In the first three months I have the students go barefoot for the first month and they learn the exercises they will begin with pointe shoes the following month. This way I can check for proper alignment/they can learn how the foot should "feel" before the additional challenge of the pointe shoe itself. After four-six weeks we have a pointe-shoe day where I call ahead to a shop for various sizes/brands and a fitter to be onhand when students are purchasing the first pair--I go along as well giving my input and specifics about each students' strengths/weaknesses to the fitter if needed.<BR>Once shoes are purchased we still begin class w/o shoes on sitting on the floor with reps of flexing/pointing and circling the feet/ankle joint. At the barre (in addition to other exercises, some mentioned above) one of the first things we do in parallel is "pony walks" or just rolling through the shoe one foot at a time. (ball-platform-ball-heel/other foot) Sorry for the length!

Hello Jan. I like very much the idea of getting the students acqainted with their feet, sans shoes. There is a lot of awareness to be gained in this manner about how articulate a foot can actually be. I enjoyed your website, also. I was surprised to see a familiar name. Camille Izard and I studied dance together as young teens. Does she still teach?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>In the first three months I have the students go barefoot for the first month<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>WOW! what a great idea! and so simple! this is the exciting part of dance on the internet, to me: learning through sharing - it is real professional development, free and in the comfort of your own home!!! <P>your idea makes perfect sense to me. NOT easy, mind you - really makes the feet, and the students work, but SO sensible! i'm impressed.<P>adding this concept to my repertoire immediately, along with tuk's wonderful yoga balancing pose (did you see that, jan? you'd LOVE that one!)<P>great to see you here...... <P>

angelica, élevé means 'rise' or elevate - it is a term we don't use in australia either! but i have learned about it from americans.<P>we SHOULD use it here, because our system is REALLY silly - we call rises on straight legs, 'rises' - and rises from plié: relevés! dumb, eh? (because obviously 'relevé' MEANS 'rise').....<P>so my understanding is that the élevé is the rise withOUT any knee bending/the smooth rise; while of course the relevé, as you know, is the 'snatching' action of the foot, from a demi-plié to demi-pointe.<P>and re your post re exercises: yes, absolutely, these are universally used: relevés in different positions, and echappés ( i particularly like the 'composite' or analysed echappés, where you go down in 2nd and 'zip' the legs back together in pointe in 5th - uses 'inside thigh' muscles well)...<P>but as a general principle, i would see always using things ON 2 feet, FROM 2 feet TO 2 feet, at the beginning stages - no relevés to retiré positions (any position ON 1 foot, that is) in the early stages of my pointe classes...that's for later.

Maggie--I really don't know if Camille Izard is still teaching. I remember being awestruck at her beauty and grace and wonderful luck with such a great name. *S* This was almost 18 (yikes!) years ago--and she was just beginning as a teacher if I recall correctly.<P>Grace--thanks for the positive feedback--I missed tuk's yoga pose/stretch--could you point (no pun intended) me in the right direction to find it?<P>eleve/releve--I'm one of those Americans who frowns on the use of eleve--I guess I'm a bit "old-school"?? I feel releve/meaning to rise covers the movement whether or not you use a plie first--if so it is just a plie releve as opposed to a simple (straight) releve. I think it started somewhere with the Cecchetti syllabus in America--but I'm not sure how or when it (eleve) became more widely accepted.<BR>I'm really enjoying this discussion board!

jan: what you say about elevé and cecchetti is interesting, as elevé certainly isn't used in cecchetti in england or australia - but until we have anyone here who can talk with authority about cecchetti in america, i guess we're kinda stuck on that one! <P>just looking at your site - <A HREF="http://firstposition.hypermart.net/" TARGET=_blank>http://firstposition.hypermart.net/</A> - and i WOULD NOT want to be you on tuesdays! your teaching schedule is a KILLER! <P>interesting that you can rely on the website to convey your class schedule info in 'inclement weather'...we could never do that here - not enough people online...<P>

That yoga position is in <A HREF="http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000109.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000109.html</A> near the end, just before Conclusion.

*S* Grace--I don't want to be me on most Tuesdays either! The good news is that one class is being combined (a pre-level class) with another one due to low enrollment. Furthermore I have an assistant for two of the other classes for the warm-up which leaves me free for just making corrections/alignment. I have a friend who teaches the Cecchetti syllabus and can ask her about it, she is pretty steadfast in her use of eleve and releve --she may know more. I really don't understand this vocabulary difference and where it began technically--is there a notation for it (eleve) in your dance notating skills? I'm afraid this board may become a new habit! *S* And thanks for the link to the yoga pose--it looks like tuk has some great articles I need to read in my spare time. (on Tuesdays!)<p>[This message has been edited by *Jan* (edited September 23, 2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I'm afraid this board may become a new habit! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>i DO hope so!<P>fun to be online at the same time, too! <P>but i had better get on with the day -it's sunday morning here, sunny & bright...must go outdoors! see you later!

Grace. Sunny and bright! no fair. cold, rainy and snowy here.<BR>Jan, eighteen years ago! what happens to the time! I mean, I'm only, uh, 25, yes that's right. sure. It's nice to have your input and I hope you can put in some more of your teaching techniques that work for you.