Pet peeves in ballet class

As a teacher, these are a few of my least favorite things to see:

--Heels lifting off the floor during demi-plie at the barre. Keep them down, down, down! Not only do you shorten your Achilles tendon by keeping them lifted but you also will develop a bad habit that you will take with you to the center. You can't get height or build strength if you do not put your heels down.

--Toes lifting off the floor during rond de jambe and tendu. Tendu means "stretch" and you're not stretching if you allow the toes to come off the floor. Instead, point the toes and feel the legs lengthen all the way to the top of the thigh. By consciously feeling the floor with the baby toe, you will distribute the weight properly which will result in better positioning for releves and pirouettes.

--Hands flinging during allonge. To allonge means to draw out, stretch, lengthen the line. In particular, when we talk about the allonge line for an arm, we mean to rotate the arm up and back, away from the shoulder. Allonge does not simply take place in the wrists and hands. Start with the shoulder lifting up and back and then lengthen the arm away from it, back and up on the ecarte line, all the way to the hands.

--First arabesque arm that reaches higher than the head. The hand should be directly in line with the nose, no higher, and the arm straight at the elbow (unless you are doing Cecchetti in which the arm is often slightly bent at the elbow). But no matter what style you are studying, do NOT lift that arm above your head. It's an affectation that has repercussions through the rest of your body, destroying the line.

Next time I'll talk about things I do like seeing from students!

Happy dancing~

Le Studio Student Ballet Company

Come dance with us! Look how excited we are!!

It's easy to audition for the brand new student ballet company at Le Studio in Pasadena. Just take a class with Melissa or me and we'll happily consider you for placement in the company!

Rehearsals start Thursday, October 1st at 5:30PM. We will be learning repertory that we will showcase at schools and venues all over LA.

We've got a great year ahead and we'd love to have you join us!

Schedule update!

For those of you in the LA area, I will be teaching for Helene Williamson tomorrow, Wednesday, at 9AM at Le Studio. She has a wonderful accompanist and I'm sure we'll have a great time!

Happy dancing~

From the mailbag...

Two great questions from a subscriber to my videos on YouTube (the FitBallet Channel!):


1. Is turn out supposed to be 180*?

And my response to her was: No, it is not supposed to be 180 degrees. Any teacher who forces your legs into that position will ultimately hurt your knees because it torques the muscles and tendons behind the kneecaps.

The way to determine YOUR best turnout is to stand in first position and take a demi-plie. Your knees should go out directly over the arch of your foot and your toes and your heels should not lift off the floor. Now, watching yourself in a mirror in profile, gradually take your grand plie, letting the weight of the legs lift the heels off the floor. Your legs should be turning out at the top of the thighs in the hips, your derriere should neither be tucked nor lifted, and your lower back should be flat.

If you are forcing your turnout in your feet, then you will see that the knees in grand plie are in front of your toes rather than directly over them. Go back to 1st position and take a shallower turnout and try again.

And then a follow-up question.

2. What can I can do to become more flexible and open my turn out more?

And my response to her was: You can work on your splits to increase flexibility in your hips. Or you can let gravity help you! Lay flat on your back with your rear end against a wall and let your legs open into a wide V. Try to relax the muscles inside your thighs so they don't grip and allow the weight of your legs to help open your hips.

Another option: If you have a sturdy chair, place one leg on top of the chair back (or on the seat if it's too high for you) and slowly lean forward over your leg. Make sure your hips are settled evenly before you lean over. Then turn slightly to the side so the leg is in a la second position. Reach your opposing arm over your head and try to lean the side of your head against your knee.

Both of these stretches will increase your flexibility and ultimately loosen your hips so you can achieve a greater turnout.

Got burning ballet questions? Bring 'em on! I've got new videos coming and more ideas brewing. Let me know if there's anything you want to see.

Happy dancing!

Fit Ballet with Leigh - Putting on pointe shoes and storing

Be sure to check out my older videos if you haven't had a chance:
Pas de Cheval
Dégagé
5 Positions with Port de bras
Rond de jambe
Relevé
Tendu
Demi-Plié
Intro

Fall Schedule Changes

Hello everyone! The new season at Le Studio officially began on Tuesday, September 1st so we'll see some changes to the schedule being implemented over the next few weeks. For starters...

1. I've added a new Basic Ballet class on Monday nights, from 7:30-8:30PM. This will be a companion class to the Wednesday night class which also runs from 7:30-8:30PM. Both classes will be just one hour now so we don't go too late.

2. The teen Level 4 Ballet on Monday and Wednesday will run from 5-6PM with a half-hour of pointe from 6-6:30PM. The entire class on Friday from 4-5:30 will be done en pointe.

3. The pointe class on Fridays is gone, replaced by an hour of Company Rehearsal.

4. Company Rehearsals will be held on Thursday and Friday from 5:30-6:30PM.

5. The commitment for the new Le Studio Student Ballet Company will be a minimum of 3 technique classes per week plus the 2 Company Rehearsals.

I'm a little behind on my videos but I should be getting a new one up very soon. I'm also taking requests for videos so if you have any ideas, questions, suggestions, let me know!