AnnaOfAramis -> RE: Skill requirements (9/8/2008 11:16:06 AM)
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1. I reinforce the heels of the ballet boots. The difference between being truly "en pointe" in ballet shoes and being "en pointe" in a ballet-heeled boot is, of course, the heel - in ballet, you have to support all that weight yourself, with the tendons of your instep/hamstring/etc. With the boot, the boot's ankle itself should be doing much of the work that the dancer's hamstring would normally be forced to do, and the heel should be supporting at LEAST two-thirds of the weight. Likewise, with the boot more padding is always better - a true ballet dancer always needs to "feel the floor", but for ballet boots that's nearly irrelevant. So while there are a lot of superficial similarities, theer's actually quite a bit going on in real ballet that isn't happening in ballet boots, when it comes to force vectors. Am I making sense? More importantly, am I ignoring anything vitally important? Hello Sir, well, that is true you do have the heel to help support... not sure how this feels in practice, as this girl only knows how pointe shoes work. In pointe shoes, there is a strong shank- a stiff piece that goes under the foot and supports under the heel. Do the boots have a shank too? Also, the fit of the shoe is extremely important. It has to be very snug- more like a glove than a shoe. It is tight around the metatarsals so that the foot cannot slide down so much into the box of the shoe (the part the toes are inside). If it is too wide, the foot slips down and too much weight rests on the toes. Also, the vamp (the top of the shoe over the toes) is cut to just cover the length of the toes and rest under the instep. This also helps keep the foot from slipping into the shoe- obviously in a boot, it would not have this. Ballerinas do put padding in their shoes- at least most do. You are right though, we also have to weigh that against being able to feel the floor. Some dancers only use a little paper towel (these are the masochists, lol) some use a little lambs wool, most use gel toe pads which can be purchased in any dance shop- this girl likes the ones made by "bunheads". Regarding muscles used for balance, most of that comes from the abdominal muscles being held strongly and the pelvis and back being kept flat. Rotating the legs out from the hipsockets helps to lock this balance in place because the psoas muscle runs from the spine through the abdomen and attached to the top of the femur in the hipsocket. By rotating the legs out, it basically pulls the psoas tight and helps prevent back and forth movement of the torso. Sorry if that was awfully technical! And yes, naturally pulling up the quads is important too. The idea is to create a stretch- the legs and shoulders press downward toward the floor, the quads and top of the head stretch up toward the ceiling. This helps maintain balance. A common mistake in students is that they let their shoulders get behind their hips, instead of keeping them over them. Arm binders too huh? Now that is sadistic! <g> You sound as if you have had some dance experience yourself and that you perform too? Or did this girl read that wrong? Be well, anna
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