Marvelous Monday Floor

Marvelous Monday Floor

The floor is important in many areas of classical ballet technique, since dancers use it as a tool – pressing against it for resistance and/or for impetus.  But problems occur when dancers look down and focus constantly on the floor.

Teachers have developed a variety of ways of  addressing this issue with instructions like:  “We don’t write the choreography on the floor”, “I’m going to paint eyeballs on your eyelids”, or the ever popular and simple: “Don’t look down”.

I've blogged before about putting a positive spin on this by concentrating on what one should look at around the room or the stage, instead of thinking of what one should not look at:  the floor.  I try to use the simple directive:  “Look up and out”.

The other, companion problem with floor gazing is this:  the body tends to go in the direction of the eye focus.  If it is down on the floor, the dancer may end up there!

From the Itty Bitty Beige Book of Ballet Statutes:

Statute #26:  

“Do not focus on the floor.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t3tKjM32hs

Quote of the Day:

““Positive attitude enables you to go with passion and see possibility in every challenging circumstance. It was by that, that great achievers picked up metal scraps on the floor and saw machines built from it.”
― Israelmore Ayivor, Michelangelo | Beethoven | Shakespeare: 15 Things Common to Great Achievers

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