Not INSPIRED by BALLET anymore!!!!!

Question

I have a very hard teacher for the summer, and she's kind and all, but she pushes her students to do the very best, but I'm not improving! I dread each class because I can sense her disapointment in me. I just want to love ballet like I used to (before this teacher), so she'll see that I'm dedicated. Help me get inspired again (and any tips on how to improve my dancing would be great two!) Thanks!

Answer 1

i'm sorry you aren't :(

maybe you should talk to her, or keep trying, practicing at home, etc. .. i think i have a teacher like that .. pretty sure. i'm going to a ballet camp in a couplee weeks! anyways for me, i always try to do my best & work on one thing in an exercise or someting :) it works for me, & once i showed her my free movement study w. my face, expression, timing, etc, she thought it was amazing! she couldn't stop teling me! i think what helps me most, since i'm not too incredible at technique or anything, i just focus on what i'm good at! music, rhythm, timing, expression, emotion, feeling, face, things like that! :)  

Answer 2

I remember having a nasty experience with a guest teacher who kept coming back. Maria Vegh. [chokes and dies]. I almost quit because of her.

But, because of her expecting my ten-year-old class to be able to dance as well as our older ballet-schoolmates, we all greatly improved after a period of pain and despair.

Stick with it. The way you've made it sound, she's just for the summer, and once fall starts, you'll be back to normal.

Also, watch dance movies like Turning Point, Center Stage, Billy Elliot, and possibly even Step Up.

Answer 3

OK, if she starts throwing a dozen+ corrections at you, take one of them and really concentrate on that one, or two, corrections all day, you can work on the others a little bit, but really work on one or two each class, all being different each class, she will see that you are really working on it and trying to improve. After class, you can also write all the corrections that you can remember given to you in your dance notebook, if you have one. I find that helps too.

Hope I helped!

Answer 4

I had a teacher like that at a convention and I just did MY best and and went at MY pace in learning the step. She didn't say anything either,she actually pointed me out in class for it. So go at your own pace and see what happens.

Answer 5

It's kind of hard to believe you're not improving at all. Be more positive! Something will have got better - maybe your arabesque has gained a little bit of height, or you can pick up combinations a little bit faster, or you spot slightly better when turning. Think back a month, or however long you've had summer classes for. Think of one thing you are better at now than you were then.

Then think of one thing you are going to do better in your next class. Maybe you will lift your back knee in attitude, land your pirouettes more neatly - but don't forget the thing you've already improved at!

When you are trying to improve everything at once, sometimes it gets overwhelming - pick out your weakest areas and work on them first (don't completely forget about everything else, though!). Once you have worked on them, find other things you could improve.

Do you have any videos of ballets, childhood favourites, things that you always thought "I would love to be doing that!"? Put them on and watch them again! The performance that made you want to take ballet will inspire you to continue.

Teachers that push you hard make you a better dancer. They are only making you do it because they think you can - if you weren't capable of doing it they wouldn't bother trying.

And to finish my ridiculously long answer...

I remember when I had an important ballet exam coming up, the teacher who took the syllabus class was always nagging me about my arms. Every single lesson, she would tell me to lift underneath my elbows at least five or six times - usually first during grand battements, then the ports de bras at the barre, then developpes in the centre, then during an allegro and during the set variation -  often more as well. Sometimes she'd make the entire class restart the excersise. It seemed like I'd never get it right -  and all the other little things she nagged us all about. Most nights I went home practically in tears. When my exam came, I was scared that I would do it all wrong -  especially my arms. In the exam, I tried to remember everything she'd nagged me about - I knew when I'd do the ports de bras badly so I was extra careful, and I thought about lifting underneath my elbows etc (but not forgetting about everything else!). When the results came back, I'd got a really good mark for the ports de bras section!

However much you feel that you can't do it and you aren't improving, you are, and if you can't do it today, you might tomorrow. Go to class with a positive attitude and try your best!

Answer 6

Inspiration does not come from being pushed and feeling like you're not getting better. It comes from within you. It's a passion for ballet whether you're improving or not.

Talk with your instructor. Tell her that you really want to improve as a dancer and ask what you can be doing to work towards that.

Chances are she's not as hard as she's making herself out to be. I'll bet she would be really happy to help you out. : )

Answer 7

If she's that bad move classes it used to be fun but now its not.What first brought you into ballet?A particular preformance, a movie, a celebrity.Go back to your routes.

Billy Elliot is the most inspiring ballet/movie/musical ever!Rent a copy from blockbuster and watch some of the musical clips on youtube-thats what ispired me to dance.Try 'leon cooke electricity'.Best of luck and don't stop dancing!

Answer 8

if you are not happy with dance and you dread it maybe you should quit you might be wasting money time and your dedication : ^ (