2 3 Ballet Webb: January 2018

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Technical Tuesday Hiccups



Technical Tuesday Hiccups

Hiccups. Now there’s an interesting thing that happens to a human body. I’m sure most of you have encountered them, probably during some inopportune time, like sitting in a quiet classroom.

The word “hiccup” is believed to come from the word hickop or hicket – words that simply imitated the sound made when the diaphragm convulsed. In Old English, the word was ælfsogoða because hiccups were thought to be caused by elves.

A hiccup is, simply speaking, an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm (the muscle that separates your chest from your abdomen). Each spasm, or contraction is followed by a sudden closing of your vocal chords. That’s what produces the characteristic sound.

But pity poor Mr. Osborne! Charles Osborne (born in 1894) had the hiccups for 68 years, from 1922 until June 5, 1990. He died in 1991. His doctors believe his hiccups were caused by a damaged blood vessel in his brain, in the area that normally prevents the hiccup response. Why his hiccups finally stopped - not long before his death -  is a mystery.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #28rr:
“A man named Charles Osborne hiccupped for a total of 68 years.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“I think hiccup cures were really invented for the amusement of the patient's friends.”
Bill Watterson, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

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Monday, January 29, 2018

Mad Monday Morph


Mad Monday Morph

I’ve talked about this concept before: Ballet Secret #7v: “Movement patterns should appear seamless”. And the more a dancer advances, the more important this becomes.

The audience should never know where one step ends and another begins, and it needs to be beyond seamless. Each step needs to morph into the next, making two parts into one, not only blurring the line between steps but eliminating the line (transition) altogether.

How is this achieved? By remembering Ballet Secret #7h: “Always think one step ahead”, and  - no surprise here - practice, practice, practice.


From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #22ccc:
“One step morphs into the next.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.”
- Kurt Vonnegut.

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Sunday, January 28, 2018

Sunday G & A



Sunday G & A

As the above quote states, guilt and anxiety are two things that would be helpful to remove from your life as much as you can. I think we all struggle with this concept.
Guilt about the past, sometimes way way past, and fear of the future. I’ve done other blogs about fear.

The more you can remove G & A, the better you will feel. The more we surrender to those things we cannot change – most of them involving some kind of guilt or fear – the more relaxed and calm we will be.

And achievement comes best when tension, anger, anxiety and fear subside.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Motivational Secret #122:
“Leave guilt and anxiety behind.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
 “There's no problem so awful, that you can't add some guilt to it and make it even worse.”
Bill Watterson, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

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Saturday, January 27, 2018

Saturday Warm-Up Saying



Saturday Warm-Up Saying

Well, the above meme says it all: What is difficult today will someday be just your warm-up. This is true and you have undoubtedly discovered it yourself if you’ve been dancing any length of time at all.

The problem is, dancers tend to forget how far they’ve come. They are a forward-looking bunch, which isn’t a bad thing, but without taking a moment to reflect on the journey and the accomplishments, it’s easy to get frustrated.

So today, look back and remember. Remember when simply standing correctly was a new concept. Remember?

I’m sure you do.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Statute #109:
“What is difficult today will someday be just your warm-up.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.”
Nikola Tesla

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Friday, January 26, 2018

Fun Friday Belly Button Star



Fun Friday Belly Button Star

Here we go again with another belly button image. Today, imagine that your belly button is a star. A beautiful, radiant, sparkling star dancing in the heavens.

Now, to assist in controlling those pesky abdominal muscles, imagine that lovely star being sucked into a black hole. Sigh. Deeper and deeper into it until the star disappears completely. Heavy sigh.

This image is particularly useful for turning movements, where control of the abdominals is so critical for success. Star pirouettes! Star piqués!

You get the idea.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #1pp:
“Imagine your belly button as a star.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.”
― Carl SaganCosmos

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Thursday, January 25, 2018

Throwback Thursday and the Prices


Throwback Thursday and the Prices

The Price family of Denmark was a famous dynasty of dancers. It began with James Price who was born in London in 1761. He was a circus performer and pantomime artist who settled in Copenhagen.

The most famous family member was his granddaughter, Juliette Price, a favorite pupil of Bournonville. She created the role of Rosa in Flower Festival at Genzano. Her brother Valdemar Price was also a leading dancer in the Royal Theater, Copenhagan.

The dynasty continued with Ellen Price, and grand-niece of Juliette and Valdenar. She created the role of the Little Mermaid in the ballet and was the model for the famous statue in Langelinie.

Other dancing family members were: Sophie, Juliette’s sister; cousins Amalie and Carl, and another cousin Julius who performed at the Vienna Opera and later became court ballet master at the conservatory.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #198:
“ The Price family of Denmark was a famous dynasty of dancers.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Happiness [is] only real when shared”
Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

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Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Wacky Wednesday Hands Behind Head


Wacky Wednesday Hands Behind Head

Dancers often use their arms aggressively when jumping, to provide impetus. Although the arms assist in making a jump smooth and effortless, they shouldn’t provide the push. And often, dancers aren’t even aware that they are using the arms to do this.

To demonstrate, have students place their hands behind their head during the first jump combination in the center. Tell them to make sure they don’t arch their back, but otherwise jump as usual. It is always a wake-up call. It is much harder for them to jump, but it requires that they really use their rebound and their plié.

After the demonstration, the students go back to jumping with a normal port de bras, using it to assist, but not create the jump.


From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #15hhh:
“Put your hands behind your head during the first jumps in the center.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter. The one of us who finds the strength to get up first, must help the other.”
Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

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Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Technical Tuesday Brain


Technical Tuesday Brain

It is often said that the brain is the computer of the body. And this isn’t far from the truth. The brain stores about 1,000 terabytes, and that equates to watching about three million hours of video. You’d be in front of a screen constantly for 300 years to do that. Scary thought.

The brain weights about 3 pounds, and is about 73% water. That’s just one reason why it is so important for dancers (and other humans) to stay hydrated. Just a 2% drop in hydration will affect your attention, memory and other cognitive functions. Not a good state to be in especially when learning choreography!

Here is an amazing fact from https://bebrainfit.com/human-brain-facts/ to put your brain around: “A piece of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand contains 100,000 neurons and 1 billion synapses, all communicating with each other.” Wow!

There are many, many more fascinating facts about the brain out there, but to finish this post, here is a myth debunked: We don’t just use a small percentage of our brain. In fact, brain scans show we use most of our brain, most of the time – even when we are sleeping! https://hub.jhu.edu/2014/07/24/busting-a-brain-myth/ and


From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #27rr:
“ Your brain is like the body’s computer.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
Biology gives you a brain. Life turns it into a mind.”
Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex

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Monday, January 22, 2018

Marvelous Monday Extend and Follow


Marvelous Monday Extend and Follow

As dancers and teachers, we spent a lot of time on the legs and feet, and probably not as much time on the arms. Sigh. Arms are critically important in everything, but especially so in turning movements.

In piqué turns, for example, there is a tendency for dancers to throw the leading arm out, sometimes with enough force to unbalance the turn. Scary. Or, the arm goes too far back and out of the control zone (see previous blogs). Not good, either.

The leading arm in a piqué turn either stays in front, or extends outward to second (never out of the control zone). No throwing is allowed. The other arm follows, coming in to meet the leading arm during each turn, maintaining a lovely fifth en avant (first) position of the arms. The arms work the same way for almost all traveling turns.

Therefore, the rule for arms in piqué turns is: Extend and follow.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #14mm:
“Extend and follow: rules for arms in piqué turns.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Compete with yourself; you have no knowledge about the degree of gifting others might have. Don't decide to slow down because you have gone too far and everyone is behind you!”
Israelmore Ayivor, Daily Drive 365

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Sunday, January 21, 2018

Sunday Regrets and Lessons


Sunday Regrets and Lessons

It is easy to let regrets consume our thoughts. Regrets about the past, about something we said, or something we did. But regrets can be a good thing. That’s right. They teach us.

As the quote above says, “There are no regrets in life, only lessons”. If you start looking at your regrets that way, they become powerful teachers. You learn what not to do, and that’s just as important as learning what to do.

You can’t change the past, but you can transform it into something you can use to make the future better.


From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #121:
“Turn your regrets into lessons.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Don’t waste your time in anger, regrets, worries, and grudges. Life is too short to be unhappy.”
Roy T. Bennett

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