Marjolein Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Here in Belgium, all dance studios are closed in summer. My dance studio has a break of about 6 weeks, and that's the shortest it gets, most school are closed all of July and August. That means I have no access to ballet classes for at least 6 weeks. The only class I can take is a weekly pilates class. I tend to loose strength really fast, so are there other things I can do to keep up my strength? And what about technique? Link to comment
vrsfanatic Posted May 6, 2004 Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Walking, in a good pair of walking shoes, can be a way to at least keep up some of your stamina. Also swimming can also be effective. However, both activities can conflict with the development of the ballet body, if one is pursuing a professional career. Unfortunately there is no real replacement activity for a good ballet class. A pilates mat class is a great supplement and something you can do on your own at home, if you already know the exercises. Maybe you could invest in a video and do that at home everyday. This is better than no exercise at all! Link to comment
Administrators Victoria Leigh Posted May 6, 2004 Administrators Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 How about getting a ballet class CD and doing your own barre at home every day? That's what I always did when we had breaks. You can't do much more than that, as the floor and space is probably not good enough, but you can always find a way to do a barre, and stretching, of course, and also work on port de bras!!! Link to comment
Marjolein Posted May 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 6, 2004 Thanks for the suggestions. I thought of swimming too, but I tend to develop very bulky thigh muscles. I'm not aiming for a professional ballet career, but bulky thigh muscles are something I still want to avoid. Doing my own barre routine at home seems a good idea. It'll also be a way of really working on basic technique like balancing and turn out. I already stretch every day so I'll definitely keep that up in summer. Anyway, thanks for all the help. Link to comment
Marjolein Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Sorry to bump this up so far, but I didn't want to start a new topic. I've been doing pretty good up till now, my ballet studio had a bunch of summer classes that I've been taking, and I practiced at home quite a lot. The problem is, I'm abroad now, and although I have the space to work out, I don't have a mirror so I don't feel comfortable doing a barre. I know I would make too many mistakes if I don't have a mirror, so I would rather not do a barre at home. Is there anything else I could do to keep up technique? I practice releves, balances, and work on strength and flexibility , but I don't know what else I could do to keep up technique. Are there any floor excercises that might be helpful? Link to comment
Guest Alive2Dance Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Mrs.Leigh, I noticed that you said to work on port de bras. I'm just curious why you said that instead of some other things. I mean why didnt you say another ballet movement? Because this doesnt seem like one of the most important ones...well they're all imporant. But, I was just wondering. Thanks Link to comment
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