Monday and the Invisible Wall

Monday and the Invisible Wall

There is an imaginary center line of the body that is seldom crossed by the arms.  It runs down the center of the chest to the belly button and extends out, away from the body and forward.   I tell my students to picture it as an imaginary, solid brick wall. This is so their arms won’t over cross – especially in port de bras associated with steps like balancé.

Port de bras often appear different to an observer than what they are.  That is, the path that the arms actually travel are simple and direct, (usually), and seldom cross the “brick wall” line.  The illusion of more movement is created because the torso itself moves, or twists.  The brick wall maintains itself, however, always projecting out from the center line of the body, preventing excess movement in the arms. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #6r:  

“Imagine a brick wall extending out and forward from the center of the torso.”

  

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSAOV6XEjXA&list=PLLsjZ5GSha-a2WtQthbt9t77tf357X02d

Quote of the Day:

 

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

 

 

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