Ballet Tips?

Question

I need tips on spotting and focussing while i do turns. also i need tips on how to strenthen my feet so i can get pointe shoes.

Answer 1

use a mirror each time you do a turn snap your head around to focus on your head in general, once you get that down try your spotting your eye's in the mirror. As for strengthening you calves, stand in 6th position then do 31 relevés then hold in relevé for 20 seconds. then repeat once...... other things you can do is to make sure your knees are stright when they are supposed to be, i can't tell you how many girls on point i have seen make that mistake alone. You can also write the abc's in the air with your feet this will help the ankles slightly.......what you want to focous on are your ankles, pulling up, and staying turned out. I know these are basics that you hear all the time but they do help once your on point....another thing you can do is to help the arch in your feet if you don't have a good arch already, make sure not to sickle your feet it can cause you problems when you are on point. Another thing that is important is to make sure you go all the way up on relevé whether it's in turns or at the bar. It may help with going all the way over on the box (the tip of a point shoe) when on point.

Answer 2

Turns and spotting depends a lot of the person and there are numerous ideas on how to best do it. Most use the concept of focusing on one spot and quickly turning the head to refocus. A well-known choreographer used to tell his dancers to blink their eyes as they turned their back to the audience using a turn, blink , spot technique. I personally find the traditional method the best.

Now as to strengthening your feet, the suggestions already given here are useful, but you also need to have strong ankles and basic core. Easiest thing to strengthen ankles is to draw the alphabet with the foot (small letters, capitals, cursive, printing, etc.) Puts ankle through full range of motion. To strengthen the core muscles Pilates is a good way to go. There are also some good abdominal exercises that can be done in the water if you have access to a pool.

Those who do well on pointe do not only have strong feet. If you want to study pointe, speak with your teacher and ask her advice. Take as many ballet classes a week as you can, and eventually move up to a pre-pointe class which is used to basically prepare and strengthen you for pointe work.

Good luck and "break a leg"!

Answer 3

Do you know what lifts are? Stand in first position and lift up your heels and put your weight on the balls of your feet. Then bring your heels down so they are almost touching the floor but don't let them touch. Bring them back up and repeat. This will make yor calves and feet stronger. Do as many as you can and try to push yourself to do more everyday. As for spotting, pick a good focusing point such as a clock or a picture on the wall. Then stand sideways while looking at that spot with your feet and arms in second position. Then step foward with your front foot, snap your head around and don't focus on anything but that spot. Move your body with your head but make sure that your head gets back around to that spot before your body does. It sounds more complicated than what it is. If you are taking lessons then ask your teacher to show you.

Answer 4

I am going on pointe next month, at age 13. I am on pre-pointe right now. Spotting is mostly practice, but look more above you than straight in front of you, and you will get better. Try fuette pirouettes if you can. In pre-pointe class, we do stretches for our feet. If you have a ballet center near you, you should definitely sign up for pre-pointe class, and buy a pair of those shoes, if possible. If not, email me and I will give you a list of stretches.

Answer 5

spotting is mostly practise - u leave ur head behind then whip it round at the last minute.

as for strengthening ur feet try standing on one foot on the balls for ur feet. u can also get special physio rubber bands that u use to do resistance exercises for the different muscles in ur feet and ankles. Or try getting one of those balls with the disk round it which u then stand on

Answer 6

do the turns slowly at first because if you cant do it slow then of course you cant turn well fast

just find a spot that is easy to focus on

Answer 7

try pilates