My pénche isn't very high.

[danceangel101]

Almost all of the girls in my class have a perfect ponche. But mine is really bad. I talked to a teacher about it and she said I probably will never have a perfect ponche. If I want to be a professional dancer someday will not having a perfect ponche really make a difference in my dancing? And if it does should I give up on dance altogether? Please tell me what you think! Thanks!

 

danceangel101

[L' Allegro]

I won't answer the question, but I can tell you from my own experience that my penche used to be absolutely horrible (like barely above 90 degrees), I couldn't do the splits, and I couldn't hold my foot in my hand without distorting my placement. After MUCH stretching, I can now do these things. But it took a long time and a lot of work.

 

Almost all of the girls in my class have a perfect ponche.

 

"Almost all the girls" is probably a lot less than you think it is.

 

I was so upset that "almost all the girls" in my class got to dance en pointe for our show, and I didn't. Then I realized that, "almost all the girls" was only about ONE-THIRD of the class!

 

L' Allegro

 

(don't give up- and keep strecthing! )

[danceangel101]

Thanks L'Allegro! You were very encouraging.

[ems]

I felt the same way about the spits. I kept on pushing myself to go down further every class after a month of so, I had mastered my left leg.(I'm a lefty) I just perfected my right, and now I am working on my middles. Keep pushing yourself. Make sure you are nice and warmed up and your ponche will be higher if you are all streched out. It's not easy but you will get better!

[danceangel101]

Thanks ems! I will keep trying!

[Victoria Leigh]

Before a penché comes an arabesque. If you can achieve a good arabesque, then you can move that arabesque into a penché. But, if you do not have natural flexibility and extension, it will take, as L'Allegro said, a lot of work, time and patience.

 

Ballet is not a natural art form. There are very few people with the "right" body for ballet. Everyone else has to work their butts off for it. But, it can sometimes be done. Good training is critical, and a great work ethic and determination are pretty important too.

[Pointeyourfeet]

just remember when the penche gets you down (no pun intended) that nothing in ballet (or life for that matter) is perfect!

[danceangel101]

Thanks everyone! I will try to be patient with myself and focus on working harder!

[danceangel101]

Oh! One more question! When I asked my teacher about the having a perfect penche she said I will probably never have a good one because my hips are uneven. Is this true? Or will my hips turn even sooner or later? Or will they always be uneven? I hope that you can understand my question!

[Mel Johnson]

It's hard to know what she means, because "uneven" can mean so many things. And most of them are normal.

[danceangel101]

To tell you the truth, I believe all that she said was that my hips are uneven. Sorry. I will try to be more specific in my questions. But thanks for the encouragement!

[sballetgrl]

Everyone else has to work their butts off for it.

 

 

Both literally, and figuratively Ms. Leigh!!