returning to ballet

[Guest dncngrl]

I used to take ballet when i was younger. I then quit to ice skate. This past year i have started taking tap and jazz again. I am thinking of taking ballet next year. Can anyone give me some tips to help me remeber everything and get back up to the level i used to be at? Also, when i try to do scorpians, i can't get my leg up for them, does anyone have advise for how to do them? Thanks

[spaghetti]

dncngrl-

I don't know what a scorpian is so I can't help you there. But I'm sure you'll have a lot fun doing ballet again. Remember not to get frustrated with yourself because you can't do things the way you used to. I'm sure you'll be fine. My friend had never taken ballet before but she was an ice skater, it turned out that she was really good at ballet because she was so stong and flexible from ice skating. So hopefully ice skating has helped you in being a stonger dancer. Good Luck!

[Mel Johnson]

Scorpions? Very easy. Stand in sixth position (first neutral) and lift one leg or the other, as you wish. Keep the foot flexed, and bring it down rather quickly and forcefully on top of the scorpion. Grinding with the ball of the working foot is optional.

[Victoria Leigh]

Do be sure that you have shoes on, REAL shoes, not ballet shoes, if you do the above mentioned move!

 

dncngrl, welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers! Would you like to explain that move you mentioned which none of us seem to know? Is it an ice skating move? It is not in the ballet vocabulary, to my knowledge.

[Guest dncngrl]

I am not sure if my term is correct, but it is the only way i have heard it. I am not sure how to describe it though i have only seen it done. But, i will try to describe it from what i remeber it looking like. Your back has to be flexible for it i do know..lets see, your back has to be arched when you do it and you pull your leg behind you and then up so that your foot is near the back of your head, your arms are kind of next to your head holding your foot...i am not sure if that is a very good description, i will try to find out from someone how to do it and i will post their answer.

[Victoria Leigh]

Ah yes, we see this move with skaters a lot. I believe that Sasha Cohen does it exceptionally well! That is not, however, part of the ballet vocabulary. That would be considered acrobatic, and not classical.

[Guest dncngrl]

I have had alot of trouble remebering what terms go with what moves. Can anyone help me with this? Even some of the pretty basic terms i dont remeber.

[Victoria Leigh]

dncngrl, read my post above! It is not a ballet movement, so there is no name for it. At least not in ballet.

[Guest dncngrl]

im sorry if i was not specific enough in my last post. I think that i at first got one of the ice skating moves confused with ballet ones. But, I have been taking a few ballet classes so that i can be prepared for next year and i have had some trouble remebering which terms go together with diffrent moves. Does anyone have a way that helps them remeber the diffrent moves and terms?

[Victoria Leigh]

That would be books, dncngrl Get thee to a major bookstore, or click on Amazon, above, and get a copy of Gail Grant's Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet. It is a small paperback book, about $5.00. Well worth it for every dancer to have! If you can afford it, go for Gretchen Ward Warren's book, Classical Ballet Technique. That also has every term in the vocabulary, but it's a big book, with photos that illustrate everything!