Michelle_Richer

I am really touched by such wonderful caring comments from you all, I really appreciate them. So thank you all so very very much. For me I am taking a halfway position but keeping it under review. As I have indicated in an earlier posting Tuesday is my heaviest day, I am removing 3.5hours of dance endurance from that particular day. The remaining days are a lot less arduous and in any case we are almost up to term break for Christmas. Whilst with the physio, she has copied me the 13 pages from her reference book which amongst other things describes “Alfredson’s painful heel-drop protocol” in detail, she is very confident in its effectiveness and she is also fully aware of my existing ballet commitment. At the end of the day I am seriously trying to achieve the best possible compromise while my Achilles strengthens and heals, even though the exercise protocol is painful to start with.

Hi Balleteacher The Physio asked a number of questions in order to investigate the cause of the pain like badly fitting shoes etc, in the end her conclusion was the same as mine, overuse, especially when I mentioned my Tuesday could extend to seven and a half hours of ballet when I add on my hour of Ref practice at Pineapple, and a further half hour before class at ENB. I know that’s not every day, but I generally have multiple classes most day, and on top of that I attend most Rep workshops going. The condition appears to be well known and understood, its called Achilles tendinopathy, the exercise treatment suggested by my physio is know as “Alfredson’s painful heel-drop protocol”. This is strait out of Brukner and Khan, Clinical Sports Medicine BE, McGraw-Hill Profession”. During the session with my physio, other observations came out: My arches we considered to be low, when I did a releve my right heel appeared to roll in a little. When I stood normally, I appear to put my weight on to one foot, but it could be either foot. I tend to stand on the ball of my foot rather than the heel fully down, I very much agree with that observation as I often get told off on changement that I don’t fully put my heels down. No real conclusion was drawn from all that. My balance in the physios consulting room was also rubbish, but I think that was just a bad day, she suggested going to a gym and using a wobble board, but I told her I already have one. I started the day (Tuesday) with the heel-drop exercises as recommended, it was somewhat painful to start with but eased a little as I did more reps. Then it was off to my Dance Fever class at Castle Sports in Spalding, when I got there the car park was, I had to park a 10 minute walk away, that made me late and I was trying to rush to the class, my right ankle was giving me hell and I almost aborted going there. The dance fever class(Fusion of ballet and latin) was quite hard on my feet as there was quite a lot of jumping, which was on a hard gym floor. But never the less I survived it, after I had a coffee with the girls and walked back to the car in a less hurried fashion, that was a lot easier on my feet. At this point I was extremely unsure about doing my two classes at ENB, but surprising when I got off the train at Kings Cross they were not as bad as my previous visit, although I still had quite a limp. At ENB I told both of my teachers prior to starting class as I was very apprehensive about being able fully do both classes. As it was I did, furthermore when I left, my feet were in a far better shape than when I arrived. Although they were starting to get a little painful by the time I had walked (20 minute) to the tube station, they were in a far better condition than my previous visit. I think the improvement, although only one exercise session, has contributed to it, but it has also helped by suspending my visit to Pineapple. I really do need to get a significant improvement in the short term, as I have another normal week after this one, then I’m committed to 15 successive days of ballet. Hi 2dancersmum The overall condition has been developing since about July as far as I can recall. As for GP’s, I’m sorry I don’t have much faith in them to provide effective diagnosis or treatment for this type of condition other than hurriedly writing a prescription for pain relief.

Hi Lin Your memory fails you, I posted the RAD workshop on 2nd of October and you responded to it. See link http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/5004-new-adult-repertoire-workshops-from-royal-academy Don't forget, although its not on their site yet, but they will be running a Cinderella Rep workshop in February.

Went to see the Physio today, that was a very painful experience when she found the fluid build-up on my ankles. While I was there she massage them and treated them with ultra sound, she has shown me how to massage them too. I have some exercises to do which will also strengthen it using a step or ledge. There are two types, the first using strait legs is called the gastrocnemius drop, and the second with knees flexed at 45 degrees called the solius drop. Basically I go from demi-pointe through flat to the foot pointing up on the ledge then to repeat, one foot steps on demi-pointe and then the other. The exercise set by my physio calls for 3 x 15 reps of each, twice a day, 7 days a week for 12 weeks. I did my Lincoln class tonight; I did get a bit of a reprieve as we were going through costumes for our show. My teacher brought a pile of romantic tutu’s in, although I have my own, both my teacher an I took in a range of coloured leotards, as many of the girls only have black ones. So about a third of the class time was spent discussing what to wear. Unfortunately we did not finish part 3 of the show sequence. Most of this time my ankles and legs were playing up, I think it was aggravated by the pain I felt when the fluid areas were pressed in the afternoon. Tomorrow (Tuesday) which is my heaviest ballet day, I think I will suspend Pineapple for a while to give my ankles a fighting chance to recover, aided by my new exercises.

Had an email from RAD tonight Nutcracker Rep Workshop (RAD), South East Dance Studios, Hextable Kent, 8 December (Closing date extended to 25 November) Link: http://www.rad.org.uk/article_pink.asp?id=119&realCat=138 They haven't quite reached the minimum number for this workshop to fly. I hope we can attached a few more from this forum.

For me what Christmas excess, the meal and Salsa party planned for Christmas day has now been dropped. We had 20+ dancers for it, but too many have pulled out. I guess I will have to chill out at home. Means I will have to cook and do the washing up Grrrrr. Id rather be dancing ballet particularly the harem girls dance from Le Corsaire. At least I will get time to recut the music for my own chorography. Lin have you had any thoughts on your tutu for the LAB Intensive yet, I'm OK as I have about a dozen, a couple more on order and for Christmas I might treat my self to a couple of JB's professional one's as they are really nice. Must go out and get some fairy wings though, in case w0e are doing the fairy variation's.

Hi Lin I thought that was quite ambitious of you. I'm off tomorrow to see my Physio to see if she can give me some new 18 year old legs or a full service, not sure what she is going to make of me. Had a lovely day with the Royal Academy of Dance in London doing Repertoire from the Ballet “Don Quixote”, we danced two very contrasting scenes, the first was a Spanish dance from Gamache’s Entrance (Act 1), the second was far more classical from the Dream Scene (Act2). Our teacher for the day was Darren Parish, an easy teacher to follow and learn from, I liked him alot. I also met one of my friends from English National Ballet, and two other’s that were with me during our LAB Summer Intensive at Docklands. Our teacher also thought he had recognised me from the Royal Opera House, it just shows what a small world it is. I had a nice chat with Natalie Dorman, one of the RAD organisers. It appears they will be running an Adult Repertoire course on Cinderella in February, but nothing is published yet. I have submitted a comprehensive feedback form with suggestion on many ballet’s that they may consider using over and above those that are currently in their mind. The journey there was a bit fractious, left home at 6am, silly me didn’t check the train times as I knew I had a good deal of contingency built in. First train from Peterborough was 7.26am but it was late at 7.41am, it was also the slow train getting into Kings Cross at 9am. RAD info said to find bust stop G for the 170 which was not marked on that stop. A map I downloaded showed it as bus stop R, which was the one I used. I was also not prepared for ticket machines for pre-paid tickets, besides the one at “R” was out of action, but a nice gentleman said I would probably be OK to pay as they weren’t very busy on a Sunday, so that’s what I did. However on the return journey, the bus was full to bursting, but I still paid the driver.

Hi BMT Wow now I can put a face to your name, I hope to see you at Northern Ballet in Fiona's class on the 17th, and hopefully with City on the 4th of Jan, I will have to stay in London that weekend as I'm doing Nutcracker with ENB at the Coliseum on the Sunday. I think I'm a bad influence on Lin as she is now doing both too. Hopefully she will find the right door this time.

Hi Muchkin16 If you are particularly looking to do something with City at ROH, then at the moment there is only the Swan Lake3 repertoire workshop on the 1st of December, then next two (Giselle and Swan Lake4) are at Sadlers Wells, Rejane did mention another Masterclass but I think that was the evening of the 10th December, which conflicts with my two classes at ENB, perhaps LinMM can remember its location. The Masterclass with Rejane were real fun so don't worry about your training in Cechetti, one of my local teachers is too, after a while I guess you become sort of multi-lingual in ballet terms, especially when you do a number of different classes. In any case I use a ballet dictionary which covers the different ballet schools terminology for the same movement, hand positions etc. The repertoire workshops do tend to cover quite a lot, three or four scenes from one of the classics, but at the same time it does not appear to be rushed. Like any class it will start with a short barre session biased against movement you will need for rep. Short centre practice too, to support your rep later, then the main repertoire. Often Rejane make provision at the end for a Friends and Family performance of the scenes you have learnt during that workshop. I guess I will soon have to think about booking the next two City rep workshops, I haven't missed one yet. Its of to RAD HQ Sunday for rep workshop on "Don Quixote".

You will be absolutely fine, just go for it. Its a complete mix of abilities from beginners. Most bits of rep usually have two options, easy and a little more challenging, so it suits everyone. But the main thing is, they can be danced side by side as a company of dancers. Any course / workshop at the ROH is more expensive in comparison of other venue's, but that's because of where it is. Most of City's classes that I've been too have been at Sadler's Wells.

Lin Has Chelsea Ballet's Master class for December been cancelled then, as the last notification I got from Louise was it would be a Friday either 6 or 13 and Laura Hussey was to be the teacher. Laura is my teacher at my level 3 class at ENB, she is an excellent teacher and helped me a lot with my own choreography when she was my level 1 teacher. BMT Who is your evening teacher at Northern, I have done a couple of sessions with Fi(Fiona)evening classes, but I can only do full days there when ENB are on break. I will be there again during the last week of the current term and join Fi's class again, I really like Fi.

Hi BMT welcome to the forum My Interest is in repertoire classes as I already do multiple ballet classes most days, from my local area to London, ENB being my main contributor. However there are rep classes outside London if you are prepared to travel. Recently I did Le Corsaire with ENB at Oxford. Nutcracker Rep Workshop (RAD), South East Dance Studios, Hextable Kent, 8 December (Closing date 18 November) Link: http://www.rad.org.uk/article_pink.asp?id=119&realCat=138 Scottish ballet are doing various workshops on Hansel and Gretel, but its in 10days time, I only got notification yesterday. I’m up at Scottish ballet in December. See Link: http://www.dancebase.co.uk/classes/workshops?options%5Bsite_id%5D=33463 Occasionally Northern ballet in Leeds do workshops, I was there only last week. It’s also worth keeping an eye on Birmingham Royal Ballet too, but most of these do get posted on the forum. But most Rep classes do take place in London, I think because there is a strong regular core of dancers. I see a lot of the same faces at all the ones I go to, and I also help to promote them where I can, as it’s a shame when a workshop fails due to insufficient interest. Usually its badly promoted.

Yes Janet a nice video. I had not thought of using a resistance band sideways, most of the other stretches we do in our body balance class and its left to each individual how far you go. I do two of those classes a week and love them. One of my teachers doesn’t rate the resistance band for strengthening the feet, but it seems to work for me, especially as I have broken two or three stretching them too far. Its certainly helped with preparation for pointe work. In pointe class we are still concentrating on building strength, last night exercise was quite simple apart from the usual prances and rolling up onto plie’s, We were taking the body weight onto one foot and holding it there. There was only two of us last night, the other girl struggles a bit so the teacher left it at 15 seconds. My right foot is my strongest and has the best straightness profile. Strength wise it feels almost indefinite but my toes get a little sore after a minute or so. I ended up doing developee’s to the side, and front then with front gesturing foot in attitude and round to the back in arabesques, all at the barre of course but only one slight fingertip support. My teacher just told me to be careful, but didn’t stop me. It was awesome the sense of height. It wasn’t all good news though, my left leg still has a little bit of a knee injury, which I can feel when that leg is supporting my full body weight en pointe, it gave a little last night, so I put an elasticated support around it. I continued with the class on that foot and it held up, but it was a warning not to push it too far, so I just stuck to the teachers exercises. It did screw up my pirouettes, with that foot as the gesturing foot during the class that followed, the mind boggles why.

I love the fairy variations, I have already performed the Candide one (First Fairy) in public and in a tutu, but I didn't have any fairy wings. But at the RBS studios we must keep up the standard and do things right this time, don't you agree? I will have you in a Tutu yet.

I know Dance Direct had problems with an upgrade to their system. I held off with an order, then their website was updated at the end of last month and I started to get email replies to my queries. On the 30 I place an order with them which was duly confirmed but I think like everyone else, that’s the last I have heard from them. The small items that would have been delivered in a day or two have never arrived. I’m now using StarliteDirect.com as its fairly local to me, I’m visiting them tomorrow in Sleaford Lincs.

Depends what solo you are doing, don't forget the fairy wings though.

Just returning to post #111 Musicality. This is just an observation I have noticed recently. I have been learning Giselle’s first variation and have worked quite a lot with it and always to the music. However a couple of times recently in classes where we have had a water break, I have attempted to dance this variation. Without the music there is clearly something missing, I guess for me it the cue’s for transition to the next movement or elongate the current one. The feeling I get without music, its just steps and they appear rushed. Music adds feeling, power; it lifts your spirit. With the right music I always feel it put that little bit of extra power into an extension etc, you can really feel it.

Had a really fantastic day at Northern Ballet, the girls there are so friendly and sociable its really nice to meet up in the local café after class for a coffee and a chat, its the only class I know of does this and its wonderful. Even their teacher is really nice even though she uses Yorkshire French pronunciation for ballet terms, but she it getting me trained in that now.

Section 2 added to our show piece, very ambitious of our teacher as it contains a Jete en tournant, chaines travelling turns and a pirouette, we still have section three to go. The show is only three weeks away, gosh this is going to be tight and concentrate the mind, its also a public paying one too. Fortunately my teacher has allowed me to video it for practice, as it will be useful to dance this at more than one venue so there is no surprises in terms of special awareness when it come to dress rehearsal on the actual stage.

I must confess the same thought crossed my mind, as I would be very useful to have a common thread, only one place to look.

Yippee just got notification from trainline.com that the East Coast cancelled Scottish rail journey has been refunded. Scottish ballet is now on for the 9th December, not sure what they will make of me.

Yes I was tempted to put a posting on the forum about this stray I picked up hiding in the ROH booking area, then having to tear her away from the Royal Ballet School door as we walked down Floral Street, and almost did not believe me when I said we needed the ROH stage door. The class was a really nice one, it was extremely enjoyable. I noticed the amount of dancers using first rather than fifth when Rejane announced it as an option. Still I think everyone enjoyed it, and in any case there was something I learned too, I'm not sure what you call the pose possible "Sleeping swan", that we did at the end of the two circle configuration of the main enchainement. I've just booked and paid for the LAB Spring Intensive at RBS, I see we have some solo rolls, hope its the Fairy Variation and possibly Aurora's variation in Act 3 which we did with Franziska. However the number of places is limited to 50. PS it does say Tutu's if appropriate. Done two classes today so far, rehearsal tonight.

I don't know, go onto the ENB website and try to book it, it not very expensive £25.00 I think, but it does start at 9.30am. shall I give you an early morning call?

Thank you balleteacher I just hope they can restore my legs to that of an 18year old, then I WILL be very happy.

The dilemma now is does one book for the two and get the 2ORMORE 10% discount, or wait and see what promotions they introduce, as they often do. If I do the 4th of Jan with City, which I probably will, I will have to stay in London as I'm doing Nutcracker with ENB at the Coliseum on the 5th. Next weekend its Don Quixote at RAD HQ.