Hand in Glove

Hand in Glove

When teaching students how to correctly shape their hands and fingers, a number of images come to mind.  Depending on the school of training, the middle finger, or two middle fingers are held slightly lower than the index and little finger.  The thumb falls parallel to the fingers, pretty much as it does when the hands are held normally at the side of the body (as if walking down the street).

Some dancers have a tendency to either  splay the fingers, or curl them.  To prevent this, I have my students think about putting on a pair of gloves.  In order to don gloves, the fingers cannot splay or curl, instead the fingers must gently extend – just like they do in a correct balletic hand position. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

  Secret #6d:

“To correctly shape the hand and fingers, imagine putting on a pair of gloves.”

 

Link of the Day:

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=beautiful+ballet+hands&qpvt=beautiful+ballet+hands&FORM=VDRE&adlt=strict#view=detail&mid=3C6899B59DBBEB2BCAF63C6899B59DBBEB2BCAF6

 

Quote of the Day:

“Playing a concerto with Zubin is like being surrounded by a well-loved, cashmere-lined silk glove.”

-Isaac Stern