ium on Thursday night before facing Brisbane (away), Cowboys (home) and South | Forum

As a former dancer, Ive always tried to imagine which sport ballet might be comparable to, and the most I have been able to come up with is the marathon -- if the marathon required runners to be in character, with full makeup and smiling the entire time. Cory Schneider Jersey . Oh, and en pointe.And by en pointe, I dont mean perfect in the sense that my teenagers use the phrase today. Nope, by en pointe, I mean it in the true French sense of the word -- standing on the tips of your toes, separated from the floor by the tiniest barrier of fabric, cardboard and glue. Those pink, satiny pointe shoes -- and hours upon hours of blood, sweat and tears -- are what separate the women in Thursday night Zumba class from athletes like American Ballet Theatres Misty Copeland.?Anyone can go to a sporting goods store and buy Nike Zoom Lebron Soldier 10s sneakers, and anyone go online and buy Capezio Aria pointe shoes. And that is exactly what Vogue Espana did for a fashion shoot with Kendall Jenner. But owning Lebrons sneakers wont make you an NBA player. And neither will pointe shoes -- voila! -- magically transform you into Wendy Whelan.Reality-star-turned-model Kendall Jenner is a beautiful young woman. At 5-feet-10? and 119 pounds, the 20-year-old slides into haute couture with ease and is an accomplished runway model. And no one could call her modeling skills into question.But those feet! They are like dead fish. They are. Look at them in the Vogue shoot. They just dangle there. In ballet, there is a term for this: the sickled foot, and the dreaded dead fish comment is something ballet teachers say to their students to remind them to point, point, point their feet.Dancers oftentimes resort to medieval torture devices to improve their arches. Dont believe me? Google ballet feet stretcher. Ill wait. I have friends who short-sheet their beds and wedge their pointed feet tight between two sheets and sleep that way to improve their arches. Instagram, which has proved to be the perfect forum for ballet photos, has sparked a whole new movement in dance and is flush with photos and videos of dancers and their footwork. My favorite is Cuban ballerina?Dayesi Torriente Llanes, now a soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet. ?I have seen entire ballet auditions go south based on the look of feet alone. I swear my mother, who studied under George Balanchine (he co-founded the New York City Ballet) at the School of American Ballet and danced with the San Francisco and Pennsylvania Ballet companies, worked at pointing my feet while I was still in my crib. So poor Jenner and her dead-fish feet incurred the wrath of every ballerina from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow?to the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle last week.She had to turn off the comments on her Instagram feed, and her vastly popular account (she has 66.3 million followers) is part of what made her so attractive to Vogue in the first place. Dance Magazine had Ballet West soloist Allison DeBona write an opinion piece about Jenners unfortunate attempt to stand up in pointe shoes after DeBonas Facebook post reacting to the Vogue Espana?photos went viral.DeBona, herself a stunning dancer, had just recently written her heartfelt Facebook commentary?faulting Vogue for exploiting Jenner by posing her as a ballerina.She noted:Ballerinas across the globe are upset that Vogue Spain hired Kendell (sic) Jenner to look like a ballerina in a video shoot. Well, Vogue Italia hired me to look like a ballerina in a video shoot. Some people originally commented on my video about how I was selling out by being too sexual. I was playing a role just like Kendell, except I have technique.There were plenty of comments from dancers who felt that Vogue Espana?should have used a real ballerina and had no business putting Jenner in pointe shoes and having her dance around suggestively in leotards and leg warmers. I agree. The publication is usually pretty good with the ballet accuracy, but shame on them and shame on Jenners modeling agent, whomever that might be, for not trying harder for authenticity.There were a million ways around it: Use a real ballerina for the action and then pose Jenner in the clothes. Or just pick another theme entirely -- such as horseback riding, ATVing, dirt biking, surfing or hiking, which Jenner herself recently listed as her hobbies.One thing I know for sure. Jenners unwitting participation in the ballet shoot fiasco of 2016 legitimizes the dance, if anything, because it once again shows haters that ballet is not just running around like a child just not caring. It is impossibly hard work. Kendall Jenner might have more money and fame than God, but shes not a ballerina. ?ESPN deputy editor Gabrielle Paese is a reformed ballerina who got her start with Maria Vegh at Harkness Ballet. She went on to attend the Pennsylvania Governors School for the Arts and train under the late Merce Cunningham. ? Mirco Mueller Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Travis Zajac Jersey . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. http:///...unner-devils-jersey/ . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Darren Lockyer has put a line through Canterburys as an NRL title threat, declaring the Bulldogs are not ruthless enough.In analysis sure to fire up coach Des Hasler and his troops, Lockyer said the Bulldogs had not been consistent enough to be considered premiership contenders.Despite being in top four contention after six wins from their past seven starts, Lockyer said Canterbury hadnt exhibited the kind of form that warranted them to be considered a threat to North Queensland, Melbourne, Cronulla and Canberra.I dont think theyre consistent enough, theres not enough discipline in their performance, Lockyer told the Nine Networks Sunday Footy Show.Theyre just in and out, in and out over the 80 minutes and youre not going to win premierships playing that style of football.The Bulldogs have looked shaky over the past three weeks, smashed 36-0 by the Cowboys and unconvincing in wins over struggling St George Illawarra and last-placed Newcastle.Lockyer questioned their inability to put away the Dragons and Knights earlier, saying they neededd to discover their killer instinct. Michael McLeod Jersey. Youve got to be ruthless, Lockyer said.Theyve done well to get into the top four but if they dont get their discipline right, I cant see them going all the way.The Bulldogs begin their run home against Manly at ANZ Stadium on Thursday night before facing Brisbane (away), Cowboys (home) and South Sydney (home).Sydney Roosters great Brad Fittler described the Bulldogs as winning ugly and said they were getting home on the back of some individual brilliance, but warned they wouldnt be able to get away with that in September.You watch them sometimes and you just shake your head and you wonder how they keep winning, Fittler said.They beat the Dragons last week 13-10, they just found enough to beat them.But Ive got to say that with Sam Kasiano in their team, he can just do some wonderful things and theres enough quality there - Brett Morris back with his brother Josh. 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