;Hello, welcome to the official ballet club of chicken smoothie, a place for ballerinas of all ages and genders can come and talk about their passion, Even if you don't do ballet, but still love it- your welcome to join and chat here, your welcome to post ANYTHING ballet related from beginner to advance, anything (:
Now, to get more in depth of the term Ballet. So what really is ballet? Well It is an entertaining theatrical art, performed on stage to an audience. Ballet is about art, but it is also about life. Classical ballet technique was established centuries ago in the courts of Europe, and it has been evolving ever since as dance teachers, artists and researchers refine approaches to training and add to the vocabulary of steps and movements that are unique to the ballet discipline.
Ballet dancers are fit, strong and flexible, and they are lifelong students. They take class every day of their lives to keep in shape, to maintain the quality of their style and technique, and to enjoy the community of other dancers. To be able to perform at the best of their ability, dancers need focus, commitment and a capacity for hard work.
A ballet performance enables dancers to communicate with an audience. The creation of a ballet starts with an idea or a movement which is nurtured, tried out, modified, tried again, talked through, tried again, refined, practised and presented, then reflected upon and finally remembered.
On a crowded stage, dancers are able to kick, run, jump and turn without hitting each other. This is because they have a highly developed kinaesthetic sense, a sensibility of who is where, a perception of speed and trajectory, and respect for one another’s performance space. A performance is a successful model for our crowded world, where people working in concert learn to adjust and compromise.(Taken from The Australian Ballet website)
Ballet dancers are fit, strong and flexible, and they are lifelong students. They take class every day of their lives to keep in shape, to maintain the quality of their style and technique, and to enjoy the community of other dancers. To be able to perform at the best of their ability, dancers need focus, commitment and a capacity for hard work.
A ballet performance enables dancers to communicate with an audience. The creation of a ballet starts with an idea or a movement which is nurtured, tried out, modified, tried again, talked through, tried again, refined, practised and presented, then reflected upon and finally remembered.
On a crowded stage, dancers are able to kick, run, jump and turn without hitting each other. This is because they have a highly developed kinaesthetic sense, a sensibility of who is where, a perception of speed and trajectory, and respect for one another’s performance space. A performance is a successful model for our crowded world, where people working in concert learn to adjust and compromise.(Taken from The Australian Ballet website)
;So now that we discussed what ballet is, lets talk about the shoes. Now you may see older girls on the very tips of their toes spinning about, but there is many important things you must know- if you don't already!
The two types of ballet shoes you will buy for your classes are Ballet Slippers, and Pointe Shoes. you would not buy pointe shoes until your teacher has told you that you are ready. Ballet slippers are a soft slipper, usually made from leather or canvas [on some styles you can get them in satin] ballet slippers come in pink, brown, white and black, they will either have a full sole or a split sole, ballet slippers will not let you rise to the tip of your toes, or your full pointe. These are the shoes you will train with until you can get your pointe shoes [unless your a boy, then you'll never have pointe shoes] Once your ready and you can have pointe shoes you MUST get professorialy fitted and the dancer store buy a pro pointe shoe fitter! it is very very important to get fitted because pointe shoes must be snug to the foot, pointe shoes come in very many different box sizes, shank sizes and strengths and only the fitter can help you find that perfect fit. When you do get your pointe shoes you will notice a huge diffrence from your ballet slippers, Pointe shoes are tough as rock, they have a very hard tip [the box or block] which enables the dancer to stand on the tip of her toes, there is a vamp which lets the dancer push to her box without her toes and feet falling from the shoes, then you have the shank, which is very hard but will break in and soften up once used overtime. Pointe shoes come in very many colors, but the main is pink or peachy pink. If your interested in seeing what i just wrote as a video, click the link below. the video isint mine.
* And remember, when you do get your pointe shoes you must buy your ribbons and elastics sepertely and sew them on yourself, and do not attempt pointe work without teachers permission.
Since your still reading this, i'll give your eyes a little break (: enjoy this quick video on pointr shoes and how these professonal ballerinas protect their feet and to prevent pointe shoes dying fast.
So, now i would like to talk a little about myself, i'm a girl between the ages 15-18, ive been a dancer all my life, ballet for the most. I picked up jazz when i was 13, but i also got my first pair of pointe shoes when i was 12 I'm still a jazz dancer, and i'm still a pointe ballet dancer, it's almost been five full years on pointe. The shoes i use are Mostly grishko 2007 and Gaynor's but right now i am trying bloch sonata for the first time, click below to see some pictures of my bloch pointe shoes (:
Lets talk about the five main foot positions in ballet- your first, second, third, fourth and fifth.
First Position.
;Your heels should be touching, with your toes turned out, hold your arms out infront of you in an oval shape, relax your shoulders and tuck your thumbs, keep your knees straight and your hips square.
Second Position.
;Now, move your feet apart so your heels are not touching anymore. Open your arms out wide but don't strech them back! relax your wrist and move them in a little, keeping your thumbs tucked and your legs straight and your hips nice and square.
Third Position.
;Cross one foot infront of the other so the heel of the heel of the outside foot is touching against the middle of the inside leg's foot. Bring one arm curved in towards you and the other arm stays out to the side, again straight knees, square hips.
Fourth Position.
;Now, slide the outside leg forward and balance your weight evenly on your two feet, make sure your two feet are turned out in opposite ways, raise one are curved above your head, and the other out to the side.
Fifth Position.
;To finish off, pull your outside foot in (the one streched forward) and have it in line DIRECTLY with the back foot and close it up together so theres no gap. Raise both arms in an oval above your head, keep your legs and feet turned out with square hips and straight legs/knees.
Now, i assume your getting a little tired of reading, so lets take another little break with a few ballet clips :3 how about some Variations?
So, thats it for me posting (: i may add a little more from time to time, so check back. I'm planning on putting up a full page of ballet terms, along with how-to videos, so keep close (: And to treat you, enjoy this full nutcracker ballet! a beautiful chrismtas ballet (: my favorite.. OR you can enjoy the Swan Lake ballet! both links are posted below (:
Happy Dancing!
thanks for joining, tell your ballet-loving friends of cs about the club <3
