Hirst

I talk to young and adult ballet students and the questions I get asked most commonly relate to:

1. Getting onto pointe and finding the right pointe shoes

2. Stretching - especially doing the splits

3. Cannot get to enough classes in a week to advance more quickly

4. Concerns about good diet and body weight/shape

When to start taking pointe classes is a frequent discussion on dance forums. I talk very generally since I have never seen nor taught any of the students that I get into a discussion with. Basic technique has to be very strong before you can do pointe work. Posture and turnout must be correct and strong. Here is one thing you can do just as a self-test, to determine how your strength is developing.

Either at the dance studio or at home, stand next to the mirror in first or fifth position, so that you are looking at yourself sideways. With arms in fifth-en-avant (I'm speaking Cecchetti here) slowly press up onto 3/4 pointe.

Do you have any difficulty maintaining your correct posture and turnout?

Do your ankles wobble toward your big toe or your little toe?

Do you cramp right away?

Can you keep your shoulders and neck relaxed?

Can you do some simple port-de-bras without losing balance?

Can you slowly press down through flat to a demi-plie, and then do several of these slow-motion releve maintaining your poise?

If you have any trouble with this, ask your teacher what you need to work on, to get stronger for future pointe work. Have her/him watch you and correct you so that you can work on this at home. I encourage this kind of practise especially for those students who would like to take more classes but just can't. Work for some, school for others, and availability of the right classes usually prevents full time study.

If your ankles are wobbly, keep the legs parallel, face the mirror, and rise up and down slowly keeping the weight in the middle of your feet, so there is no sickling in or out. This must be strengthened before poise, arm postion, etc., is of any concern. Also, take note that you are holding your turnout muscles even in this parallel position, as most knees roll in a little if not held in line. Once you are sure that you can feel that your ankles are in exactly the right place, go back to first position for your slow motion releves. Pointe shoes don't matter yet, as you can injure yourself or begin acquiring tense and awkward work habits if you are not ready to do pointe work.

If you cramp right away, on your first rise, then your muscles are weak. Relax and do a demi-plie (none of this should be torture). Cramping has other causes also such as dehydration and loss of electrolytes. Calcium and magnesium deficiency will lead to cramping too. You need all 12 of the cell salts to maintain your electrolytes. A good sea salt will help, kelp, other sea weed, or homeopathic 'bioplasma' or 'all 12' tablets. And of course, good proteins, lots of raw or lightly steamed green vegetables and salads, and fruits are mandatory. Did I say mandatory? Yes, I did! Your bones and muscles are MADE from what you eat. And so is your nervous system that your bones and muscles depend on.

Years ago my friend Sara and I were taking ballet classes at Don Hewitt's in Santa Monica, California. It was summer, I was used to a cold climate - and, admittedly we were typically obsessed with being thin so we wore plastic sweat pants for classes. Afterwards we would be practically catatonic. The ONE good thing we did was pour a couple of packets of salt into our root beers as we drove home for our health food dinners. That was before we knew that sodas drain calcium from bones to....well, that really is another article.

It looks like #1 from above will be the next article! This article is mainly concerned with what you need before getting onto pointe. You can do daily exercise and you will get strong! Be sure to tell your teacher your goal and that you are dedicated to a specific outcome, and ask for help.

When you are exhausted from practise, soak in Epsom Salts, then put on your favorite ballet DVD. Inspiration is important, and seeing yourself in your mind's eye, dancing in pointe shoes, is a good thing to do while you rest. All the best!

Dianne M. Buxton is a graduate of the National Ballet School of Canada. She continued dance training at The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, and Toronto Dance Theatre. She taught at, and choreographed for The National Ballet School, York University, and George Brown College, in Canada, and taught at Harvard University in the U.S. http://www.theballetstore.com provides articles on fitting pointe shoes, and strengthening exercises, for male students too.

If you are so desperate that you can only think about putting an end to your life, you must work seriously and be very careful because your despair has many reasons besides the ones you already know.

If you have decided to commit suicide, you are sick. You are undoubtedly suffering from a psychic disease. Do not believe that you have very valid reasons to want to kill yourself. No matter how much you are suffering and how horrible are the conditions of your life, it is sheer insanity to think about suicide.

You dont understand how your psychic sphere works or how your conscience works. Since you are desperate, Im not going to give you explanations about how your conscience functions and how the craziness that comes from the wild part of your conscience is affecting your human conscience, but you have to bear in mind that you are ignorant about the complex psyche and you dont know how your brain, body and psyche function.

Since you are desperate, you are unable to function normally. You are affected by craziness. Be very careful when you are this way, because you may do crazy things and they may be fatal. Suicide is one of them.

Suicide is the worse mistake a human being can make because ones entire life will be wasted this way. One has to accept the suffering one faces in life and never run away from it because this is the only way to become a conscious human being.

Consciousness is acquired through painful experiences. Your tragic experience is now awakening your human conscience and transforming your soul. You have to pass through this process. Trying to avoid it is the biggest mistake you could make because this way you will not learn anything or be transformed. You will have to start from the beginning after death, because nothing finishes here on Earth. This is only one planet among many, one level, one dimension. There are many other planets and many other universes, many things that are beyond our knowledge.

Suffering is necessary to acquire consciousness and sensitivity. Sensitivity is indispensable if you desire balance and a peaceful life. Accept your suffering like a hero, and this way you will really be transformed into a hero.

Simply accept this moment and stay alive until tomorrow. Stay alive everyday. From tragic moment to tragic moment, you will build your personality and evolve.

All those who accepts life without falling and continues ones battle with courage in the end discovers a treasure that is worth more that diamonds! Your evolution can also save many people who will follow your example, and you can do many things to improve the world where we live suffering because many things here are completely wrong. So, stay alive and do something to help everyone find peace and live happily.

Dont commit a suicide to show your failure to the world; instead, give to the world your solution!

During my studies, I came across Carl Jungs method of deciphering dreams, which helped me and urged me to continue his research into the unknown regions of our psychical sphere. I set my poetry aside and began to compile my findings. I sought to prove that Jung had discovered the proper method of interpretation of dreams. This exercise actually taught me many things, and I continued to pursue Jungs research into the analysis of dreams. Learn more at http://www.booksirecommend.com/

An avocado comes from the avocado tree which grows to about 65ft (20m). The pear-shaped fruit is actually a berry (who would believe), it has a large central seed, yellow-green flesh and a green to almost black rubbery skin depending on variety.

The avocado is thought to be of Aztec origin, where it was known as the fertility fruit.

It eventually found its way to the United States, South Africa and Australia sometime during the late 19th century. However the first European record of it is from 1519.

Now for the trivia buff. When Spanish explorers first found the avocado they could not pronounce the Aztec word for it ahuacatl which means testicle (due to the fruits shape). Instead they called it aguacate from which we now derive guacamole.

The avocado has a higher fat content than most fruits, though it is mostly monounsaturated fat. If you were to eat a whole avocado, you would get approximately 25% of the recommended daily intake of saturated fat as issued by the United States FDA.

Bananas are known as a source of potassium but avocados have 60% more. Plus the avo is a good source of folate, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamins A, B6, C and E and several types of antioxidant carotenoids, including beta-carotene.

Selecting an avocado in the shop can be a bit tricky but if you follow these tips you will get the right one.

Hold the avocado in your hand, there should be a little give around the stem end. If it is firm is will take about 5 days to ripen in the fruit bowl. You can quicken this process by sealing your avocado in a paper bag with a ripe banana. The banana gives off ethylene gas, which accelerates the ripening process.

You should store your avocados in a single layer, in a dry, airy place. We always put ours in a cane fruit basket. If you wish to preserve your avocado and slow the ripening, put it in the crisper of refridgerator.

A ripe avocados will keep for 2 to 3 days in the fridge. But once you cut, it will go brown with contact with the air. To prevent this, it is best to leave the seed in, squeeze some lemon or lime juice over the avocado and then cover it in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for 1 to 2 days.

Happy Cooking
Lisa The Crock Cook

Find Lisas articles about Buying A Crock Pot and Crock Pot Pasta Recipes at A-Crock-Cook.com.