Follow-up on the Adult Pointe Workshop at TSWB

It took five days after I posted the announcement of the Adult Pointe Workshop before I gave in and registered. Last night I attended the two-hour workshop, taught by Dr. Miriam Graham and Patrick Wenning of Restore Motion LLC, a group of practitioners providing physical therapy services. It is also the "official physical therapy provider for students of The Washington School of Ballet."

Miriam Graham, PT, DPT, MBA

Patrick Wenning, MPT, CIMT

Adult Pointe Workshop at TWSB

Apparently The Washington School of Ballet is attempting to do their Adult Pointe program right: in preparation for the class later this month they're offering a workshop for prospective adult pointe students with two physical therapists. This sounds like an excellent idea to me!

This workshop is only 10 days from now, so don't delay!

Here's their write-up:

Ready? Set? POINTE! Workshop: Navigating Pointe Shoes as an Adult Dancer

This workshop, presented by physical therapists Dr. Miriam Graham and Patrick Wenning of Restore Motion, is part lecture, part movement study. More than an exercise class, the workshop will teach students about their individual anatomy so they can work with their body type for greater success when wearing or considering pointe shoes. The first half of the workshop will focus on strength training for the feet and ankles; the second half will focus on anatomy, the musculoskeletal system, and hone in on risk factors and areas to consider when working in or considering pointe shoes as an adult dancer.
This workshop will not include pointe shoe wearing. If students own pointe shoes, they are welcome to bring their shoes should they wish to ask questions regarding the shoes. All students who have an interest in learning more about the mechanics of pointe shoes and foot/ankle strengthening are welcome to attend.

This workshop is scheduled for Friday, January 17th, 7:00PM to 9:00PM, at "The Joe" studios on Wisconsin Ave. The cost is $45.

Unfortunately I've been unable to find any mention of this workshop on the Washington School of Ballet website. The instructions in the email announcement I received reads:

To enroll in a workshop or a full series class, login to your adult student account or create a new student account. Once logged in, select the "TWSB for Adults" tab, then "Adult Programs" from the drop down list.
Click "Enroll Now" for the workshop you would like to attend.

I can't claim to be that knowledgeable about pointe work, having never tried it, but as a former Emergency Medical Tech I know a fair bit about injuries. The short version is it's better to prevent an injury than to recover from one. If you're interested in pointe work I would strongly encourage you to sign up for this workshop. You might even find me sitting in on this one!

Adult Pointe classes in DC

In June of 2017 I had a conversation with one of my classmates about her interest in pointe work. I asked her where she had found an adult pointe class, and she told me she couldn't find one in the area. That seemed absurd but it was true. No one offered a formal pointe class for adults.

I have a bit of a "fixer" personality: when I see something wrong I get an urge to fix it. This seemed like something that needed to be fixed so I tried to find an instructor who wanted to teach an adult pointe class and a ballet school to host it. At one point I thought I was close to making it happen, but after six months I gave up. You can follow that saga by reading my postings labeled "adult pointe class".

Yesterday morning I learned that The School of The Washington Ballet is hosting an adult pointe class Saturdays, January 25-February 15, 2020 | 2:00-3:15PM at "The Joe" in Northwest Washington DC.

Here's their write-up:

Our new pointe class series, with Amanda Melrose-Smith, is perfect for adults at an advanced beginner/intermediate level of ballet with some experience dancing en pointe. This pointe class will guide students through exercises to continue and progress their pointe work. The majority of each class will be spent at the barre before moving to center work for the last 15-30 minutes of class. Any level student is welcome to take this class. Those without or minimal pointe experience are welcome to join this class in ballet flat shoes to work on strengthening the feet and ankles.

If pointe shoes are to be worn, they must be fully sewn with ribbons and elastic prior to the start of class. For the safety of our adult students, the use of pointe shoes is at the instructor’s discretion.

To find the class description and the link to enroll, go to their Adult Programs page, click on "Special Programming" and scroll down to the "Series Classes" section at the bottom.

I have no idea whether this will be repeated, so don't wait. If you're in the DC area and are interested in pointe work, sign up for this class!

I wish I could take credit for this class. I did talk to their director of adult classes about hosting such a class, but after more than two years I suspect it's more a matter of interested students asking for one.

If anyone who reads my blog goes to this class, please let me know what you think and any details you'd like to share.

My turner is half broken

I was off work for most of two weeks over the holidays, and I had great plans for all the classes I was going to take. Of course the school was closed for the holidays themselves, but I figured I could get to several weekday classes I normally can't attend.

It was not to be.