Wonderful Wednesday

Wonderful Wednesday

It is time once again for yet another Ballet Statute.  This one involves what a dancer should not do with their hands.

I've blogged before about the pathways on which the arms and hands are permitted to move, and doing this correctly helps prevent the dreaded “karate chop”.  This is only appropriate for karate, not for ballet.  There is never a time in classical ballet when the hands slice through the air being led by the outside edge of the hand.  This bad habit is often seen in things like piqué turns.

Instead, the fingertips lead the movement of the port de bras, and the back of the hand is what moves through space – not the edge of the hand as in a karate-style movement.  The reversing of that port de bras would have the inside of the hand (palm and fingers) moving along the prescribed pathways.  When the arms are shaped correctly, the hands will move correctly.

This habitual way of moving the arms is best learned during pliés when it can be repeated and repeated until muscle memory takes over.

From the Itty Bitty Beige Book of Ballet Statutes:

Statute #27:  

“There are no karate hands in ballet.”

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_ycPIV4hEQ

Quote of the Day:

““The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation. For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.

- Neil deGrasse Tyson's response on Reddit when asked "What can you tell a young man looking for motivation in life itself?"

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