Adagio in Pointe Shoes

[starlightdreamer]

I know this is common for most dancers, but I have a ridiculously hard time doing adagio in my pointe shoes. The main problem is trying to promenade.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for this? Yes, I know the usual "pull up, get on your leg, etc.", but I heard that some people like to make scratches on the bottom of their shoes... I don't know!!

 

Thank you!

[Victoria Leigh]

It just takes practice and really knowing how to find your balance point. I don't think that scratches on the bottom of shoes do anything for that.

[starlightdreamer]

Okay, thank you!

[AudreyEst99]

I have this problem too, and what's helped me the most is a) really banging out the ball of the foot part of the box to make it as flat as possible and

b ) finding a spot in my foot where I can concentrate on putting all of my weight and not falling. Pulling up A LOT on your quads helps with this.

[aspirant_dancer]

I have the same problem but especially in promenade arabesque. What helps me a lot is making sure my supporting hip is over my supporting foot. Sorry if that's confusing

[gavotteindmajor]

For me, it helps to really connect my heel to the floor every time I lift it as I promenade. I don't necessarily bang it into the ground every time, but for some reason, it just helps to be aware of how my heel is connecting to the floor. I think the issue (for me, at least) with promenade is the fact that you can basically spin around in the arabesque on the ball of your pointe shoe, but you really need to concentrate on the separate tiny movements of the heel. Another piece of advice I've gotten from my teacher is to focus on keeping the rhythm of the heel, making sure you are promenading evenly and on the music.

 

As Ms Leigh said, it's really just something that comes with time. While my adagio in pointe shoes is nowhere near perfect, it's still better than my first one a year ago!

Edited January 19, 2014 by gavotteindmajor