What dance injuries have you had?

We can help prevent them!

 

Make sure you have suitable cushioned floor to help your joints when jumping and spinning.
The flooring should be suitable for all the types of dancing you wish to do, not only to have enough cushion support, it should also be suitable for pointe work and tap dancing.

Are your Barres and Brackets set at the correct height from the floor, for what dancing your doing. Having them set at the correct height helps to making sure you don't over or under stretch.

Is the Barre your holding too big for your hands to hold? And is it circular? Having a Barre too big/small or with a flat back, may cause strain on your hands and arms

Do your mirrors give the correct image reflection?
Poor mirror reflection may make you over bend trying to see what your doing.
Always make sure your reflection is correct to get the correct posture.

Your studio is an important place, make sure it has great equipment!

15 Truths about being a Professional Dancer

Dance is hard. No dancer ever became successful riding on their natural born talents only. Dancers are artists and athletes. The world of dance today is akin to an extreme sport. Natural ability and talent will only get us so far. Dancers must work hard and persevere. Dancers give years of their lives plus their sweat, tears and sometimes blood to have the honor and pleasure of performing on stage.

 

You won’t always get what you want.We don’t always get the role we wanted, go on pointe when we want, get the job we want, hear the compliments we want, make the money we want, see companies run the way we want, etc, etc.  This teaches us humility and respect for the process, the art form and the masters we have chosen to teach us. The faster we accept this, the faster we can get on with being brilliant.  We’ll never be 100% sure it will work, but we can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work.

 

There’s a lot you don’t know.There is always more a dancer can learn. Even our least favorite teachers, choreographers and directors can teach us something. The minute we think we know it all, we stop being a valuable asset.

 

There may not be a tomorrow. A dancer never knows when their dance career will suddenly vanish: a company folds, career ending injury, car accident, death…Dance every day as if it is the final performance. Don’t save the joy of dance for the stage. Infuse even your routine classroom exercises with passion!

 

There’s a lot you can’t control. You can’t control who hires you, who fires you, who likes your work, who doesn’t, the politics of being in a company. Don’t waste your talent and energy worrying about things you can’t control. Focus on honing your craft, being the best dancer you can be. Keep an open mind and a positive attitude.

 

Information is not true knowledge. Knowledge comes from experience.  You can discuss a task a hundred times, go to 1000 classes, but unless we get out there and perform we will only have a philosophical understanding of dance. Find opportunities to get on stage.  You must experience performance first hand to call yourself a professional dancer.

 

If you want to be successful, prove you are valuable. The fastest way out of a job is to prove to your employer they don’t need you. Instead, be indispensable. Show up early, know your material, be prepared, keep your opinions to yourself unless they are solicited and above all be willing to work hard.

 

Someone else will always have more than you/be better than you. Whether it’s jobs or money or roles or trophies, it does not matter. Rather than get caught up in the drama about what others are doing around you, focus on the things you are good at, the things you need to work on and the things that make you happiest as a dancer.

You can’t change the past. Everyone has a past. Everyone has made mistakes, and everyone has glorious moments they want to savor. “Would you keep a chive in your tooth just because you enjoyed last night’s potato?” Boston Common TV Series. Dance is an art form that forces us to concentrate on the present. To be a master at dance we have be in the moment; the minute the mind wanders, injuries happen. If they do, see #12.

The only person who can make you happy is you. Dancing in and of itself cannot make us happy.  The root of our happiness comes from our relationship with ourselves, not from how much money we make, what part we were given, what company we dance for, or  how many competitions we won.  Sure these things can have effects on our mood, but in the long run it’s who we are on the inside that makes us happy.

There will always be people who don’t like you. Dancers are on public display when they perform and especially in this internet world, critics abound. You can’t be everything to everyone.  No matter what you do, there will always be someone who thinks differently.  So concentrate on doing what you know in your heart is right.  What others think and say about you isn’t all that important.  What is important is how you feel about yourself.

Sometimes you will fail. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, following the best advice, being in the right place at the right time, we still fail. Failure is a part of life. Failure can be the catalyst to some of our greatest growth and learning experiences. If we never failed, we would never value our successes. Be willing to fail. When it happens to you (because it will happen to you), embrace the lesson that comes with the failure.

Sometimes you will have to work for free. Every professional dancer has at one time or another had to work without pay. If you are asked to work for free, be sure that you are really ok with it. There are many good reasons to work for free, and there are just as many reasons not to work for free. Ask yourself if the cause is worthy, if the experience is worth it, if it will bring you joy. Go into the situation fully aware of the financial agreement and don’t expect a hand out later.

Repetition is good. Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is insane. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.  If you keep doing the bare minimum of required classes, don’t complain to your teacher when you don’t move up to the next level. If you only give the bare minimum in your company, be happy staying in the corps. If you want to grow beyond your comfort zone, you must push yourself beyond your self-imposed limitations.

You will never feel 100% ready. Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Dancers have to be willing to take risks. From letting go of the ballet barre to balance, to moving around the world to dance with a new company, from trusting a new partner to trying a new form of dance, dancers must have a flexible mind and attitude as well as body. The greatest opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means you won’t feel totally comfortable or ready for it.
Written by Melanie Doskocil on her blog, Ballet Pages.

Are you in a dance teaching rut ?

Finding inspiration in your dance classes day in, day out can be hard.  Nichelle Suzanne of danceadvantage.net, a veteran teacher of more than 17 years, gives us five ways to put that sparkle back, while upholding the foundations of a good class:

 

Set Creative Limitations

 

Setting limits for yourself can set you free, and may likely be the secret to some of your most creative ideas both in and out of the classroom. When you choreograph, it may seem the music, the number of dancers, or their abilities are the limiting structures but professional choreographers overcome creativity slumps or beat the blank slate syndrome by giving themselves a strict set of rules to follow. This can work in teaching too.

 

Try choosing one concept or one objective for each of your lessons and aim at that target as you develop each exercise.

 

The concept for Lesson One might be a basic element like tempo. Challenge yourself and your students with alternating speeds or trying things at unusual tempos throughout the class. Lesson Two may focus on the use of the head as an objective. Pay special attention to its use in all aspects of your class choreography. Creating limits or rules for your teaching can spark creativity in the classroom.

 

Involve your Students

 

Your students have great ideas, too. Find ways to involve them and you’ll find there’s a lot you can learn from your pupils. The range and scope of their involvement is up to you but here are some ideas to test drive:

• Ask open questions that require critical thinking: “Why do you suppose it’s important to keep your knees over toes in a plié?”
• Allow them to analyze and correct mistakes: “What’s wrong with the way I’m doing this step?”
• Request their suggestions: “Which music would you like to use next week?” or “Each of you give me one song you’d like me to use in class and I’ll try to incorporate them all in our next lesson.”
• Get their input on what, how, or when they’d like to learn or try a new skill: “I’ve been thinking about working with you on two kinds of turns, which would you like to learn first?”
•  

Take Class from Someone Else

 

This one is pretty straightforward.

Getting away from your home base or working outside your comfort zone is always inspirational.

I know your location may make it difficult to find classes on your own level. But, who says you need to take an advanced or continuing education-style course to feel rejuvenated and brimming with new ideas?

 

Ask to observe or take class with other teachers at your own studio whether you teach the same subject or not. A hip-hop teacher’s particular approach may just inspire you to try something new in your ballet classes. In fact, you might make “company class” a regular part of your studio’s schedule with instructors taking turns teaching fellow teachers.

 

Heck, if dance isn’t an option try pottery, or a foreign language, or yoga, and let me know how this non-dance class enriches your own teaching – you may be surprised!

 

Try on a New Style

 

I’m not talking about a new dance style, though as mentioned, that can certainly get the juices flowing, too.

 

I’m talking about a new teaching style. Perhaps you fall neatly into one of the four categories of teachers. If so, why not explore another approach or experiment with mixing these styles within your class?

 

For instance, occasionally facilitate by splitting your students into groups to explore new concepts or work together on choreography. Or try delegating tasks, sending pupils home with a task to complete before the next class.

 

Give Class in 4D

 

A dance class is pretty 3D compared to a typical classroom environment. Your students get hands on, experiential instruction that they simply don’t when seated behind a desk. However…

 

Even dance can travel to another dimension by adding visual, tactile, and other sensory aids to the educational environment.

 

Having trouble getting students to understand turnout? Try a bandana affixed with a single eye. That’s right an eye. Strategically place the bandana around their lower thigh and train them to “look” in the right direction.

 

Want to evoke a particularly delicate and light movement quality? Bring in a feather and show them how it floats. Encourage them to move like a feather on their own before bringing that movement to set choreography.

These are just two examples. The possibilities are absolutely endless and require just a bit of imagination.

 

Now go on! Get off the hamster wheel of habit.

 

How will you bring that sparkle back to your classes, today?

How high should a ballet barre be?

The ballet barre has been used in ballet classes and practise since the 19^th Century.  It not only has to be of a substantial, stable design but also must be a placed at a comfortable height.

The professional advice (confirmed by the National Dance Teachers Association, NDTA) is that the barre should be wall mounted at a height between 900mm – 1200mm (35” – 47”).   We have found that many of our clients choose a height of around 1150mm (45”), as this is the suggested height of a barre for exams by the Royal Academy of Dance.

The most versatile arrangement in catering for dancers of different heights is to have a double barre system.  Only two barre heights are needed for all barre work.  Again the advice is that the second barre should be set 200mm (8”) lower than the top barre.  This allows for children up to the age of 13, shorter dancers or those with limited extension.  At the Ballet Barre Company we devised a double bracket system to satisfy these two barre height requirements.

Don’t forget if you need any assistance or have a question, please ask us ?

The Team at The Ballet Barre Company