Freaky Friday Pulling
The fouetté
I’m talking about today isn’t the turning one. It’s the standard fouetté where
the body turns away from (or toward) the working leg. This can be done in
almost any position, but most commonly involves going to arabesque.
The usual
problem occurs when the energy in the working leg diminishes as the dancer goes from à la seconde (or whatever happens to be the starting position) into arabesque. This lack of energy causes the leg to drop (aha! There is no dropping in ballet), and causes the knee to
lose its lovely, fully elongated position. All of this is, to say the least, scary.
Instead, during a fouetté,
imagine that the working leg is stretching so far and so hard that it feels as
though the leg is being pulled out of the hip socket. Gross? Not really. It
works. This is simply an extension (no pun intended) of the energy outward that
I talk about all the time.
Also, when doing
fouettés, remember to devote an equal amount of energy to the supporting side
(up and down), to counterbalance the pulling outward energy of the working leg.
Equal and opposite energy always!
So, for Fun,
Freaky Friday, imagine someone pulling your leg.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Secret #22h:
“In a fouetté,
imagine the working leg being pulled out of the hip socket.”
Link of the Day:
Quote
of the Day:
“There are two ways of exerting one's
strength:
one is pushing down,
the other is pulling up.
- Booker T. Washington
one is pushing down,
the other is pulling up.
- Booker T. Washington
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