Adult Dancers: The Barre Crawl

The ballet definition of the Barre Crawl: When you are so sore and tired from barre work that you have to crawl out of the dance studio.

I grew up watching the movie “The Turning Point” as a dance student; I watched it repeatedly, enamored with Leslie Brown’s dancing and the other dancers and their ballet performances; ingraining the ten-second coaching session of Don Quixote from Madame Danilova to myself.  

But a scene I never understood as dance student nor pre-professional, despite all the warnings, was the one of Anne Bancroft explaining to Shirley MacClain’s character that "she hadn’t stuck around long enough to find out how the body revolts."  To truly understand this, is to dance as an adult; especially if you danced seriously and took time away from it at all, or in Ms. Bancroft’s character’s case, continued on, a current long-term career dancer on the verge of needing to retire.  And Ms. MacClaine’s character, a ‘has-been’/could have been great dancer, but gave it up for marriage and family when she unexpectedly became pregnant, was able to take the facts of life of getting older with a grain of salt, as it was and is, just normal.  What you or anyone else won’t realize until that re-entry into the studio is that statement about the body rebelling against you, couldn’t be truer. 

Whatever the situation, as I stress here, either coming into the dance studio as an adult dancer for the first time, or returning, you will feel some awkwardness at best; and some pain, to be realistic.  Here we discuss what to expect at the barre:

The Snap, Crackle, Pop

No, I'm not talking about making dance friends by bringing in a plate of Ballerina Bones (& Joints) (Rice Krispies Treat Pops ballet style), I'm talking about  PLIÉS.  That first grande plié can be a rather audible experience.  Your hips, knees and ankles may make loud protests at putting them through the barre exercises.  Although this may seem embarrassing, this becomes a rather comical symphony if you are in an adult class, with several other adult dancers, especially in the colder climates. Because everyone is making the sounds and everyone feels what you feel, there is a certain camaraderie to the adult dancer snap, crackle, pop. 

Two tips: 

1) laugh it off, I can't emphasize enough that this is natural and will happen.  It will happen your first class, your first few classes and may always happen if you are over "that certain age."  

2) Do not force turnout.  Remember, you are either training your muscles for the first time, or re-training, to attain proper turn out.  As an adult, you have zero justification to force turnout and your chances of injury are that much higher even if you try to force it.  It's not worth it.  Do the work, slowly and steadily... it will come.

The Death Grip

Barre work is designed to slowly warm up the body through micro-muscle work while building the blocks of technique.  What's amazing, however, is how much you work your hand grip muscles at the barre when first returning. 

That 'death grip' happens usually without you ever noticing until a few hours after the class or after the exercise as the blood comes rushing back to your fingers while awaiting the next exercise.  It happens.  As I say it's mostly an unconscious thing while you learn balance (or, regain your balance), but try to be cognizant of it.  As a first tip, I always teach students (of any age) to regard the barre the same as you would a dance partner.  It is less likely that you would have a death grip on flesh as opposed to wood, so try to remind yourself that death gripping the barre is not only inappropriate to your "partner," but it will also disservice you.  Because once you leave the barre for center and across the floor work, your work at the barre will be almost completely nullified if all your weight and muscle memory was focused on your death grip.  The second tip is to always keep your thumb over the bar.  This helps to mitigate the death grip positioning.  The other thing to note with the barre hand is that it is mobile.  Move your hand to the lower barre (when available) when taking a port de bras forward, (this engages the core muscles more and keeps your back in better alignment), let go of the barre here and there to strengthen balance and feel where your weight is truly residing.

Feeling the Earthquakes

With barre work, we alternate from slow work to quick work back to slow work and back to quick work, slowly building from micro muscles to macro muscles. 
With this order of things combined with adult dancer syndrome, we tend to tense up all our muscles during the quick exercises and push beyond capacity on slow exercises, which results in 'the shakes.' With this change over, the muscles switch the workload over and between different muscle fibers, which is in part responsible for the shakes.  If you have never experienced the shakes, it can be a little scary, because your body is not doing a) what is normal and b) what is within your control.  Do not worry. Muscle shakes are natural for a new exercise routine of any kind, not just ballet.  Dehydration is another cause of muscle shakes.  Be sure to keep a water bottle with you during class and re-hydrate continuously.  Even though you feel like something is horribly wrong, 9 times out of 10 if you push through it, you will be fine.  That being said, if you really feel that the cramping is unbearable or even that "off," simply stop the exercise, shake it out, massage or stretch the muscle(s) giving you concern and re-hydrate.  It's fine to stop, stretch and re-group at any point that you need to do so during class.  If you are in an environment where you feel this is not the case, find a different studio (but just be sure that is at the directive of the studio or teacher and not your own insecurities).

The 7th & 8th Positions

As you go through barre, you will undoubtedly work through first position, second position, fourth position and fifth position.  Many adult classes utilize the sixth position (parallel position) at the barre to assist with stretching and cambrés.  And we all know of that elusive third position that never really sees its way into a studio.  Occasionally, every dancer may experience the 7th position, a.k.a. the Barre Crawl, but... 

the 8th position is reserved for the Adult Dancer ONLY. 

*Student Model Credit: Elliana F. and fellow dancer.

The Student: 3 B's to Advance Ballet

I want to make sure to my readers, that with this post, I don’t over simplify dance technique, timing and hard work when it comes to the level of fluidity that professional dancers have achieved.  That being said, I do feel there are three tactical areas (all starting with the letter B) for any dancer looking to take their dancing to the next level that they should always keep in mind while in class to help make their dance steps more advanced.  It’s not the easiest to incorporate these at first, but I encourage students after providing them an exercise to deliberately think about where the three B’s can be implemented in the exercise and perform them when executing the steps.  Even without an instructor prompting this question, you can also just think about it yourself as you are absorbing the exercise during the verbal instructions or demonstration.  If you are in the center or going across the floor, it is more advantageous to be in a second group or one of the last to go across the floor in order to really think about all the ways you can add in one or more of the three B’s:

Dancer/ Model: Elliana F.

1)  Balance Balancing as much of your moves as possible is the first step in gaining more advanced technique with your dance steps.  The first place to employ this is at the barre by taking your hand off it every once in awhile to make sure you really are on the correct weight for the dance step, or that you are able to rise to a relévé position without the assistance of holding onto the barre and then testing your balance after several adjustments while already in relévé or en pointe.  Another place to utilize balance is in adagio and across the floor work.  When given some choreographic sequence, when there is timing with the music and counts given by the instructor and step opportunity, such as a piqué arabesque or at the end of a promenade or penché or any développé, include a balance on relévé and/ or extend a balance.  Balance, as related here, also extends to tackling multiple turn pirouettes.  If you are used to singles and do them cleanly, start doing doubles.  If you execute double turns with proper technique, start working on triples, whether on flat and en pointé.  Also work on being able to balance at the end of your multiple turns to extend the moment of the finish and make it even cleaner.

2)    Battu

Battu, or “beating” your jumps is another area to incorporate as much as possible during class time.  If you are relatively new to battu allegro, and it stills feels like you’re flailing or mimic a fish out of water, remember that battu occurs with the beating of the upper thighs together (criss-cross) while in the air of the jump.  Two mistakes I see new battu students making: 1) They try to beat their ankles instead because that’s where the movement has the most visual impact, but you want to focus on feeling the upper thighs do the beating action and 2) Students are not putting in enough effort to jump high enough to accommodate the full battu movement in their jumps.  To gain a better feel for the movement of battu, the best method I ever used was to practice on a mini-trampoline to get the extra height to a jump.  I would not recommend a larger, backyard trampoline though just because the suppleness of the mesh is usually more powerful and it’s easy to land incorrectly when you are not familiar with movements and inadvertently cause an injury.  Another method, is to do a battu movement in ‘slow motion’ while propping yourself up on the barre or over a counter or heavy piece of furniture of a usable height.  Although it’s more widely used with male jumps, battu can be incorporated into grande allegro as well. In your next class, try a single beat jeté en tournant entrelacé/ tour jété.

3)    Battement

Utilizing battements on your jumps and ‘saut de’ jumps is another area where you can show some advanced level dancing.

For example, a slight battement to saute arabesque on the supporting leg or a slight battement to both legs in á la seconde on a saut de basque are excellent ways to set yourself apart from other dancers who are not putting in the same energy level for these movements and add flair to your performance.  Another impressive advance use of battement in grande allegro is also with the jeté en tournant entrelacé/ tour jeté, where you do a final slight battement to the front leg just before landing.  At the barre, the utilization of battement extends beyond that of grande battements.  We should all know as basic technique that on énveloppés or fondues, the knee should not drop on the retraction.  But it is also a sign of an advanced dancer who takes it one step further and actually lifts the leg slightly higher as they retract from the turned out knee.

Using any of these methods should be done so with consideration and respect for the instructor’s choreography and timing.  While I am confident that under most circumstances, your teachers will appreciate the play with the levels and pushing yourself to make an exercise as advanced as possible, you do want to be cognizant of not getting so wrapped up in advancing the exercises that you warp them from what the instructor wants and is trying to work on during the lesson.  With holding balances, make sure you are not off on your timing and musicality for the rest of the choreography.  Utilizing the three B’s in an audition is also somewhat risky.  Be sure you take the “temperature of the audition” before altering steps and timing.  Sometimes it is entirely appropriate to demonstrate your abilities in a more advanced manner, but other times, auditioners want to see just the basics and clean technique without anything extra to muddy up the process of comparison and selection.

Adult Dancers: Tips for Your Very First Class [Back?]

So it happens to all of us at some point:  There are the casualties of the ballet world that never quite made a “long term” career of ballet but we could have, and traded it in for the smarter college degree and business career.  There are those of us that chose to get married and have some kids and because we recognize the value of dance, we put our kids in it and think, “I should really start doing this again for some exercise ….” Or “I need to take up dance for myself and to support my child…” And then finally, there are those of us that may have never taken ballet in our younger years but always loved it, and had an appreciation and passion for it.  And if we had just been given the opportunity or the encouragement, we would have chosen the life of a prima-ballerina at New York City Ballet, partnering with Baryshnikov at ABT and rubbing elbows with Margot Fonteyn over tea while guest touring in the UK.

I put all of “us” in the same category because we all have a similar disenchantment: 

We think we can dance…ballet…as adults.
  

And this post is not about pumping up anyone out there that may have delusions to run off to dance class, saying “Yes, I can do it, everyone can and should…”  but to impart the realities that happen when stepping [back] into the studio as an adult.  

This is not a beautiful journey or blooming experience you are about to embark on.  It’s physically painful, it puts your self-esteem and body image to the test and it’s arguably the most difficult physical fitness ‘program’ you can ever attempt to do, if you do it correctly.  Anyone who tells you (or writes) differently, is someone who has no idea how to dance, and they treat the class like an aerobics class from the gym.  While I'm being brutally honest, please also note, ballet will get you in the best shape of your life, again, if you do it correctly (meaning you take class 2-3 times a week or more, and you care about learning the technique).  And if you actually commit to it, you will reap the rewards you hear about, but that takes time.  And before that happens, you must confront your first class [back].

Here's the main thing to remember when you take your first class: you will, for the first time, understand entirely just how bad of shape you are in.  Whether you've been keeping in shape with yoga, Pilates, aerobics, cross fit, weights, etc. you will feel and work muscles you didn't know existed.  The reason for this is, most of what you will do in a ballet class will not be intuitive; meaning you will feel like you are rubbing your head and patting your stomach the entire class, but it will be 100 times fold with all parts of your body moving in different directions.  I've done just about every fitness class out there and the closest that comes to ballet in these conditions is perhaps martial arts, but even most fighting disciplines will contradict the movements and stances of ballet technique.  And please understand, I know full well how difficult a real yoga class is, and the people who are advanced in these other fitness genres are in amazing shape, but ballet is still different.  The good news to this though for someone taking it brand new, who hasn't kept in shape with anything else, you are in the same boat either way.

Probably more distressing is someone who took ballet in their younger days, but hasn't done it in years and is coming back into it.  Because you know and remember what things should look like and what they should feel like, but alas, there is no way your body is going to do it.  Even if you try to laugh it off with others, explaining how long it's been, and they try to tell you it's the same as when you took two weeks off for holidays or off-seasons, think again.  If you're over 30, it will take a while to "get it back."

The other main frustration that all adults should be aware of before going into class is the ballet terminology.  You'll find the instructor perhaps demonstrating some movements and speaking in a foreign language as though they have English subtitles somewhere that you should be seeing.  Unfortunately, most Adult ballet classes I've been in are a mix of levels, from ex-professionals that will make a first-timer or a returning dancer want to slit their wrists, to the very beginner who has never done a plié in their entire life.  So the pace can move very quickly and it can be perceived that everyone is picking it up but you. Even if you're a previous student and recognize the verbiage, the mind-body connection is just not there like it used to be, and again it can be very frustrating.

The point to all of this is not to deter anyone from taking ballet, but actually to prepare you for what you can expect, so that you can stick with it and be successful.  As someone who has taught many first timer adult students and has been a returning dancer on more than one occasion, I want to impart the following 'first class' tips:

1. Make the commitment and schedule your second class attendance, before you even go to your first class.  If you wait and decide this after you "try it out," you'll most likely never come back.  In fact, you should do this with at least 10 classes. If the studio you are looking at has the option, buy a multiple class card.  It will save you money, and by class 10 (or even 20), that's how you'll know you've really given ballet a fair shot at being your ideal fitness program. And if you're returning to ballet, you know it will be about this many classes to get yourself "back."
2. The first class [back] is going to suck.  It's going to feel and look awful. End of story.  And you should make sure you keep it that simple.  Write it off, and then get in for the next class.  You may feel embarrassed, but I will tell you as I have taken classes all over the country (USA) and I have yet to see ANYONE make fun of a new comer adult.  Kids can be little punks to be sure and professional companies as portrayed in the movies can sometimes be that petty and cut-throat to their fellow professional dancers that they're in competition with (although I think this has drastically changed in most companies these days), but you will find nothing but support as an adult student, whether brand new or returning. Everyone is in your corner and rooting for you, so come back and keep working at it, and you'll come out on top.
3. Your first class, don't worry about "getting it right."  It's true you want to be cognizant as you continue on not to practice bad habits, but the first class just accept the challenge and be happy with the cardio.  Everything else can and will come later.
4. Learn one thing.  Whether its a French verb to a step, or where to put your arm or just what you should be doing even if you're not quite there yet technically, if you walk away from the first class learning one new thing, it's a success. As well as finishing the class.  Those are two main accomplishments to walk out of the studio with on the first class and to take with you to the second class.  This is the time to adopt the philosophy of Kaizen, which is "small improvements over time, make a major impact."
5. Tell the instructor your situation before class starts.  Often times, the good instructors will provide various modifications of exercises for the various levels that are in attendance.  They will also position you where you can watch more advanced dancers to take cue from until you can easily pick up cues and terminology on your own.   

Ahhhh...So inviting and so good for recovery!

To me the last tip is the most important: Remember the 3 Bs when taking class as an adult, you will need these 3 B's after the first class and beyond:

1. Bananas - Potassium helps with sore muscles and reduces lactic acid build up.
2. Baths - a hot bath will also be very comforting after your first class, add in some Epsom salts to help recover sore muscles and feet.
3. the Ballerini-tini! - Let's face it, we're adults now, and if we need to indulge a little to recover from a frustrating class, or an embarrassing moment, that's part of the license and prerogative of being an adult ballet student/ dancer.  

Please drink (and dance) responsibly. ;-)

Ballet Class Etiquette

I have been dancing all my life, since the age of three.  These days, I still attend ballet classes at various schools in various cities in order to maintain personal fitness but also to keep in touch with a life-long passion.  In attending these various classes, it has come to my attention that there seems to be a slippage in one of the critical foundations for which ballet and the study of ballet is so valuable.  That foundation is etiquette.

Etiquette for the ballet world is so important for many reasons. It provides an atmosphere of respect for the instructor, other classmates and for one’s self.  If a ballet student or class participant exercises proper etiquette, they stand apart.  The effort is appreciated by classmates and the instructor, and if anyone thinks that good or bad etiquette goes unnoticed, think again.  Etiquette is also important for one’s self because exercising that type of decorum maintains focus and discipline.  These are the pillars to improving in your study of ballet and becoming a professional, as well as being considered “professional worthy.”  This post discusses proper etiquette that should be employed universally as well as quickly identifying etiquette preferences and nuances of the studio, instructor, auditioner, etc. in order to make the best impression possible.

Entering the Class

It should be a given that the student is on time, prepared and already familiarized with the dress code of the studio and is appropriately attired and hair is securely fashioned out of the face and off the neck.  As an instructor, I personally always encouraged students to bring water into the studio because my expectation is that it sets the tone for 1) the student should be working hard enough in class that constant rehydration is necessary and 2) class should not be disrupted with students coming and going in order to get a drink of water.  However, water bottles accepted into the classroom should be spill proof and capped, and always placed innocuously in corners, against walls and out of the way of any across the floor traffic.  Many dancers want to keep their dance bag and other personal belongings in the class with them to change shoes easily, keep ace bandages and toe shoe wrappings handy, etc.  This should follow similar placement to be out of the way as well as despite the size of the bag, keep it and all its contents contained as much as possible.  If you carry a suitcase sized dance bag, proper etiquette dictates that you should have a smaller bag for the necessities needed during class or rehearsal and leave the rest in the dressing room.

At the Barre

If you are a visitor or new to the studio, beware your choice at the barre:   For some, their spot at the barre is considered their spot.  It may be silly or downright immature, but without being cognizant of this territory preference, the student may inadvertently affront a fellow dancer before class even begins.  Maintain a neutral place by the mirror until class is about to begin and others have chosen their spot, or if space is scarce, always politely ask the fellow student if you will not be in the way by choosing the spot you want.  If you are in an audition and you have been numbered, it should be automatic to place yourself in numerical, or other sequential, order.

Between exercises at the barre is NOT an opportunity to chat and catch up on the latest gossip or television series.  I realize that some instructors who don’t plan exercises beforehand sometimes allow talking in class between exercises while they choreograph the next exercise, but this is a bad habit if your regular instructor allows this.  Between exercises is a time to stretch or practice, not gab. 

Pay attention to the instructor when they are giving the exercise.  I know that from time to time, no matter how disciplined the student is, for whatever reason, sometimes we just sort of “zone out” during the instruction.  It happens.  But I notice that some students do this constantly and rely on a very bad habit of watching the student in front of them trying to execute while they learn the exercise.  It is impossible to improve as a dancer if you do this.  Any serious student understands that at any given moment, a dancer is thinking about hundreds of aspects with regards to the placement and alignment of their entire body.  There is no way to do this correctly if you haven’t picked up the exercise.  Therefore, that barre time becomes a complete waste.  If you also believe that the instructor or auditioner doesn’t notice who does this, think again.  These “watchers” are always off in their musicality and slightly behind, at best.  At worst, the student is massively butchering the exercise because the person they are watching didn’t get it right either.  Pay attention.  Actively and deliberately, pay attention.

If the instructor goes through the trouble of demonstrating an exercise, this is an opportunity to pick up on their style preferences.  Notice their head placement, notice if they prefer the arm to move in position with the working leg, or maintain it in à la seconde.  Notice the dynamics of when they move and count to pick up music accents.  It is a golden opportunity when an instructor demonstrates the exercises and a privilege.  If you, as a student, aren’t able to pick up an exercise based solely off a verbal instruction, you will need to spend time learning your dance vocabulary.

Center Work

As previously mentioned, if you are new or visiting the studio beware of your choice in placement for center work as well.  Everyone has their own preferences to placement, which mostly has to either do with a comfort zone or catching the instructor’s attention for critiquing.  Until you have established yourself as one of the top dancers at the studio, front and center doesn’t belong to you.  Sorry, but that’s reality.  Conversely, even as an adult dancer past her prime, I’ve experienced dancers monopolizing choice spots that don’t necessarily belong there 100% of the time, and I have had to subtlety (which is never all that subtle, by the way, so make sure you are secure in your place to do this) claim that spot for exercises I knew I would do well.  But I have always been aware to rotate myself from back to front from side to center.  It is hopeful that the body of students can, on their own, switch lines and placement to give everyone a chance to be easily seen, but unfortunately this usually has to come at the direction of the instructor.  However, if it is not an audition and there is open policy to do so, don’t be afraid to suggest this yourself.  Smile and politely ask the instructor, “Should we go ahead and switch lines for this next exercise?”

If center work is divided into groups, also be conscientious of the group that is performing.  It is bad form to practice behind other dancers while it’s their turn.  It’s distracting for both the dancers and the instructor, and you may be inadvertently encroaching on the space of the dancers whose turn it is.  If you must practice the work prior to your turn, go off to the side of the studio and try to stay out of line of sight of the instructor so that their focus is only on the group currently performing.  If you want the opportunity to do the exercise more than what the group you are assigned to will allow for extra practice, then make sure you are definitively in the group performing and not marking the steps in the back space where it is uncertain if you are dancing or not.

While waiting for your group’s turn, this is not an opportunity to talk or sit.  Every instructor is different but nothing indicates disrespect to me personally, than someone who sits down during my class.  As an instructor, this is my biggest peeve and as a fellow student, I find it tacky that I have to step over you and you can’t demonstrate enough stamina to not make it through an hour and half class.  This is the time to be learning and improving, rest comes after the work is put into the class.  If you are fixing a shoe, then I am more understanding but if you are lounging and hanging off the barre, you are perceived as lazy and not belonging in a serious class or studio.

Across the Floor

Lisa: In ballet class, age 15

Two major universal rules when it comes to across the floor etiquette: 

1. Be ready to go when it’s your turn and... 
2. Stay out of the way.  

All the studios I’ve been in, all the classes I’ve taken, all of the auditions and every instructor I have met or taken class from, it is universally annoying to not be paying attention and go on cue when it’s your turn to go.  

Across the floor exercises are the fastest moving part of the class, and instructors are keened into observing students in time.  If you throw off that timing, you throw off their tempo and draw negative attention to yourself and whoever is going across the floor with you.  It’s especially bad if the instructor has to stop and start the music over again.  Pay attention, I cannot say it enough, and be ready.

I will never understand fellow students who practice the choreography or reverse sides in the pathway of other dancers coming across the floor.  This is just plain rude to your fellow dancers.  Make sure you are always out of the way and pathway of across the floor performers.  While most dancers will make the mistake of cutting their own practice and performance of the choreography in order to accommodate you, you may one day have me in your class, or someone like me, who has zero compunction of running you down in order to complete my steps at full capacity.  So if you want to avoid being branded as rude and completely unaware of others around you (or receiving a toe shoe in your rear end), stay out of the way and be considerate of the dancers who are performing.

End of the Class

Proper etiquette extends to the very end of the class until you exit the studio.  Always curtsy and applaud the instructor when they end the class; whether others do it or not, or even if you hated their teaching style.  Even if the instructor includes Reverence, it is proper etiquette to curtsy and applaud the instructor.  If you want to courier favor with the instructor and perhaps garner a last critique or compliment, I have always recommended that my students walk up and personally thank the instructor for the class and to say how much they learned.  Some students will also ask a question regarding technique of a particular exercise; this demonstrates an interest that all instructors appreciate, but be courteous to notice if the instructor has the time to impart additional information or if they are themselves in a hurry to start the next class on time, or simply have to get on with their day/ evening.

Even if you are very familiar with your studio and instructor(s) do not yell out a good bye or a thank you for the class as you exit. Your instructor, no matter how much they may favor you, will frown upon this as it sets a bad example for other students or younger students observing your conduct. 

These are just some basic etiquette techniques and every instructor and studio will have various nuances and preferences with which a student will need to keenly observe and quickly adopt. But even adopting these basics will serve any student well as they make their way in the world of dance.