Arch Tips!!

Today's Tip of the day is... IMPROVING YOUR ARCH!!!

Super Big Arch

I know that this is an important one for any dancer and having a big arch can help with not only a more beautiful line but it will also make it easier for you too dance. Although people for example, Beckanne Siske's, Svetlana Zakharova and the famous Miss Sylvie Guillem naturally have a big arch so it will be very hard to compete with them, you can learn how to have a bigger arch then you did a few weeks or months ago! Here are some tips to get you one step closer to the foot you've dreamed you could have if you knew what to do for your feet.

Tip #1- Strength.
Use a Theraband to strengthen your feet, especially your metatarsal. It will make it easier for you to point your toes and go on high demi pointe. There are different strengths for Theraband's so, although I do not suggest you use one that is to hard that your feet can't handle it you should still use one that is a little bit harder so that you can actually work on something. Some excercises you can do with the Theraband is, wrapping the Theraband around the balls of your feet (sitting down) and just do eleves pulling the Theraband towards you. Do 5 sets of 20 reps. Another exercise is, to wrap the Theraband around the balls of your feet and flex while slowly pointing your toes, making sure you pass through a high demi pointe (still sitting on the floor). Do 5 sets of 10 reps. Do not make it too easy for yourself, so challenge yourself to do a few more reps of the excercises and once the Theraband gets to week for you use the next Theraband that is a bit harder than the one before. A way to strengthen your feet without a Theraband is using a towel and trying to bunch the towel all up by using your toes and metatarsal. This is a really good exercise so you can do as many of these as you want until you feel you need to stop.

Towel Strengthening

Tip#2- Tools.
Use an arch genie or if you don't have one you can use the space between the couch and the floor and stick your foot in between the gap, then straighten your knees. If you have a partner to help you out whether it's a friend, your mom or a relative, ask them to push your toes to the floor, while you make sure to keep your legs parallel. If you have a partner you can easily tell them if it hurts or if they can keep pushing so having a partner help you is a good way to have fun and stretch at the same time. One day I will teach you how to make your own arch genie for a very low price that you can customise for your own feet and your own fashion.

Arch Genie

There is not much you can really do to improve your arch because it is usually a natural thing but if you follow the steps above and take class regularly your arch should improve. Good Luck!!

Grand Jeté Tips!!

Grand Jeté's is one of my most favourite steps. Why? Because it just makes you want to say "WOW!" and motivate you to want to do it. Unfortunately for me I am not a very good jumper, so Grand Jeté's
aren't really a 'stroll in the park' for me, it's more like 'chasing after your dog in the park' kind of thing for me. Now, I am trying my best to make my Grand Jeté something that makes everyone want to say "WOW!" and clap for me. Although I still have a long way to go until that happens, here are a few tips that helped me, a not so good jumper improve.

Svetlana Zakharova

Tip #1- Stretch.
Again, like the plié tip you need to stretch. For Grand Jeté's you want to stretch your front splits on both sides unlike the plié one. Either way you should stretch all three sides to make your overall performance better. Anyways, stretching helps your Grand Jeté open more and if you have your floor spit then you can do about a 180 degree Grand Jeté. If doing a split on the floor is too easy for you, work on your over split. Remember to challenge yoursellf though. Stretching hurts but in return of that pain  you will earn to lift your leg higher and get a better Grand Jeté, like Nike says, "No Pain, No Gain" right? It may even  help your Grand Jeté look like Svetlana Zakharova's.

^^Imagine This^^

Tip #2- One of the most helpful tip that I learned is to imagine one person standing infront of you and pulling your front like while the other person pulls your back leg. This will help you get your split in the air (At least it did for me.) Try not to focus too much on the height of your jump because as you keep practicing that should naturally come. By aiming for your split in the air first your Grand Jeté will already have that "WOW!" factor so all you really need to do from there is to get the height and maybe work on getting your over split in the air. One more thing, remember that when you jump you aren't going to be able to get to your full flexibility. Meaning that for example, if you can do a 180 degree split on the floor, when you jump it won't necessarily be 180 degrees.

Tip #3- Preparation.
When you are doing your preparation into your Grand Jeté take a deep plié but not a grand plié. You need to have a good plié to give yourself enough momentum to push off into your Grand Jeté.

Tip #4- Practice.
You know that saying, "practice makes perfect"? Well although you may not believe in it and I don't believe in anything to be perfect either but practicing will definitely make better. By practicing your muscles will begin to remember what it is supposed to do and what it is you want your body to do. Your brain controls what your body does so always imagine a "perfect" Grand Jeté so that your brain will tell your body what you want to do.

Over split

Good Luck with your Grand Jeté's and I hope these tips help you. Comment below if you are a good jumper or a not so good one like me.

Plié Tips!!

Grand Plié

Plié's are thought to be an easy step, a beginner step even, but plié's are one of the hardest steps to
master. Obviously anyone can do a plié. It is basically just bending your knees right? No. It's not that simple! There are so many things to be aware of while doing a plié and here are tips to help improve your plié's;

Tip #1- Stretch.

Stretch middle splits

A great way to get that flat plié that we've all dreamed of is by stretching. By stretching your middle splits it opens up your hips and let's you turn out. Some exercises you can do are; the froggy, simply doing your splits while watching tv, going on youtube and find a video that helps you stretch your middle splits, and so on. Stretching is a great for ballet and will definitely help you in your plié.  You should also stretch your achilles tendon so that when you do your plié your foot will stay on the ground and won't lift up.

Tip #2 - Don't force your turn out.

Rolling over feet

This will cause unnecessary injuries and mainly bunions. Instead of deforming your feet by rolling over your feet to make it a 180 degree angle, use your natural turn out by opening from the hips and perform a position that you are able to control and are capable of. This may mean that your first position will not be a 180 degree angle but a V position.

Tip #3 - Pull up.
Always pull up your body but keep your shoulder's down. This will make your plié's look better and it will also help with having a straight back (not arching or hunching), and it will also prevent from sticking your booty out because we are ballerina's and we are supposed to look more elegant than sexy.

Tip #4 - Practice.
Practice makes perfect right? Well, if you don't believe in that at least practice will make better? I guess. Either way by practicing you will be able to have a flatter plié.

About Me!

Hi! I am an aspiring ballerina and I am trying my best to learn more about ballet while sharing what I already know. I post ballet tips that may help in your dancing. These are tips that have helped me and I am hoping they will help you too. If you have any questions you can either comment or e-mail me at 56ballet78@gmail.com56ballet78@gmail.com. Good luck to you and your dancing!