Hi! As the title says, during ballet class (both flats or en pointe), especially after much releves like fondu and forward, my soles start cramping painfully. This is especially prominent around the inner foot bridge, which I suspect to be due to light flatfoot I have. But it also feel like a pulling tension from my big toe upwards to the bridge and right under the Medial Malleolus.

My teacher has said it might be due to magnesium deficiency or tight calves. It hasn't eased really after talking supplements and staying hydrated. I do have tight calves. Any good massaging or rolling exercises for those? I try to go over them with a massage gun after training, but still

What I have suspected is maybe the muscles are tight, so can't handle that much releve. Does anyone have any good stretches particularly for that big toe-inner bridge area?

Thank you!

Hey i was just wondering, is it frowned upon to switch studios? I ask because this is my first year dancing and I don’t want to rub my current studio the wrong way.

The reason i want to switch is because the adult ballet class at another studio gives chances to perform with the ballet company in my city. They’re going to be in this years nutcracker, and i’d like the same opportunity to perform with the company for upcoming productions.

my current studio doesn’t do that and the only performances they do is the nutcracker, meanwhile the other studio does swan lake, giselle, dracula, etc etc etc. My current studio also has a very dead/small adult class. The other studio has a packed adult class meaning they’re most likely to keep it open. And they alwayssss recruit from that studio because the principle with the company owns the studio.

Now, in the ballet world, is this like- not okay? if it’s disrespectful, i’ll stay. I don’t want to rub my studio the wrong way!!

Is anyone familiar with how RAD exam fees are determined? Just wondering why there are price differences between studios. I am in the US, if that makes a difference.

Hey everyone, Happy Dancewear Monday! Please feel free in posting a picture of your dancewear style, your new dancewear purchase, your cute warmups, etc. Just a reminder of the guidelines:

1. It is recommended to blur out your face if you want to keep some anonymity.

2. Please list what brands you are wearing in the comments in case other users want to know where you found stuff.

3. All Dancewear Mondays will be NO CRITICISM with regards to ballet. So if someone posts a picture of them in arabesque being like “look at my cute leg warmers” DO NOT comment “Looks great but you should turn out more”. We don’t care if your intentions are good and you are just trying to help, on this subreddit critique is only given when explicitly asked for. If you wouldn’t say it to someone in class don’t comment it on here. (And if you would tell a fellow dancer to turn out more, or something, randomly in class well that just reflects poorly on you).

4. New users who have low comment karma: your post will be filtered into a queue and need to be mod approved, so please be patient if your post does not appear right away.

5. Use the Dancewear Monday flair

Thanks :)

my teacher wants my class to perform in the same mall as the one we performed in months ago because the mall invited us back. the stage made creaky noises and was quite unstable and was covered in some type of fabric that made it incredibly hard to do a pirouette. the stage was also really small and i have almost fallen off of it once. when my teacher discussed about the upcoming show with our class she instantly made it sound like all of us had to perform no matter what it's so annoying 🫠 like at least make the space safe to perform then only u tell your students about it

How is your dance journey going this week? Share with us your STARS (things you want to celebrate), for example getting a company contract, landing your first triple pirouette, or working up the courage to try the next level class? Share with us your WISHES (things you want to improve/complain about), for example working on your balance with little success, the new student who doesn't understand spacial awareness, etc.

I wanna be a professional ballet dancer but the studio I'm currently at (as a middle school student) sucks, they don't take ballet seriously and all of the classmates who take ballet seriously are LEAVING NEXT YEAR. The 2025 timetable got posted - I'm staying in the same pointe class and COMBINED THEM WITH PRE-POINTE. I'm afraid that next year would be completely either a chatty teacher who always gets distracted or a teacher that adjusts the exercises to help the newbies. Idk what to do - I would switch studios but there's no good ones near me, the preferable solution would be to up and move near the closest ballet company and go there (except auditions already closed so I would still have to wait out a year before I can even try to get in) and I have little space at home to practice 😭😭😭😭

In case you don't want to read my raw writing, here's it neater and cleaned up:
- middle school female student wanting a ballet career
- 2025 timetable has combined intermediate, junior and pre-pointe
- The rest of the good dancers are leaving next year so it'll be mostly newbies
- the teacher will likely pay more attention to them, adjust exercises for them, or get distracted by them
- theres no solution that i can see to this - theres not a lot of studios nearby. moving is not an option and i have little space at home to practice

So what do I do now?

Preface: I am aware there is some controversy here. I would prefer to stay away from this and focus on the workout. Thank you.

Hello, I have taken in adult ballet in studio within the past year. I like Ballet Beautiful as a supplementary workout and would love to learn how other people integrate into their routine?

Does anyone else here use Ballet Beautiful? If so, what is your “split”?

Thank you.

I sweat very easily, and if I’m dancing for long hours, odor might become an issue. What’s a safe (non toxic) product you use for helping with odor?

I started ballet classes this past summer around July , and my last one I went to was in September. Since then I haven’t been able to make any classes because life has been Lifing . I look at my dance bag and just sigh . I enjoy going to the classes it’s so freeing for my mind and one day I really do want to get on pointe but gosh I just haven’t had anytime . Do you guys think it’ll be weird when I show back up after a 2 months hiatus or if they’d even notice ? I just want to get on pointe lol and dance in the nutcracker 😩😭I wish it can happen overnight . How were you guy’s experience after taking breaks ?

I've been wearing canvas split sole flats for a while now, but leather full sole flats (from Capezio) were the standard when I was training. Does anyone have any good recommendations for leather flats? I would prefer to not use demi pointes or deshank my old pointe shoes (satin is just not my personal preference).

Hi everyone!

I am just restarting ballet after I quit as a kid (I'm currently a sophomore in high school), and I was wondering what the etiquette around asking questions in class is? I am in a class with a lot of younger kids who obviously don't ask a lot of questions regarding technique, but I want to make sure I am doing things correctly and not developing bad habits. I feel fine about asking questions after class, but I would like to ask during class so I can implement my teachers corrections before I go home and forget them. Also, since the class is generally younger kids, she doesn't give a lot of unsolicited corrections. I don't want to mess up the class flow!

any advice is welcome! :)

Hi, this is my first year dancing. I have an intensive coming up in June and obviously our hair+heat doesn’t mix very well. So my question is, what do you all usually do with your hair in the summer for ballet? I know protective styles are a summer staple, but i’ve always hated getting braids because it takes forever. What products are you using to stop the frizz for your buns?

My hair is 4A/4B, and it’s so annoying to deal with in the summer. not to mention that i have a LOT of it. i’m going to die. i need something fast, easy and convenient for the summer

I've been really struggling to progress en pointe, and though I definitely have strengthening I need to do, I'm wondering if part of it is because of my shoes not fitting right? I am constantly feeling sharp pain on the tops of all my toes, caused by friction from rubbing against the box. And by tops, I don't mean the tip of my toe that is actually making contact with the floor. I mean the area of my toes which is below the toenail (if that makes sense). It's so bad that all my toes are constantly getting blisters if I push myself and engage my muscles fully, unless I wrap them with tape (and even then it's still pretty bad). Most of the pain I experience from pointe is because of this, not even from exerting my ankles or the pressure of my toes on the floor. I can feel that I'm not exerting my calf muscles fully because of this and it's frustrating. I'm not going to get stronger if I can't fully engage, and if I can't get stronger it's just going to worsen all the other problems.

I am also really struggling to turn out fully and place my weight properly over my big toe. I'm conscious of this issue at least, and I'm working on it, but I look super sickled if you look at my foot en pointe from the side and it's so frustrating. Do I just need to work on my turnout more? My second toes are a bit longer than my first toes so that makes it harder, but I do wear toe spacers.

Hi! I'm training as a professional dancer abroad and am currently studying to become a ballet teacher. In two weeks, I need to take my DDE Unit 4 Exam, where I must learn all the Cecchetti grades from primary to intermediate. The examiner can request to see any exercises from any grade, and I will also have to explain common faults, how to teach a young student a specific step, and discuss various differences between ballet movements, their purposes, and progressions. I don't know how to feel about the exam. I feel prepared, but at the same time, I'm not feeling completely confident. While I'm comfortable with most grades, there are still some grades where I'm not as self-assured. I really want to do well and eventually become a teacher after I stop dancing as a performer. Any advice on what I should do and how I should look at my exam? Thanks!

I don’t know how to word it better, but like is it intermediate if it is, is it early intermediate or like higher intermediate?

When I think of ballet (I'm not a dancer) I always think that people start really young. How many people have started in adulthood, and how has that worked out?

Guys !! The time has finally come. I CAN GO ON POINTES FOR THE FIRST TIME next Sunday !! I'M SO SO EXCITED TO GET MY FIRST PAIR. I didn't expect to go on pointes this early but my teacher gave me the green light at the end of our class today. I enrolled in beginner adult ballet classes and my goal ever since was to go on pointes for the first time.

I do have a few questions tho. I have GREEK feet (the 2nd toe is the longest...) and since this will be my very first pair of pointe shoes. Which brand and model would you recommend ? I have a 15% discount thanks to my student card at Bloch and Repetto store.

Also what kind of padding should I do for my greek type ?

Thank you !

With dancia shut where can I go in central London to have a pointe shoe fitting and try different brands?

I haven't done ballet or any other type of dance for over 10 years. I plan to go back in February 2025. Could you suggest some kind of exercise or preparation for going back to classes?

Hey, i saw a post either here or in another ballet reddit, i forget which one. Anyway, it was about veronica viccora and how they hate her. calling her crazy, or delusional- especially because she has an intensive and they didn’t think she should be leading it. (mind you- she hired professionals to lead the intensive, yet still received so much backlash.)

My thoughts are, why the hate? I think she provides a platform for Adult Dancers that often feel discouraged. I think it’s lovely. I also viewed her website and she does interviews with other dancers who came up from backgrounds that aren’t the “norm”, which i can really appreciate.

Another thing i wanted to touch on is how she mentions it’s not too late to become a professional. I think when we hear “professional”, people automatically go for “Ballet company”- which is fair to think, yes. however, i think there are other routes to go “professionally”. Professional just implies being paid for your work, and i think veronica’s just saying there are other ways to get paid to do ballet than the traditional ballet company route. You can freelance and do birthday parties or cruise ship work, etc etc etc. Everything is at your own pace, your own rate. There’s actually a company that hires freelance dancers to perform at upscale weddings (it’s actually beautiful- dm me if you want the info).I know there’s this girl on tiktok named liz who talks a lot about freelance as well.

Veronica just gives me more inspirational vibes rather than “oh she’s crazy she’ll never dance at ABT!!! LOLOLOL”.. Not to mention the way they constantly bashed her age.

Disclaimer: This is no hate to professionals in this group, i promise that this post isn’t aimed to “hate” on you. I give you your flowers for the decades of hard work and dedication.. this post is just specifically to hear out opinions on veronica and highlight how not everyone has the same goals and the same journey.

I think that we need to recognize that it’s 2024, and a lot of things are changing. Things that go against the norm and being normalized. So Veronica’s journey might be a bit different. I feel like these days we overfixate on someone else’s plans rather than genuinely trying to understand them. We’re judgmental. Personally, I love reading the comments on her instagram page about the mothers of 5 children who wanted to give dance a try to make them feel good. Or about the people who spent a decade not dancing due to an injury and are getting back into it because of her. I think it’s beautiful (: Her encouragement has brought people back to enjoy the art.

EDIT: Veronica has never referred to herself as a professional in any of the content i’ve seen. She usually starts with a disclaimer that she, herself, is not a professional, guys. unless maybe there is a post where she says she’s pro (please link so i can edit this post if that’s the case. I can understand how that can be annoying to actual pro dancers)

As far as what i said about professional dancer just implies getting paid for it because it’s your profession- again- no disrespect to company dancers who have been dancing for decades. My point was more so that maybe that’s what veronica is going off of? Like, she’s saying that people can still earn a living whether it be the traditional or non traditional route. please please please don’t take what i’m saying the wrong way because i don’t mean it like that. Company dancers are amazing and deserve more pay, actually.

So I have started my adult ballet journey. I have been doing ballet for about two months. At the least I would go once a week. However, I recently just had a HORRIBLE depressive episode and haven’t been to ballet in about two weeks. I want to go back tho upcoming week but I am terrified to start again and scared. I guess I’m just scared that I will move stiffly or like I lost all my flexibility and progress. Anyway, please I just need encouragement. I feel so low rn, I have no idea what to do but I just want to dance again.

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone else has this type of foot and what kinds of pointe shoes or tricks work for you? (not looking for recommendations as much as others experiences in the trial to find the right fit). I am an older adult, age 52, and dancing in pointe shoes off and on since 2018. Before that I took pointe classes and wore pointe shoes from age 15-20 in 1987-1992. i came back to dance/ballet in 2015. These are some of the pointe shoes I have worked with:

Capezio Contempora or Pavlova 1987-1992. I hated those shoes but there was not much else available that would fit my feet at all back then. I went way over the box and the shanks broke very quickly. I don't remember much else about them. I remember going through a LOT of them though.

2018 First reintroduction to pointe work was with Grishko Nova and they did not work at all for me. The vamp was too long and cut into my metatarsals making it difficult to roll up and down in them. My feet also sank in them. And I broke the shanks within several hours.

2018-2020 wore a variety of Russian Pointe shoes. I wanted to like them. The shanks lasted longer than the box for me which was a refreshing change. They looked beautiful on my feet. But they were never comfortable and always painful in big toe or front of foot. Rubins were too square and I sank in them. Sapfirs were way too narrow even in a width five and various sizes. Bravas were too much room in the box though I liked the more tapered toe area. Settled on the Almaz but even in those my feet would sink down in them and big toe would hurt terribly, especially as i broke them in more. I feel they were still not tapered enough in the toe area. In fact the toe area was the same width as the Rubins, just more taper in the metatarsal area. Tried going down a width to a four but it was like being in a vice.

Took two years off pointe work due to chronic shin splints and a foot injury from overuse (not just due to ballet but other things).

Bloch Heritage- very briefly tried these but the box was way too roomy and again I went way over the box in these. I never did try the stronger shank due to so many other issues with this shoe.

Rediscovered Nikolay/Grishko but this time 2007. This is almost "the shoe". Finally no big toe pain with minimal padding. They support me and no bending way over the box. The only issue is they are slightly narrow in metatarsal even in a 5 width and I can feel my pinky toe being squished. I can't go down much more in padding. I only wear a thin Gaynor Minden pointe pocket with these. I've tried taping my pinky or wearing a little toe cap which has helped. I tried no padding but just a paper towel but the box is too hard for my 52 year old sensitive feet. I don't like the boxy look of the 2007s but I just ordered a 3007 same width 5 size 5 and am waiting on those in mail. I heard they are lower on sides of foot. I like the profile in this shoe, not too high not too low. It takes me a while however to break these in and once broken in I have an hour or two in that sweet wonderful spot of them just hugging my feet and then they become too soft in the shank and hard to work with.

Also experimenting with Gaynor Minden Europas. Originally tried sculpted wide size 8.5 3+ box and supple shank. Initially loved them but quickly found problems. Box in toe was too square and caused big toe pain. Vamp was too high though I could roll up and down easily but the shoe held me back too much on pointe. After several months of working with those and trying everything from instant wings to box liners to lambs wool taking up the space in toe area to various padding etc and still pain in big toe, I had another pair custom made with lower vamp, 3 box instead of 3+, extra flex shank (seems the same as supple but both work for me). Still kept size 8.5 and sculpted style with wide metatarsal. This shoe is better in many ways. no more toe pain, and I am right over the box now, no being held back. However, the profile is now so ridiculously low these shoes are extremely tight, so much so I can not wear any padding on left foot just a little lambs wool wrapped around toes and they still hurt in metatarsal area on top of foot. I can wear just a GM pointe pocket on right foot which feels almost perfect no pain at all but my feet seem to be very sore for days after wearing GMs. It took over 9 weeks to get these shoes because of the unusual combination of being wide but narrow 3 box and low vamp. I am thinking this is not going to be sustainable or practical for me. I switch back and forth between these shoes and the 2007s and like each for different reasons but my "muscle memory" is thrown off when I do this. I can't explain it but it takes me time to get re used to wearing 2007s after wearing GM for a session. They are such different shoes.

I don't think I am going to improve much on fit but I am hoping maybe there is still another Nikolay style out there that will be "the one". I love the more tapered toe of the 2007s and the low/medium profile that is not overly flat and low like the Gaynors but not too roomy. Width is an issue. I am afraid to try a 6 width and it would have to be custom and only a few Nikolay styles offer 6 width but I am thinking I might have to try this. i am also looking at the Smart Pointes but I am not sure if the toe area is as tapered as the 2007 last? I do NOT want to go any wider in the toe because the narrower toe is working for my foot type. Also, it seems that those shoes with higher wings seem to also have a slightly higher vamp which will not work for my feet. This is just a theory I could be wrong but seems every shoe I have tried on with high wings seems to be harder or higher in the vamp at the front of the foot.

Sorry to go on and on. The nearest fitter is 2.5 hours away and it's hard for me to get down there so I have had to resort to virtual fittings or just researching and trying things on my own. I buy some shoes on Ebay if I know the exact size/dimensions I need as they are way cheaper, and I am just a recreational dancer so I always feel awkward going to professional fitters and taking up time away from younger students. I am not asking for recommendations as much as what others have tried who have similar feet and how you overcame these issues. I think I have every kind of pointe supply out there to adjust things, from lambs wool and 8 different kinds of padding to toe tape, spacers, toe caps, instant wings and box liners, you name it. I prefer less padding in my shoe but need a little something for sure. I am not even close to advanced with pointe work and my feet are nowhere near as tough as they were when I was a teenager! I need to baby them more.

Also, thanks to Nikolay 2007 and GM my pointe work has improved a lot and I am still progressing nicely so I want to keep the momentum going before age becomes too much of an issue. Time is ticking! I was always in too much pain in the Russian Pointes to do much but now I can be in my shoes over an hour at a time, even if they are still somewhat problematic. My feet are very unusual with being wide but tapered and compressible at the same time. And my big toe really sticks out from the rest of my toes which taper in severely. But my feet are what I have always been complimented on so there is that!