Sometimes I’ll just be messing around listening to music and then just whack out like 7 fouettés while spotting my head.

For reference, I’m not the best turner sometimes. I used to kind of have that natural turn though. It might be because I sprained my ankle a year ago so it gets tired out easily, if I go straight into it randomly with no prior strain it’s easy. I guess maybe that’s it idk lol

Anyone else have this?

Edit: Wait! It might be because I’m wearing a cargo skirt! I think it kept my leg up easier lol, new fouetté tip?

is boy privilege like an international thing or is it just in my dance school -the boys have their own class once a week( boys master class)

-they always get out at the front no matter if they’re not as good as like half the girls

-get solos but a girl never would

-etc

My recital / show for my ballet is coming this weekend and it’s my first show I’ve been doing ballet since November. I have really bad stage fright and ballet is my comfort activity to do.

Today was my practice for my show on the stage and there were a lot of people watching me messing it up literally my relatives laughed at me for messing it up 💀💀 I also felt like I made my teachers disappointed at me for messing it up- tomorrow is my practice again and I’m nervous how it’s gonna go again

Is there any advice how to get rid of my stage fright or calm myself down? Ty :3 sorry if there’s any autocorrect in this post ^_^

Hey everyone!

I'm dealing with ankle/calf injuries and my physical therapist mentioned dry needling might be beneficial. Has anyone had it done? If so, what was it like and did you see any benefits?

Thanks!

I (28f) broke my wrist in two places two weeks ago. Ive pulled out of an exam ive been training for and my year end performances (happening between 4 and 6 weeks post break). Wanting some encouragement in my decision to take time to heal. I feel as though I should have pushed through, cast and all, but I am not as young as I used to be and I want to take care of my body so I can dance as long as possible.

Hello everyone! Big thanks to everyone who posts on this thread - I’ve learned a lot.

So I’m an adult male and have been going to ballet classes for a few months. I love it and I’m starting to go three times a week so I figured it was time to invest in some tights. So far I’ve just been wearing workout shorts. This is where the stupid question comes in…

Do I just show up wearing the tights? Or is that like…weird. Both of the studios I go to just have a tiny changing area and it feels weird to put on the tights there with a dance belt. Do guys put on shorts or sweat pants over their tights for modesty before class? What do all you real guy ballerinas do (brollerina? Boyllerina?)

Hi everyone! I’m very interested in college as a dance major and maybe dual major in leadership or buisness. I hope to take a gap year to be a traniee. The problem is the school I want to go to isn’t a dance school like Butler or SUNY purchase. In fact it’s a liberal arts school. I know it’s not likely I’ll make it as a professional, but I’m just looking for story’s of people who did 4 year college and made it, or any words of encouragement. I’ve been doing dance since I was 3 and I am at arguably the best school in my state. The ballet company I hope to go to is by all means a small company, so nothing ABT or SFB size, and it is connected to the school I’m at now. Has anyone done what I’m hoping to do. P.S I’m years away from college so I’ve got time to figure it out, but I’m a very good student and I want to have a degree to me name.

Does anyone know if there are any available recordings of Akram Khan's Giselle, besides the original one which you can currently buy as Blu-ray?

Wondering if anyone here who has completed the ABT Level 4-5 teacher training would be willing to answer a couple of questions for me?

-I will be attending the intensive for these levels this summer and am curious about the typical daily schedule/ structure. During the PP-L3 training, we essentially covered a level per day with some variance due to the other lecture components with level 3 being significantly more dense and therefore taking more time to get through than the previous levels. Is it safe to assume there will be a similar kind of jump in complexity for levels 4 and 5?

-I'm also a little nervous about the classes for teachers. I suppose the only real question I have is: did you notice whether a higher percentage of the attendees marked during these classes in the L4-5 session? I was able to do all of the PP-L3 classes full out, but 4 and 5 will be more demanding and my body has become... less willing to meet physical demands over the last several years!

-I had the good fortune of being able to do the first intensive in my home city but will be going to NY for the L4-5 session, so if you have tips for attending the training in NY (or just away from home) I'd love to hear them.

Lastly, do you have general advice or info based on your L4-5 intensive experience that you think would be valuable for someone to hear going into it? If you are more comfortable sharing privately, please don't hesitate to dm me!

TIA

My daughter is 11 years old now. She has been trained at a Chinese dance studio since she was 5. She attended YAGP this year and placed in top 12 for pre-competitive contemporary. She was accepted for next year-round program by both SFB and CBSF. I would like to seek for your advice on which one should we go and why.

I’m 58m and been dancing for over 20 years. Last year I stopped going to class and declined requests to perform. I still play sports and go to the gym, so I’m very active. I’m no longer motivated to take class anymore.

anyone know how to make pointe hurt less when i have egyptian feet(i think,the ones that have the longest second toe)because my toe nail keeps falling off and it’s like painful cause it’s linger

is it normal to have pointe shoes for about 2 and a half years but the box is still really hard it’s just the material around it what’s dying

I started a beginners pointe class after years of ballet. I simply can't get over the box with my left foot (the foot that's in the right of all these photos).

Here's a bit of info:

1. They're the Suffolk Solo Prequel and I really like the support they gave my feet.
2. I didn't do any manipulation to the shoe so I'm wondering if maybe that would help? I just wore them and let my feet break them in. I've had them for six months, so at this point they're dying, but I'm wondering if a 3/4 shank would help for my next pair...
3. I have greek feet with low arches
4. I've been working on ankle strength and flexibility outside of class but that hasn't led to any improvement.

Since this is my first pair of shoes, I have no idea what my next option should be and would love some insight.

I got into a summer intensive of one of the most prestigious baller schools in England and I'm so scared!! It's boarding and I stay there for 1 week but I began ballet 2 years ago, I'm male and there'll be boys there you began much earlier !! I'm 15. How should I combat these worries

It's now 30 days till the exam and we were only given the complete list of 28 steps two weeks ago. We were told not to look up the steps on YT and that there was no need for our daughters to practice at home (yes really) because the teachers would make sure they were ready. I'm not sure how they expected to do that when they meet once a week for 45 minutes and also have to learn their recital dance.

My daughter's teacher has become absolutely unhinged and cruel these last few weeks and yesterday told my daughter she couldn't take the exam because she wasn't ready and hasn't been practicing (this is a different teacher than the one who told us not to practice). While it's very clear that my daughter needs more practice than she's getting in class, she's frustrated and miserable and I don't know how to help her myself without the assistance of visual aids.

You'd think the teacher would have a smoother system after teaching to these exams for 30+ years, but I guess she's decided it's more fun making everyone's life a living hell in the last month while she scrambles to shove all the information into their brains and bodies.

EDIT: Here's an incomplete list of the steps she has to learn. I'm not at home so I'm basing this off of what someone else put in our group chat.

1. Plié
2. Battement tendu
3. Preparation for posé and jeté
4. Ronde de Jambe
5. Battement frappé
6. Grande battement
7. Retiré
8. Développé
9. Echappé
10. Rélevé
11. Jeté temps levé
12. Jeté assemblé
13. Port de bra
14. Chassé
15. Changement
16. Sauté
17. Pas de chat
18. Posé en avant
19. Posé coupé
20. Balancé
21. Grand reverence
22. Polka step

I'm 15m and I've been doing ballet for 2 years. I do 4 ballet classes a week however in September when I join my vocational school I'll be doing 10 ballet classes among other dance classes. (32 hours a week). In my advanced open ballet class I just feel so behind. I wish to be a ballet dancer but my teacher keeps correcting me and taking me to the side which is good however I don't know why I'm still so behind I've worked really hard at home as well as at the studio. Is there anything i can do at home just do make my ballet better in the most efficient way as just doing barre isn't the most efficient. I do record myself sometimes and look for corrections. For example, I can do clean doubles on my right however on my left I can do sometimes a double but mostly just a single with a sickled foot. And people in my class are doing quadruples. Any advice is welcome aha 😄 I would do private lessons but we can't afford them so I might get a part time job for that. Is it still possible to become a professional ballet dancer?

Hey, idrk where to start or how to explain this but basically i feel really isolated at my ballet studio. I’m never included in anything that the rest of the company does (one part is def cause i’m the only guy) but like i don’t even get a text or smth saying “hey we’re doing this, wanna join?” And it’s not like they do things that I wouldn’t enjoy. Last week, there was a huge ballet company event thing and we were at a hotel. I obv wasn’t in a room with any of them (whcih makes it hard to bond) but at like 11 pm everyone (but me) went down to get ice cream, and i didn’t even know about it until the next day. I am never included or thought about. And it was especially bad last week, but it’s also just in general. In studio life, i try to connect with everyone, and it seems to work, but then once i think it does, it completely unfolds. Everyone is apart of their own clique, which i totally understand and don’t want to trash on, but it is really hard to get the courage to try and talk to them, and even harder to walk away if they don’t want to talk to me. And honestly at this point, I don’t know what to do. I do not feel like anyone there likes me, and i don’t know what to do to fix the lack of connection i feel. It was sm better last year cause the then current seniors were my friends but they graduated and moved on, and now i’m kinda stuck on my own. If there’s any advice y’all have, please tell me. And this is kinda a rant but i don’t want to play the victim, im just genuinely lost in what i should do. And i think i’m a pretty nice person, and i always try to help everyone in any way i can (which i learn can be annoying which i get) but i’d rather do that than be a jerk. Thank you for listening.

I recently got fitted in Nikolay 3007s, 4 xxx with a medium shank. I went to a fitter I trust (Victoria is her name I think, at The Leotard in Portland) who has a lot of experience doing fittings. She agreed that these shoes supported me well. My other shoes, Bloch Axiom 4.5 xx, caused me to metatarsal a lot. I showed my Nikolays to my ballet teacher today and she thinks they’re way too small and “will give me bunions”. She’s been teaching for over 50 years and usually has a lot of solid advice, so I want to trust what she says.

When I first got my Blochs, she “tested” them by sticking her index and middle finger under the vamp (kind of aggressively if I do say so myself). She tried this again with the Nikolays, and she concurred that they’re too small because she couldn’t fit her fingers in. I agree that they feel smaller than my other shoes… but with the other shoes, I have to add layers of lambs wool and paper towels for my feet to properly fit because they compress a lot.

Should I try to size up or get refitted for my Nikolay shoes? I got them off of ebay in the same size I was fitted in because I couldn’t afford the full price.. I’m not sure if I could return or resell them, but I don’t want to dance in a way that damages my feet. What should I do?

hi! so i did my first (at home) class and had a blast! now that it’s finished i’ve noticed an achey discomfort on my first metatarsal/the metatarsal/phalangeal joint. obviously it’s hard to know what may have caused this since you didn’t watch me, but does anyone have an idea of a common mistake people make that could be the culprit? unless this is a typical first class discomfort due to using my feet in ways on a hard floor that i guess i wouldn’t usually. i do have hEDS and i typically chalk everything up to that, haha. regardless, any pointers or suggestions you may have for me? thanks so much, happy dancing!! 🤍

TLDR: as a result of continued disrespect from my boss and just general exhaustion, i’m at a loss and feel like i can’t choreograph to save my life. in 8 years of teaching i’ve never felt like this:( ANY advice is appreciated.

i’m just going to say it. i’m sick and tired of working for my boss. i took a low hourly wage to help her out while she opened the business. but it’s been two years and this just isn’t worth my time anymore.

the kids’ recital is next month and i’ve been getting so angry and resentful about this over the past season, to the point that i hate going there. i’m sick of it. it’s not worth my time.

i’m not done with my choreography because i have no inspiration anymore. i’m just so tired of this. i poured passion and effort into last season, and even barely paying me, she found criticisms in what i did. she lectured and shamed me because i refused to send two 3 year olds, yes you heard that right, two 3 year olds, on stage by themselves.

for that she compared me to my coworker and basically told me i’m the problem. i tried to explain that these kids are newly 3, basically babies, and there’s only two of them — so practicing once per week, they can’t put their heads together and comfortably remember a dance in front of a crowd of people. it’s preposterous.

that same season, she had me working over 5 hours without a break… she would go into my time clock and cut out 5 minute gaps between classes, which accumulated to a 30, so i guess legally she got away with it. i would be exhausted. of course for those 5 minute gaps, the kids would linger, talk about their day, i’m not going to be a bad role model and tell them to leave me alone or something LMAO, so basically no breaks, i had to be “on” so to speak, for 5.5 hours. those 5 minute gaps were the only time i’d be seated so if you mix in the cardio, mental strain of teaching technique, setting choreography, correcting, etc, all to a wide variety of ages… skill level and age increasing as the hours went on, ending out with the last class as an ultra advanced contemporary class, i mean you do the math.

so i told her i can’t work that long without a break anymore, two months before that season’s end. i explained to her that by the end of the day, i had nothing left for the last group of kids. it wasn’t working. she continuously tried to push back and keep me on the schedule for that whole chunk of time.

for those two months, i kept approaching her about it again and again and she kept giving me excuses, the kids are going to miss me, she’ll have to find my replacement, this that or the other. ultimately just said something’s going to have to give, i’m not budging, i can’t work this whole chunk of time anymore. so someone will have to take the first two classes. she then tried to offer to schedule me a break and i was so fed up with everything by that point, i just said no.

then winter break came along and i texted her in the beginning of it that i’d be happy to meet and discuss the upcoming season. no response. the day before classes resume comes around, and i text her about 26 hours before my first class would be, saying just confirming that someone else will be teaching those first two classes tomorrow, and i will see you at (third class’ start time).

no response.

she waits until the day of, a couple hours before the first class, to text me hey by any chance can you just cover those classes until i find a replacement?

the answer was a resounding no. i’ve never stuck up for myself to someone i know personally and professionally, and it was really tricky to navigate, so i was proud of myself for standing firm.

but, and this is my own fault, i have definitely been holding onto resentment over this ordeal. i should’ve tried to talk to her about it or something, but after this experience, and with the voice in my head reminding me i’m getting an extremely low wage especially considering my experience, i have just been getting more and more JADED. i’m so sick of going there, i only go twice per week and it just ruins my day every time. i feel terrible because the kids really love me and i love them too, but i can’t take this anymore, and their dances aren’t done.

thankfully i told her a couple months ago that i’m moving away to be with my boyfriend, which is true, but it will probably end up being later than i expected. either way, i’m free after this recital.

i don’t know what to do now. i need to finish these dances, but for the first time in 8 years, every time i try to choreograph, nothing comes out. i’m just at a loss. i have no drive to do any of this because the whole thing just pisses me off. she just acts clueless like she has no idea how badly she screwed me ofer and disrespected me last season, with the icing on the cake being the random insults about my toddler class. mind you, that was the night before their winter show, and i was the only one of her staff staying late to help her load up equipment.

what started out as helping a friend has turned into this big exhausting nightmare and i’m worried that even once i’m free of this, i won’t love teaching dance as much as i used to.

this was a huge rant. i guess my question is what do i do now, how do i pump out choreography with no inspiration. it’s always come pretty naturally even when i hit a block, i can keep working and get through it. this is not that. i think i’m just done.

Edit: removed mentions of ODD in this post, see below for details.

I'll change some details for anonymity.

Last week I was filling in for another teacher at my studio, let's call her miss A. Miss A usually teaches the younger children. I haven't taught the young children in a few years, it's not that I don't enjoy teaching them, it is just usually not the best choice of studio resources. I am uncharacteristically good at working with children, especially children with special needs (I say uncharacteristically because I feel like I am a little strict usually and a rule follower myself). As a teenager I worked for an `inclusive' summer camp and witnessed how one-to-one support workers work with children with different abilities and that helped me learn a lot of behaviour management skills. I also worked with these kids myself and learned a lot, usually the `problem' kids don't intend to cause problems, they just are a little hyperactive and need to be set on a task. Positioning yourself as the enemy is never the move, you have to work with the kids but also establish why the kids should be listening and respecting you.

Now, all that aside, I am a dance teacher, NOT a child psychologist or an early childhood behaviour specialist. I probably have more training on how to work with children with special abilities more than most dance teachers, but it is not something I am formally trained in.

So basically, miss As first class was a private lesson pre-school ballet. I told the parent and the child I was in for Miss A and they seemed a little apprehensive and told me Miss A hadn't mentioned she'd be away (I didn't say anything to that but teachers are human too, sometimes things happen). Anyways, I introduced myself to the child and assured her we'd have fun, she still seemed shy so I said 'I know it can be scary meeting new people sometime but I promise we'll have fun in class and you will see it's just like Miss As class'. I said she could come in and pick any colour to choose to sit on.

Here's where the behavioural problems comes in. The child would come in, very slowly, making sure her mom stayed within view. But as soon as she got within 3 feet of the colour she was going to sit on she'd sit on the floor, turn around, and look at her mom. No amount of coaxing from me could convince her to sit on the colour, and eventually she would walk/crawl out of the classroom. Okay, a scared child, nothing new. This repeated 6 or 7 times, the parent would try to bribe the child, the child would enter, consider sitting on the colour, and then sit on the floor, and leave - this is why I believe it was a behavioural problem, this child considered sitting on the colour but then chose not to for some reason, if I knew that reason I could have better helped her. This also seemed to be a game to her, she was no longer acting shy per se but a little more smiley, she would watch me as she inched towards the coloured dot and then turn around and look back over her shoulder to see my reaction. (Oh and I tried to start the class with the child sitting on the floor but the child would not participate). I also tried an alternative warm-up to class (one that didn't involve sitting) - it's important to have a plan B for everything when working with children) but she wouldn't do that either. A few times when she was in the hallway I heard her say to her parent that she 'wanted to stay' and 'wanted to do ballet' so I tried to leverage that when she would sneak back into the class room but it didn't work. I also tried 'when you're ready to listen you can come sit on the colour' and then did something else so she didn't feel pressure like I was sitting there waiting for her.

I am not a child psychologist, I genuinely do no know what else I could have done here and I don't know how to handle this specific kind of behavioural problem. And I don't think it is fair to expect a dance educator to have that kind of child psychology knowledge - (side note: dance teachers who teach the littles, what training does your studio provide to help with childrens behavioural problems?) I was also a little frustrated with the parents because it felt like they were expecting me to make this child dance but I felt like I had tried everything. The parents seemed nice enough, they were nice to the dancer and even tried to get her to dance "like a butterfly" which was nice but also doesn't help me unless they want to come teach the whole class (something like "listen to miss VPsass" would have been more helpful).

I was getting really overwhelmed (which is embarrassing, I am an adult). I also felt disrespected which is probably my ego talking - "I am a ballet teacher" I was telling myself, 'not a child psychologist'. But still that was my ego speaking and it is embarrassing that I forgot my humility. After 20 minutes of this I noticed my tone getting sharper at this child, so I knew I had to remove myself because I could no longer be productive in this environment. So I walked out of the classroom (the child was in the classroom at this point but on the 'floor sitting' stage), I told the mom I was sorry I couldn't do this, I felt like crying, and I went to talk to the studio owner in the lobby.

To be fair no parent wants to hear that their child made a grown adult so frustrated at their job they had to leave. So that was probably not the best call on my part. The owner also said she would have refunded the class if it wasn't working - so I feel stupid I didn't think of suggesting this.

Anyways the parent got really mad at me and called me a terrible dance teacher and said I had no business teaching children. I am really upset about this. Encouraging and inspiring young dancers is something that is really important to me. I didn't handle the situation like I should have and I feel bad about that. But on the other hand I feel like I didn't do anything wrong to the child? She didn't know why I left, she didn't hear my explanation to the parent. We only had positive interactions. So is the parent overreacting? Or AITA?

Edit: y’all I’m sorry I’m not trying to diagnose any of my students, I am just using what I know about different behavioural problems to find solutions that work for my students. For example, I know some of my students get easily distracted and have trouble focusing so I use tools that I know work for children with ADHD to keep them on task. I don’t diagnose them with anything, I’m just using tools I’ve learned from working with kids with different abilities to work with kids who are having some behavioural issues. I’ve edit the text now to “behavioural problem” because y’all are right I don’t know if it’s ODD I was just using that as a tool to help understand the child. I treat all my students, regardless of their ability, with respect. I try to meet them where they are so that we can find the best way to learn together.

My right foot always cramps up really bad when I do pointe work what are some exercises I can do to help?

Hello! Welcome to r/ballet, a community for dancers and enthusiasts of all ages, sizes, and levels. We are proud to have a community of beginner students, professionals, and dancers in between here to support each other through our dance journey.

If you are wondering if you should start ballet, please read below. If you have further questions or are looking for encouragement, please post in this thread specifically. Furthermore, if you would like to ask some other questions regarding starting ballet, please post them below.

1) Am I too old to start ballet?

No, you'll find in this community we have dancers who began ballet in their 50s and 60s and have loved every minute of it. If you are looking for encouragement, or to hear from them specifically, please make a comment in our Weekly New and Returning to Ballet thread at the top of this subreddit.

2) Am I too old to become a professional?

If you are on reddit then the answer is likely yes, sorry. If you are a female under the age of 14 or a male under the age of 17 then you might have a very small chance (in an already very competitive industry) if you enrolled in a ballet school and train full time, about 5 hours a day 6 days a week. This is not possible for a lot of people financially or time-wise, but that's the reality of becoming a professional. This is a niche industry with lots of competitors, dancers train all their lives and still don't find jobs.

But don't let this stop you from dancing. If you love to dance, if it brings you joy, then what does it matter if you make money through it anyways? You can still make a lot of good progress and find fulfillment in performance opportunities without a dance career. Still questions? Don't make a new post but please comment here

3) Do I have a 'good' body for ballet?

If you take a ballet class, and you have a body, then you have a good body for ballet (sorry, no ghosts). Please do not make posts asking whether or not your body fits certain criteria (e.x. "do I have good feet for pointe?", "do I have the right shaped arms to be a professional?") as these questions are meaningless, there is no criteria for learning ballet.

4) Can men do ballet?

YES. 50% of all professional dancers are male, 50% of all roles in ballet are male. Ballet as a stereotypically 'feminine' thing is a misconception. An average ballet class is for both men and women, and some parts will have different genders do different things, this is common. There is nothing 'weird' with a man wanting to learn ballet, just as there is nothing weird for a man wanting to learn piano or fencing or any other art, activity, sport.

4.5) Can someone who identifies outside the gender binary do ballet? YES. Ballet, being an old art form, does traditionally stick with the ideas of men and women with regards to characters in ballet, pas de deux partnering, and specific elements in class. For example, men bow, women curtsy. Feel free to choose whatever works for you (or if you feel like neither is appropriate talk to your teacher about another option).

5) Can I teach myself ballet?

No. It's possible to learn some basics off the internet, but if you want to progress past the very basic/introductory level you will need to enrol in a class with a qualified teacher. Ballet technique is an extremely nuanced art form, it needs a trained eye to correct. Worst case scenario you end up with an injury from improper technique over time, and even in the best case you will have not learned 'ballet'. If you want to learn a style of dance in the comfort of your own home, ballet is not for you. There are lots of other styles you can try instead. DO NOT ask technique questions if you have never taken a ballet class with a live teacher, nothing said over the internet will be able to help you if you haven't learned the basics with the right muscles.

Don't forget to read the 'side barre' and take a look at previous Am I too... posts