Guest Aurora Posted October 20, 2003 Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 I am a reletively new pointe dancer (about three months). I have a barre in my house that my dad built for me, and usually use it for stretching and other excercises. Now that I'm on pointe, I would like to use it to practice simple things like releves and tendus (on pointe) in between my classes to help continue strengthening my feet/ankles and improve my arches. My question is this- 1) Is what I'm doing ok and 2) If it is ok, is it alright to do it on carpet at my barre, or should I practice in my kitchen (linoleum), on hardwood, or tile (bathroom)? Thanks in advance for your advice, you guys are wonderful! Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted October 20, 2003 Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 OK, Jessica, here's the story. Simply doing tendus and relevés at home isn't radical, and you should be able to do those things without rehearsing errors, but the big problem is the surface. Doing pointe on carpet isn't a good idea. Believe it or not, the carpet will shred the end of the shoe as fast as sandpaper. Doing relevés on waxed surfaces, like kitchen linoleum or polished hardwood will imbed particles of wax into the shoes' surfaces and you'll track it all over the studio! Tile and cement are just too hard. You'll feel it in your ankles and shins. Best to get a hunk of unsurfaced linoleum and put it where your home barre is. It'll save the carpet, and spare your shoes and feet. Quote Link to comment
nlkflint Posted October 20, 2003 Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 DELETE this if it is inappropriate as I am a parent posting here, but Home Depot and Lowes have some nice matte vinyl that is the consistancy of marley on the surface, with a small amout of a foam backing. There are often small rolls precut in small sizes, and you can have a small peice cut from the big rolls on the walls. The ones with the foam backing are just heavy enough to lie flat, not roll up, and could be laid over carpet to work on and then rolled back up (or not) when you are done. Don't look for the shiny ones, look for the dull finish. Lowes has a dull matte finish in a wood look that your folks would also like!!! Quote Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted October 20, 2003 Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 That's OK. If you're just going to be doing barre with stretches, 4' x 6' should be plenty. Quote Link to comment
Guest Aurora Posted October 22, 2003 Report Share Posted October 22, 2003 Thank you both very much! I'm planning on going to Lowe's this weekend to check out what they've got. Quote Link to comment
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