Returning to Relevé

Good news, everyone! Despite my complete lack of blogging (merp), I have actually been dancing. I've even performed in my home studio's winter and spring shows! Back in January I did a pointe assessment with my dance PT and managed to pass. She's been having me do relevés in pointe shoes on a reformer (and later at a barre) as part of my PT for awhile now, but it was still surprising to get the official "OK." That being said, I wasn't taking enough classes at the time (we're required to take three technique classes each week to do pointe), so I've been slowly adding to my class load, and only started doing pointe in class this month. The ankle is not 100%--it still gets quite grumpy from time to time, but its definitely better. It's been a very (painfully) slow process for sure. Anyway: the pointe shoe saga continues, more or less. When I started doing pointe as part of PT, I went and got a fitting, and was put into a Capezio Aria. T...

Things have been crazy busy, so I've been a blogging slacker. Updates! I started doing my own strength training circuit at home through August, and was pretty good about sticking with it. I did both arm and legs exercises every other day throughout the month and definitely saw and felt some improvement. Now I just have to keep up with it because I've been a slacker so far into September. No surprises there, really. My stupid ankle is bothering me again, so now I'm seeing a PT (who is a former dancer, yay!) To the shock of no one, she told me that I have tight calves. What was surprising was that I have weak calves (for a dancer), and likely some muscle imbalance. We'll be working on that, and also checking my pelvis for any other imbalances. My first homework assignment is to stretch my poor calves every day (especially after class). Good times. The Pointe Shoe Saga also continues, because I dislike the Airess. I have two major problems with them: I can...

I mentioned back in May that my Grishko Novas had started giving me problems because they were twisting (especially on my left foot). I changed my elastics (used something heavier and criss-crossed them) and that helped some, but not completely. My AD thought I might want to try something with a higher wing. So, when I went on a family vacation at the end of May/beginning of June, I did my usual and looked up all the dance shops in the areas I'd be visiting and ended up being fitted at two. First, can I just express my annoyance that, when I called these shops looking for specific shoes, I was informed that yes, they carried them, only to get there and they had ONE pair that was not in my size? That doesn't count as carrying them, people! Capezio Airess Anyway, at the first shop the fitter was REALLY into the new Capezio Airess (in fact, I think the girl before me was trying them on too), and I was subsequently fit into the 1133 (tapered) model. I haven't tried a...

The Freed is a no-go. I kind of want to curl up in a corner and cry. I've purchased and worn SO MANY pointe shoes this year (7 different shoes to be exact), and most of them for only a couple of classes each! It's a good thing I'm single with no dependents, because good Lord. Ye olde box of pointe shoe rejects The Freeds really seemed like they were going to work, but apparently they're too narrow for my foot (though I didn't notice a problem when I tried them initially). The box has gotten mushed out of shape on the outside (pinky toe edge), and the shoe is twisting which is shifting my alignment off the platform (i.e. instead of being over my big and second toes, I'm shifted over my pink toe! NO GOOD). You can see how I'm leaning to the outside of my feet in this shot. This is bad. When I had shown them to the AD of the school originally, she'd expressed some concern over that side, but in the end was willing to let me give them a shot....

I'm trying yet another new pair of pointe shoes, this pair recommended to me by a shoe mistress from a professional ballet company. They're a Freed Wing Block, size 5.0 XX. Wing Blocks have hardcore shanks, and one of my issues with the RPs (according to the shoe mistress) was that they weren't conforming to my arch properly, and were restricting my technique. She recommended that if I wanted to try the Freeds, I should 3/4 the shank, and suggested I practice on some old pairs to work out exactly where it should hit my foot. Cutting shanks is not an easy-peasy chore, let me tell you. I experimented on several different pairs (two different old pairs of Blochs, and the RPs) and it was sort of fascinating how different the shanks were in each pair. The Bloch Heritage shank, cut and beveled Alas, those shanks did not prepare me for the Wing Block shank. While I was able to cut ALL of the aforementioned pairs with a Stanley utility knife, that knife (and my fancy Bok...

So, apparently my search for the perfect pointe shoe ISN'T over . As I mentioned in my last post, I recently got a bruised toenail from the RP Entrada Pros. I've also started getting some cramping along the outside of my foot, under my smaller toes. That can't be good, right? I'm back on the hunt. The next shoe victim looks like it might be a Freed.  Will the Freed suffice? Are my feet too sensitive? Am I too old for this nonsense? (Maybe, possibly, probably). We shall see.

I've been meaning to update y'all on the crazy that is my dance life right now (maybe even with pictures!) but I haven't had much of a chance to sit down, or to take said pictures. Rehearsals are going well, though are exhausting as per usual. Because we're doing a musical, rather than a ballet, a lot of the dances are in character shoes (with a 1.5 inch heel), and that is its own special sort of torture. However, if the title of my post is any indication, that's not what I really came to post about. I am completely and totally frustrated by pointe at the moment. After my original foot problem , I eased back up onto pointe and was starting to do full classes in them (re-conditioning ones feet to pointe shoes is no fun. Especially when one is still sporting a super awesome bruised toenail on one foot). Then, of course, my luck went downhill. Two weeks ago, I started getting some pain in the Achilles area of my OTHER foot. Saw the doc, and it seems to be a diffe...

I don't want to jinx anything, but I think I may have found THE PAIR. While I was in Colorado, I made an appointment to get a proper pointe shoe fitting since my local shop is so lacking.  I had gotten a recommendation for Assemblé Dancewear in Castle Rock, and Noel (one of the owners) had a great reputation for fittings, so I decided to give it a try.  I was super impressed and pleased with my experience!  Noel really knew his stuff, and even taught me some things about pointe shoes I didn't know (and should have, since I've been on pointe for so long! I felt a little ashamed.) The first thing Noel did was to examine my feet thoroughly, testing my flexibility and strength with his hands.  Next, he looked at my old shoes (the Bloch Heritage) and examined the wear patterns on them (he was pleased it was even. Yay me!)  We discussed what padding I was using (way too much, in both our opinions), and problems (my lovely bruised toe nail because of the sinking)...

My body has decided to go on strike.  I've been having some pain/aches around my ankle and heel, but its another thing that comes and goes depending on its mood (I assume).  It's only my right foot, which I had sprained (twice) over 10 years ago, so I originally thought maybe it was just not as strong and needed time to get used to all my dancing and pointe again. It has continued, so I started thinking maybe my never-ending point shoe saga was to blame--and I'm sure isn't helping things. So, since we're on a break from classes (during which I fully intend on just RESTING for once), I made an appointment with a foot/ankle specialist to get it checked out, just to be safe, especially since after break I'm going to that SI. Good news: not my Achilles.  Also not an os trigonum issue (whew).  Bad news: I have some inflammation/tendonitis in my flexor hallucis longus tendon* . (yea, trying saying that fast...or at all). Its the tendon that runs from your ...