Wild Wednesday and Crumbs

Wild Wednesday and Crumbs

When opening the arms (or arm) from fifth en avant (first) to à la seconde, there is a tendency for a student dancer to make a karate-like movement with the hand.  That is, the edge of the hand leads and the palm faces the floor.  This should not happen.

The correct shape of the hand during a first port de bras is the same as the hand in fifth en avant – the palm faces the dancer, not the floor.  The port de bra movement is initiated by the fingers, and it is the back of the hand that sweeps across the air. 

An image that can help with this is:  “The arms move as though the hands are brushing crumbs off a table”.  For anyone who has done this, you know that you usually use the edge of the hand, not the palm of the hand, for greatest efficiency at crumb removal. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #6o:  

“In a first port de bras, the arms move as though the hands are brushing crumbs off a table”. 

 

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ype0VwZrJI0&safe=active               

Quote of the Day:

“Tell me and I forget.  Teach me and I remember.  Involve me and I learn.”

-          Benjamin Franklin

 

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