Differences between stretches

[ascballerina]

.....They have not been taught that flexibility stretches are done after barre, or after class, not before.....

 

(This is a quote from the "Releves as Strenthening Exercise at Home" thread in Parents of Dancers Under 13.)

 

 

I'm curious...what constitutes a "flexibility stretch"? Aren't all stretches for flexibility?

[Victoria Leigh]

To some extent, yes, but I'm talking about the ones that require the muscles to be well warmed up, not the very gentle ones that you CAN do before class. You can work on feet with theraband, for instance, or gentle hamstring stretches like sitting on floor and stretching out over your legs, gently work butterfly stretch but don't force, etc. Splits, jambe à la main, etc., are the kinds of flexibility stretches that require muscles to be warmed up.

[ascballerina]

Oh, ok, got it! Thanks, Ms Leigh!

[Victoria Leigh]

Here is an example: A few weeks ago a new student came to one of the schools where I teach. Parent told us she was 11, and "very advanced". Right. She appears for my Int. level, a class consisting of 12-14 year olds, with a couple of older ones also in there. This child looked waaaay more like 9 to me. I invited her into the room before the class, and her mother immediately started almost yelling at her, saying "Go, go do your splits! Do your splits! Do your splits!" I'm like, excuse me, but we do not teach children to start before class with splits. They need to be done later, and under supervision. The mother seemed quite shocked, but she said no more at that time. Much longer story short, this child was not anywhere close to the level of my class. Very cute, definite potential, smart, but at very much a 9 year old level, and not a prodigy!

 

This is just to illustrate how much lack of knowledge there is out there. Things are not being taught to children, and the parents do not have a clue, even those who think they do. This person even tried to correct her child during the class, which I had allowed her to watch. You can only imagine my reaction to that!!! It definitely only happened once!

[ascballerina]

I understand.

 

Why would someone lie about their child's age just to get her/him into a higher level? That seems like something that could easily be seen through to me...

 

Someone tried to correct their child during one of your classes?

 

That's rude!

 

(come to think of it, I have another question about those people...if they know everything, why are they paying to have their kid/s take lessons?)