Saturday Statute Following
Dancers learn early that the “the eyes look at (or follow) the
hands”, and this is sometimes true. However, it isn’t literally and completely
true.
The eyes follow the general
pattern of movement that the arms take. Literally looking at the hand when it is overhead looks strange, to say the
least. But the head and eyes do reflect the movement pattern of the arms – as per
Ballet Statute #1: If the
arms are moving, the head is moving. But this does not mean that the dancer
is focusing directly on the hands every moment.
The eyes do focus on the hands (most of the time) when they
are in first (fifth en avant), but focus over
and past the arm in front in arabesque. There are many examples of how the eye
focus should be directed, and it varies from position to position. That’s why
the single directive of “eyes look the hands” is so often misinterpreted.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Ballet Statute #59:
“The eyes seldom focus directly on
the hands.”
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