We are doing a lot more work on releve than I am used to, and watching my foot in the mirror or just by looking at it, and comparing it to those who can point better than I, has had me wondering about something. I know "doming" is important to pointe work, but how much? How much of the pointed foot stems from the ankle joints versus the rest of the foot and it's intrinsic muscles? (In other words, do I need to stretch the ankle more than I have been?)
Fear not, we have the world wide web to answer this for us!
This image and the following info was taken from this link. Good read!
The perpendicular line shows where the foot would be if it were flat. Coming counterclockwise, that next line, the dashed one, shows how much of the point is coming from the ankle joint alone. Which means that from the dashed line to the dotted line (all approximate) is how much of the total angle that comes from the foot muscles alone! Those arrows show the joints from which the rest of the pointing occurs.
And an interesting factoid from that article: see the three top bones in the photo? One is the shin (tibia), one is the top of the foot bone (talus), and the other the heel (calcaneus). When a ballerina's foot is fully pointed, those three muscles essentially "lock" together, forming a stable platform! I think that is SO cool- like the body (or some bodies) wants to dance like this!
So, I missed a Thursday class a few weeks ago- I was tired, or had plans, or something. The following week, my car nearly broke down and needed transmission work. Just breaking down a transmission itself is quite a time-consuming process... then they had to figure out what was wrong with it... order the parts... fix something else that my car had been recalled for that I'd forgotten about... fix the transmission... put it all back together. There was a big week-long event in town the first week, so car rental prices were absurd. By the second, I'd gotten used to just getting a ride to/from work and saved car rental money. But I had to miss two weeks of classes, on top of the Thursday I'd missed.
Had I gone back to class, they were just working on the demo I wouldn't get to be in, and I'd be quite behind on learning the moves. And after the demo, class is pretty much over. I've also found a new hobby I'm adoring, so I've decided to just go on hiatus until the next ballet season starts in the fall. That doesn't mean I'm not working at home; I'm just not going to class.
There's another reason as well. Remember the injury my silly self got by overdoing splits? I'm still injured. It doesn't hurt to move or anything, but the slightest stretching and I can totally feel it. I've decided I want that to heal totally before doing anything major with it. (I'm reading Dancing Through It by former NYCB principal dancer Jenifer Ringer, and one of her teachers told her, when she was injured, "The slower the recovery, the faster you recover", or something very similar. The book is fantastic, BTW. I just covered many pages while at the doctor's office today. I highly recommend it!)
And honestly, I haven't done a ton of ballet lately besides tendus, rond de jambes, other barre work- with a big exception: I've been going plie crazy! I noticed the slightest hint of extra muscle definition in my legs recently, and it has spurred me to do at least a little exercise every day. I like doing my plies in fifth, so I will usually do 15 on one leg here and then a little later do the other side, and keep doing that throughout the evening, or during the day if it's the weekend.
I also do a lot of leg lifts towards the back (ballet term not coming to me) to work on my butt, focusing on keeping my legs turned out. I do tendus and rond de jambes. I do a lot of ankle rolls and foot doming (many times throughout the day, every day) to work on my ankle strength. I do releves, including releves with either leg in passe (working on turnout!) I do this exercise every night on my problematic, non-turning-out, tibial torsioned leg. I do arabesques and other things. Occasionally, I do an online class. Non-ballet-style: all four on the floor, left leg up behind me then bring back down, also to work on my rear.
And I finally got nearly everything I need to make my rotation disks! I may have mentioned this before, but at my job, they install speakers. To install speakers in a box, they have to cut out circles. (The circles aren't perfect- it's difficult to cut a perfect circle with the tools they use... I mean it's perfectly circular but there's an extra cut in them that makes them kinda unsellable... maybe... hmmm....) They were going to throw away quite a few, so I grabbed them and came home and was able to nearly finish one. I can use it now, just the top is not attached. Getting the other screws and washers I need will be one of this weekend's projects!
One other thing: I realized last night that even though I don't really want to stretch my injured leg much at all, I can still stretch the rest of my body, even my other leg (duh!). So I am going to start stretching again, possibly yoga. (It's too bad I wasn't injured on my right leg. That one's naturally more flexible, and I could have worked on the left one catching up, but oh well!)
So that's where I'm at these days. Still loving ballet. Kinda regretting already not getting right back into class- I don't know where I will be placed when I go back (the girls should all be moving up a level), but either way is okay with me.
I might not be posting as often as I was, but I'm still "into" ballet and haven't lost my motivation as I'd feared I would. (Well, a touch, but not to where I am going to stop.) I'm still finding gorgeous photos online and will still be sharing those!
I'm sure you've noticed by now (my make-believe visitors here) how obsessed I am with pointed feet. Seriously, I am still "doming" all day long at work in my quest to get a pretty (and stronger) pointed foot. So, in honor of that, here are a bunch of foot/pointe photos I've found that I love!
My job consists of computer work five days a week, eight hours a day (plus an hour for lunch that I may or may not work during). I'm lucky in that I can get up and walk around a bit, and go outside once an hour for my (horrible, I know, I know!) habit of smoking (during which I am usually doing some sort of movement).
Since starting ballet, I've been playing around with various exercises and stretches I can do while at work, while sitting. I've looked around the internet for office exercises/seated exercises, and really haven't found as many as I thought I would. Many of the ones I've found... well, I'm in a large shared office with three other people and the occasional customer, and I'd look ridiculous doing most of what I've found. (How would I explain sitting down, standing up, sitting down, etc. over and over again?? Or holding my arms straight out and doing arm circles, while everyone else is working?) I've been doing some of those I've found, and otherwise been working on creating my own. So I thought I'd start a list here of some of the seated/office exercises I do, and you may want to try as well.
Doming. Of course this is one. This is my most used one, actually, and THE reason why my arches and pointed feet are improving so quickly! (Seriously, I do it all day long.)
Calf raises. (I just discovered this one- a different way, which inspired this post.) I've tried the normal seated calf raises, where the feet are in parallel and the lower legs get lifted into releve, but that didn't seem to do much for me. I just set my right ankle on my left knee and then did a calf raise, and the extra weight really helped me feel the exercise. Then switch sides.
Seated stretch #1. Same position as calf raises: right ankle on left knee. Lean forward. When you're ready, switch sides. I'm not going to attempt the anatomy here, but I do feel it in a number of places- be careful that you don't overdo this one, or do it too quickly!
Pointed feet. Raise right leg slightly. Take foot from flat through demi to full pointe, going slowly. Reverse. Switch.
Butt clenches. (A little controversy on whether or not this one does anything, and it can be noticeable, so do at your own risk.) Using the muscle only, squeeze one side of the glutes. Hold for three counts, then switch.
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!)
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!
Lots of progress today! Worked on Jhung's DVD a good bit, did stretching and exercising, about 4 hours total. Learning some movements that are starting to look like actual ballet! (More on that later.)
Just want to post my doming photos, only a week apart but noticeable (to me) difference! (First is more recent.)
Just wanted to post a few photos I've been meaning to. First of all, my barre setup (the mirror is low enough that I can see my feet while at the barre, of course, and it is tall enough that I can see my arms raised to my wrists, but I can't see my hands unless I move away from the barre. I'm 5'3" and this mirror is 48"x30" and sits 17" above the floor. The barre is about 12" from the wall.):
Was really simple to do, and cost under $20 (for the barre). (Be sure to get anchor screws if you're not screwing into studs! Preferably the heavy duty ones.) The brackets were around $4 each and the dowel rod was cut to the right size for my space (3"). It was $8- I went for the more expensive one because it was smoother. There's a screw underneath the dowel so it doesn't move too much. I happened to have a mirror the perfect size for my space but used one of the cheap door mirrors before I got that one up. (You could take two of those mirrors- I think it'd fit- and take the frame off, then hang the mirrors up side by side. In the middle, when aligning the clear plastic mirror things, line up the left one so it's flush with the right one right above it so you can get the mirrors as close together as possible, with a minimal gap.)
|_
_|
instead of:
|_|_|
(so you have one plastic hanger apart instead of two.)
And I started taking progress photos last week. These were taken on the 20th. I will put the ones up that I took today- I can already see progress! Here's my demi-pointe on October 20th:
Here's my turnout on October 20th:
And here's my "doming" (yes, I know my toes are curled here. They were much less curled in today's pictures- a work in progress):
I brought my pointe shoes home and fell in love. My mom came over so I could show them off to her. I jump up onto pointe (no clue about rolling up to pointe yet) and- to both of our surprise, I tiptoe my way around my living room, even managing to turn a time or two. I stepped back down and looked at my mom- her eyes were huge! "HOW are you DOING that?" The shoes! They're magic!
As I mentioned in my first post, I'd started researching ballet more and more. I was becoming intrigued more and more. I found an adult class in my area. It's $60 a month for the one class (very reduced prices for more than an hour a week), which is pretty good, I reckon, certainly something I'm willing to pay... just not right now.
Earlier this year I was hospitalized for severe depression and anxiety, with a plan to commit suicide. The depression and anxiety are something I have dealt with for as long as I can remember, and everything just seemed to culminate into one big bomb this year that finally went off. Five months ago I didn't expect to be alive right now. I was wary of doing 28+ days of inpatient, but promised my mom- who I'd told I didn't think I was going to be alive much longer- that I would try EVERYTHING I possibly could before I did anything. I did everything I was supposed to do in the hospital, went to all my groups AND started taking the medications I was prescribed as I was supposed to. My doctor was absolutely amazing and managed to find the perfect combination of meds for me (something that can be really hit-or-miss, so I feel blessed). Between the time off to take care of my mental health, the establishment of some sort of routine in my life, and the medication, I have become a completely different person. I still have anxiety, but it's not as bad now. My depression, however, is pretty much GONE. And that's part of where this new interest in ballet is coming from: I am getting to know myself as a different, healthier, happier person- and I want this to extend to my body and mind as well.
The point of that was that I am still playing financial catch-up from the work I missed and the bills I got behind on. I am also working fewer hours than I was before, and it's hard for me to commit to a $60 month bill right now. Besides that, it seems like ballet has seasons like schools do, and it's the middle of the season, so I would feel odd starting now anyway.
But I found a number of resources for beginner's ballet and have decided to teach myself... up to a point. I know that it is very easy to learn things incorrectly (that I'd have to retrain myself out of), so I am taking precautions against that. A background in yoga has helped me be body-conscious and more able to look at someone doing something and compare myself in the mirror to see if I am doing the same thing. I watch different instructors go over things to see if any do things differently and also because some will point out helpful tips that others don't bring up.
I have a ton of videos saved, but right now I am using the awesome classes Tamra Chace has on YouTube, starting with "Year One, Lesson One":
It's very basic- I'm doing one class each week and am only up to the second week right now. So far, we have done very little port de bras and most of it has been without using our legs at the same time. I'm definitely lagging in the port de bras department right now (and am still looking for a decent video that shows what the heck my fingers are supposed to do when I'm moving my arms!) but I am definitely learning how to tendu and battement tendu and do slow ronde de jambe.
So right now I am definitely more concerned with technique than anything else, besides strength. I'd rather start a real ballet class with more strength so I can progress more quickly, and what I am doing at home is helping me learn where exactly I should focus building strength- and it's also giving me the motivation to go through with it. I have never been someone who enjoys working out nor have I ever made the commitment to stick with something like this, but I'm working on changing that.
The night I started Tamra Chace's lessons, I realized how much strength I was going to need to build up- holding a leg up in the air is so much harder than it looks! So I've started doing thigh, calf, foot-and-toe exercises along with lots of follow-along stretching! Ballerina Lisa Maree has a TON of fantastic videos on stretching and getting in shape. This was the first one I started with:
I simply could NOT figure out how she was doing that exercise known as "doming"- I couldn't make my foot do anything remotely close to that. One evening, I sat down and started trying to make my foot dome by using my hand next to it so my foot could follow along with my hand (something recommended in a video by someone else). That wasn't working too well, so I watched my foot and just tried to move different muscles. I finally noticed the activity in my arch when I point my foot, and was actually able to isolate that muscle! It took a little more time with the left foot, but I soon got that one isolated as well! That was days ago, and I am still so psyched about it! In just those few days, I've gotten my "dome" a lot more curved- it's SO exciting! (And I did it myself!)
I've also struggled with turn-out... something I've learned that a LOT of people struggle with in ballet! I watched all of the videos I could find, lying on my side putting one bent leg on a pillow and bringing the other leg up, doing the butterfly, sitting with my feet touching and legs in a diamond while pressing at the tops of my legs- nothing was really helping me. Then I came across a simple stretching video (that I can't find at the moment). A young woman was showing how she stretches her hips by placing one foot on a chair and then rolling her body around so the standing leg's hip rotates around in it's socket. Why not, I gave it a shot. I put a leg up on a chair and started rotating my body. I closed my eyes and really FELT what was going on in my hips. And suddenly, I found those deep, inner hip muscles that are supposed to be used for turnout. I knew I wasn't finding them correctly before, so I'd just put my feet in a small V shape for first position, not even trying to turnout for fear of doing it incorrectly. But now- I was able to feel the muscles I was supposed to be using and could now use the muscle memory to make sure I was doing it correctly at the barre (yes, the barre- the one I built in my living room! More on that later!) When I was done with the first leg, I went to the next and learned where those muscles were and how to access them.
As you can imagine, that was a big deal for me. Sometimes I try to overdo it, but I can tell when I am doing this: the arches of my feet turn inward and my knees don't go directly over my feet. But I'm about 99.999% sure I have accessed them correctly, because when I do use them properly, my feet don't turn inwards and my knees are over my toes when I plié. I also know I am overdoing it when my glutes are crunched together or I can't plié without arching my back awkwardly. So yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm doing okay with that, though I know I really need a ballet instructor to tell me for sure. I'll stick with what I'm doing for now. The main thing, along with flexibility, is STRENGTH. I'm pretty lucky in that I naturally have something close to a "ballet body". I'm not very tall (though not overly short) and I'm naturally skinny: 5'3" with weight fluctuating between 115-119lbs. The only part that doesn't really fit is my chest size (34D). Luckily, the leotards I have purchased flatten me down quite a bit. And... well... they're actually implants, so if I ever magically become a prima ballerina, I'll take those babies out! :) I was concerned with them until I started seeing all of the different body types who take ballet- and some of them, like the Remedial Ballerina, even PERFORM! Between being in my mid-30s, not being very flexible, not being very strong, never having taken a ballet class (except that one time when I was six and took it at day care... only to come running out crying to my mom when she came to pick me up, telling her I didn't want to take it anymore because... I got sweaty. Yep.), and having fuller breasts, I thought this might be a hobby I do here and there. But now that I know I can have the chance to PERFORM... it's ON now! (I'm very introverted and socially awkward and shy, but put me in a spotlight where I know what I'm doing and I become a different person!) So that's where I am right now: working my way through Tamra Chace's beginner ballet classes, supplementing her classes with more in-depth videos on tendus, pliés, etc, doing strength training focusing on my lower body and core, and working on my flexibility by stretching a lot. Right now, I've been doing about 1-3 hours of all of this daily for about a week and a half (missing Monday and Tuesday of this week because I wasn't feeling well and came home and crashed until morning) and my goal is to keep that at 2-3 hours daily (sometimes changing out the workouts for hiking with my dog). I've still got more to share with you, but it's time to get in a little reading before I hit the barre!
This image and the following info was taken from this link. Good read!
