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Friday, June 20, 2014

Fun Friday Falling


Fun Friday Falling
Dancers must not be afraid to fall!  Falling is inevitable, although of course we hope it happens in the classroom, and not on the stage.  But falling onstage happens too, and a dancer must learn to recover and carry on – unless there is an injury involved that precludes any further dancing.  In cases like this, the dancer should find a way offstage, or the technical director will bring the curtain down.  This is a rare occurrence, fortunately.
I have heard some teachers say that a dancer should fall at least once in every class.  While I understand the idea – a dancer needs to practice falling – I don’t agree with the necessity of falling down every day!
The technique for falling is simply this:  relax.  Try to relax when you find yourself in an inescapable fall, instead of tensing up and being afraid.  This is why practicing falling is important.  I remember one utterly fearless student who fell with such regularity and abandon that I feared for her safety – but she never got hurt!  She was totally relaxed whenever she fell.
So don’t be afraid to fall.  Practice falling in class, so it isn’t such a scary thing. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #7w 
 “ A dancer must practice falling.” 

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Quote of the Day:

“You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.”

-          Mary Pickford           

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