Ballet help?

ok im starting ballet in 2 months and im joining a class with more experienced dancers. im 13 and joining a little kid (like ages 7-10) class and i have no past dance experience with any style of dance. im doing all i can to prepare so i will catch on fast. i know some really basic things (5 arm and foot positions, stuff like that) does anyone know things that i really need to know and any other ways i can prepare (flexibility strength ect.)?

Ballet help?symphony

Hi Hopes, My niece is 11 and taking ballet for 7 years and she said to stretch, buy your shoes, and once you start practice, practice, practice! Hope you have fun, good luck!

Ballet help?performing arts center opera theater

practise stretching like trying to do the splits and things like that
The best thing you can do is to try to get more flexible. Start with basic things. One of the best stretches you can do is called a butterfly stretch. Form a diamond with your legs where the bottoms of your feet are touching each other. Try to touch your nose to your toes while keeping your knees as close to the floor as you can. Grab your ankles and bring your feet a little closer to you. Try to touch your nose to your toes again while keeping your knees close to the floor. Repeat until you really feel the stretch in your inner thighs.

You can practice plies, tondus, degasses, and some of the other basic steps you know. This will strengthen most of the muscles that are used in ballet.

Another thing you can do is pilates or yoga. This will increase your flexibility greatly.
Like everyone else has said, stretch and practice, but whats really important when you walk through the door for your class is that you are paying attention and ready to learn. When my class starts my teacher doesn't wait for everyone to settle down or even get into the class, before you know it shes done with teaching an exercise and then its your turn to repeat it. So always watch the teacher and try to really remember the steps. A teacher notices weather your looking at someone because you forgot the steps or weather someone is looking at you! Thats how you get front and center during performances. The teacher wants to be confident you will learn and perform to the best of your ability. Also, start noticing little things about your classmates when they dance. That can be hard coming into a new studio when the teachers have taught them since they were little. They are usually very small details like how to hold their hands for certain things ect. Try to catch up on those fast. Well I hope this helped and best of luck with your ballet classes. Keep up your confidence and passion for ballet! I'm 14 so I hope you grow to love it as much as I do!
Congrats on starting ballet. I think you will find it really fulfilling, but a lot of hard work.

May I suggest you go to a library and take out the book "The Dancer's Companion" by Eliza Minden. It's a great resource. You can also try "Ballet for dummies"

You should spend the next two months stretching as much as you can EVERYDAY.

Learn as much as you can. http://www.abt.org/education/dictionary/...

Your first class will start off with a quick warm up like rolling through the ankles. Then piles, tendues, frappe, degages, grande battements, then a barre stretch with your leg on the barre.

Then center. Adagio, tendu combinations, jumps, then large jumps across the floor.

Just follow along - it will be difficult to remember the combinations at first but try your best. Have a good attitude about it.

Remember to keep your core tight, your butt pulled up and your elbows up.
You have to get supple: That's soooo important. Do stretching exercise every day.

Strenghten up: get into a pilates class as well if possible.

Warm up: Befor each class, make sure you warm up from head to toe - your body will be able to perform better %26amp; stronger (it will also help guard against injury)

Rehearse at home: Practise makes perfect - from repetition you'll gain confidence in the steps you do, and that leaves you free to give that extra bit of special flair!!!

Enjoy your ballet!
Everyone has wonderful advice, and they are all right. But in addition to all that, you also should be doing some strengthening exercises and learning the vocabulary.

Strengthening: If you have five pound weights use them, if not, just take those big liter bottles of soda and use those. Do some arm exercises and some ab/stomach exercises. That will strengthen you enough to make it through the first few classes without feeling like you want to colapse. Do the exercises until it hurts a little, then do about five more reps.

Vocabulary: Ballet is almost entirely in French. Of course, your teacher won't speak to you in french, but all the steps she names will be in french. She will tell you "tendu" and you will look at her like she's crazy, unless you have done some research and know that tendu means to point your foot out, sliding it across the floor as you do it. And even just having heard the terms before will help them sound less like nonsense and more like terminology. good luck, you will have so much fun and will probably move to a higher level class in no time!