Expert: Jennifer - 7/8/2006

Question
Hi...

I am 13 years old and have been taking ballet since the age of six.  (I did take two years off between 10 and 12).  I went on pointe 9 months ago.

I am strong, active, and energetic.  Though I'm a soccer player, a swimmer, and a diver, ballet is my priority.  I've been told that I have excellent musicality and a fluid, joyful style of dance.  I've gotten very good roles in The Nutcracker as well.

My problem is, I cannot do splits and have (almost) flat feet.  It's difficult for my to stay over my boxes when I'm on pointe because I think I have no arches.

My mom says that the "total picture" is more important than the height of my arches or the degree of my splits.  I started an intensive ballet program two weeks ago, and until now I was very happy with my performance.  Now when I look around the class and see how flexible everyone else is, I get very discouraged.

What do think, and where do I go from here?

Thank you.

Answer
One of the biggest traps that young dancers fall into is comparing yourself to other dancers too much! Yes, we can learn from our classmates, because everybody brings something a little different to their dancing... whether their strong point is their turnout, quickness, balance, flexibilty, presence, movement quality, technique, passion, or any combination thereof.

What your goal is as a dancer is to gain a good balance of all of these qualities. It is no good to be very flexible without good presence, to have perfect turnout if you are slow, or to dance with a lot of passion but no technique. So draw inspiration from the other dancers that may be more flexible than you or have better feet than you and work at those weaker spots, but don't let their strong points diminish your own different (but equally important) strong points.

In the same vein, your mom is absolutely correct about it being a total picture. Thats why its so important to have a balance of all the different aspects of dance. If you have a weaker point, by all means work on it and improve yourself. But when it comes to performance time, you can use your strong points to disguise your weaker ones. When you grand jete with an explosive, dynamic jump, with beautiful arms, good technique, and an engaging presence, who on earth will notice that your legs are just a little bit shy of 180 degrees?

You also need to remember that you're still very young! You have years to improve your the flexibility of your legs and ankles, and to work on the appearance of your arches. I cant give you any specific reccomendations in that regard except for just letting your teacher know what your concerns and ask for specific exercises you can do to improve.

Try not to get discouraged! Remember that there are many aspects of your dancing that are very strong... you mentioned your musicality and your good quality of movement. The other, more flexible girls, may be envious of you for these aspects, and forgetful of their own strengths.

I hope this helps you -- let me know if you have any other questions!