2 3 Ballet Webb: August 2017

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Throwback Thursday and Lydia Sokolova


Throwback Thursday and Lydia Sokolova

I seem to be starting a series on dancers who changed their names. Today it is Lydia Sokolova, an English ballet dancer, whose real name was Hilda Tansley Munnings. She was born in 1896.

Her career began in 1910 in London, at the Savoy Theatre – she would have been fourteen years old. She soon joined Mikhail Mordkin’s company for a tour of the U.S. and then the Koslov company for a tour of Europe. In 1913, at the age of 17, she joined Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes – becoming the company’s first English ballerina. Her most famous role was that of the Chosen Maiden in Massine’s reworking of The Rite of Spring.

After the Ballet Russes, Sokolova returned to England where she taught, coached, choreographed and even performed. Her last appearance onstage was in 1962 in the Covent Garden Royal Ballet performance of Massine's The Good-humoured Ladies.

Lydia Sokolova wrote her autobiography called Dancing for Diaghilev (1960).

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Dance History Factoid #181:
“Lydia Sokolova's most famous role was that of the Chosen Maiden in Léonide Massine's reworking of The Rite of Spring.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
"He [Diaghilev] knew there was going to be trouble…"
-         Lydia Sokolova (about the performance of Rite of Spring that caused a riot)

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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Wacky Wednesday Carbonation


Wacky Wednesday Carbonation

Yes! Here we go again with yet another image for posture and alignment.

Imagine your torso as a bottle – like a vintage Coke bottle – with the cap sitting on your head, and the bottom of the bottle at your pelvis. This bottle has just been taken from the refrigerator and is cool and inviting. Now picture all those bubbles of carbonation rising up through your spine, lengthening and energizing it.

But wait, there’s more! Now imagine beads of condensation on the bottle dripping down from your neck to your shoulders, relaxing them totally.

There you have it – improved posture - all from a vintage bottle of soda.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #1fff:
“Imagine your torso as a carbonated beverage.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.”
Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

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Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Technical Tuesday Funny Bone


Technical Tuesday Funny Bone

The “funny bone” isn’t a bone at all. Nor is it funny, as you know if you’ve ever hit your elbow on something.

The funny bone usually refers to the area of the olecranon, at the upper end of the ulna (one of the two bones in the forearm). On the inside of this is a small protuberance,  the medial epicondyle of the humerus (upper arm bone). All this makes it sound like the funny bone is a bone, but it isn’t.

The ulnar nerve runs in a groove (called the cubital tunnel) on the back of the epicondyle, and it lies near the surface. That’s why it hurts so much when you hit your funny bone. So actually, the funny bone is a nerve, not a bone, although it is close to several bones. Confused yet?

If the ulnar nerve gets obstructed or constricted (from sleeping with a bent arm, for example), a condition called cubital tunnel syndrome results. The sensation of pain and tingling is the same as hitting the funny bone, but it lasts longer. Scary.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Anatomical Secret #26z:
“The funny bone isn’t a bone.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Whoever came up with the term “Funny Bone” must have been a masochist, because hitting it is not funny at all…”
Gary Hopkins

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Monday, August 28, 2017

Mad Monday Hot Air Balloon


Mad Monday Hot Air Balloon

Here is a new way to think about alignment that will have you soaring.

Picture a colorful hot air balloon. Now imagine that your pelvis is the basket underneath (where people ride). The ropes that connect the basket to the actual balloon are your abdominal muscles, and your ribs and your head make up the balloon itself.

Now imagine the balloon lifting off the ground, with the balloon pulling upward while your feet extend downward with the pull of gravity.

Yes – it’s that two-way energy thing again!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #1eee:
“Imagine your body as a hot air balloon.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Her mind was like a balloon with static cling, attracting random ideas as they floated by.”
Jonathan Franzen, Purity

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Sunday, August 27, 2017

Sunday Out the Door


Sunday Out the Door

Today I present a Dutch proverb: “He who is out the door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.”

What does this mean? I think it means that if you can get just started on something – whatever it is – you have taken the hardest step toward reaching your goal. After all, if you don’t start, nothing will ever happen.

Starting every day is difficult because of the chattering human mind that tends to say lots of negative things, or present lots of bad “what ifs”. This proverb tells you to ignore the chattering and begin.

Get out the door!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Motivational Secret #180:
“He who is out the door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“The secret to getting ahead is getting started.”
Mark Twain

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Saturday, August 26, 2017

Saturday Hang of It Statute


Saturday Hang of It Statute

This Ballet Statute is mostly for beginning ballet dancers. When these students first come into a ballet studio, the barres provide a source of fascination. Especially for young dancers, the temptation to treat the barres as a piece of gymnastics equipment is overwhelming.

One of the first rules these new dancers learn is Ballet Statute #89: There is no hanging on the barre in ballet class. Ballet barres are not designed to support the full weight of human being, nor are they designed for gymnastic tricks. They are there more as a balancing aid.

That being said, there are exercises where dancers might pull against the barre or something similar, but generally there should be no hanging on the barre.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Ballet Statute #89:
There is no hanging on the barre in ballet class.

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
Leonardo da Vinci

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Friday, August 25, 2017

Freaky Friday Gecko


Freaky Friday Gecko

When the whole foot is on the floor, you will remember that the body’s weight is two-thirds over the toes, and one third over the heel. This is the famous “tri-pod of support”.

Another way to think about this is to imagine your toes lengthening along the floor like gecko toes (see above photo or think of the Geico Insurance gecko). This helps keep the body’s weight in the right place, and also prevents clenching (there is no clenching in ballet). It also allows for a feeling of energy out through the toes.

All these benefits simply by imagining gecko toes!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #7lll:
Imagine your toes lengthening along the floor like gecko toes.

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“He viewed us, as we passed him by,
With calm and yet with questioning eye,
But moveless still, as though the stone
Were portion of his being's own.”
Edward Robeson Taylor

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Thursday, August 24, 2017

Throwback Thursday and Hilda Butsova


Throwback Thursday and Hilda Butsova

Another dancer who changed her name to a Russian-sounding one was Hilda Boot who became Hilda Butsova. She was born on July 11, 1896 in Nottingham England.

Age the tender age of 13 she was already performing with Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes in London. She then joined Anna Pavlova’s company, often serving as Pavlova’s understudy. It was at Pavlova’s suggestion that she changed her name. With this company she danced principal roles from 1911 to 1929.

In 1925 she married Harry Mills, the manager of the Pavlova company. They had a son, Alan R. Mills.In 1930 they relocated to the United States, and she toured with Mikhail Mordkin’s company and appeared at the Capitol Theater in New York City.

By the mid-1930s she retired to teach and soon became known as a great teacher of Russian classical ballet.

She died on March 21, 1976 of a heart attack while staying with relatives in Scarsdale, NY.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Dance History Factoid #180:
“Hilda Butsova often served as Pavlova’s understudy.

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“If a man is to shed the light of the sun upon other men, he must first of all have it within himself.”
Romain Rolland

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Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Wild Wednesday Sailing


Wild Wednesday Sailing

Here we go again with yet another postural image! Can there ever be enough?

A common postural problem is an overly curved spine. This causes the pelvis to tilt, and you will remember that there is no tipping, tilting or tucking of the pelvis allowed.

To solve this dilemma, imagine the back of the rib cage as sails on a ship. These sails blossom in the wind and provide the proper support for the back.

Sail on!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #1ddd:
“Imagine the back of your rib cage being like sails on a ship.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“To reach a port we must set sail –
Sail, not tie at anchor
Sail, not drift.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Technical Tuesday Sleeping Smell


Technical Tuesday Sleeping Smell

This title doesn’t mean how your body smells (good or bad). This is about your sense of smell. Not how you smell. Whew.

During REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep the body’s olfactory sensory organs shut down. Therefore any scents that would normally cause a reaction – like smoke  -won’t do so during sleep. Now you know why smoke alarms are so important!

Interestingly, you can dream that you smell something, but it doesn’t involve your nose, it involves your brain. Still think the smell of cinnamon rolls in the oven woke you up? Nope, you were already at least semi-awake, and then the nose woke up and alerted you to a tasty breakfast treat.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Anatomical Secret #26y:
“You can’t smell while sleeping.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived. The odors of fruits waft me to my southern home, to my childhood frolics in the peach orchard. Other odors, instantaneous and fleeting, cause my heart to dilate joyously or contract with remembered grief. Even as I think of smells, my nose is full of scents that start awake sweet memories of summers gone and ripening fields far away.”
Helen Keller

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Monday, August 21, 2017

Mad Monday Marble Head


Mad Monday Marble Head

I’ve talked before about the body’s central axis (center pole) and how it changes depending on what position a dancer is in. Here is another image for improving the security and placement of one’s central axis.

Imagine a marble on the top (center) of your head. Now move into a position on one leg, like retiré, and picture the marble dropping down by gravity through the body and exiting through the floor via the supporting foot.

Gravity will cause any falling object to go down in a direct straight line, so the image of a marble falling through the body will help establish good placement along your central axis.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #1ccc:
“Imagine a marble on the top of your head dropping down through your body.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Gravity is not a trivial monster.”
Frank Cottrell Boyce, Cosmic

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