2 3 Terrific Tuesday Tip | Ballet Webb

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Terrific Tuesday Tip


Terrific Tuesday Tip

Today we have a tip about tipping. The pelvis, that is. When can a dancer tip/tilt the pelvis and not be wrong? The answer: in a développé derrière.

This can be a sticky area. Dancers are trained to keep their seat “under”, and told they should never lift or tilt the hips (pelvis). This is all true, for the most part. However, some derrière positions are the exception. To achieve an arabesque higher than about 30-45 degrees, the pelvis must tip or tilt. An important point to remember is that the rib cage and shoulders remain square, but not the hips. Allowing a tilt in the pelvis is confusing to many young dancers since it seems to be in conflict with everything they know.

It is a simple fact of bone structure. Due to the anatomical limitations of the human body, particularly the femur in the ball-and-socket joint -  in order to achieve a high extension, the pelvis has to tip – but not until the leg is higher than the 30-45 degree point. Dancers who don’t do this wonder why they can never seem to “get their leg up in the back”.

I tell my students to look closely at photographs of dancers in arabesque and notice the alignment of the pelvis. They are often surprised.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #11c:  
In a développé derrière, the hips remain level only a brief time.

                Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.”
-          Henry Ward Beecher




                Help expand the knowledge base!
 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!


No comments:

Post a Comment