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Ballet/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| associate ballet | 2/8/2012 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I was wondering if you could help me with my associate ballet please. I know i need to learn all ... A: I have not been through the kind of process myself, so searching, I found this site: www.idta.co.uk ... | ||
| Weight... sure you here this one a lot... a few other things | 1/27/2012 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I'm thirteen and I just started taking my dancing seriously. Next to the other girls in my class, ... A: Since you are still growing, it is hard to know what your weight should be. Rather than count ... | ||
| Ingrown tonail pain on pointe . | 1/19/2012 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: , So I have a slight ingrown toenail on my left big toe and its been very difficult to dance in ... A: If you can,try to lift up the point that is hurting you and trim it or file it into a more rounded ... | ||
| Ballet rotation and turnout | 1/12/2012 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I've been dancing since i was 13 and am now 17 but i was a competitive gymnast for about 11 years. ... A: You can ease out the tension in your rotator muscles with a Pinkie Ball. ... | ||
| flexability | 1/12/2012 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: i wrote too you some time ago about my daughter her ballet teacher gave her stretches to do and it ... A: It's too bad your daughter hates the Front Splits Fast routine. It takes a lot of patience, and also ... | ||
| Too much and too late? | 12/29/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I am a fairly busy and rather nonathletic 16-year old girl. I love ballet-- but from a large ... A: I cannot answer your questions since I can't see you, or see you dance, but here's my ... | ||
| Exercises for ballet | 12/28/2011 | Connie |
| Q: I am 15. My height is 160 cm and weight is 105 lbs. What is the range of height and weight of a ... A: 160 cm = 5ft 2 in The normal height of a professional ballerina is 163 cm to 170 cm. However, ... | ||
| flexibility | 12/21/2011 | Connie |
| Q: I am wondering if flexibility can come and go. Yesterday evening I almost did the splits- I got 2 ... A: I think that flexibility largely depends on what you are born with but can vary from day to day. ... | ||
| demi point | 12/21/2011 | Connie |
| Q: I am a beginer in Ballet and I have trouble staying on demi point when doing chaine(shun-ay) turns. ... A: It sounds like you need to work on strengthening your feet. Practice your releves (8 on each leg, ... | ||
| Tapered feet and Grishko pointe shoes. | 12/8/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: iknow I may sound a bit dumb, but what do dancers mean when they say tapered feet. And is there a ... A: Below is a link to an article about a certain foot type that you may have, and it recommends a ... | ||
| Help with the splits? | 12/7/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: So I've been trying to do the splits lately but I haven't been able to yet but I don't know why, I ... A: I can't see you so I can't say specifically what you may be doing wrong. Doing the splits requires ... | ||
| Starting Ballet at 15 | 12/6/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I have been toying with the idea of starting ballet now, sadly I am 15 and I do understand that this ... A: I couldn't tell you at this point if you could get onto pointe in two years. I recommend that when ... | ||
| Plie | 11/20/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I am taking an Anatomy and Kinesiology class right now. I will be presenting about the muscles used ... A: "I am taking an Anatomy and Kinesiology class right now. I will be presenting about the muscles ... | ||
| pre pointe | 11/11/2011 | treivilo |
| Q: im starting pre pointe in a few month and would like to know if you can give me some exersices and ... A: Prepointe beeing one of the most important moment in pointe learning, all I can say is "wait and be ... | ||
| pre pointe | 11/10/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: im starting pre pointe in a few months would like to know an estimate of time ill be in that class. ... A: m. I can't give you an estimate but your ballet teacher could, being familiar with your strength and ... | ||
| Ballet concerts | 11/5/2011 | treivilo |
| Q: My daughters ballet studio is putting on a in house concert at the end of the year, the studio has ... A: I do not know in the USA but, in France, a Dress Rehearsal (so called an Italian Rehearsal) always ... | ||
| Foot/tendon pain? | 10/24/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I'm 16 and I've been doing ballet for a few months. just for the past few weeks I've been having ... A: I recommend that you see a podiatrist, chiropractor or physiotherapist and have this problem seen ... | ||
| Turn out problems | 10/22/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I have big problem with my turn out and I don't know how to improve it. The problem is that my left ... A: Your lateral rotator muscles are your prime turnout muscles, specifically: Piriformis;Obturator ... | ||
| Dance Schedule? | 10/20/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I am fifteen and I am a level seven dancer at a pre-professional school. I was wondering if you ... A: It sounds to me like this is a good schedule with a well-rounded style variety. Your muscles need ... | ||
| Too old and wrong body type for recreational ballet? | 10/20/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I just started ballet a month ago, mostly for fun and as an interesting way to get some exercise, ... A: I think this is entirely subjective. It is an enjoyable challenge, or it's not. Ballet is difficult ... | ||
| Too old and wrong body type for recreational ballet? | 10/20/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I just started ballet a month ago, mostly for fun and as an interesting way to get some exercise, ... A: If you enjoy the ballet classes then carry on! You seem to have a very realistic idea of how you ... | ||
| personality | 10/8/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: My 11 year old daughter has a full scholarship to a residential classical ballet school. She has ... A: It sounds like your daughter has a wonderful quality to her dancing that is unique to her. Anyone ... | ||
| Pes Cavus | 10/5/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I was wondering if you have had any experience with people with "too high arches" (pes cavus)? when ... A: Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote about releasing muscle tension in the calves and feet: ... | ||
| Big toe pain | 9/12/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I have Grishko Fouette pointe shoes, and no matter what I do, my big toe always hurts! I have lambs ... A: Since I can't see your feet in the shoes, and tell whether they truly fit well or not, I can only ... | ||
| How can I become a better dancer? | 9/12/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: Hey(: Okay well, I want to become a better dancer. I should go on Pointe next year, but I've only ... A: Here is some information that will help you. http://balletshoesandpointeshoes.blogspot.com/ You ... | ||
| ballet | 9/1/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: my daughter who is 12 has been doing grade 6 ballet for 1 year twice a week for 3 hours and loved it ... A: I could not know for sure not being able to see your daughter dance. You just have to go with her ... | ||
| ballet | 8/25/2011 | Connie |
| Q: my daughter has gone to lots of ballet schools and all of them have been terrible so when this year ... A: I'm not sure what type of school this is (is it RAD, Balanchine, Vaganova...?), but it's good that ... | ||
| HELP! | 8/22/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: i used to do ballet for about a year until i was 6. i want to get back into it now, but im worried ... A: 110 lbs and 5'3" is not fat, or too heavy for ballet. Sounds just about right. Once you get into ... | ||
| Extensions | 8/7/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I'm a young contemporary dancer that is looking for a little extra advice on improving extensions. ... A: Here is an article on arabesque - ... | ||
| Help with my turnout and demi-pointe! | 8/3/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I have many small problems related to ballet like my turnout that I'm working with(advices for ... A: Here is an article that will help you with your foot muscles: ... | ||
| ballet | 8/1/2011 | Connie |
| Q: I'm 13 and i would like to start ballet but i don't want to be with little kids when i dance i have ... A: It sounds like you should look for an adult class! Many studios offer classes for adults so you'll ... | ||
| Home-Learnt Ballet?? | 7/25/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I did ballet when I was 3 for about 2 years but stopped but i started primary school. Since then I ... A: I truly do not recommend practicing ballet without a class, however, here are the best sources I can ... | ||
| ingery info | 7/24/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: " not only did it not go away it got worse until I fell in a pot hole and noticed the next day that ... A: Sorry to hear about your injury. I recommend that you do Pilates mat work to keep your muscles ... | ||
| basic but very hard movements | 7/24/2011 | Connie |
| Q: I did ask an expert once before about an arabesque but I deleted it on accident :( I would really ... A: 90 degrees isn't bad! I would work on strengthening your back by doing the "superman" exercise, ... | ||
| teacher | 7/23/2011 | Connie |
| Q: ( not in Pointé shoes yet) I have been trying to impress my strict ballet+tap+jazz teacher not much ... A: It sounds like you're working hard and dancing well! Your teacher's approval does not make or break ... | ||
| Feet | 7/22/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I have been trying to get my toes to touch the ground whilst sitting down with my legs extended ... A: http://balletshoesandpointeshoes.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-create-more-flexibility-in-ankle.html ... | ||
| flexibility | 7/22/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: (Ihave a bunch of questions to ask) I am very flexible (the most flexible in all my ballet class)i ... A: There is a simple exercise for this, to do after a barre or even more warm up: Do a developpe to ... | ||
| Feet | 7/22/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: I have been trying to get my toes to touch the ground whilst sitting down with my legs extended ... A: I would advise you not to do this. Your arches look fine for ballet. Very few people can touch their ... | ||
| ballet | 7/14/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: hi my daughter is a lovely dancer and is trying to get flexible she will be doing her exam in the ... A: I previously sent you this answer: " Hi Sam. The best stretching DVD I know of can be ordered from ... | ||
| POINTES | 7/13/2011 | Dianne M. Buxton |
| Q: ..again. :) well, I have this new problem, as you know I got my pointes about 3 weeks ago, and I ... A: It is typical that one of our feet is more flexible, and weaker in some way than the other foot. In ... | ||
Dianne M. Buxton
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions about ballet positions, ballet movements and ballet technique, pointe shoes and pre pointe exercise, mens training, ballet diet, general health issues related to dance, artistry, performance, modern dance, rehabilitation from injuries, and teaching ballet. I have taught ballet, choreographed, produced and directed dance companies. For any answers related to health questions I will offer my experience, and give references to information, but I also automatically include "see a professional".
Experience
dancer, ballet and modern, choreographer, dance teacher, artistic director, ballet mistress, producer
Organizations
I.S.T.D. Actra, Actors Equity
Publications
http://ezinearticles.com
http://ballettoeshoes.blogspot.com
http://streetarticles.com
http://balletconnections.com
Education/Credentials
Graduate of the National Ballet School of Canada where I studied Cecchetti, Bournonville, Vaganova and Graham technique. Taught at the National Ballet School of Canada, York University, George Brown College and Harvard University.
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