I have a question about using the barre in ballet?

During stretches that include placing my foot on the barre...my knee locks on my leg on the ground and it hurts really bad durring the stretches. Maybe I'm doing something wrong...any ideas?

I have a question about using the barre in ballet?ballet theater

Have you talked to your instructor? Your standing leg should be soft with a very slight bend in your knee in order to keep it from locking. If you can't put your leg up without locking your knee, try a lower barre.

I have a question about using the barre in ballet?chicago theater opera theater

Don't put your feet on the bar.
You should be asking your ballet instructor. Without seeing you it is difficult, but my guess it has something to do with the direction of your foot that is on the floor.
The barre is to high for you .... back in the stone age when I started they had 2 barres on the wall one low and one high.

Starting Over is correct you should ask for guidance from your instructor with regard to foot and leg placement which has allot to do with it also.

As for always having a bend in your knee that is true for Ice Skating but not for ballet ... if you look at pic of any professional dancer you will barely be able to tell they even have a knee cap due to years of training to always lock your knees other than when you are executing a particular movement that requires a bending of the knee.
You might have a 'ganglia' in the back of your knee bone....go to the doctor please and find out. I too took ballet...i understand.
I think that all the other answers are valid but I have one more comment of my own. I think that the problem might be your quads. What I mean by that is that sometimes if our quads are too tight they pull on our knees and that makes them lock, hurt or sometimes stop working properly. If it hurts that you need to stretch your quads. You can do that by standing on one leg and bending the other one on the side of a table or high bed until you feel a stretch. You can also stretch them by bending your knee and holding your leg from behind. Just don't bend the knee too much. You need to push your hip join forward so you don't put pressure on the knee but stretch the muscles. Good luck.
I had the same problem when I took ballet. It hurt! But my schools all had two barres, so I'd use the low one.

Sorry, I don't know what you're doing wrong, if you even are.
I used to have the same problem. you need to strengthen your core . . . glutes, psoas, etc. you are quite possibly using the wrong muscles to hold yourself up . . . pilates really helps to strenghten what you need.
make sure you keep your hips squared. dont let your knees rotate