Strength: Your Legs

Strength and flexibility come hand in hand.  Even though it may seem like flexibility is everything, it's not.  You need to be able to hold your legs up high using your muscles!  Just like flexibility, strengthening your leg muscles takes time.  It could take up to four weeks or even up to years or hard work.  


In this post, we will focus on your leg muscles.  During class, it is important that you always tighten your knees.  This strengthens your muscle called the quadricep, or your thighs.  This is what will hold your leg up high; it helps with extension.  Another exercise to try are squats or grand pliés.  


For your calves, relevés are the best thing to do.  Whether you do them with plié or without, it is important that you do them nice and slow.  Make sure that you keep your legs tight while you are doing this.  

In dance, we use our hamstrings quite a bit when we jump.  It is important to do lunges or leg lifts to strengthen them.

To work your inner leg muscles, lie on your back with your legs straight up in the air and your feet pointed.  Switch them back and forth in fifth position.  Do this ten times.  Then move your legs down towards the floor a little.  Do it again for ten times.  Do this until they're almost touching the floor.  This exercise also strengthens not only your inner leg muscles, but also your core!


Do this once a day, and you'll be good to go!

 

Flexibility!

Extension is important when it comes to dance, ballet especially!  We've all seen the end product, but how do we get there?  How do we get to that?

How do I do that?

Like anything else you do in life, it takes time!  Depending on how flexible you are now and how flexible you want to be, it could take anywhere from a month to a couple of years.

Some of the following stretches are good to do in your free time:

1. Lunges –– Stand in a good forth position with your right leg behind you.  Lunge down.  Try to straighten your right leg (or leg that is behind you) all the way so that it is not touching the ground.  Don't lift your heel off the ground.  Stay down there for thirty to sixty seconds.  Then switch.  Repeat four times on both sides. 

2. Front splits –– Put one of your legs in front of you, and go down into a split.  Try to straighten and turn out both of your legs.  Try to stay squared, if you can.  Stay here for one minute.  Then come up and repeat on the other side.  (If you can do all of this, stretch forward and back for thirty seconds.)

3. Straddle splits #1 –– Open your legs to the side.  Take your right arm and stretch side to the left.  Stay there for thirty seconds.  Then, come back up, and stretch forward as much as you can.  Stay here for one minute and then come back up.  Then, take your left arm and stretch to the right.  Stay there for thirty seconds.  Then, stretch forward.  Repeat this for four times. 

4. Straddle splits #2 –– Open your legs up to the wall.  Sit up straight.  Push forward as much as you can.  Stay here for five minutes and then stop.  (Make sure you keep your legs straight!)

5. Straddle splits #3 –– Lie on your back, and put your legs up onto a wall.  Then, let them go down into a straddle split.  Gravity will pull it down.  Stay here until it starts to hurt.  (Not sort of hurt, really hurt!)

6. Use a stretcher from Discount Dance!

Here are a couple links:
Anaheim Ballet: 3 Steps: Instructional Stretching
Intermediate Ballet Dancing : How to Stretch before Dancing Ballet
Free Flexibility Video: 5-Minute Stretch Routine 

If you do some of these stretches each day, you're only one step closer to the final product!

And, guess what?  You not only need flexibility, but also strength!  Stay in tuned for a whole article on strengthening your body!

Confidence is key.

Hello everyone!

Today's post is all about confidence, which is something that I think all of us dancers need more of!  As dancers, we all strive to be the best and hope that someday, we get a solo or some important character in a ballet.  However, how do we get there?  

Believe it or not, confidence is key.  Self confidence is important in dance, as well as many different activities in your life.  Now, what is confidence exactly?  We've all heard of it, but do we really know what it is?  Sure, we can look it up in a dictionary, but the meaning of confidence changes throughout person to person.  Confidence to me is feeling certain of myself and not being afraid of being my real self.  When you hear the word confidence, what does it make you think of?  What is your definition of the word?  Post your ideas below!

Now comes the hardest question of them all.  Why is confidence so important?  Well, have you ever had someone come up to you after a show, whether it was family, friends, dance teachers or instructors and/or just a complete stranger, and say "Good job!"  How did it make you feel?  When I get that, I feel pretty good inside!  When somebody says good job to me, I want to work even harder and do even better than I did before.  It boosts my self-esteem.  And we all know what happens when you work harder...you do better!  Maybe next time you have a show, invite some of your relatives or even a couple of your friends.

It is not only important for you to get complimented, but also that your dance friends/peers do too.  At dance, it is important that you stay close and true to your friends.  Trust me, I've learned from experience.  Your friends and you are in it together, and you should always try to do the best you can to support them!  


I hope this helps!

Turnout, turnout, turnout!

We all strive for it, we all want it.  Now, how do we get there?  Again, it takes time.

Technique is a crucial part to ballet.  You need it.  Some dancers are born with great amounts of turnout, others have to work harder to achieve it, like me. 

The good part to turnout is that you can exercise it, just like your flexibility and strength!

Some good stretches to do are the frog stretch (lying on either your back or front).  Wall straddle splits also help with turnout as well.  Lie on your back, and put your legs up onto a wall.  Then, let them go down into a straddle split.  Gravity will turn your legs out to the side.  

It is important that when you do these exercises, you rotate from your hips rather than from your knees.  Rotating from your knees is a bad habit, not to mention bad for your body.  You should try to break this habit early on, before you get into a higher level class or even core/company.   

Good luck!  Hope this helps!

Summer goals!

Summer is coming up, which means summer intensives/camps for most of you guys!  It is important that during the summer you set one or two goals that are important for you.  I love seeing my improvement from the beginning to the end!  My summer goals are:

1. Flexibility!
2. Triple pirouttes!
3. Core strengthening!

 Now, after you choose what you want to improve on, then you ask "How do I improve that?"

1. Flexibility –– stretch a little each day
2. Triple pirouttes –– try to not leave class without doing one on each side
3. Core –– crunches, planks, etc.

Now, all you have to do, is do it!   


Remember, when setting your goals, you want to make sure it's measurable, and you can obtain it (it's not too difficult to do).  You may want to set a date, in my case, it would be by the end of the summer.  I hope this helps!

Getting started!

Hey everybody!

Welcome to the blog, Dance, Dance, Dance! This is where everyone and anyone can come share their stories, and thoughts or problems about dance and/or life in general, as well as all any questions. 

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Because this is just getting started, please tell your friends! I will try to post as often as I can! :)