Friday, November 28, 2014

Fun Friday Fifth En Bas


Fun Friday Fifth En Bas

On this Fun Friday after Thanksgiving I’m hoping you have the day off and can fully devote your thinking to today’s ballet secret:  fifth en bas. This arm position, sometimes called low fifth, maintains the same curve in the arms as all the other arm positions.  But for some reason, this low one seems to have infinite variations.  Everything from holding the hands together, to resting them at the side of the hips.

The generally accepted standard is simple:  the hands are in front of the thighs.  Not resting on the thighs, but just out from them.  Not at the side of the thighs, but centered on them.

All the other ballet rules apply:  the hands are shaped as though cradling a baby bird, the fingers are extended slightly (not tense and not curled), and the thumbs are in (no hamburger hands).  Also, the correct curve of the arms is maintained so there is space between the waist and the elbows.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #6x:  
The hands in fifth en bas are in front of the thighs.”

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“A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking.”
-Earl Wilson

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