Today will be another short and sweet snippet of good juicy info.

I saw this meme and I just loved the crap out of it.   Not only does it apply to our everyday lives but it can be especially helpful in a ballet class if we have this attitude.

Being in front of a mirror in a ballet class makes it hard to not compare yourself to others.  BUT PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!  We have plenty of opportunity during a class to watch others and see what they do. Be happy for them! I always tell my classes to watch their friends and see what they're doing right.  Then apply that to yourself and see if you can get it right.  

This might be making sure you turn out your front foot on a Failli, having clean arms on a pirouette, correct head placement, anything!  

Watch for peoples success and make your success a journey. 

That's all for Technique Tuesday!  As always, thanks for...

Today is short and sweet.  I have a list of 10 things that you should have for ballet class (and life in general, really) to set you up for success.

The best part is these 10 things require zero talent, zero technique, and zero dollars.

1- Being on time 

2- Good work ethic

3- Effort

4- Good body language

5- Energy

6- Good Attitude

7- Passion

8- Being teachable

9- Love and compassion for others

10- Being prepared

A great life skill that ballet taught me is that if you're not 10min early to class then you're late. Another big one is being teachable, it is very hard to gain technique if you're not very teachable.

These are also life skills that any employer would love to see in their employees.

Keep on dancing, keep on smiling! 

~Karie

Frappé (frah-pay): classical ballet term meaning "struck".

If you've been doing ballet for long you know what frappé is.

I freaking LOVE Frappé!  I'm not entirely sure why, probably because it's difficult. Then the instructor says "double frappé" and it's all about strength, precision, and control. Bring it on.

Frappé is almost always done at the barre as an exercise to improve quick and precise movement of the legs and feet. The dancer extends her (his) leg and points the foot, brushing the ball of the foot on the floor, causing the strike. The movement almost always starts and ends in a coupé. 

If you're having difficulty in the center of class with small jump combinations, work on some frappés at the barre every day. 

Also make sure when you brush the floor that you use your feet and toes to spring your leg up. Getting that muscle memory in your feet...

Port de bras: (por-de-bra) an act or manner of moving and posing the arms.

So Port de bras is also known as carriage of the arms. There's some movements that have names like 1st port de bras, 5th port de bra. You know this if you've been dancing for long.

I want to show you some cool ways to work on your port de bras at home.

I've saw a little clip from a PBT video of Cameron Holmes with the Australian Ballet. Let me tell you, this is so much harder than it looks!  You can find it on the PBT facebook page. He's fantastic!

Another way to work on your port de bras is to sit on the front edge of the ball, knees ankles and hips aligned. Now go through all the port de bras techniques that your teacher corrects you on. Do it 100x until its right. The amazing thing about this is that you work on Épaulement and know if you're moving your hips. The ball doesn't lie! If you're falling off the ball or even shifting or bouncing while...

For today's Mindful Monday let's talk about Hip Stabilizers!

If you've been in some advanced ballet classes you probably know all about the Psoas muscle. This diagram from Cleveland Clinic gives you a good visual.

The Psoas is super deep, as you can see it's right on the inside of the spine. That also means it's hard to activate, it's not something you can find in one class, it's going to take some mindfulness throughout several classes. 

So when your instructor says "use your core to lift your leg", the Psoas what they're talking about!

If you can strengthen this muscle your extensions will be so much more stable and higher! Pilates is GREAT to strengthen both the Psoas and the other muscles that make up your hip...

So what is turf toe? Well, it's just a sprain of the 1st Metatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ). Otherwise known as your big toe joint or your bunion area.  If you've been to my yoga class you've probably heard me say "bunions together and heels slightly apart".    Everyone seems to know what I'm talking about when I say that.

This isn't usually an overuse injury but more often happens from trauma. It happens with hyper dorsiflexion or plantarflexion (pointing or flexing the toe). 

I know all too well that dancers are pretty good at treating injuries. But if you think you might have turf toe then try to tape the joint and wear a stiff soled shoe to immobilize the toe while it heals. And of course ice it.  

My hubby's medical degree comes in super handy for me sometimes :)  When I launch my membership site for dancers I plan to have a box to "Ask the Foot Doc" for you all. I can't wait.  I'm working hard on it.