CriticalDance Forum

I took ballet classes from 5-18, I mostly did the rad syllabus, and sat the exams up until the Intermediate. I was preparing for the Advanced 1 exam but I got injured and then it all went downhill....I sprained my ankle really badly and it wouldnt heal( I guess I didnt get proper advice). Not being able to pointe my strong foot for 4 months(no pirouettes,no proper extension) I was so dissapointed I stopped taking classes because my technique was gone..

I'm going to be 20 in a few days and I haven't danced for a year and a half. For the past 6 months I have not been excercising all that much. How difficult do you think it will be to start taking lessons again. I don't want to be proffesional. I just want to dance!! I need to dance. Even if it's just 2 times a week.

Last thing, I have scoliosis and it's actually pretty bad. The last doctor I went to told me to never stop doing sports(of course), and also, to do other kind of sports and not ballet, mostly with machines at a gym. Do you think that ballet could be bad for scoliosis? Cause I definately dont think so. It's great exercice! I could never afford to do both ballet and gym.I thought about ballet/pilates? I have never done a proper pilates class but I have heard that it's very very good.

Hi Annie,

I think you need to get a second medical opinion perhaps from a doctor more experienced in sports medicine. I have never heard anyone being told not to dance because of scoliosis in fact many doctors advocate dance as a way to help strengthen. If you google scoliocis and ballet you get many articles with useful information.

However I am not a doctor and I really think before doing anything you should seek a second opinion there may be details of your condition that we do not know about and we cannot give out medical advice or should we try to take the place of your doctor.

If you do get the go ahead to go back to ballet then I think with your aims in mind it wouldn't take you long to get back into the swing of things. It may be frustrating at first as there will be things that you cannot do that you could do before but as your fitness and flexbility rebuilds I am sure you will find the love that you had before for ballet.

Good luck and do get a second medical opinion before doing anything

Well the doctor didn't really say that ballet would be bad for me, he just said he thinks I should mostly be focusing on my abs/back muscles with the machines and that ballet is not good enough for it. He actually smiled(in an ironic way) and said 'well ballet was good until now, but you need to do more', or something around those terms. I think that he just doesnt appreciate the art of dancing, he's one of those people who htink that ballet is all about putting your hands in a ballet position and making turns around yourself

But I will get a second opinion...

Remember that most dancers don't just do ballet class - they also crosstrain to get in shape and stay in shape. Many (if not most) professional dancers do yoga and/or Pilates as part of their normal routine and the men (and some women) also lift weights.

The point is that ballet is GREAT exercise, but even professionals have to supplement ballet class with other forms of exercise. That's probably what your doctor was saying, though not in a very straightforward way.

Kate

It does sound like pilates may be an excellent area to study in conjunction if it is the abs and back area you need to strengthen.

It always makes me smile when I have new students to ballet who are amazed when they are tired at the end of a class. "But it looks so easy and soft". Particularly with arms I think that very few people outside the ballet world realise how much muscle tone and support from other areas such as the abs and back go in to making a good but simple port de bras.

Good luck Annie