Super Saturday Statute

Super Saturday Statute

Today’s statute could read “A dancer never looks at the floor”, but there are a few exceptions. However, it is best to think of “never”, since looking at the floor is a big problem for many dancers. Whether they are concentrating (often a time when the eye focus drops), or whether they are feeling insecure about a step (also common) a drooping eye focus is a bad habit many dancers have. And there is no drooping in ballet.

The eye focus, you will remember, is slightly above your own normal eye level. It goes up slightly during a relevé or a jump, since the body is going upward. The few times the focus goes down is at the bottom of a penchée, or the downward-and-outward focus in a brisé or similar step.

To keep the eyes off the floor, it helps to think about where the eye focus is while driving a car. A driver never focuses on the floorboards, but instead outward - on the road, and up and out if the car is traveling up a hill.

So remember Statute #30: “A dancer seldom looks at the floor.”

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Statute #30:  

“A dancer seldom looks at the floor.”

Link of the Day:

http://balletoman.com/1866-chinese-swan-lake-the-four-little-swans-turned-into-four-small-frogs.html#vid

Quote of the Day:

“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.”
― Mark Twain “

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