Ballet Exercises - Injuries and Returning to Ballet

by Thankam
(Perth,WA,Australia)

Ballet Exercises - Injuries and Returning to Ballet

Hi Odette,

My name is Thankam and I have ask you things before about pointe and things like that. Your information really helped me and I was wondering if you could help me again.
I have been using crutches for about 2 months after something happened to my hip. How can i get back to ballet? I really miss ballet and even though I got off crutches, my physio says not until the end of term. :( That’s about 3 months away. I want to get back onto pointe as soon as I can so I don’t miss out. How can I start faster without injuring myself again? I also was wondering if you knew some excersise to help me keep on my box because I am really bad a Echappes and releves and things like that (stepping onto pointe). Can you give me some strength excersises please? I know that I can’t do my exam this year and I wanted to know how to sustain a arabesque or develop??

Thanks a lot.
Kind regards
Thankam K.

============================================

Reply by Odette
To:- Ballet Exercises - Injuries and Returning to Ballet

Hello Thankam,
Thank you for getting in touch with me again, it is always a pleasure to hear from you. Firstly, I am sorry to hear about your hip injury. I understand you must miss ballet so much, but don’t worry you will be back dancing again.

Injuries happen to the great majority of dancers and many ballerinas have been forced to stop dancing for as long as a year! You must really listen closely to the advice of your physio, because they are the experts to give you a full recovery and keep strong again for the future.

If you come back to ballet too soon when your hip is not ready, it can definitely hold you back in the future than if you wait until it is fully recovered. 3 months may seem like a long time away, but if you ask for some strengthening exercises from your physio then you can come back just as strong.

Talk to your physio and get some exercises for your hip and also see whether you can do pilates or yoga, which will put your muscles in great strength for ballet again.

When it comes to pointe shoes and correcting your alignment on pointe, you can watch this pre-pointe video and remind yourself of Lisa's vital tips.

Lisa reveals ALL the precious inside knowledge you need to know about pointe which will put you on a journey to both progress and improve all your work on pointe.

You can also look at my physical therapy equipment because I think the Latex resistance exercise band (also known as thera band) will help you hugely in the strength for your feet when it comes to echappes and releves.

I find that an arabesque position needs flexibility in the back and hamstrings, so keep supple and stretch your muscles. I am sure you are allowed to stretch even though you are not dancing, but check with your physio just incase.

The arabesque definitely improves with practice and increases both the strength and height, so once you get back to class you can focus on your arabesque. Then, little by little you will see it improving if you keep working hard at it.

Let me know how you get on and I wish you all the best recovery with your hip.

Best wishes,
Odette