Technical
Tuesday Spine
Dancers are
often admonished “Don’t arch your back” or something similar. This is a common
problem but one that needs to be addressed by directives like “use your stomach
muscles”, or “lengthen from the top of the head”. This is because there is, and
must be, a slight natural curve in the spine. You can see that in the above
photo. Dancers need to understand that they are not attempting to create a
perfectly flat, vertical back.
The spine is
also known as the vertebral column, and is made up of 24 separate vertebrae.
The spine is important: it supports the upper body’s weight and allows movement
and flexibility. Plus, it protects the all-important spinal cord.
The spine is
divided into several different sections, including the cervical spine (7), the thoracic
spine (8) and the lumbar spine (9).
The cervical
vertebrae can be particularly vulnerable to injury, which is why Ballet Statute #84 states: “There are no Pez heads in ballet”. See
previous post: http://balletwebb.blogspot.com/search?q=Pez.
From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #25s:
“The spine is made up of several different
sections.”
Link of the Day:
Quote of the Day:
“I know I
can depend on books in times of trouble because they have a spine and two
wings”
― Ayse Aslihan Koksoy
― Ayse Aslihan Koksoy
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