2 3 Technical Tuesday Dinosaur | Ballet Webb

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Technical Tuesday Dinosaur


Technical Tuesday Dinosaur

When dancers first learn how to correctly hold their arms in first position (fifth en avant), they are often told to imagine holding a giant beach ball.  I use this image myself, but in addition to it I add another one.

Unless the dancer is performing a turn, the actual shape of the arms in this position isn’t perfecty round, like a beach ball.  It is more oblong, since the gentle, curved shape of the arms in ballet is an elongated one.  Therefore when the arms are in fifth en avant, the shape is not a circle, but an oval.  (The exception is during turning movements when the arms may cross over one another making a rounder shape.)

To achieve the correct oval shape, imagine holding a dinosaur egg.  It must be held firmly enough to prevent dropping the large egg, but not so hard that the shell becomes cracked or broken.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #6y:  
Imagine holding a dinosaur egg.

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