The difference between "Good Pain" and "Bad Pain"

Hey guys!! I'm back (to blogging) sorry haven't posted in a really long time :/
So I wanted to tell my readers that I had suffered from an injury in my foot and it was emotional and physical pain  (since I wasn't able to attend my classes and dance). It was a muscle and ligament injury and had to get physiotherapy. But thankfully it's fine now!! But now I have a hamstring pull :(.

So please be careful when you dance and if you feel a shooting and inexpiable pain then it is definitely an injury and you should go to the doctor as soon as  possible. I just thought that it was a cramp and continued to do my class and it worsened. Whenever you  get such a pain then sit during your class and I know how guilty and bad you feel when you skip class or sit during class but hey! it's better to take precaution than suffer later. Now the good pain is usually the pain you get when you stretch, workout or dance for a long time. It's a burning sensation and you feel good because of  that kind of pain.

But then again when you stretch and you get a stabbing feeling anywhere in your leg (basically your hamstrings or gluteus maximus) then you should get it checked and if you can't go asap then put a hot water bottle on the area where it is paining. It takes a long time to heal so be patient and don't exert yourself or it'll just become worse.

That's all I had to say for today and please take care!!

HAPPY DANCING!!!

(ps:- If you hurt your foot or hand or any area where there is shooting pain and not a muscle pull put ice on it asap cause it'll help in making the swelling go away.)

Pointe!!

Hey guys!!

So today I will give you some tips to improve your point. Pointing is really important in almost all the western dance forms. You have to point when you jump, turn, do an arabesque basically everything! The most important thing is to never sickle  your foot. Its the worst you can do. Its like a useless cheat basically. You foot should aways be winged and turned out or in some cases parallel. Now to improve your pointe you can sit on your knees and bend forward for a long time like this:-

But try to put more pressure on your feet and they should obviously be pointed. 

Next is increasing your pointe with the help of a thera band. Sit on the floor  with one leg stretched out and just put the middle of the band where your foot arches and pull it with the other two ends like this :-

Don't just keep your foot in pointe… keep articulating your foot. Do that at least eight times. 

You can also try stretching out your toes like this:- 

And do this also eight times. Try not to let your big toe go back. Do this slowly. 

You can also try keeping your little toe on the floor first and then your other toes g follow and vice versa.

 You can also tell someone too sit on your feet while in pointe when you are sitting on the floor with your legs stretched out. Then you can get a pointe which looks like this *_*:-

Hope this helped!!! :D thanks for reading! 

HAPPY DANCING!!! 

JUMPS!!

Heyyy guys!!

As of now I'm going to talk to you about JUMPS!! Jumping is the most fun thing in a jazz or ballet class but it isn't as easy. When you do any kinds of jumps, always remember to bend you knees as then it also becomes the preparation for another jump and land on flat foot after it. I recently got a really bad sprain or something like that on the side of my calve due to this and is went down till my foot and pained like hell. Also when you are jumping always lift up and think of fully extending your legs instead of thinking about how high you go. Obviously going high is also important but it comes after you start extending your legs fully. Also  try to think of travelling while doing big jumps like grand jetès.

PS;- These are just the basics of jumps. I know its less but hey even I'm still learning so you have to deal with it :P

HAPPY DANCING!!!

Hyperextensions

Hey people!!
I  am soooo sorry that I did not update!!! First I had my exams and I got really busy with school so yeah. Anyways, A few months ago I discovered that my knees bend when I go in my 1st position of ballet and then I did some research and also confirmed with my teacher and found out that I have got HYPEREXTENDED LEGS. So this is something you are born with or can happen due to injury. This condition is basically when your knees go all the way inside than usual something like this:-

Don't worry you are not abnormal!! It is actually preferred in a lot of ballet schools and some ballerinas want it! So all you've got to do is that when you are in your 1st position squeeze your inner thighs and your bum cheeks. Its gonna help you to turn out as well as help you to fully extend your legs. Imagine that your legs start from your lower stomach and not where they actually start from and really lift up. And please DO NOT LOCK YOUR KNEES!!! This could injure your legs. Please be careful to not do that even when you are stretching, it could get pretty bad. Ohh and I got to know about this today that people with hyperextensions are supposed to be good with Chaînés which is great! :D 

PS:- I'm not gonna lie... 5th position is a little bit difficult and so are the back tondues but practice this is all I can say.)

Thank you for reading my blog!!
HAPPY DANCING!!! 

Techniques and tricks for your turns

Hey everyone! 
Sorry didn't post for a while was really busy! So today I'm going to tell you techniques and tricks for having more than one turn. You can apply them for not only pirouettes but other turns like:-
-Pirouette 
-Pirouettes en dehor (outside pirouette, which is what a regular 
pirouette is) 
-Pirouettes en dedan (inside pirouette) 
-Pencil turn 
-Pique turn 
-Lame duck 
-Chaines 
-Attitude turn (your leg can either be in front or back attitude) 
-Fouette 
-A la second (doing a fouette, but keeping your leg out in second the entire time) 
-Coupe turn 
-Axels 
-Turning leaps 

For performing great turns you really need to spot. You can try a spotting exercise- choose a point on a wall and keep looking at it constantly while turning around without moving your head. This is the feeling you should get while doing any kind on turns.

For finding your balance and also spotting, you can try- going in your preparatory position which should be perfect by the way which means, your shouldn't open your legs too much and your pliè should be just right as it helps to hoist you up during your turn. Now go to your passe position (turned out or turned in) in relèvè and look at a point on the wall and stay there. Now put your leg down while remaining on relèvè and and repeat the process. This helps in building up your calve muscles and helps you to stay on relèvè as it engages your calves. Do the same for the other leg. 

Now some basic tricks for your turns are spotting (obviously).  Make sure your shoulders are relaxed and you are holding center and lifting up at all times as it helps you to stay up on relèlè and prevents falling. Take momentum with your arms while doing a turn. It helps you to take more than one turn and gives you excellent balance. Hope this id helpful!! 

PS:- For strengthening your legs do fondues and frappès. 

HAPPY DANCING!!!!

Working on your flexibility

Flexibility is one of the most important things a dancer should have. Here are sum exercises to increase flexibility:-

•  FORWARD SPLIT: Try going in a grand-pliè (in the second position) and stay in that position with your pelvis pushed forward and try pushing your knees back with your elbows your back is flat in the process. Then extend one leg to the side and try to sit in that position. Remember to turn out both of your legs and you can point or flex the extended leg. Now stay there for at least eight counts. Do the same with the other leg. Now from that position twist to go in a lunge position and stay there, now rest your leg on the floor and push your pelvis forward. Now pull your leg towards your hips and push your hips down and stay there. Now bring your leg down and slide back. If you aren't able to do a split then DO NOT extend your front leg. This will definitely pain but no pain no gain right? You should feel pain in your inner thighs only. If you feel pain anywhere else you might be doing it wrong. 

1)  But body facing forward and try to sit in it

2) 

3)

• CENTER SPLIT: Sit with your four points facing a wall in the center split position. Push yourself toward the wall. You will feel a burning sensation and pain in your inner thighs. Keep pushing until you can't take it anymore. You could also try this with the help of a friend. Tell them to push your second position through your  feet with the help of their feet. You could also lie on the floor with your second position on the wall and try to pen your position. Or just go in your maximum center split and lean forward.

You can try other exercises like facing  the barre and putting  your leg on it (just your heel). Now bend the leg on the barre and keep your other foot in rèlevè. Your belly will be resting on your thigh in this process. Now stretch this leg with your belly remaining on your thigh. Do this at least thrice.

Your flexibility can really improve through these exercises as mine did too. Do all kinds of stretches whenever you can. Just practice it. If you have any questions please feel free to comment and tell me what would you like to know about in my next blog. Please give me a feedback negative or positive.

HAPPY DANCING!!!

Strengthening your legs

Many dancers don't really have strong legs even if they are really flexible. It becomes hard for them to balance. For this it is really important to use your hamstrings and inner thighs.

Some exercises for your legs are:- 

• Plie`s
• Leg extensions

One of the best workouts for this is relevès in the 1st ballet position, 2nd ballet position or in cou-de-pied (position next to the ankle of the supporting leg). This is also great for your calve muscles . The trick is to really squeeze your inner thighs while fully extending your legs. Try putting a piece of paper in between your thighs and try not to drop it while doing your relevès and also while doing relevès take your time in putting heal down on the floor and think you are pushing a spring into the floor with your heal. Do not pliè. Just watch out that your legs are extended at all times otherwise you can injure your knee. This exercise is very important for ballet and contemporary dancers.

(PS: its better if the leg which is on the ground is pulled towards the chest with your hands while the other leg is in the air and vice versa.)

HAPPY DANCING!!!