Saturday Accents
In a previous blog: http://balletwebb.blogspot.com/2013/10/d-e-gag-e-s-battement-d-e-gag-e-s.html I discussed dégagé and mentioned the image I’m
going to talk about today. In a dégagé,
the musical accent can be “in”: as the
dancer closes the foot in fifth, or on the outward stroke, as the foot reaches
its full stretch. Most commonly, it is
as the foot closes in fifth.
This can be difficult for some beginners. The idea that works most often for them (and sometimes
for more advanced dancers, too), is this:
Imagine that closing your feet in first or fifth is like clapping your
hands. Explain that it isn’t supposed to
make a sound and that the closing action needs to be done gently – the feet
never slam into position. But the rhythm
established is like clapping hands to a beat.
I will sometimes illustrate this concept by first clapping my hands “wrong”,
and putting the accent out. The students
get it, and often make the leap to understanding that the “wrong” way to clap
is the other way to accent a dégagé -
on the “out” action.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Secret #4h:
“When the musical accent of a dégagé
is in first or fifth position, think of clapping your feet.”
Link of the Day:
Quote
of the Day:
“Treat everyone with politeness, even
those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are.”
-Anonymous
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or images that worked best for you!
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