April 29th, 2010 
My Health 
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I’m 15 years old, and have taken a variety of dance classes before but i’ve always had a calling for ballet. I have a weight loss program already, and i want to start taking classes over the summer(so i have some time to get ready). I was wondering if anyone had any advice on ballet conditioning, ex:
-turn outs
-endurance
-flexibility
-general technique
-fastest way to reach pointe
-health(weight, eating habits, exercise habits etc.)
*on fitness level and flexibility i’m average
thank you all for your help!
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turn out-executing rond do jombes, the frog stretch which is laying on your stomach, and bending your legs so that the bottoms of your feet touch,sitting on the ground with your legs in front of you and turning your feet out as if you are standing in first..then lifting each leg with your foot pointed, then lifting each with your foot flexed..turn out is something that takes time to develop
endurance-pilates,cardio..i suggest bike riding, and push ups,and sit ups
flexibility-yoga,pilates, stretching in the morning when you first wake up, and before you go to bed
general technique-practicing basic barre exercises such as plies,tendus,degages, frappes,battements etc.
pointe-echappes are great for strengthening…just practicing ballet will get you strong and ready for pointe
health-make sure you are eating protein and carbs…its very very important…drink tons of water and if you are dancing for long periods of time drink gatorade..nuts are a great snack to take with you to class
exercise-make sure you allow yourself at least one day a week to rest…your muscles need that time to relax and repair
good luck!
Stretch every night. Make sure you’re really warm before doing splits though. Basic stretches like touching your toes, butterfly, knee over knee, froggy, splits, pre-splits( splits with your front leg only half out), and lying on your back with your chest out to wind down(believe it or not is a stretch) are good. Remember to breathe.
For pointe do thing for your toes, like putting 20 – 30 marbles on the floor and picking them up one by one and putting them in a cup (right then left) and putting a towel under your feet and scrunching it towards your heels are good for feet only. Ankle circles. Point and flex feet (like under desk at school) is good. And also just do stuff for your legs to help get onto pointe. Plie releves (excuse my spelling) and leg lifts are good. A strong core is also important. Crunches and stuff are good.