The Ballet Site

All About Ballet

Saving Money On Dancewear And Supplies

When you buy new dance things, such as leotards, shoes or even toe pads, save the labels and/or write down the brand name, style number, size, colour, where you bought it and what you paid for it! Keep all this in a box or envelope or notebook so that you can take advantage of great deals in dance supply catalogues! With all the information you have, you will know if what you have in front of you in the catalogue is the same as what you have at home and will be able to compare prices to see if it works out cheaper for you! All this information is helpful, especially when ordering tights! My personal favourite supplier is Dance Direct World.  They will send you a free catalogue if you click on that link!

A Use for Old Dance Tights

Never throw out old pink tights! If you cut off the feet and cut out the crotch,  you can slip whats left over your head and wear it under a leotard for extra warmth or some coverage if your leotard is a little too revealing! Some students prefer to do this rather than bra's or nude leotards under their costumes!

Classroom Etiquette

Classroom etiquette is a very important part of the dance learning environment.  Show the teacher and other students the same respect as you would show at your normal school.  This means being quiet and not talking in between combinations and being attentive when your teacher explains excercises to you.  Also, do not dance around the room while another group is dancing, it can be very distractive to both the teacher and the other dancers. Wait your turn patiently and go over the steps in your head.  This will make the class go without unnecessary interruptions and will help you to move onto more advanced steps and exercises quicker!

Arm Movements and Body Alignment

Doing floor exercises can help all kinds of dancers.  If you sit cross legged on the floor with your back straight, you can concentrate on holding your back properly and doing intricate arm movements without having to think about whats going on below the waist.  If you lay straight on your back, you can feel your body alignment and will be able to tell if anything is out of place.  If you lay on your stomach and do arabesques, you can feel the squareness of your hips and shoulders that you should have!

Using Your Eyes

Your eyes arevery  important -- as important as pointing your toes! -- FOCUS THEM!!!  The audience won't want to look at a blank face staring into space and you will lose their attention! A face lit up by an expressive pair of eyes may well steal the attention of the audience from a dazzling pair of feet!

Being Corrected In Class

If you feel that your dance teacher is correcting you a lot, try not to take it personally.  You should actually feel pretty good. It means that your teacher took the time to watch you specifically and wants you to be an even better dancer.  You don't want to continue to do the wrong thing do you?  Nobody is perfect and even professional dancers have to be corrected.  Most teachers try to correct in a way that won't make you feel embarrassed.... remember, they were once in the same position as you are!

Performance Tips

~*~ Performance Tips ~*~

Tip one:  If you are performing in a group ballet, always remember to keep a huge smile

Tip Two: If you are performing in a ballet solo, try not to use such a huge smile as it draws more attention to your face rather than your ballet ability

Tip Three: Never cry or look sad on stage. I know that if you feel that you are about to mess up, you will begin to feel like you just want to stand there and cry or frown but you just got to get on with it and keep smiling

Tip Four: If someone in your group does a big ballet move such as a pirouette or fouette out of time don't frown or look embarrassed as you will draw the audience's attention straight to you and you will feel really embarrassed causing the audience to think that you have messed up big time.

Tip Five: After your performance if someone presents you with flowers or a gift, accept them politely and make sure to say thank you. Don't brag to other competitors

Sponsors

~*~PAIN BARRIER~*~
 
As dancers we need a strong pain barrier. As female dancers, you have a duty to make Pointe work, however painful or difficult it may be, look easy and painless. Stamina wise when you hit that part in class when you feel as though your body is going to fall apart on you and you can't go on. DON'T STOP! What I do to keep me going, is smile...sure it sounds simple and when you try telling Pre-Elementary (Intermediate Foundation) kids half way through their allegro exercises and they're all shattered they seem to not believe you! But I tell you what, as soon as you force that smile across your face, it slowly works through your whole body and eventually you forget about the pain and strain and breathlessness! It's all in the mind. Your brain controls your body, if you say to yourself you can do it, your body will follow!
 
 
 
~*~REJUVENATING FEET IN CLASS~*~
 
 
When you are in the middle of class and your pointe shoes are feeling a little tight or the padding a little uncomfortable, try running in place on demi-pointe for a few seconds to get a quick pick me up. Also, don't stand around if you know you can feel a blister forming and your padding is all over the place, fix it straight away!!!!
 
 
 
~*~ PIROUETTES ~*~
 
 
Even professional dancers lose their pirouettes once in a while.  Sometimes it just helps to break things down, like when you were first learning them.  Start by doing a preparation up into retiré and holding it there for a few seconds.  Do this over and over again.  Then, move on to quarter turns, half turns, and then full turns.  In class, always listen to your teacher!  She/He can see what little thing you are doing that could be throwing you off.  My teacher told me to think of a pirouette as more of a balance than a turn, because I was always putting too much energy into them.  You may not be putting enough energy in them or not be holding your body properly.  Always remember to keep everything pulled up and your foot in front of the knee when turning.  I always forget that.  Other than that, you just have to be patient.  It will come to you soon enough.
 
 
 
~*~FREE ENCHAINTEMENTS~*~
 
 
For those of you who have trouble getting combinations it's all in the practice. No matter how much you hate doing them because you can't get them first go. It's all in the practice! The more you do combinations and the more challenging the brainwork is, the more easier and adapted you will feel. You'll get used to them and eventually be able to do them straight away!