2 3 Wacky Wednesday Wandering | Ballet Webb

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Wacky Wednesday Wandering


Wacky Wednesday Wandering

Looking at the floor is a common bad habit, but another one is the “wandering eye” syndrome. This happens when the dancer doesn’t consciously focus on anything, and has a blank stare. This is not only unattractive, and a bit disconcerting for the viewer, it also undermines the dancer’s stability.

Stability is largely determined by the eye focus.  If the eye focus is on the floor, as I have discussed before, that’s where the performer will tend to go. If the eye focus is too high (think ceiling), then the chin lifts and the postural alignment tilts backwards.

What needs to happen is a natural, slightly-above-eye-level focus that moves, changes and adjusts as the dancer moves. This is the same way the focus adjusts when one is simply walking down the street, doing laundry, driving a car, etc.

If your eyes tend to wander, find things in the room or on the stage to look at during each step. Doing this consciously a few times is usually all it takes to correct the “wandering eye” syndrome.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #7ii:  
“Avoid wandering, unfocused eyes.”

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