Ballet Webb: March 2018

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Saturday Standard Silly

In the course of every ballet class, there are statements, comments and directives that dancers understand completely, but that leave the average person scratching their head.

For example: “Don’t pull off your leg”. Think about it. As one of my adults students replied with a grimace as he stretched: “That’s just what it feels like I’m doing…”

Here’s one: “Get your eyes off the floor.” Hmmm. I don’t really want to think about that. Is that what the cat in the picture above is trying to accomplish?

And another: “Get out of the mirror.” Alice Through the Looking Glass, anyone?

And yet another: “Stretch your bottom leg.” Most people would say that they are both on the bottom, but dancers – well – are different.

There are many others you can probably think of…

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #188:

“There are many silly sayings that only dancers understand.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P314XK-6Dh4

Quote of the Day:

“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
― Lewis Carroll

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https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

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Wishing everyone a wonderful, happy day. Enjoy!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Friday, March 30, 2018

Freaky Friday Basket Weaving

As you can see in the above photo, the muscles of the torso are complex and interwoven. This image can be helpful when trying to keep the abdominal muscles engaged and strong.

Picture a woven basket, and how the weaving of the fibers transforms them from loose and bendable into to a solid, strong object. Their interrelationships creates the integrity of the basket. Now, think about how your muscles are designed in a similar way, and remember to “suck them in” and lift them up to create a strong center.

Basket weaving for dancers!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #22k:

“Imagine the muscles of the abdomen woven like a basket.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekr-DijTE0c

Quote of the Day:

“Writing fiction is the act of weaving a series of lies to arrive at a greater truth.”
― Khaled Hosseini

Help expand the knowledge base!

Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Thursday, March 29, 2018

Throwback Thursday and Maximiliano Zomosa

Maximiliano “Max” Zomosa was a medical student at the National University of Chile when he attended his first ballet performance. It was “The Green Table” by Kurt Jooss, and the character called Death fascinated him. He gave up medicine and set out to learn to dance and ultimately perform the role.

He made his debut in 1959 with the Chiliean National Ballet and only three years later achieved the rank of soloist – dancing the role he dreamed of, the role of Death. He went to New York, studied with the Joffrey Ballet and soon joined the company where he performed the role of Death many times. You might say it became his signature role.

In January 1969, at the young age of 31, Zomosa's body was found in his car, a stab wound through his heart. The medical examiner said "It is possible that this is a case of suicide, but no ruling has been made. It is under thorough investigation by the police."

Zomosa was survived by his wife and two children.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #:

“Maximiliano Zomosa was a medical student who became a dancer with the Joffrey Ballet.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5Uqe9K4zsY&t=18s

Quote of the Day:

“From even the greatest of horrors irony is seldom absent.”
― H.P. Lovecraft, Tales of H.P. Lovecraft

Help expand the knowledge base!

Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Wacky Wednesday Bucket

Generally, the goal in jumps is to get high in the air. There are exceptions, notably terre a terre jumps, but mostly, height and suspension are the goals.

To achieve this, imagine jumping inside a giant bucket. You must jump high enough to see over the rim, and not just high enough to get the top of your head even with the rim. You should aim to get your whole face above it. Now, you should stay there long enough to enjoy the view.

The bucket is so huge that the rim is well over your head, requiring a good thrust upward to see over the edge.

Put this on your bucket list!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #15kkk:

“Imagine jumping inside a bucket”.

Link of the Day:

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

Quote of the Day:

“To improve oneself you must be as persistent as the drip, drip, drip of water filling a bucket. Do a little bit, every day.”
― Jeffrey Fry

Help expand the knowledge base!

Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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For interesting articles involving mental health:

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Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Technical Tuesday Muscle Memory

We’ve all heard of “muscle memory” and dancers experience it firsthand every day. But what is it, really? Do muscles actually remember?

It all starts in the muscle cells themselves. They are one of the few multinuclear cells in our body. That is, they contain more than one nucleus. As you perform repetitive movements, new nuclei are added http://www.pnas.org/content/107/34/15111.

Once upon a time it was believed that if one took time off,these extra nuclei were lost, but now science has found that isn’t quite true. These new nuclei remain for at least three months, and maybe…just maybe, they aren’t lost for good, because training causes permanent changes in the muscle fibers. Hmmm.

So later, when a dancer returns to full training, the muscles tone more quickly because the initial step of adding nuclei can be skipped. That’s why it is easier to “get back into it” than to start in the first place. The muscles, in a sense, do remember.

There’s also a brain-body factor to muscle memory, but that’s a subject for another day.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #27zz:

“Muscle memory is real and scientifically based.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRmOERq7vQQ

Quote of the Day:

Knowledge is only a rumor until it is in the muscle.”
― Papua New Guinea Proverb

Help expand the knowledge base!

Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Monday, March 26, 2018

Mad Monday Cradle

When the arms are in first (fifth en avant), they must be strong (but not rigid) with the elbows lifted (there’s no drooping in ballet). If the elbows are permitted to relax, it appears as though a baby or a bouquet is being held.

No cradling in first! Reserve cradling for that huge, lovely bouquet you’ll receive while taking a bow at the end of the performance. Never allow “cradling” during the performance.

It all goes back to the image of holding a fully inflated beach ball, and the fact that in first the elbows are always higher than the wrists.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #6fff:

“The arms in first shouldn’t look like you are cradling something.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEi2Bof88fw

Quote of the Day:

“How complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle

Help expand the knowledge base!

Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Sunday, March 25, 2018

Sunday Borrower

My grandmother always advised: “Don’t borrow trouble”. She meant don’t worry about things that haven’t happened and probably won’t happen. This simply robs the present moment of its happiness.

But worry is a terribly difficult thing to shake. It has its place, by making you plan for possibilities, but it has a nasty habit of taking over your life. The word itself can be a noun: “a state of anxiety and uncertainty over actual or potential problems”; or a verb: give way to anxiety or unease; allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles”.

Today’s Link of the Day is an article describing many different ways to reduce worrying. Try them and see which ones work best for you.

Now, go out (or stay in) and enjoy this early spring day.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #129:

“Worry is borrowing trouble.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.positivityblog.com/stop-worrying/

Quote of the Day:

“Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.”
– Arthur Somers Roche

Help expand the knowledge base!

Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

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Saturday, March 24, 2018

Saturday Plot

I’ve often heard people say that they don’t like ballet because the plots are silly or simplistic. Okay, everyone has a right to their opinion. But this rather misses the point – it’s about the dancing. To paraphrase today’s quote by W.H. Auden, no good ballet plot is sensible because it’s about the dancing, and how many times in real life does one actually break into a piece of intricate choreography?

It’s like the complaints about Broadway musicals: why does everyone suddenly burst into song? Because that’s what it’s all about – expressing emotion through means not available in real life: song and dance.

I love it. I love people breaking into song onstage, and spectacular, over-the-top pieces of choreography. Wow. It’s inspirational and uplifting. But, that’s just one person’s opinion.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #117:

“No good ballet plot is sensible.“

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB2yiIoEtXw&list=PLLWP5CGhNz0BY-LeFESfpOkaXIIT3mrmE

Quote of the Day:

“No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible.”

- W. H. Auden

Help expand the knowledge base!

Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://www.balletconnections.com/?s=debrawebbrogers

Or "Like" me on my Facebook Author Page:

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For interesting articles involving mental health:

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Friday, March 23, 2018

Fun Friday Hallway

A common problem with grand jeté en tournant is “butterflying” the legs outward. Instead, the legs must scissor in the air and not go flying about to the side.

A good way to feel the correct pattern is to actually practice this jump in a hallway. (Note: if the floor is concrete, don’t actually jump, but practice the movement pattern.)

Doing this allows dancers to feel immediately if they are not following a straight scissor path during the exchange of legs – because their legs will crash, or come close to crashing into the wall!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #15jjj:

“Practice grand jetés en tournant in a hallway.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt15E1mlh2s

Quote of the Day:

“The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity.”
― George Carlin

Help expand the knowledge base!

Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

My latest books are coloring books! They are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Tree-Coloring-Debra-Rogers/dp/0980191947/

https://www.amazon.com/Frames-Borders-Backgrounds-Color-Rogers/dp/0980191955/