Happy Valentine’s Day and Almost A Hug
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m going to talk about that
almost-a-hug-position of fifth en avant
(or first) position. When the arms are in this “fat hug” position, the hands
are level with the lower rib cage, and the dancer visualizes holding a beach
ball, a glass globe or something similar.
The distance between the hands is approximately the length of the dancer’s
little finger. I’ve blogged about all
these things before. But what happens when only one arm is in front?
Dancers often over cross this arm, bringing it too far
across the torso, especially during a port de bras that moves back and forth (as
in a plié combination). Instead, the arm should be placed exactly as it is when
both arms are present – leaving enough room for the other arm to join in, creating the perfect fifth en avant position with the “little finger” space
between the hands.
This is not intuitive. The natural inclination is to take
one arm too far across the body, so dancers must remind themselves to “leave a
space” any time they are doing only half of a first port de bras. No over
crossing is allowed.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Secret #6z:
“When only one arm is in fifth en avant (first), it always leaves
enough room for the other arm to complete the position.”
Link of the Day:
Quote
of the Day:
“They
invented hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything.”
Help expand the knowledge base!
Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas,
or images that worked best for you!
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