Tips and Tricks for Dance

~Ankle and Calf Strength + How to Get Height in your Jumps~

Heyyy! What's up? I'm about to go to bed, so I thought I'd write a little thing about ankle and calf strength because it's been requested lately, and a few tips on height in jumps and leaps, because that ties in with this also.

To do pointe and have amazing height in jumps and leaps, you need to have strong ankles and calves (along with abs and quads, but that is for another chapter), so follow this instructional thingy to build up strength in these areas!

• Relevés •
- Do these whilst standing around, brushing your teeth, etc.

• Rises •
- Same as relevés. Do these whilst standing around, etc.

• Heel drops •
- Stand on a raised surface (a step at yoga block) with the ball of your foot on the edge (not too close, or otherwise you will fall. And I will laugh...jk), then drop your heels down to touch the floor.

• Spell the alphabet with your feet •
- This kills if you do it more than once. I have to do it twice at the end of every ballet class. Make sure every letter is detailed and you use your whole foot and ankle.

• Walk around on Relevé •
- I normally do this when I get bored of walking around normally. Make sure every muscle is engaged, like it would be if you were doing this in dance class.

• Hold a Relevé on one foot •
- Do this for as long as you can. This also helps with pirouettes and let's you determine wether your centre is too far forward, backward or to either side. Remember to engage your muscles, keep proper posture, arms relaxed, ribs closed, shoulders over hips, and supporting leg straight. Also, don't sickle your foot.

• Point and Flex your feet •
- I do this while I'm watching TV or reading or doing homework.

• Ankle rotations •
- Once again, I do this while watching TV or reading or doing homework, etc.

• STRENGTHENING ROUTINE? •
You don't have to have a specific routine to follow, but if you would like, here is one for you.

- 10 relevés
- 10 rises
- 10 heel drops
- 10 point and flex (10 point, 10 flex)
- 10 ankle rotations (each way)
- 2 sets of the alphabet
- 10 holding relevés on one foot (each leg)

*You can increase/decrease these numbers depending on your skill level, so don't feel obliged to do this amount forever. I would recommend increasing the number by one each day.

~HEIGHT IN LEAPS?~
So, I decided to add a little bonus tip/extra thingy in this chapter because it relates to this. Height in leaps.

First things first, you need to have strong legs to get off the ground, so doing this, plus other leg strengthening exercises will eventually lead up to you having amazingly strong legs and beautifully high leaps (plus, it will be easier to do aerials and all other things 😎).

I read somewhere that massaging your Achilles tendon will help you have higher jumps (like before you start jumping, not like just every now and again). I have t got around to seeing if this works, but can someone try and comment and tell me if it works? Ta 💗

Plié. Seriously, just do it. Plus before the jump, not like grande plié, but like, a nice, deep plié.

As always, thanks for reading! Remember to vote and comment your opinions, etc. to tell me what you like about this book.

You can also private message me if you need someone to talk to. I don't bite, promise.

I love you guys to infinity and beyond,

Emmy xox

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QOTC: Do you guys think some people just need to stop making a big deal about Frozen, I mean, it came out last year. Just let it go....😏 *troll face*

AOTC: you know what, I honestly don't care. I just really wanted to make a frozen pun because I can and in tired and I need some sleep. Night.

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Comment 'night night sleep tight' if you read this whole thing