Late to the Pointe

Diary of a ballerina who started as an adult. 🧑🏼‍🩰🩰 (note: not en pointe yet – don't want injuries!)

[latetothepointe]

I took my first notes after class recently.

Funny how the same principle applies as to any sort of classes in conventional education, i.e. write down as much as you can remember and try to summarise. Really go over the material in your head, and because this is a dance blog, I have to add going over the choreography in your head as well as any corrections or tips you've received.

The notes in question (and I've left them almost as they were – just added slightly better formatting):

• Turnout in passe on one flat foot: focus weight on heels, active glutes for turnout control, shoulder as counterweight to turnout knee on other side

• Jumps in fifth: dont overcorrect (this is about the little jumps)

• Developé "dirt lines" over legs – brush past in change dont disconnect (teacher gave a cute tidbit they use in ballet academies – shoes are dirty so leave marks in tights and that's how they clarify how legs should be brushed during a change from front to back and back to front) (side note: this may have been part of a slightly different exercise, but I remembered it as part of the developé section)

• Plié before doing a pirouette – cross behind in fourth

• Overpointing in coup de pied (this was a correction for overuse of toes rather than having more control over my arches)

• Heels down before standing up in plié (personal observation of mine is that I also need to stop lifting my heels in pliés sometimes, as I still do this on occasion)

• ENGAGE CORE IN BARRE WORK (yeah... my core is extremely underdeveloped and I couldn't figure out how to use in at a pilates class a few months ago, but making some steady progress now)

• Teach legs to hold weight through jumps and memorising combos (i.e. being more mentally prepared for the choreography)

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On a more positive note: I understand how to do pirouettes and soutenus now. I'm not saying AT ALL that I execute them with any degree of reasonable accuracy, but I have most of the basic mechanics down and have finally focussed on using the head turn.

A note I did not take was a helpful tip about how our eyes are important for balance and I should avoid looking anywhere but straight ahead.

I am a huge fan of the teacher that does the Monday classes, as he gives so many helpful tips and is generally cheerful and has such a friendly demeanour that I see people feel just as comfortable as I do when asking him questions.

All teachers I've encountered in ballet so far are all good in their own unique ways, but this one is one of only a few I've seen that seems as if he was born to teach. He's really engaged and helpful, and I personally prefer teachers who will take the time to physically put you right a little bit so you know how the position is supposed to feel, rather than just verbally trying to explain it to you – if they even notice you specifically at all.

This teacher somehow manages to be helpful in busy classes as well as ones with smaller attendance. If I ever take a teaching route myself in my regular studies, I hope to be a little bit like him.

[faeriethepony]

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Human viciously attacked by Welsh Pony

Fae declares herself innocent of all charges against her! She does not have an obsession with her human's shoes when they are randomly not on the ground! She is NOT scared of pirouettes! (Her human is sometimes though...)

[latetothepointe]

Officially past the 25 hr mark.

Things I've learnt thus far:

• I actually can improve my resting posture through ballet

• Oh, tendus are supposed to look like that (i.e. drag over floor and only point toes at the final stop, so to speak)

• I slowly melt at classes during this heatwave even when an AC is mildly on in the background

• Everyone is better than me (as in they are actually better at everything than me) and that's fine

• I keep forgetting that my grand total of classroom hours isn't even at 30 yet and look how far we've got already

• Pirouettes are sometimes scary, sometimes not

• Everything remotely approaching fifth position and doing things that require any type of balance in the centre make me feel insanely frustrated

• I have no real balance to speak of and do not understand what to do with my lower back

• Apparently strength training was way more important than stretching

• Apparently strength training was way more important for turnout than stretching

• My mood swings contain a lot of "I'm ready to quit this shit" and "this is literally the most engaging thing I've ever learnt"

See you all next week when we will have made it past the 30 hr mark and I'm ready to split hairs at the next bout of frustration!

In all seriousness though, I am actually improving very rapidly, to the point where I can clearly tell it's happening, even though I also get confused about what I'm doing half the time. I've added some mild glute-strengthening exercises to my lazy stretching routine (and should probably stop forgetting the core also exists) so I can build it up a bit so that I can avoid feeling temporarily disabled after more intense workout sessions.

[rosesgray]

Jacey Gailliard as The Sugarplum Fairy

The Nutcracker (2025), San Francisco Ballet

[references-for-artists]

Jacey Gailliard The Sugarplum Fairy

[latetothepointe]

I can't stress enough how much I love the fact that her shoes are this close to her skin tone that they really accentuate her legs even more because of it.

[latetothepointe]

We've hit that point in the skill progression tree where I can tell how bad I am because I'm getting better at noticing what things are supposed to look like.

Now that I've seen a fourth and fifth ballet teacher, it becomes more obvious to me what little tweaks I need (which require a lot of effort). Ballet is funny that way; it all seems so simple, but it requires so many different things to accomplish a new movement.

I've seen and done my first adages last week. My lack of balance is really starting to become an issue, even more so than the stretching and lack of turnout. I was told by another teacher than come September, since the dancing season starts up all over again at that point, the course sort of resets and we'll focus a lot more on how to achieve turnout and positioning and so on.

For now, teachers have just been correcting me when I struggle to do the movements, but from September onwards I'll really get to build them from the ground up, which should also really help with my port de bras.

To recap, I'll keep on stretching and I'll try to remember what I've learnt thus far. I should be able to double the number of hours I've put into ballet in total over the course of summer break, so I'll be past 50 (classroom) hours at that point.

[latetothepointe]

I've done some math (note that I am not good at math), and I basically will have over twice as much time spent doing ballet during the next two months than I have from January to now.

This other school seems absolutely incredible, because the also have dedicated classes for stretching and floor barre exercises. Coincidentally, my usual ballet teacher showed us this yesterday as well, and I wish we had more time every week to do this a bit more, so it might be a neat thing to keep in mind for later since I know a place that offers it now.

Other exiting news (or at least I think so) is that I might fit 4 dance classes into my weekly schedule from September onwards, at least for a couple of months, but since I also have a toddler with four legs to take care of, this may not be a permanent change. (Her page: @faeriethepony)

I expect rapid improvement in the coming months, and I'm really exited about that. Looks like I'll have to try and find a good spot to film myself so I can record my progress on camera! 📸

[latetothepointe]

I found a new method of stretching for turnout and I'm feeling muscle soreness in places I never have before ✨

[yourfavaquariusxx]

[latetothepointe]

I asked my friend (who's really good at things like knitting and sewing) the difficulty level of making my own leg warmers last week. Weird thing to think about, considering the current heatwave (🥵), but she said it was pretty straightforward so I now really want to get this soft pink coloured wool.

Too bad my regular ballet teacher strongly prefers black leotards. 🥲

[latetothepointe]

This is a good day to shout to the world that I was wrong.

Turns out it will be possible for me to take 3 classes a week when my regular studio has a break over the holidays. It will be a stupidly expensive endeavour, BUT I intend to make the most of the fact that I currently still work multiple jobs.

The lowest paying of my jobs (because I do it like once a week) will actually be enough to pay for this extra studio, which since it is in what should be our capital city is true to form the most expensive out of all of them.

Best part is I get to sign up whenever I want, but I guess that little stint that I'll have with aerial silk (don't even ask; tap dance starts in September so I have some time to kill and explore random options) will be just that.

The real kicker is that these ballet classes will include some of the longest lessons I've ever taken, so instead of the hour I started with every week, I'll have almost four for two months straight.

If I don't improve super fast I don't know what else to throw at my little problem. I'll probably regret not saving more money for the five seconds this will last, but I certainly won't regret doing more ballet.

Edit: slight update, apparently two of my studios will take a break over the summer 🥲 It should still be possible to take classes at the third, but if not I can probably take some good stretching and strength classes that'll compliment my ballet.

[latetothepointe]

Although our skies look impressive, the heatwave and thunderstorms do not help with my at home practice. I do think it's good to talk about my stretching progress and my efforts to learn more about techniques for how to train balance and specifically stretching for better turnout, as well as doing some foot stretching. I'm also still ill (possibly with flu), so I keep coughing at random intervals, which kept me awake several nights in a row. But moving on.

Stretching has become one of my favourite things, especially now that I've been able to stretch further than ever in at least one pose. I'm able to fold myself forward quite deep now, and I can rest completely on my hands without feeling extremely uncomfortable. I have no doubt I'll be able to do a full fold by the end of the year.

Working on my splits is a bit of a challenge. It's the only thing that really causes that intense strain even though I'm not pushing my limits that hard. I struggle to hold any position for 30+ seconds, whereas almost everything else might as well be a long yoga pose. It's probably the fact that to do a proper split I have to support my entire upper body on top as well, while other things are just a portion of that weight. I'd been working up to trying splits by stretching one leg at a time, but clearly this is still a different exercise.

I did do quite a bit of it yesterday, and my muscles hardly ache at all. (I sort of just feel them sometimes, but I don't think I have any soreness.) This is probably the biggest sign of progress I have overall, and it means I can do heavier stretching multiple days in a row now.

There are just a few target areas that I've been neglecting (my entire upper body, basically 🥲), so I'll have to look up a few videos and memorise some good yoga positions.

[latetothepointe]

My second ballet class of the week is indeed about 10x heavier on technique, although perhaps my feelings are exacerbated by having a different teacher who does the barre exercises another way (and I do mean all of them).

Apparently, I also never do the fifth position, which is interesting. Their first also looks more open, so it looks like I have some new things to practice. If only I could remember them. 🥲

That's the difficulty with having so many new things to focus on; you forget at least half of it right away and it'll be another week before you see them again. Still, I feel more confident in my waltz and balancé, and maybe not so much the soutenu (which I'd never seen before).

I'd been curious enough to look up a jeté before, because we've either hardly practiced that so it didn't stick with me, or I'd never really done this before either, and now that I have, I still don't really know the nuance there. (Possibly because I lack a proper fifth position.)

Regular ol' balance is also an issue, as it turns out. I'd been relying too much on the barre, which wasn't noticeable when I was working with one attached to the wall, but these ones at this studio stand on their own, so you actually pull it towards you if you push yourself with it.

To summarise, my mind is actually mush, just like the first time I ever did ballet. I figured that my frustration is a sign I made the right choice, as I'm used to feeling this way when I don't really understand what I'm doing. As a child, this would frequently have made me give up (or in the case of gymnastics made me quit when they really wanted me to do a handstand and flip over, which just spelled death to my brain at the time).

[latetothepointe]

I've decided to try tap dance in September ✨

Some of my current issues with ballet, aside from technique that I don't know too well, is that I can't mimic steps all that well. I pick them up easy enough, but I sense my mind drawing a blank the initial few times, rather than attempting to copy right away.

As I've learnt while playing music, just having a go at it works far better than pausing to observe in detail. To exacerbate this, I thought to pick up another style of dance, since I can only get a maximum of two ballet classes a week (and with any luck, the new school I'll be going to will continue over the holidays too, since it's in a more densely populated area).

I picked tap dancing partially out of convenience, but also because I rather liked this style in general. I'd just never given it much thought before, so I guess everything worked out completely by accident.

[latetothepointe]

After starting ballet classes as an adult earlier this year, I discovered pretty soon that my dancing teacher was very fond of already getting me into recitals. (Something like being thrown into the thick of it as a stress-test of sorts.)

This had absolutely nothing to do with my abilities (or rather my lack thereof). The studio I go to has many different types of dancing, so it doesn't look that out of place as such.

Now, I did not think I was ready for this recital in the slightest, but what I thought was far worse than actually doing the recital, is that throughout us practicing and doing a routine and such, I discovered that I've already learnt some basics wrong.

Since essentially all the teacher's attention is taken up by all these recitals, I felt that this technical stuff kind of got swept under the rug. My literal only advantages in ballet class so far have been that I have quite strong legs and a ridiculous commitment to losing some weight to make the process of my feet, ankles, and overall leg muscles able to carry the rest of my body much easier.

My massive disadvantage, as I've also learnt from my harp teacher as well as a multiple women who taught and took lessons in reformer pilates, is that I apparently don't sit or stand straight.

So in order to combat this massive issue, I took yoga lessons (had to stop reformer pilates at least for now because of distance and money), and I wanted to resolve my other form problems by taking at least one additional ballet class somewhere else (where they specifically said they'd help with form).

Now that we do have regular classes again, I'm noticing the gap in technical ability extra hard, but I think a lot of that can be remedied by having multiple classes a week. Although I don't currently see a way for me to have more than two ballet classes a week due to my schedule + the schedules of the respective studios I'll be going to, I can add a different style of dance.

We'll see how it goes. 😬

(Incidentally, I didn't think the recital was as stressful as doing a presentation in front of class, despite the fact that there were a lot of people in the audience and I didn't really know anyone there; you can't really see them very well anyway while you're on stage, because all the lights are on us.)