Technical Tuesday Spine

Technical Tuesday Spine

The spinal column is made up of 33 individual bone, all stacked neatly on top of one another. This forms the all-important pillar of support for the body, and allows movements like bending and twisting that dancers do all the time. This vertebral column also serves to protect the spinal cord and allows pathways for spinal nerves to follow.

The spine has a natural S-shaped curve made up of five different sections: the neck area (includes 7 cervical vertebrae, C-1-C-7), the middle area (the 12 thoracic vertebrae, T1-T12), the lower area (5 lumbar vertebrae, L1-L5), and the bottom area (the sacrum – a composite bone formed by the fusion of 5 vertebrae). The sacrum articulates with L5 and the coccyx (tailbone).

Think of the S-curve in the spine as a spring, because this slight, natural curve gives the body resiliency – the ability to absorb shock – when jumping, for example. Dancers should always warm up their spine by articulating one vertebrae at a time, instead of imagining it as a single solid beam.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Secret #24j:  

“An adult spine has a natural S-shaped curve.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-9gfzRv2NA

Quote of the Day:

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

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Happy Memorial Day

Sunday Live

Sunday Live

We spend most of our time inside our own heads, since we don’t have many other choices. Consider what you hear there, in your mind: is it positive, or negative? Which is it most of the time? For most dancers and other creative people I would guess it is often negative. I’m not sure why this is, unless it is an artist’s constant pursuit of perfection. We creative sorts tend to fixate on the “what if” terrible scenarios and worry about what might happen more than we allow ourselves to dream. 

If negative thoughts outweigh the positive it is a bad thing. It will drag you down and destroy your motivation. How to stop it? Practice. There’s that word again. Focus on your dreams, and picture good things, not bad things. Practice this anytime a negative thought creeps in, and you’ll get better at it.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #16:  

“ Live more with your dreams than your fears.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2RszuyACbM

Quote of the Day:

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

 —Theodore Roosevelt

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Saturday Higher Statute

Saturday Higher Statute

One of the most daunting things about classical ballet training is the realization that what seems like a good, sufficient effort is never enough. One example is the amount of lift required to simply maintain good posture and resist gravity.

Today’s Ballet Statute talks about the amount of energy and lift required for a  step or relevé, especially when wearing pointe shoes. Beginning pointe students are always surprised at the amount of effort required for a simple piqué now that they are wearing different shoes!

The Ballet Statute that helps with this dilemma is this one: “Go higher than you think you need to go.” That’s right, mentally prepare yourself to reach higher and longer than you are used to before that piqué, or relevé. I’ve blogged before about imagining descending from the top and not coming up from the bottom.

This higher- than-you-need-to idea works whether you are wearing pointe shoes or not.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Statute #71:  

“Go higher than you think you need to go.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcSPA8n6lQ0

Quote of the Day:

“Your future is bright. Just stop hanging around people who try to dim your light and you will climb up to a higher height! Don't give up on the fight! Stand up for your right! It's within your might!”
― Israelmore Ayivor

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Fun Friday Forward Arms

Fun Friday Forward Arms

Today I present another little trick to help dance students understand how to “face the corner of their own square”. This can be a tricky concept because the angle of the body is slight, and often students turn their body too far.

Here’s the tip:  Have the student stand facing front. Then tell them to extend both arms forward, parallel to the floor. Next, tell them to lower the right arm, then, without moving the left arm, have them turn their body toward it. Since they won’t be able to turn too much because the left arm prevents it, they are now facing the correct corner of their square.

If the student still has difficulty, the teacher can stand in front of the student, facing them, holding onto the left arm as they turn slightly. This prevents the arm from moving.

Try it!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #5g:  

“The Extending the Arms Forward trick helps define corners.”

                Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:

“Ideas are easy. It's the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats.”
― Sue Grafton

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Throwback Thursday and Irina Kolpakova

Throwback Thursday and Irina Kolpakova

Born May 23, 1933, Irina Kolpakova was a Russian ballerina who graduated from the Leningrad school in 1951. This was only a few months before her teacher – the renowned Agrippina Vaganova – died.

Kolpakova was known as a lyrical ballerina with beautiful line and clean technique. She was particularly noted for her work in classics like The Sleeping Beauty, dancing as Aurora or Princes Florine; and in Giselle, Cinderella, and Nutcracker. But she could also shine in contemporary roles, one example being Coast of Hope.

In 1965 she was awarded the Gold Star at the International Festival of Dance in Paris. During the 1990s she worked at American Ballet Theater as a coach and choreographer, and today is a professor of classical dance at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg.

She is married to ballet dancer Vladilen Semenov, and they live in the famous Tolstoy House in St. Petersburg.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Dance History Factoid #109:  

“Irina Kolpakova was the last dancer trained by Agrippina Vaganova.“

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uVOkZ1G7EI

Quote of the Day:

“Vaganova told us to use all parts of our body together at the same time. Not only this movement for the leg, this movement for the arms, this movement you’re supposed to learn how to use for your head, neck. No, all together, all the time. And she was huge—in Paris they called her the Queen of the Variations. She was … amazing. And she was really smart. She combined French method with Danish. I think that’s unique. Her method was unique.”

- Irina Kolpakova

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Wacky Wednesday Blinder

Wacky Wednesday Blinder

It is said that the secret to success in life is to pay attention, and this is true. Never more so than in a dance class that requires extreme focus. But distractions are everywhere and the skill to block them out is an acquired skill, achieved with practice. No surprise here.

It helps to remind yourself to think about blinders in class. Most people today don’t know what blinders are, but a hundred years ago, everyone knew. Blinders are a piece of horse tack that prevents the horse from seeing to the side and forces the animal’s focus toward the front (see above photo). Quite simply, it eliminates distractions for the horse.

Imagine wearing mental blinders: blot out everything except that which is important to focus on in each moment.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #22z:  

“Take class with mental blinders on.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7p_Dlvymuo

Quote of the Day:

“Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror.” 
― Colin Powell

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Technical Tuesday Metacarpals and Metatarsals

Technical Tuesday Metacarpals and Metatarsals

Nothing is more confusing than two words that sound similar. A prime example is the difference between metacarpal and metatarsal. Especially in a large, echo-prone dance studio, it is easy to hear the word incorrectly.

Generally, dance teachers discuss the metatarsals more frequently because they are part of a critical area involved in stretching (pointing) the feet. I don’t hear the metacarpals discussed very often, but dancers should know the difference to prevent confusion.

The important thing to remember is that the metacarpals are in the hands, the metatarsals in the feet.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Anatomical Secret #25g:  

“Metacarpals are in the hands, metatarsals are in the feet.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-rSNJ8IiKM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5tjsd8OprE

Quote of the Day:

“If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.”
― Tom Peters, Thriving on Chaos: Handbook for a Management Revolution

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Marvelous Monday Overhead

Marvelous Monday Overhead

The exact position of the arms and hands in fifth en haut, or high fifth, can be different depending on the teacher and/or school of training. Most things in classical ballet are absolute, but there are differences, and this is one of them.

There are two correct places for the hands in fifth en haut. One is to place them directing over the top of the head, and the other brings the arms forward slightly so the hands are over the hairline. I teach the hairline alignment because I find that students tend to arch their backs when they put their hands directly over the top of their head.

Even with the arms a bit more forward, the trick is to elongate the beautiful oval of the arms without allowing the back to arch. There is a two-way energy at work here (no surprise). As the arms lengthen upward, the abdominal muscles pull inward and upward, and the back elongates downward against the upward pull of the arms. Of course, the shoulders must stay in place (down) as well.

Isn’t ballet fun?!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Secret #6oo:  

“The hands in fifth en haut are either over the hairline or the top of the head.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj5gbyZw1q0

Quote of the Day:

“Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others...for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received and am still receiving.”
― Albert Einstein, Living Philosophies

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Sunday I Times Three

Sunday I Times Three

Remaining positive in life is often difficult. Things happen. Or they don’t happen. It is all too easy to get tangled up in the nasty, noisy negatives. But wait! There is another option.

To stay positive remember the three “I”s : See the Invisible, feel the Intangible, and achieve the Impossible (or close to it). In other words, have a vision of what you want, tune in to how it makes you feel, then act. 

Doing is more positive than not doing. Work on those pirouettes, don’t lean against the barre and watch (enviously) as other dancers do them.  Act on your vision. Achieving the impossible is only possible if you act, and the I times three will help you act with a positive attitude.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #115:  

“ Remember the letter I times three.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.facebook.com/EnglishNationalBallet/videos/10153700528236028/

Quote of the Day:

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

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Saturday Statute Let Go

Saturday Statute Let Go

When dancers are at the barre, they usually feel secure. That long wooden or metal railing keeps them from falling, or from feeling off balance. This is a good thing – up to a point. Unfortunately, there are “barre dancers”, those who develop such a warm and fuzzy feeling about having the barre they are insecure in the center.

One way to prevent this is to let go of the barre regularly to test one’s balance. And, when practicing a balance (as in retiré), let go immediately instead of waiting to tweak everything. Waiting just fatigues the supporting leg, and keeps the dancer in denial about how effective their alignment is.

Today’s Ballet Statute says it clearly: Let go and know. I remind my students that dance class is a learning experience, and not a demonstration of perfection, so let go of the barre and know if the balance is correct or not. If it is – wonderful!  If not, try again and this time fall in the opposite direction. This will gradually train the body to target immediately target the position’s sweet spot.

Let go and know!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Statute #22s:  

“Let go and know.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OumUDSijlY

Quote of the Day:

“Suspecting and knowing are not the same.”
― Rick Riordan

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Fun Friday Basement

Fun Friday Basement

Grand pliés can be problematic. Unlike their near cousins, demi- pliés, grand pliés have a basement. That’s right. The bottom of a grand plié is the basement of the step, and basements tend to be dark, damp, and not a place people want to linger.

This idea is related to Ballet Secret #2n: “ A plié is continuous, it never stops”; and Ballet Secret #2b: “A plié is a movement, not a position”; but takes it a step further (no pun intended). Imagining a dank, dark basement provides the motivation to leave and not linger.

And motivation is always welcome!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Secret #2y:  

“Never linger in the basement of a grand plié.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7LhjYjIyUE&list=PLOT5gAFrejFKE4zOzJMbUZZ13rpEIOTbU

Quote of the Day:

“Success is like a high-rise building. I'm on the first floor.
There are a lot of people in the basement or the parking
lot but I was lucky enough to have made it to the first
floor and I'm looking to make it to the penthouse.
- Justin Guarini

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