Saturday Green

Saturday Green

The color blue is said to be unlucky in the theater, presumably because in the past blue dye was expensive. But the color green is also viewed as being unlucky, probably because early performances were given outdoors and wearing green made the actor/dancer fade into the background.

All this brings me to something most dancers are familiar with: the Green Room. This is a small area located near the stage where performers gather prior to their entrances. Why is it called the Green Room? I always heard it came from the skin color of nervous performers – they turned a bit green with nausea and anxiety. But the origins of the term are mysterious. To find out all the many details, visit this site: http://mentalfloss.com/article/78763/why-room-where-talent-waits-called-green-room, or this one: http://www.theatrecrafts.com/pages/home/glossary-of-technical-theatre-terms/more-about-the-green-room/.

I have also heard that Green Rooms should never be painted green.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Superstition #128:

“The green room should never be painted green.”

Link of the Day:

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

Quote of the Day:

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
― Corrie ten Boom

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Fun Friday Ice Cream

Fun Friday Ice Cream

During the hot days of summer, I love a big scoop of ice cream. Yum! So today’s idea involves that delicious treat.

Pas de cheval is a common step, and a very essential one. It trains the body to pick the foot up off the floor so it is fully pointed, it utilizes the turn out as the foot extends, and it prepares the body for the multitude of times the foot moves this way before going into another step. It is, quite possibly, one of the most useful steps in ballet.

The problems usually occur either when the foot comes off the floor (it doesn’t fully stretch), and/or as the foot moves outward and the stretch is lost or never achieved (floppy foot). Scary.

Instead, on every pas de cheval think of scooping the ice cream (as the foot comes up), then serving the ice cream as the foot extends, (beautifully presenting the heel forward).

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #4x:

“During a pas de cheval think:  scoop the ice cream, serve the ice cream.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldIVnGW5tM8

Quote of the Day:

“Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.”
― Don Kardong

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Throwback Thursday and Teenie Sherpetosky Powers

Throwback Thursday and Teenie Sherpetosky Powers

Born in Lithuania on May 7, 1894 to Stephen and Barbara Sherpetosky, Antoinette went on to become a professional ballet dancer. Her parents moved to Chicago sometime soon after her birth and census records show her living there in 1910.

At age 21 she married James Peters and they lived in Chicago for many years. Here Antoinette developed her skills as a ballet dancer. She trained in the Pavley-Oukrainsky School of Dance, an off-shoot of the Chicago Ballet. She went on to dance with the Imperial Ballet of Moscow.

In 1963, the couple was visiting Chicago and there was a tragic car accident in which Antoinette lost her life. She is bured in a private mausoleum in Woodland Cemetery in Ironton, Ohio. But witnesses say she is still dancing. Rumor has it that on nights when the moon is full, at midnight, she can be seen dancing around her grave.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Dance History Factoid #138:

“Does ballerina Antoinette “Teenie” Peters haunt the Woodland Cemetery in Ironnton, Ohio?”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEvg7KW9MsU

Quote of the Day:

“Let your heart shine even more than your face. The beautiful contents of your heart can never be forgotten, but your face will be a history.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson

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Wacky Wednesday Allongé

Wacky Wednesday Allongé

Yet another lovely pose in ballet is the arabesque allongé. Allongé (a-lawn-ZHAY) means extended, outstretched, and – no surprise here – elongated. It is often used with arabesque, but can refer to anything being elongated.

In a traditional allongé arabesque (often seen in Swan Lake, see Link of the Day), the head looks downward, with the ear meeting the front arm, and working leg in arabesque extends backward with energy equal to that in this arm. The back, instead of being as curved as in a standard arabesque, elongates and flattens.

To achieve this position, imagine an elongated quarter moon resting on its back with light emanating from each end.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #18p:

“Allongé means elongated.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNSl1Dowqo4

Quote of the Day:

“Practice makes comfort. Expand your experiences regularly
so every stretch won’t feel like your first.”
― Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

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Technical Tuesday Vomeronasal

Technical Tuesday Vomeronasal

Along with the appendix and the tailbone is another anatomical odditiy that appears to serve no purpose whatsoever – that we know of. It the Vomeronasal Organ, and, not surprisingly, it’s located in the nose.

It is believed that in our ancient past, this organ detected subtle airborne scents of the pheromones of the opposite sex. Whatever it did do exactly, it apparently doesn’t do anymore, especially since there are no nerves connecting it to the brain.

In other species, this is called the Jacobson’s Organ and scientists still argue about whether the human vomeronasal organ orperates the same way.

It is yet another mystery of the human body!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Anatomical Secret #27jjj:

“The Vomeronasal Organ serves no purpose that we know about today.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwHn571X47U

Quote of the Day:

“Well, in this world of basic stereotyping, give a guy a big nose and some weird hair and he is capable of anything.”
― Frank Zappa

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Mad Monday Rails

Mad Monday Rails

I often tell my students that “wherever the pelvis goes, you will go”. A prime example of this is the simple act of sitting down. What goes first? The pelvis.

It’s the same in dance. Where the pelvis goes is important, and it determines the smoothness (or lack thereof) of the whole combination of movements being performed. It can also determine whether a dancers falls or remains upright!

Imagine the pelvis gliding along on smooth, highly polished tracks. This helps focus the attention on the pelvis (and whether the alignment is the right spot, or not), and also promotes a good flow of movement. These tracks can be straight, curved, or move up and down like a roller coaster’s tracks.

Pelvis tracks!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #21oo:

“Imagine the pelvis gliding along smooth rail tracks.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UjgI8hEK_c

Quote of the Day:

“In this delicate and unpredictable life, the future is unwritten. Do not take someone for granted today, for once tomorrow dawns upon the indigo night the only remaining trace will be tracks in the sand...”
― Virginia Alison

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Sunday Limits

Sunday Limits

I always love quotes that use a reverse turn of phrase. Today’s idea is an example.

It is pretty self explanatory, and dancers are certainly familiar with challenges – on a daily basis.

I like to think that for dancers challenging your limits means embracing them. Welcome them and think positively as you work your way through them. Add that extra pirouette, even if you fall down trying. Push a little extra to add a quarter inch to your extension. You get it.

Don’t limit your challenges by what you think you can or can’t do. Embrace the challenge. Enjoy the process.

Happy Sunday!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Motivational Secret #137:

“Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Q3OLE491U

Quote of the Day:

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

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Saturday Personal Rituals

Saturday Personal Rituals

Last night I saw the movie Red Sparrow (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2873282/).

The leading character, played by Jennifer Lawrence, is a Russian ballet dancer. One of the early scenes shows her preparing to make her entrance onto the stage, but just before she does so, she crosses herself and brieflly goes through a set of movements that I recognized as a common practice many dancers do right before an entrance. (See the Link of the Day below at 4:10).

Other than crossing themselves - something everyone is familiar with - other rituals are as individual as the dancer. Some dancers spit over their shoulder, knock softly on the floor, or make some other, ritualistic small movements. All of this is designed to ensure a good performance.

Sometimes it involves not what a dancer does, but what items he or she has in the wings. This might be a lucky sweater, a pair of leg warmers, or some other talisman that is believed to bring good luck.

Do you have any rituals or items you depend on right before you step out onto the stage?

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #127:

“Many dancers perform small, personal rituals right before stepping onstage.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKTL5AxA9s4

Quote of the Day:

“The quality of your life is in direct relationship to the quality of your habits and rituals.”
― Stan Jacobs

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Fun Friday Fléchir

Fun Friday Fléchir

A word you have probably never heard used instead of plié is fléchir (flay-SHEER). Yet both words mean “to bend” in French. It makes me wonder why plié came into such common use in ballet, and not fléchir. Hmmm. Things that make you ponder.

Is it because plié is easier to say? This doesn’t seem likely. Both words have two syllables. Perhaps plié was used first and therefore became more familiar. Or, is it because fléchir has a different connotation in French? One source https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/fl%C3%A9chir

 lists other definitions besides “to bend”, such as “to sag”, “to weaken” and “to sway”. Well! That would explain it. But then, the word plié can be defined as “warped”, “crooked” or “bent”. I guess it is just another mystery of ballet.

But if you hear a teacher use the word fléchir, it simply means the same as plié: to bend. I doubt she would be telling you to sag.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #2ee:

“Another word that means to bend in French is fléchir.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkWpRtcKF7U

Quote of the Day:

“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.”
― Voltaire

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Throwback Thursday and Pointe Shoe Design

Throwback Thursday and Pointe Shoe Design

Bill Nye, best known as The Science Guy for his television persona, attempted to improve upon the design of the pointe shoe: 

 https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/celebrity-invention-bill-nyes-ballet-slipper/238079/,  This article states:

“Nye improved on pointe shoes by including more support inside the toe. Specifically, it includes a 'toe box,' which would encase and protect the toes and provide support along the sole:

The toe shoe preferably includes a toe box in the toe of the toe shoe, an upper and an outer sole. Support structure within the toe shoe includes a longitudinal support member, a foot encirculating tubular sleeve, and/or a toe ridge.”

The boxed pointe shoe we are all familiar came about through an evolutionary process: from darned tips of ballet shoes to insertions of leather pieces to strengthen the ends of the shoes to a boxing in of the tip. Here is a bit about the boxed shoe, according to http://historycooperative.org/the-pointe-shoe-a-history/

“The next substantially different form of pointe shoe appeared in Italy in the late 18th century with a modified toe area which was the beginning stages of what we now call the toe box.  Dancers like Pierina Legnani wore shoes with a sturdy, flat platform at the front end of the shoe, rather than the more sharply pointed toe of earlier models.”

It is true that Bill Nye did patent a design for an improved pointe shoe. You can find information about his patent here: https://patentyogi.com/inventor/celebrity-patent-bill-nye-the-science-guy-patented-an-improved-ballet-toe-shoe-this-shoe-helps-reduce-pain-experienced-by-a-ballet-dancer/ and here: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6895694B2/en

Although his design was patented, to my knowledge it was never produced. If anyone knows more about this, and/or whether any company manufactures shoes with his design, I’d love to hear from you.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #137:

“Bill Nye ‘The Science Guy’ attempted to improve pointe shoe design.”

Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKeGX72V6VQ

Quote of the Day:

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”
― Thomas A. Edison

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