New Testimonial: Hannah Guidry on Taking the Teacher’s Course
Hannah Guidry was one of my fellow classmates during the teacher’s course in San Diego last summer, and she has kindly agreed to share her testimonial (thanks, Hannah!)… “I feel as though I’m a little kid on Christmas and I’ve opened my gift and inside was the one thing I always wanted and had been hoping, praying and begging for. I’m absolutely giddy!!!” Mary: How did the course change you as a teacher (or a dancer)? Hannah: I never had the confidence to teach older kids ballet before this class. ...
read morePre-Ballet in the Method Founded by Vaganova
Updates, 4/21/12: The original text for this post has been slightly revised and clarified. These changes are designated by a purple color. Apologies for one incorrect statement (see below where I strike out age 8 1/2 and replace with age 9 1/2), which happened because I read my notes from the teacher’s course incorrectly. Thank you for taking note of these revisions, and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me! I had this question on the Facebook page about the method founded by Vaganova, and wanted to share...
read moreThe Truth About “Warm-Up” Stretching (Conclusion)
This is the conclusion to a series of posts about using static stretching as a warm-up prior to a lesson, a rehearsal or a performance. In A Nutshell… In Part 1, we did not find sufficient evidence to support the traditional thought that static stretching prevents injuries. Part 2 found that static stretching does increase range of motion for 60-90 mins, but the same effects also weaken the muscle for up to 1 hour (Part 4). In Part 3, we found that static stretching does not reduce muscle stiffness, but...
read moreThe Truth About “Warm-Up” Stretching (Part 4)
This is Part 4 of a series of posts. Read the overview and the first three posts on this topic here: Overview Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 If you are just joining us, we are on a mission to find out whether or not static stretches are an appropriate way to warm-up prior to a lesson or a performance. Don’t forget to follow me for the conclusion! We’ve already covered whether static stretching reduces injuries, whether static stretching increases range of motion and whether static stretching reduces muscle stiffness. Today, we’ll...
read moreThe Truth About “Warm-Up” Stretching (Part 3)
This is Part 3 of a series of posts. Read the overview and the first two posts on this topic here: Overview Part 1 Part 2 If you are just joining us, we are on a mission to find out whether or not static stretches are an appropriate way to warm-up prior to a lesson or a performance. Don’t forget to follow me daily this week while I uncover what current research says on the matter, piece by piece! We’ve already covered whether static stretching reduces injuries and whether static stretching increases range of motion. Today,...
read moreThe Truth About “Warm-Up” Stretching (Part 2)
This is Part 2 of a series of posts. Read the first two posts on this topic here: Overview, Part 1. If you are just joining us, we are on a mission to find out whether or not static stretches are an appropriate way to warm-up prior to a lesson or a performance. And don’t forget to follow me daily this week while I uncover what current research says on the matter, piece by piece! Last time, we talked about whether or not static stretching just prior to a lesson or a performance will reduce injuries. The topic for today is: Does...
read moreThe Truth About “Warm-Up” Stretching (Part 1)
If you are just joining us, we are on a mission to find out whether or not static stretches are an appropriate way to warm-up prior to a lesson or a performance. Read the first post on this topic here: Overview. And don’t forget to follow me daily this week while I uncover what current research says on the matter, piece by piece! Today’s topic is: Does static stretching prevent injuries? First of all, let’s define static stretching… Static Stretch ["stat-ik stretch"]: A stretch in which you move a limb to the...
read moreThe Truth About “Warm-Up” Stretching (Overview)
As a child, I found a stretching regimen that worked very well for me to whip-up my flexibility for ballet in just about 2 weeks. However, as an adult trying to get back into ballet shape, I am finding that my childhood routine of long, passive, static stretches daily has not worked well for me in the same way as it did before. Instead of increasing my long-term range of motion, I have experienced what I perceive to be decreased range of motion, accompanied by a lot of muscle soreness and stiffness. When I found out that the method for...
read moreImportant Message: Update About Our Security
Dear Readers, On February 15th at 3:00 AM we were hacked by brute force and infected with a trojan horse. We worked hard all day yesterday to find and remove all traces from the site. The good news is, balletuni.com is now verified clean and safe to visit once again! (Click here to view Sucuri SiteCheck scan results.) We have found where we were vulnerable to the attack, and have taken more aggressive security measures to prevent any future attacks. Additionally, we are performing regular scans and backups to quickly catch any problems that...
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