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Monday, August 17, 2015

Mad Monday Equal Distance


Mad Monday Equal Distance

A common step in pointe work is the lovely sous-sus (under-over) - or in the Cecchetti school, sus-sous (over-under) position. When this step is performed  correctly the feet create a heart shape. (See Ballet Secret #8e: In a sous-sus in fifth position the feet should make a heart shape).

The tricky part of a sous-sus (besides which way it is spelled) is getting each foot to travel an equal distance inward from the starting point of fifth position. This is more difficult than it sounds. The stronger foot always tends to travel further than the weaker one – and we all have one foot that is stronger despite our best efforts.

So dancers must engage in target practice: repeating the sous-sus in front of a mirror to check both the equality of the pulling in and up, plus the finishing position of the heart shape (it must not be over-shot or under-shot). Practice makes permanent.

Isn’t ballet fun?!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #23a:  
From fifth position, each foot must travel equally to sous-su.

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““For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”
Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics

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