A Day Off is a Good Day to Pointe

Ballet isn´t easy on the adult dancer´s body. 

My muscles are still sore from Wednesday´s class, and not sleeping enough hasn´t helped at all. That´s why I plan to do some recuperating stretching today, even before I leave for class, combined with a moderate ab-workout to warm up (not my favorite way to spend time - but need those core muscles!). I like to stretch for at least a full hour, focusing on whatever muscle groups feel the tightest. Since I´m on my feet all day, calves tend to be really tired and cramp easily when we´re doing lots of relevés. I gotta be careful, because two years ago I injured my left calf muscle in the middle of an easy temps levé jump. It was the end of class, I was all warmed up and yet I felt the dreaded kick in the back of my leg. That muscle strain kept me away from dancing for a whole month. So guys, always pay attention to your aches and pains! And take the time to recover between classes. But let´s get back to the good stuff:

It´s Friday again, one of my favorite days of the week. And to sweeten the deal even further, it´s my day off. I can sleep in, there´s no rushing to and from work, just some minor errands to run and a bit of housework (not too much). All this goodness equals more time to prep and enjoy this evening´s double bill of ballet and pointe! I´m going to be early to warm up and ready my legs, ankles and feet. Just a little bit of pilates for those all-important 26 bones, 33 joints, 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons! By the way, Ballet Scoop has some great tips on how to  "supercharge your pointework". Considering that we are doing 90 minutes worth of high-intensity ballet followed by 60 minutes of pointe class, I need all the prep I can manage. Pointe shoes aren´t exactly Birkenstocks!

Which reminds me, I have been asked to submit my pointes (Capezio, Aerial) to inspection before tonight´s class. Our Fabulous French Ballet Teacher isn´t too happy about my inability to rise properly over the box. She suspects the fault lies with my too hard shoes. I fear the culprit are my feet. Update will follow..