Warm Ups: Pointe Work

Oh pointe shoes! How I love you and how I hate you.... Such is the life of a dancer though! Important note: DO NOT PUT ON A PAIR OF POINTE SHOES WITHOUT PROPERLY WARMING UP THE REST OF YOUR BODY FIRST!!!!!!!!!

Now that I've got that nasty little tid bit out of the way let's begin. When starting a warm up like this always force your shoes to stick to the floor like you're dancing in a thick layer of molasses. Its strengthens your feet and gives you a better quality when doing floor work.




Releve's en pointe are different from releve's in technique shoes. You must always focus on pulling your toe under where your heel was.



This next combination should be done at least eight time to get the full effect (Back, front, back, front, back, front, back, front.)



Doing a nice short Pas de bourre combination is a good way to check your alignment and your placement. I'd recommend doing this four times at the barre and four time in the center.



Well that's all for Without a pencil's warm up series! Our next post will probably be centered around proper hair styles for recital and maybe some more dance inspiration!

As always, I'm very eager to hear from you, message my facebook page or comment on here! -Ms Ivy

Warm Ups: Stretching

Hello my lovelies! In our fifth installment of our warming up series, I'd like to focus a bit on stretching.

Lets begin with the butterfly position. I like to start with this position because its easy on your hips and I'm generally a bit lazy when it comes to stretching, immediately after barre ;)



Next we'll move on to doing some stretches through your straddle. Generally I do this stretch the longest as its really rough on your hips and turn out:



The last thing I work on is extensions. I always wait to do these last because my hamstring muscles are very tight and need a lot of "warming" before really stretching them.



Naturally, its better to do this one before costume and with a lot of room. If my hips still feel tight, I may add some hip rotations and go nice and slow.

We're coming up on our final warm up segment! Stay tuned for our quick pointe warm ups! -Ms Ivy

Warm Ups: Barre pt: 3

Hello my lovelies! This will be out last segment at the barre and its full of large leg movements! Make sure you don't kick anything in those back stage areas! ;)

Start with a nice hard developpe combination. I'd recommend doing this combination twice en croix on both sides, holding as long as possible.


Now for the fun part, Grande Battements! Really focus on keeping your hips in line and using the floor to gain height.


Next post we'll focus on some stretches to do before your costume is donned and as always, feel free to post a comment on here or send me a facebook message about anything you'd like to hear about! -Ms Ivy

Warm Ups: Barre pt: 2

Sorry its been taking me so long between videos my lovelies! Recital can be so stressful for us dance instructor types... So to continue our warm up lets move to Rond de Jambes.

A good Rond de Jambe combination will loosen your hips and help you focus on your turn out capabilities. I love simple combinations like this for a warm up because it is just designed to lubricate your hips and start remind those muscles to hold your legs properly:


No lets wake up a bit and work those quick twitch muscles with some Frappes! You can alter this to fit your specific needs but a warm up generally needs to be done quickly and this will get the job done quickly for you:


We'll be done warming up soon ladies! Comment on here or facebook me for comments, suggestions or questions! -Ms Ivy

Warm Ups: Barre pt 1

Now that you've warmed up your body and got the blood flowing, its time to start applying some technique to your warm up. You don't have to follow these exercises to the T, but paraphrase to custom fit your body's needs.

Lets begin with plie's. Not a difficult combination but just enough to warm up your hips and thighs some more. As a variation I'd recommend adding a port de bra instead of the second set of demi plie's.




For the next portion we begin with tendu's. I like using this combinations or one's similar because it really works the feet and ankles. For a more complex variation try adding a series of quick tendu's and degage's after doing this en croix, once or twice.





This is a combination my ballet instructor Ms Jeanne Benson-Smith was famous for. It was used through out my ballet training for warm ups every Saturday morning and became one of my student's favorite combinations. Remember to really focus on your leg and foot work and don't skimp on the details of your lines!




That's it for this week lovelies! We'll continue our warm up series next week with some more barre combinations. As always, feel free to comment on here or message me to speak your mind. Love my Blog? Say so! Hate my Blog? Say so! Just give me some feedback! -Ms Ivy

Warm Ups: Getting Started

Hello My Lovelies! Its taken me a bit of time to upload all these videos, and technical difficulties caused them to be up a day later than promised, but here we are! This will be the first post on how to properly warm up your body pre-performance.


I always start by meditating or praying before warming up before classes or warming up in general. It clears your mind and relaxes your body and I love starting with the exercise because it starts tell your body to wake up and subtly reminds your muscles how to breathe. Although Hope is very naturally flexible, don't push yourself too much on the first exercise. Its about getting your muscles going, not stretching yourself to death!



Are you breathing enough? Both of these exercises are designed to remind your muscles how to move and the remind your lungs they need to start utilizing more air. Inhale for a full eight count and exhale for a full eight count between combinations. You'll see a difference next time you perform!



You should do this combination four times at least (right, left, right, left) to get the full effect. Remember to keep breathing!

As always my lovelies, I'm dying to hear from you! Message my facebook or leave me a comment! -Ms Ivy

Respect, its a two way street

Do you ever wonder why your teacher seems to only have eyes for the students that are "good"? Or is constantly yelling at you and getting frustrated over things that "aren't that big of a deal"? Assuming that your teacher doesn't just hate you and isn't just out to get you, maybe the problem is how you're acting during your class?

Lets play out a scenario from the teacher's perspective:
Student walks into the classroom, five minutes late, again, wearing clothing that hides their body and their hair is a wreck. They take a place at the barre, don't learn the combinations or take any corrections and scoff at everything that's been said as a general rule. Every time the teacher turns their back she's right back to talking or marking the combinations. At the end of class, the rest of the students line up and curtsy and say "thank you Ms Ivy." while she is just concerned about leaving. Walking up to their teacher she does a quick curtsy, mumbles thanks and goes off into her own little world.

Now lets play this out from the student's perspective:
Omg! I'm only five minutes late! Whats her problem? Its not like plie's are important, or anything. What is her problem with my hair? She obviously has no fashion sense what-so-ever and my hair is my problem, not her's. She'll get over it. OOOH!!! Amy's here, I'm gonna stand by her today! This combination is stupid, and I don't feel like doing this one either, because I'm tired. "Amy, did you see that new movie about that girl doing stuff?" Ugh!!! Why won't the Ms Ivy leave me alone let me talk to my friend during class? I already know I do this better than everyone else in the class, so I'm not going to keep working on it and I know she's not telling me to fix my arms, I'm the best one in the class! Oh Thank God class is over! I can't wait to go home and watch tv. I really don't think this was a good enough class for me to curtsy and thank Ms Ivy for...


What was the difference between the two perspectives? Although I can definately relate to both I still have to side with the teacher on this one. Respect is a serious issue all young people have at one point or another but it is always expected during a dance class. In the sacred world of Ballet, respect is demanded by your teacher and your peers.

Please, thank you, and excuse me are all incredibly important things to remember here, my lovelies!!!! Your ballet teacher is your only source of knowledge in this wonderful world. You must at least, give her the respect you want her to give to you and too be honest, quite a bit more. They've trained and worked for a very long time to become an instructor and help you learn the ropes.

I know it isn't standard practice for ballet schools to have each student individually thank their teacher by a curtsy at the end of class anymore, but its something I require at the end of mine. First of all, learning how to properly bow is really important for performances and second of all, your teacher put a lot of work into this class too, you know. Thanking her for her time is one of those small ways you can show her she's really, honestly and truly helping you.

When in doubt always ask yourself if you're following the following rules:

1: Keep talking to a minimum.

2: Always wear the appropriate dance clothes to each of your classes. (For more info on that check here)

3: Please, please, please, please, please remember your combinations!!!! The combination is designed to improve your technique and help cultivate your mind for more knowledge.

4: Don't ever mark a combination when its supposed to be done full out, you're only hurting yourself and no one wants to watch someone who doesn't appear like they even want to dance.

5: Yes Ma'am, no Ma'am, please, thank you, excuse me and a beautiful curtsy at the end of class are always appreciated ;)

I'll be working on a video log over the weekend with different exercises I do to warm myself up pre-performance. Thank you for reading, my lovelies! -Ms Ivy