up! The toning of my body has stagnated a bit, and I only have less than three weeks before I'm in the middle of a season of ballet classes. So that's what I am going to do, yes! Along with the stretching- three weeks is plenty of time to make more progress in my flexibility before starting class.

I just need to keep finding ways to change things up. Three more weeks, and I'll enter a whole new world of real ballet classes at a nice school where all students are taught as though they are pre-professional (!!) When that happens, I am sure I will have other things in mind to work on outside of class, and it probably won't be so difficult to motivate myself, since I'll be learning and not just trying to teach myself.

Speaking of which, I think the first few times I take class, I may sit out of center exercises and write things down. (Yes, I'm intimidated by the center after the one class I had, along with the knowledge that I've done way more barre and struggle with picking up new movements quickly.) I got this idea in my head earlier when I tell you about...

A good ending to my post about motivation and frustration! When I ran out of things I wanted to do this evening, I remembered I have that other Finis Jhung DVD, Basic Ballet Movement Skills Lesson 1. I was watching the previews to it today during work, and decided to get it out instead of using the Centerwork for Beginners. I was all bummed out and then we started working on pas de bourrée en avant. The first movement is something that should be very simple, but it took me quite a few tries to even begin to feel like I was getting it right. (Yes, this is so new to me! I finally wrote down the steps because I learn well when I write things down- and it did help, ergo what I said above about centerwork in class.) At some point, though, I felt it! I felt like I was doing ballet. I was able to get into it, feel it flow, get out of my head some (not all the way, but more) and not focus on what I am doing but just letting myself do it. Doing the steps and instead of figuring out what foot goes where and how my arms move at what point, I was able to do those and let myself loose enough to become the movements, to feel a little graceful. It was super-awesome. In times of low motivation, a little something new can be very invigorating.

(In case you're wondering- and this helps me when I tell others how to do something- the movements in the first exercise were: start in fifth; front leg tendu with a plie with arms raising to first; step on the floor with that leg reaching out past the point of tendu into relevé, standing leg immediately comes up into relevé; step forward again with front leg but the second time the back leg crosses in front to be in fifth. Lower and repeat on the new working leg.)

Oh! One other good note to end on! Actually, it was a bit of the cause of some of my frustration tonight... I'm having trouble with sur le cou-de-pied/wrapped foot. But... the reason I'm having trouble with it is because my feet are getting so much stronger and I'm able to arch them so much better... but now it's problematic because I'm having to angle my foot so much more to have the arch fit "wrapped" and getting that angle is a bit of a struggle! LOL, what a conundrum! Really, though, my feet are looking sooooo much better! (Though I realized tonight doing pas de bourrée en avant that I have a long way to go to "enough" foot/ankle/calf strength!)

6-Year Old en Pointe...

Not sure what to make of the six-year-old little girl en pointe! The choreography looks fun though.

Real Ballet!

I've been putting something off partially because I'm a bit scared. Today, I finally went through with it. I went to the nicest ballet school we have in town and spoke to the director herself about taking classes. And guess what... starting the week of January 5th, I can start taking Level II classes twice a week!!

There was a real sense of finality to going in today. I've been avoiding it for quite awhile. I knew the adult class I took before would be more laid-back than regular ballet classes, so it wasn't that intimidating (other than getting over my fear of new social happenings). But this school, this is the real deal.

The director told me I could probably keep up with the Grade II girls. (The info sheet says they are around 9 years old.) She said that although they have had ballet for a year and a half now, as an adult, I should be able to keep up. (Note: This is a class I was debating on whether or not I would be put into it. The classes start at 5 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is the time I normally get off of work. So I am going to have to work on my schedule, and get off earlier than I am supposed to. Considering I have doctor appointments very often, my bosses have gotten used to my leaving early, so I hope to just slide this on in there. Plus, I will work lunch on those days... and I'm going to try to start going in earlier after the new year anyway.)

The director was very nice (though she and the other lady in the office kinda scoffed when I mentioned I'd been watching YouTube videos. I knew that would happen, but I do think there is a difference in watching some YouTube videos and actually studying the moves the videos are doing, getting other input to make sure they're being done correctly. I guess I'll see how much they've actually taught me soon). Short lady, short hair, small frame, quite ballet-like. She's got some experience at the Joffrey School and another one or two I recognize. I told her about the adult ballet class I took, and how it was more of a social event. She said that this wasn't like that: the girls behaved well, and she teaches everyone as though they are working towards being professional, even though most won't actually go that way. So everyone likely dances with more of a professional attitude, and I'm sure she works them pretty hard. This is exactly what I was wanting/hoping for/scared of! :)

The classes are going to be kinda expensive for me, especially since it's not a drop in thing but a monthly deal... and I will be taking two classes a week instead of one. But it's not too bad, considering. Only $90 for two hours a week. The Tuesday class also ends early enough for me to head on over to the class I've already tried (once the real instructor gets off maternity leave so the class is under control!), should I decide twice a week just isn't enough. (I also have a few classes in the other town about an hour away I can take, even one on Saturday, which is a good day for me to get out of town. I'll start with these two a week, and if I love it, I am going to add more. The more I can do, the closer I am to [hopefullymaybeoneday] going en pointe!)

So, she was very welcoming, and even sounded a little excited about me coming to class (unlike some of my other experiences *looking down their nose* "We only allow 14 and under", as if that's a real school!). She told me she would put me in between two of the girls who have been there longer and are more experienced so that I can follow them on both sides when we do barre.

I've been working on center exercises with Finis Jhung. These are almost certainly going to be more difficult for me than barre. I mostly get the hang of barre now (as best as I can not really having had any actual classes). The only center exposure I have right now is about three minutes in the class I took (where I did terribly), a few steps at a time with Finis, and very basic center with Tamra Chace.

But this is it! This is what I've been wanting! I can come up with the money (by buying fewer ballet outfits, haha). I can work it out with my work schedule. I can get the nerve to actually go. And, provided I really do love it as much as I am truly hoping, I'm on my way to being... a late ballerina! (Okay, well "ballerina" in my head, anyway.)

Oh, one more thing. The director is the founder of the primary ballet company in town. If I do well, one day, I just might be able to join! She seems like she wouldn't discriminate based on my age (the other schools I've called wouldn't let me take classes with younger people, but she didn't think twice). That's way down the road, if ever, but so are pointe shoes (worn with permission!) and I'm aiming for those! Shoot for the moon!

WOOOHOOOOOO!

(And now, time for ballet. This week I have not done nearly as much as I've wanted to! My mountain trip went marvelously, by the way. I did get some hiking in, but other than that and about an hour or so of ballet, I was just too damn relaxed to do much of anything else... and it was great!)

Lifting Hips in Développé?

I've been struggling with not lifting my hips when doing développés. It seems like it CAN possibly be done, because it seems I am able to do it while on the floor, without gravity to bring me down. This article is interesting because it says that the hips are supposed to be lifted using the iliopsaos, not the quads. (It also has videos to go along with all of the seven exercises for leg extensions.)

I tried the "Thigh lift" last night and my iliopsaos was very elusive.

Then I came across this link while researching how to get my leg up higher. It's a video, inviting comments, of a ballet class DVD preview taught by Dmitri Roudnev (he's the one posting). He states it might be controversial, so of course I have to watch it:

The comments to his post bring up the fact that he teaches his students to lift the hips when performing extensions, instead of telling them to keep their hips straight like I've been hearing and reading. The first comment I see sums up the argument against what he is doing:

I just cannot fathom how it is beneficial; surely by teaching it in this way (referring to the developpe at 90) you are teaching the movement pattern of lifting the hip of the gesture/working leg to initiate the extension rather than developing strength and control in the legs, postural muscles and rotators etc?

 Here's Dmitri's explanation:

I believe the alignment should be the first priority in ballet training. Turn out is second priority. 

I believe for progressive training that 180 turn-out in all five positions are a must ( my school, the Bolshoi, believes the same, as well as many professionally oriented schools in the world ) At the same time, in order to keep the alignment correct, I believe the turn-out of the working leg should not be forced. 

The student in the video is a beginner ( 2 classes per week ). The video shows how much this beginner student is able to rotate the leg in a la second. It is a temporary look and it will change and improve as soon as she gets stronger.

So basically, he's saying it's okay to lift the hip as a beginner, that the beginner needs to develop the strength first, before working on keeping the hips lower and more turned out. To me, this makes sense (not just because I want it to!). For instance, I am working on my turnout, still. But just because I don't have perfect turnout doesn't mean I can't practice ballet. I work with the turnout I have, and also work on strengthening my hip rotators so I can increase my turnout. Likewise, he is saying nothing should be forced; build strength first and then the improvements in turnout, extension, will necessarily be improved so long as one is working on strengthening those areas.

I also came across this link, basically sayings screw all that, lift your hips for extension! And it posts quite a few photos of professional ballerinas doing leg extensions with their hips lifted. Such as these two:

Sylvie Guillem, former top-ranking dancer with Paris Opera Ballet, principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London

Students at Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis school, ABT's pre-professional division

 I just found a bunch more here:

So, I'm going to stop stressing so much over my lifted hips when I'm doing leg extensions. Honestly, they're hard enough as it is without my beating myself up over it. (They're one of those things that if I were to get focused on, I'd slide down into not wanting to continue ballet.) So, yes, I recognize that my ilipsaos needs to be a helluva lot stronger. I can't even isolate it at the moment. And I do think continuing to do floor barre may help me learn to isolate the right muscles. But when it comes to following along with the videos I watch, eh, I'm just going to do the best I can and that's going to have to be that. I can't control it right now, so, like I said, I'm not going to beat myself up over it.

I do find it interesting all the different ways I'm learning that ballet instructors can teach things. I didn't understand how there could be all sorts of different techniques when I started. I'm starting to get it now though ;)

Later today, I am off to the mountains with my dog, my friend, and his two dogs! I'm bringing all my ballet gear (well, I can't take my barre unfortunately!) and plan to hike, relax, read, and of course, do ballet. That's my next four days summed up (I hope!)

Intrinsic Foot Muscles

A great video for improving the point of the feet (via the intrinsic foot muscles):

(At first, I was like, "ah, I got this". Then it came to doing more intricate things with my left foot and... nope. I don't "got" it. I've been working on it about two days, though, and can somewhat squish my left toes together, which I couldn't do at all when I first tried. But really, from my understanding, being able to even come close to balancing on pointe, and to just have a nicely pointed foot at all, takes ability of detailed movement along with strength of those inner foot muscles, some of which some of us had never felt work before!)

And I get my Perfect Pointe book this weekend, yay!

It's a Yoga Day

I woke up today not really feeling the ballet vibe. It's Saturday, one of my two days off, and I really like to squeeze in as much ballet on the weekends as I can. So when I realized that vibe was going on, I was kinda disappointed but got through some chores and got on my leotard and got going. Made it through the warmup, but what next?

Nothing was sounding appealing. One of Kathryn Morgan skips the intros to the barre movements and just goes through the exercises- and there's music that's kinda nice. I put that on and started doing my own routine- plies, tendus, ronde de jambes. But by the time I got to the latter, I knew ballet just wasn't happening. But I'm still all dressed and want to do SOMETHING...

I found this, and it's great. In only a small number of poses, my back popped so many times (I love that feeling!) and I got SUCH a good stretch! I love it, and it's going on my flexibility playlist (along with the splits routines by the same group, PsycheTruth. I'm finding their videos are to my liking: no long intro, tough enough but not too difficult, and fairly brief, but not too brief.)

This one is another good one for the neck, shoulders, and upper back (the last exercise is the same as one in the video above).

I've really been slacking some lately on stretching. When I first started, I was doing it nightly, but I really haven't done it much at all in a few weeks. When I did, I was pretty much focusing solely on my lower body, since flexibility is great for extensions and such (and I will do splits one day!). But since starting the Conditioning for Dance book, I've been realizing how intertwined everything is- like the simple jump exercise I mentioned. So while getting more strength and flexibility is definitely going to help my cambre (ah, if cambre was done from the lower back, I'd be a pro at it), it's also going to help pretty much everything else in my body, including my leg extensions.

It's really neat not only learning how fascinating the body is, but to actually be able to experience it- the inter-connectivity- as well.

Inspiration

This is one of my favorite videos right now for inspiration:

And look, just LOOK at this amazing set:

Bolshoi Theater's set and costumes for Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty"

I adore the movie Marie Antoinette because not only does it star one of my favorite actresses, Kirsten Dunst, but the costumes and the set and everything is just so colorful and opulent and breathtaking. The above photo nails it. Love it, and I so wish I could see this in person.

"Christian Louboutins are uncomfortable, but I screamed the first time I put on a pointe shoe." -Mila Kunis (via user Clara76's signature on the Ballet Talk forum)

Ballet with Kathryn Morgan, Online Ballet Classes

I'm really taking my time going through Tamra Chace's online ballet classes. She doesn't have many, and those were put out a couple of years ago, with no more new ones since then. I have one or two that I haven't done or haven't done all the way through. I really like what she has out- it's taught me so much, and I repeat classes over and over.

I'm starting to need a little more difficulty, though, so I decided to start trying Kathryn Morgan's online ballet classes. She used to dance for the NYCB, so that's pretty cool. I tried half of the easy ballet barre class a couple of evenings ago, but wasn't into it. After a warmup and about 3/4 a class with Chace, I picked up where I'd left off on Morgan's easy ballet barre class.

I have to say, my first impression of the class included a bit of... irritation! Not because she isn't a good instructor, but because of the way she speeds through what we will be doing! It reminds me of watching the Royal City Ballet's class, where their teacher calls out what sounds like a few hundred ballet movements and everyone incredibly remembers every single thing that he said and the order it was said (and he doesn't even really do movements as an example). Ballerinas are inhuman!

So Morgan goes through at least one or two of the movements (that are repeated front, side, back, side, usually) completely (as in all of the front and second) then quickly through the rest (back, side, etc). But then she repeats what the movements are without moving, rattling them off like the RCB's instructor! My first thought was, "OMG, how am I going to DO this?????!!" "OMG, how do you expect me to DO this?????!!"

But once I got past my initial rebellion of doing something new, and I did some rounds along with Morgan, I started getting into it. It's definitely more difficult than Chace's- Chace is more of a very beginner's/basic technique style, while Morgan expects you to already know the movements... Guess what?! I DO know the movements now! I haven't honed in very well on my technique, of course, but I know what to do when she says relevé, battement dégagé, sur le cou-de-pied, or rond de jambe en l'air! (I haven't gotten to jumps and turns yet, besides a hint of piroutte attempts, so I don't know those other terms, and I'm also just now learning movement and that terminology, such as de côté.)

My timing on moving along to her class is perfect- I'd watched it briefly when I first started and there was no way I was going to be able to keep up. But now I more or less am able. I have trouble with the faster movements, like a fast battement dégagé or a one-beat rond de jambe, but that's good! It gives me something to work on and work towards, changing things up some.

Today, I discovered a website where you can actually take live ballet classes online! Kathryn Morgan actually offers some of these, and I think I am going to sign up for a class soon! I LOVE this idea! (It looks like you use your webcam so she can see what you're doing and give feedback!) There are some other ballet-oriented type classes, like yoga-ballet, but I haven't seen any other pure-ballet instructors. (A lot of the ballet-type classes are held during the day, no good if you work normal business hours.)

I also came across this subscription-based online class site (multiple dance forms, not sure if there are enough videos to justify several month's worth of subscriptions, but possibly a month or two, especially if you're interested in like lyrical or contemporary) and Mary Helen/Ballet Beautiful has live classes you can take (lots of classes scheduled, at various times (great even if you work 9-5), but they are expensive ($35/class or $280/month unlimited) and more importantly (to me, anyway), I'm not sure if it's actual ballet she is teaching or if it's more of a ballet-style workout (like her Ballet Beautiful DVD is, I think).

I may do some of Mary Helen's free videos on YouTube, and once I feel like I can keep up (I don't do much aerobic activity), I will probably try a class. I would love for it to be strictly ballet, and not a "ballet workout". Swinging $35/class is a bit much for now, but if her classes are exactly what I want, there are enough classes that would fit into my schedule (judging by what she has posted now) that would justify spending $280/month... not now but in the future.

I shall post if and when I try anything else new! More to come on what I'm working on with Finis!

(P.S. I actually found another subscription-based site. They have a free plan, so I signed up to see what it was about.  I got absolutely nothing with my free subscription and I see complaints on their Facebook page, so I won't be giving them any money!)

Foot Arch/Doming Improvement

In less than a month's time, I've made a noticeable improvement in my foot's arch strength, and thus the pointing of my feet. Here is a side-by-side comparison:

Side-by-side comparison of doming of my right foot.

(I don't think the fact that I was in a different position matters much?) On the right, I was definitely forcing my foot to dome- you can see a lot of tension in my foot, trying to hold the height of the arch. The lower arrow points to where my big toe was curling more to make it look better, and you can see the tension in my big toe as well.

In the left picture, taken only 27 days later, I can really tell a pretty big improvement (especially since I could not even access those muscles willingly when I first started ballet about 2 months ago!). First of all, the arch! It's higher, yes, but it's also turning into something of a slight angle at the arch, a little more of a triangle at the highest point of the arch instead of a half-sphere. I think that's really cool.

There's also SO much less tension in my foot, even though I was definitely pushing the muscles hard. The big toe isn't wrinkled up like the right photo- it's learning to elongate to point instead of curling. (That second toe is getting better at not curling as well- that toe's more difficult!)

At the top arrow on the right, the point(e?) of my foot looks less smooth. Again, on the left, it's elongating into a more aesthetic (and stronger!) point(e?)! (Did I mention I try to do doming exercises as much as I can at work? I've been really busy this week- it does take a little focus- but I was able to get back to it some today!)

Conditioning for Dance

Yay! Today's mail brought "Basic Ballet Movement Skills" with Finis Jhung and "Conditioning for Dance: Training for Peak Performance in All Dance Forms" by Eric Franklin.

I'm actually going out tonight and I need to get some ballet in, otherwise I would spend the whole evening reading through that book. It looks awesome. I think it's precisely what I need. The drawings in it are just fantastic, and even a single exercise I did that took about three seconds shows that he's got some great (and new to me) material in there.

I don't think it would be a spoiler to tell you the exercise, in my own words: 1) Stand on both feet and jump in the air. Yes, just jump. 2) Stand on both feet, clench your teeth together and jump. That's it, but can you see the difference it makes on your jump when you clench your teeth? If your jaw can affect a movement that seemingly comes from the waist and below, what other tension is in the body that can be affecting movements in ways you'd never dreamed of?

I can't wait to start working on it! It looks like I am going to need to get some longer Therabands, though. Most of the exercises seem to use the really long ones, like more than twice the body's height. Definitely on my list now.

I'll check out the new Jhung DVD tomorrow- time for barre!

"Floor Barre", Leg Extensions & Hips

I read a great article awhile back (I may have linked to it before, pdf), entitled "Functional Anatomy in Dance Training: An Efficient Warm Up Emphasizing the Role of the Psoas". In it is this picture, which has stuck in my mind since reading it:

Développé à la seconde. Incorrect placement of hip in left photo. Hip is raised. Corrected in the middle photo. Incorrect use of glutes in the third.

I've been working on this while doing ballet lately. I was pretty much convinced that a) my hips and legs just don't work like that or b) the only way I would ever be able to understand how to get my hips and legs like that would be one-on-one instruction from a professional.

Then I read a post (on one of the ballet forums) about floor barre. Apparently, the term "Floor Barre" is a registered trademarked technique that you may be able to find classes for, though they don't seem to be common in smaller cities. But- you should know me by now!- I'm not going to worry about flying or driving to some other city to learn Floor Barre. I'm going to teach myself! (So we'll say I'm just borrowing the term, uncapitalized,  to describe what I am doing, and it should not be taken to mean that I have ever had any class on the trademarked technique of "Floor Barre".)

A couple of nights ago, I decided to give my own version of floor barre a shot. I wanted to work on those things in the photo above. And what do you know? When I lie on my back I am able to bring my leg forwards and sideways without moving my hips! (It's so much easier to work on when all that pesky gravity isn't making extensions so difficult to do!) So now I know that my hips will allow my legs to raise properly; it can be done. My goal is to work on this while on the floor and hopefully gain muscle memory so I can perform the actions correctly while standing. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing differently, but with practice, I hope to understand (and be able to DO!).

My DIY Rotation Disks

So I ordered some items from eBay to make rotation disks for hip rotation. Unfortunately, the wooden circles I got are less sturdy than some cardboard I have, so I am going to have to rig them differently than I'd planned (and it's going to look way less pretty, but will still accomplish the same thing). I haven't screwed anything in place since I haven't quite decided how I want to do it, but I put it all together anyway and was able to work on hip rotation (doing it very carefully since nothing was properly mounted). And: wow! It was extremely helpful!

First of all, the good news: my right hip can rotate past 90 degrees! If I can get my left leg up to par, I will have amazing turnout. It takes quite the effort to turnout my right leg that far, but it will definitely go.

The bad news (which isn't so bad since it's far better to at least know this now): my poor left leg has been turning out FAR too much with my left knee. I kept trying, and the harder I pressed out, the worse my knee felt. It took quite a few tries, but eventually I was able to access those deep rotator muscles. I had to switch to my right leg a few times to sort of show my left leg how to get to those muscles. (I've been using them a little, but not enough at all.) Once I started getting them, it was really neat. I was able to feel all of these little muscles deep inside my leg that I've never really felt before. There was one small muscle in there that I was pretty much able to access just by itself. When I found it, the use of it was so small my leg was hardly moving at all, but that muscle was certainly getting a workout!

I also noticed how much I've been using my glutes. Well, it's not a ton but it's more than I should be using. On my right leg, I noticed there was some work from my calf muscle involved with my hip rotation. The calf muscle wasn't actually working, but it felt more like it moved a bit when I rotated externally. (Too bad ballet doesn't work with internal rotation or I'd be a master!)

One other thing that was interesting was that when I was rotating from my hip on my left leg, what could only be my iliacus (or maybe my psoas) was feeling a tug... on my right side. I understand the connection between the two slightly, but otherwise find it kinda odd, something going on that I don't quite grasp.

Anyway, I woke up this morning with definite achiness (the good kind) in both hip rotator areas (especially on my left side). Unfortunately, my poor left knee hurts from straining so much trying to get it right. I'm going to be extra careful with it, but it's so great to know now what I've been doing wrong, and how I can fix it!

I'll post some photos once I get my rotation disks put together. I may just sell them for really cheap- they're so expensive to get prebuilt! Mine may not look so great (and I won't be able to use on non-hard surfaces like carpet), but they're certainly going to get the job done. It would be nice to be able to help other ballet students who don't want to shell out $100 on a set... but I just don't know what they are actually going to look like right now (would it be embarrassing to sell such an ugly product, even if it works??) :)

Today's Ballet

Today's ballet went well (when I wasn't sneaking peaks at my eBay watch list to make sure Christmas gifts weren't being sold from under me!). Warmup, of course, then I picked up where I left off with Lesson 4 Barre. After that, I brought out Finis Jhung's easiest level center class. Popped it in the drive, check out the menu (that only says "Exercise 1" and so forth), go to the first exercise, and am immediately intimidated by what comes up:

Tendu, dégagé en en l'air, tombé en avant, arabesque balance

Say what? But of course Jhung breaks it down very easily, even reminding the viewer to take the first half beat to shift balance to the standing leg. I practiced that quite a few times- other than my boring one actual ballet class, and a little bit of pas de bourre with Tamra, I really haven't done a lot of movement across the floor. Most of what I've done has either been barre, or basically changing positions more or less in one spot. I'm glad that was my basis to work from, though, because I was definitely more stable on one leg, better able to balance on my working leg than I could have a few weeks ago.

The second one was more difficult for me to grasp- the arm movements were quite different than anything I've ever done with my arms, and I had trouble remembering which foot to start with if I wanted to go a particular direction (the movements were de côté, or "to the side"). I did that one quite a few times as well, but I think I ended up working my right side more than my left one. 

I can feel myself starting to just watch the movements being done by others and following along instead of actually learning it. For some reason I've always struggled a little with this. I think it's possible I need a little extra time than a lot of people learning motions with my body, because I remember being like this as a child, too. It always took me a little longer to pick something up, like a dance routine. I'm much more of a potential thinker than a kinetic doer, lol- basically, I over-think things, trying to form some sort of sense of something rather than just doing it and picking up the nuances over time and with repetition. Since others move faster than me, I guess I've made it a habit to just follow along with what they are doing instead of being able to really grasp what I'm doing. It's really a very different way of learning than what I'm used to, so of course I'm struggling some. (Not sure if all of that made sense...)

But anyway, even though the center work is challenging for me, I'm really enjoying it so far. (I enjoy challenging myself, especially my way of thinking!) It's now been about seven and a half weeks(!!) since I started teaching myself ballet, and I'm now starting to be able to see the foundation that I've been laying down the past almost-two months. There are still soooooo many details to learn, but I'm beginning to see a more holistic picture of ballet than just seeing steps I have to learn. The pieces are fitting together more now. It's really cool, and I'm really proud of myself, especially for sticking with it even through the lack of motivation I had just recently! (I normally would have stopped learning something at that point.)

My flexibility is improving, too, I'd like to add. I'm getting way more in touch with my body. I do a lot of normal stretching movements, but I also mix in different things, just going with the flow. If I'm leaning my chest down towards my knee, for instance, and I feel a tug in my back, I'll listen closely to my body and move in a way that gently stretches out that tug. Today, for instance, I was stretching my hamstrings and I felt a tight spot, so I got out one of my little hard bouncy balls, placed it under my leg, and moved it around until I found just the right spot. I gently pressed down into it... feeling it give a little... a little more... and then a release, a definite letting go that totally clears my mind for a few seconds and "wows!" me. Those moments are difficult to find, but when I do, it's just such a great feeling... tension that's built up in my body for years and years suddenly let go, vanished, vamoose!

Today I'm Grateful for Ballet

Hopefully, my Thanksgiving goes a little better later on. I'm currently spending it alone with no plans besides eating pumpkin (not apple :P) pie. My mom is at work. My daughter is at work. My friend I'd kinda assumed I'd be spending it with is out-of-town with another friend... so it's just me, and ballet, for right now.

I'm getting a better understanding and control over my petite battements sur le coup-de-pied (or vice versa, whatever). I think a big part of this has to do with the fact that my arches are definitely getting stronger, and it shows with my wrapped foot. When they were weaker, there wasn't as much definition in the arch, so it looked more like just bringing my foot back and forth. With more definition, there's more of a specificity of placement of my foot, if that makes sense. I'm also learning the placement of my foot on the outer side- more control over that so they are getting more precise. (I'm still doing them slowly at the moment. Once I have even better control, I will learn to do them faster!)

I'm certainly enjoying these more- I really didn't like them at the start. I credit my stronger arches to all the doming I do at work- in sneakers. The top of my sneakers gives me something to push against, making me gain strength faster than just doming barefoot. 

Another thing I've noticed recently- I think I touched on this some- is that I'm more aware of my body as I'm moving. Since I'm getting the movements down, I am more able to focus on what the rest of my body is doing. I'm learning to pull up on the standing leg's hip more instead of sinking down into it. It's not a constant awareness yet, but I'm getting there.

I'm more aware of using those turnout muscles instead of forcing it so much. I'm still working in third instead of fifth, and I'm less concerned with being so turned out, working within my body's current limits instead. Trying to force turnout- unsuccessfully- was one of the ways I was bringing myself down, demotivating myself. Doing Lisa Howell's turnout exercise is really helping me learn how to maintain turnout. (I know how to turnout properly- it's the constant doing of this that's so troublesome!)

I'm learning to be aware of the changing of my line of balance (looking for a term...) when moving into fourth, third, first, from another position, when switching from one type of arabesque to another.  I'm more aware of my alignment in general on my standing leg when my other leg is working... and because of this... I am able to BALANCE a whole lot better!

Tonight II

This evening's ballet went so much better than it has for a few days (which seems like weeks)! I was just totally into it. I could tell I'm making definite improvements: in posture, flexibility, and technique. When you're going every day it's a bit harder to tell the differences, but I feel like I kinda bummed out the last 3, maybe 4, days and just hadn't been into it.

I started with the usual Lisa Maree warm up. As I mentioned, I learned the basics of doing glissades. (I did a few more after that post, and those went well.) Then I did Tamra Chace's Lesson 4 Barre and half of the center. (I did quite a few exercises multiple times.) With both of them, especially the latter, I was doing so much better with balancing while shifting my weight. That's really tough, and I've definitely been struggling with it. But tonight I was even able to do rond de jambes almost without losing my balance.

I just felt the placement of my body better. When I was on one leg, I was able to center myself better. I was frequently able to remind myself of the little details besides just doing the exercises, especially regarding my posture. And yet, I was also able to let go of the posture issue a little. I think that's one of the things that's been bumming me out- all the things I see wrong with my body. But tonight it was more of "yes, pull up in the spine, working on pulling the bottom of the ribs back, but just notice it, shift if needed, and let go." When I'm not so focused on everything that's wrong with me, I can actually notice the things that are right! I even felt "ballerina-like", especially doing derriere developpes en releve! I think that was the highlight.

This video caught my attention while I was browsing through videos: How to Do Développé à la Seconde. I briefly looked at their website and they seem to have quite a few videos like this that are ballet-oriented. The preview looks pretty good. I like seeing the muscles that are working, where they are and what they are doing. When I am able to visualize something in my head, I'm better able to do it when it makes sense what I'm doing.

Anyway, I worked a lot longer than I expected and it's almost my bedtime! So I'm going to cut this short. But I do want to say I am SO glad I had a good session tonight! It's very inspiring; I was getting worried I was just going to give up. But the obsession remains strong!

Tonight

My turnout seems to be better with the tape on my knee. I don't think I'm imagining it- when I turnout, my left knee is more over the toes than in front of it, and that wasn't the case before. My turnout in retiré is maybe a little better on the left- I still have a ways to go. But I'm definitely able to feel the rotation of my knee just from the tape, and I'm also able to use my muscles in that leg to rotate my knee further into a "straight" position. (It's not taped to the max it could be.)

The tape did get a little bothersome today- I had to pull it up a bit in some spots where the skin was just pulling too much. I took an NSAID to reduce any possible swelling. I was a little more careful on that leg today, especially up and down steps. I didn't want to use it fully in this new position. I am going to take a break either tonight or tomorrow night, and possibly put ice on it because I am worried about swelling. (I can't really tell if it's actually swelling or if I'm just imagining it because I know something's different.) There's a little aching on the knee, but it's not pain. I'm paying really close attention to it.

I was teaching myself glissades and getting the hang of it. A bit too much jumping for my knee tonight, though. Another time. I just wanted to try something new.

Tibial torsion's effect on ballet

So I finally got around to taking some decent photos last night. AND I taped my knees. First, here is a side-by-side photo. (My left leg is on the right.) On the left is how my legs, especially knees, look when my feet are parallel and touching. (My right knee has some tibial torsion as well, but it's not as bad as my left and it doesn't affect my ballet attempts too much.) On the right photo you can see that I can laterally move my knees out using only the muscles of my legs, which rotates the kneecap and tibia.

Tibial torsion is exaggerated on my left knee (left leg is on the right side). Leg muscles can pull the kneecap and tibia into a more straightened position. Note the location of the "V" shaped shadow on my left knee in each photo.

Here are my legs when I have them lying flat on the ground. On the left my feet are kept touching in parallel. On the right, my kneecaps are pointed  straight up. Both feet lean outwards, but my left foot's rotation is far more pronounced.

On the right photo, my ankles are held parallel. Kneecap on my left leg is exaggeratedly pointed inwards. On the left photo my kneecaps are held straight up. Both ankles point outwards, but it's definitely more noticeable on the left.

I want to show you now exactly why this sucks so bad for me in regards to ballet, and why I've been obsessing over it so much. Here is what my legs look like in retiré. On the left photo my left leg is the standing leg and my right leg is in retiré. On the right, I've horizontally flipped the photo so you can compare them side by side. (In the right photo, it's my left leg in retiré.)

Legs held in retiré. (Left photo is right leg in retiré. Right photo is left leg held in retiré.) Notice the difference in line and aplomb.

See how much forward my left knee is? That is not pretty in terms of ballet. This is also how my legs look when I plié: my right knee is aligned quite well over my right foot, but my left knee is very forward of my left foot (in spite of the fact that both legs have similar turnout). (Actually, my left leg LOOKS like it has even better turnout than my right because of the extra rotation in the ankle- but the location of the knee, especially in plié, tells a different story.)

Now that I look at these photos for the first time, it also looks like I am holding my body quite differently in each photo. I had something I was holding onto for balance, and it was definitely harder to lift my left leg up, but it seems my standing right leg is pushed more forward and I am leaning more forward. This may just be because I had a ten second timer to get myself into position, and it was more difficult to do with the left leg going up, but definitely something I'm going to pay more attention to now. (My knee is also blocking my backside more in the left photo, so it could just be that.)

Anyway, I got to taping last night and took photos of that as well, but I'll get to that post later. (I will say that right now, my left knee looks more like my right knee, for what that's worth!)

Keeping up with the 9-year olds...

It's difficult to determine which children's class would be best for an adult beginner to take. At the school I mentioned I may be able to take lessons from, they have a "Grade 2" that's supposed to be for 9-year olds. (It's not RAD. There's the preschool levels, then grades 1-5 with an "advanced" third along with non-advanced third, and the most advanced divisions are 4 & 5 with the last being company/advanced.) I looked up 9-year old ballet on YouTube and came up with this:

Damn! If that's what's expected of the 9-year olds, I'm going to need to be in class with the 3-year olds! Haha! (From all I've read, 9 is usually the youngest age I've seen recommended for pointe except in cases where the child's bones have matured quickly. The 10-year old class would fit so much better in my schedule. Any lower and I'll have to leave work early... a possibility, especially if I work lunch. But I don't really have any clue where I need to be in regards to the grades.)

Loosen Tight Hamstrings

Believe it or not, this really works! Basically all you do is step on a tennis ball! Try with your tighter leg first then compare that leg to the one you haven't tried this on.

I'd love to know your results! Leave a comment!

Classes, Taping My Knee

Not too much to write about right now. I've gotten into a bit of a rut, which scares me because usually when I get into a rut with something, I ditch it instead of moving through that, even though I know ruts don't last forever. I'm just kinda disheartened by the class. I feel like I may be doing things wrong, and I want some instruction. I think something like that would help encourage me. I also feel like I'm losing a little bit of the tone that I'd gained in my muscles due to not being as interested and thus not working as hard. I'm also discouraged because of my tibial torsion along with my swayback and the fact that I'm having trouble keeping those turnout muscles really engaged all the time I'm dancing. I feel like these are things someone can tell me how to fix, but I can't do on my own.

My mom happened to talk to a lady whose daughter goes to the ballet school where I tried a class. She said that the lady who normally teaches the adult class is on maternity leave, and there is a new (and pretty young) lady there taking her place for awhile. She said the new instructor probably just hasn't learned how to take control of the class yet. I can understand that. It'd be difficult to teach when everyone wanted to just hang out and chat, especially if you liked chatting as well. So, I may try another class and if that still doesn't go so well, I will try back in a month or so. Maybe by then the real instructor will have come back or maybe the new one will have gotten better at control. So that's a positive, at least: I just have to hold out awhile and the class that's right down the road from me will probably get a whole lot better.

My mom also asked me why I didn't just get some one-on-one lessons. I really can't afford a lot right now, but I think I am going to look into getting one or two one-hour private lessons, if they're not too expensive.

WOW! I was just looking up private lessons at the ballet schools around here and how did I miss this?? At the REALLY nice school that I'd prefer to go to anyway (it seems like the most prestigious in town) there's a fantastic-sounding paragraph I somehow missed. It says that adult students who can't take classes regularly can drop in on any of the elementary or advanced classes, for $15 or $20 respectively! I can get a class card, too, to pay in advance. (There's a $35 registration fee for any of that.) This sounds too good to be true- I thought I'd examined that website from top to bottom! This is great!! Maybe tomorrow's ballet will go better with this new knowledge!

The other real thing of note (besides that I scored a really cute leotard with matching shoulder gloves and a pair of black shorts with a little teal tutu I'm no so sure about- for $10 with shipping!) is: I'm about to try the taping method for my tibial torsion. I got several types of tape, and either tonight or tomorrow I am going to give it a shot. (Note: I did not get official kineseo tape, just some athletic tape.) Honestly, I feel like somehow my tibia got turned the wrong way and that the muscles now are just too weak to keep it in the right place. I can GET it into the right place, just using my muscles, but I can't KEEP it there. If this doesn't give me pain, especially the wrong kind of pain, I'll try keeping it on there for awhile. (I'll be taking photos of "before"... hopefully there's eventually enough improvement for "after" photos!)

My First Official Ballet Class

Well, I'm home from my first class. And I'm very sorry to say that it was quite a disappointment. No, it wasn't horrible or anything. But at least half, probably more, of the class was spent with everyone socializing and/or the instructor trying to find music (chatting the entire time). I didn't pay $10 to chat and make friends. I can do that for free. I can't say anything- that's what the majority of the people seemed to want to do, which is great for them. But I want, I need more out of a ballet class if I am going to attend it regularly.

I did have a lot of fun with the exercises we did do. The barre exercises were definitely a change from Tamra Chace's videos, and change is good. Because they were different, I was struggling a little bit, which means I was being challenged, and that's good. The center exercises were definitely different than what I've been doing, even incorporating quarter/half/full pirouettes, which I've only worked on briefly. I had trouble with that and with the waltz-with-turns we did. All of this involved motion in the center, movement around the room, while I'm used to center exercises being mostly done in one spot. So that part was fun and challenging.

But there just wasn't ENOUGH fun and challenging things for me to do! I brought a towel because I sweat very easily. I brought a water bottle. There was so much time spent talking in between the things we did that I really didn't sweat at all. I had no need for water.

I brought up that I'd been doing some YouTube videos but had never had a class. After class, one of the girls told me she'd never have guessed I learned from YouTube, that if I hadn't said anything she would have just thought I hadn't been in awhile.

 So: class could have been so much better if there had been more teaching and less talking. As of right now, I'm finding it pretty hard to justify spending $10 + gas and basically a whole evening I could spend teaching myself a lot more than what we did in class. And that was BEFORE the lady walking out ahead of me told me that we did more dancing than usual- usually it's almost all talk!! Oh, and I didn't mention that no one at all got any corrections. That's a big reason for my taking a class at all. I can teach myself and have the exact same risk of hurting myself by doing stuff wrong as if I keep going there!

I may try again. I do plan to go to the one that's an hour away. I may ask this place if I can take class with younger, more serious people. Right now, though, it looks like I'm going to have to keep teaching myself. I'm glad I have Jhung's center exercise DVD on it's way. I'm not quite sure what else I can do to keep challenging myself without getting bored. (I can only do Tamra's videos so much, regardless of the fact that I like them and repetition can help hone and perfect movements... it's still the same thing over and over...) I'll be working on a plan, though.

Swayback/Lordosis

I have been using the terms "swayback" and "lumbar hyperlordosis" interchangeably. The terms may mean different things (IANAD- I am not a doctor!). But they are very similar and I don't know which one I have, but once I figure it out I will use the correct term.

And today's the day of my first ballet class! This evening will very possibly have a big impact on my life: if I love the class, ballet is possibly going to become even more important in my life. I will likely be spending even more time actually doing ballet- and more time and money getting to ballet class. (I'm already considering driving an hour or so to next Monday's ballet class in the other town that's nearby. It's an hour and a half long class- definitely more worth the two hour round-trip drive than just a one-hour class. It's also at that really awesome-sounding place that lets adults try out for the pre-professional level classes, the only one of the sort I have seen anywhere close by!)

Now, if I don't like it... I don't know. I don't know what will happen. Maybe I will see if I like the class out of town more, and just try to get there as much as I can. Maybe... if... what if I don't like ballet at all???

Ha, yeah, I worry too much. I'm sure it will go fine tonight. I hope so! (Maybe I will be able to move on to better posts as well... since I've already got nearly 50 posts on my ballet blog and yet I have never even taken a single ballet class! I may actually hate ballet! LOL)

I did all of Finis Jhung's DVD exercises at least once. (I like his rond de jambes too!) I watched the previews for a bunch of his videos and decided to just go ahead and exchange the beginner barrework for beginner center work. It seems to be "dancier". So that will be in soon. I should probably write a review here for the first one. I'll try to get to that.

Tibial torsion... taping?

I've been really focused on this tibial torsion, if you can't tell. What's interesting to me is that I can actually twist my knee around to the place it should be at. I was looking up more videos on it and came across this one. Judging by his uploads, he seems to be a massage therapist. No, I don't believe a random massage therapist on the internet is an expert on anatomy, but he is doing something that actually occurred to me to do: taping the knee and surrounding area to it's ideal position on someone with T.T. He says that T.T. occurs because the sartoris, gracilis, and semitendinosus (hamstring) muscles are weak, and not pulling the knee where it is supposed to be. (I've heard the hamstring mentioned regarding this a lot- no clue about the other muscles.)

Lately, when I've been stretching my left leg, I've been focusing on using my leg muscles to turn my tibia externally. I am able to do this; I don't need to use my hands, so this tells me it IS possible to get the knee back in place. It seems like, well, just what he's said and others have said- certain muscles are weak and certain muscles are too tight.

In the video, traylbodywork shows himself taping a patient's knee into the right position. I recently considered doing something like this myself, but wasn't sure if it was a good or at least decent idea, or a terrible one. But apparently, "Kineseo Taping" is a thing. I'm intrigued.

I was about to whip out some duct tape this evening, but I don't want to mess with my class tomorrow. This could be a very bad idea. It could mess up my knee even worse. But my intuition tells me there is something to it. After class tomorrow (or the next evening), I am going to be my own guinea pig. I'm going to try this taping business out. While continuing to focus on it the way I have been. I'm really convinced this is fixable. We're going to find out! (I am going to try to take some decent photos before I try this so I can have something for comparison in the future.)

Class tomorrow *gulp*

Since I couldn't get in touch with anyone about the adult ballet class any other way, I stopped by on my way home from work. That in itself is kinda major for me- I tend to get anxiety when it comes to doing new things around other people, or even going into new places. But I went in (it was PACKED with kids and their mothers all over the place- in, out, in the building, in class!!) and the young lady at the counter was one of those very easy to talk to people, and immediately made me feel better about stopping by, and about the place in general. She told me I can drop in, it's Tuesdays from 7:30-8:30, $10 a class, meet right where I was talking to her, it's kind of all levels, and I can wear whatever is comfortable though ballet slippers are encouraged. Sweet!

Then I came home and checked the mail. It's a sign: I'm meant for ballet! My new Leo's ballet slippers came in as did my brand new Euro pink convertible tights AND my pretty baby-blue leg warmers! (All for under $20 with shipping! The Leo's are usually $25, but I got them on eBay for $8. I have pretty much gotten everything ballet-related on eBay, except my first two leotards so I could see how they fit, my first pair of convertible tights, and the pointe shoes that actually fit. [I tried to eBay that and it didn't go so great, as you can imagine.][Or at least they fit my novice feet that have no clue what they're doing and could very well be not-so-great if I ever do get on pointe, but that's a long way off... and it all starts with my class tomorrow!])

Honestly, I didn't NEED new ballet slippers. But they were such a bargain, and I wanted to try a different brand!

These are going to look so cute just how the girl in the photo is wearing them, with my black leotard and black shorts on!

I'm really not too shy to wear a leotard, even though I have no clue if anyone else does. I am going to wear a short pair of dance shorts over everything, though. At least I will feel a little covered if no one else is dressed like me.

I'm nervous, but mostly... I'M EXCITED! Tomorrow is going to be very telling for me: will I be pursuing ballet, and in a classroom setting? Or will I hate it? Keep your fingers crossed that I'll love it!