Monday, December 9, 2013

Monday Marionettes


Monday  Marionettes
A common problem many young dancers have is understanding the support and correct shaping of the upper arm in à la seconde.  I blogged about imagining brackets of support this past Saturday: the idea that the lift comes from underneath the upper arm.  In a previous post I talked about “secret service eyes” on the elbows.  But sometimes a different image is called for.  This idea works from the opposite end to (hopefully) produce the same desired result:  that of beautifully placed arms.
Imagine a string tied to each elbow, like those on a puppet or marionette.  The string gently lifts the elbows to the correct position – facing the wall behind the dancer.  Sometimes producing support from underneath requires a visual image of a pull from above.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #6h 
“Imagine a string on each elbow, like those on a marionette; and those strings are pulled gently upward.”

 

                Link of the Day:


  

Quote of the Day:

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.  The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

-Mark Twain

 

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

 

No comments:

Post a Comment