2 3 Terrific Tuesday Elbows and Tennis Balls | Ballet Webb

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Terrific Tuesday Elbows and Tennis Balls


Terrific Tuesday Elbows and Tennis Balls

One of the difficulties beginning dancers have is understanding and maintaining the correct curvature of the arms.  Either the curve is too extreme resulting in an angular appearance (pointy elbows); or the arms are too straight and tense (like a toy soldier).

To create the correct shape, there must be space between the elbow and the body when the arms are in fifth en bas (low fifth).  This space is too small for a basketball to pass through, but large enough for a tennis ball to be held there. Or, to think of it another way the space is approximately the width of your hand.

For a fun activity, bring a tennis ball to class and have the students try holding it in place while their arms are in fifth en bas.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #6y:  
When the arms are in fifth en bas, the space between the elbow and the torso should be just large enough for a tennis ball to pass through.

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