Teachers say it often, and students hear it all the time,
but what does this common phrase mean and how is it actually interpreted? I ask my students on their first day of
class: “What does it mean to “pull
up”? I get as many responses as there
are students, or I get blank stares.
Obviously, “pull up” is not a clear directive. The natural physical response for most
students is to pull up from their chest, thus throwing their weight
backwards.
It goes back to correct posture. “Pulling up” should come from the top of the
head, or the ears, or the spine (or all three simultaneously) and that “pull”
should go upward in a very slight forward trajectory (angled forward from the
ankles – see the post on posture). More
advanced students can focus on feeling their pelvis lift (pull up) away from
their legs. The legs should be providing
an opposite pull downward, toward, and beyond, the floor.
Secret #1b from The Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets is:
“Pull up from the top of your head.”
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thank you, enjoyed the illumination as to what term means
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