Fun Friday and the Internal Straw

Fun Friday and the Internal Straw

When drawing the foot up to passé, usually in preparation for a developpé in any direction, the foot must peel itself off the floor and move directly to the knee, following a straight line up the shin.  This seems to be easier to do when the goal is to stop in retiré.  If the goal is a developpé, the foot, and therefore the leg, tends to drift away from the leg and move upward through the vastness of space. 

To keep the foot following the correct straight path up the shinbone, imagine that the body has an internal straw.  It runs from the top of the head, through the torso and down through the supporting leg and on into the floor. 

When preparing to developpé, imagine sucking a milkshake through this straw and use that force to draw the foot upward along the proper path. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #11b:  

“Imagine an internal straw running vertically through the center of the body.” 

 

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsiQQJ0jeso

Quote of the Day:

“I compare a lot of life to looking at a map through a straw. The less ability you have to see life in a humorous way, the smaller the straw is that you're looking at the map of life. You're not looking at the whole picture. You can't see the whole topography without it, and it can help you to make better choices.”

-Reggie Watts

 

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Throwback Thursday and Clara Webster

 

Throwback Thursday and Clara Webster

Clara Webster (1821-1844) was a ballerina who became another casualty of the gas-jet lighting that so transformed the theatrical experience in the 1800s.  Emma Livry, who was born just before Clara died, is probably the most well-known victim of this scourge of the ballet girls, but there were many others.

According to an account in The Public Ledger , http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=59&dat=18450318&id=cSA1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=GicDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6310,1978758  Clara Webster’s “style of dancing was remarkable for its neatness, elegance and finish.  In the pantomime action of the ballet she was without a rival….” 

She had just begun her rise toward becoming an audience favorite when the accident occurred during a performance of The Revolt of the Harem.  Her skirt caught the flame of a lamp and ignited.  Panicked, she began to run around the stage.   If not for the heroic actions of a stage carpenter who whisked her offstage, the audience would have witnessed more tragedy than just a few, brief, frightening moments that played out before their eyes.  Clara’s own mother was in the audience.

Clara Webster’s injuries were thought at first to be minor ones.  However, it soon became clear that she had suffered extreme burns, and she died two days later.  She was twenty-one years old.

During a subsequent inquiry, as her body was viewed by a jury, it was noticed that Clara still had artificial flowers in her hair. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Dance History Factoid #33:  

“Clara Webster was a rising young dancer when she died of burns she incurred during a performance.” 

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axp5GnY4CPE

Quote of the Day:

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace & gratitude.”

-           Denis Waitley

 

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Wild Wednesday Double Lift

Wild Wednesday Double Lift

We’ve talked before about how a piqué steps out onto a straight leg, and today’s idea involves the step piqué fouetté. 

In a piqué fouetté the working leg must pass through three positions:  devant, à la seconde, and finally, arabesque.  A common mistake is bypassing one or more of these positions, most commonly à la seconde.  The working leg often goes quickly up in battement devant and then drops into the arabesque, completely bypassing à la seconde .  This causes the lovely suspension that makes the step beautiful to watch become lost. 

To do the step correctly there is a double lift.  A double lift is a feeling of “up, UP”.  In other words, the full height of the energy isn’t reached until after the grand battement.  This double lift is used in other steps as well, but it is well represented in a piqué fouetté.  The first “up” is the grand battement devant, and the second “UP” is the lift as the leg passes to à la seconde and then on to arabesque.  Without this double lift, the body tends to sink following the grand battement, making it almost impossible to complete the suspension of the step. 

So in any piqué fouetté, remember to think “up, UP”!

 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #21a:  

“A piqué fouetté has a double lift.” 

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2wU7Nd1Cx8

Quote of the Day:

“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.”

-          Oprah Winfrey

 

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Tuesday Trucking

Tuesday Trucking

A favorite toy of mine was a Matchbox brand dump truck.  I know, not the usual favorite girl’s toy, but I liked it because of the hydraulic mechanism that allowed the dumping part of the truck to move smoothly and slowly up and down.  It was a simple mechanism, one small rod inside a slightly larger, hollow rod; but it allowed for a great controlled movement.

I long ago lost track of this small truck, but it could be used as an example of the type of controlled movement necessary in any plié.  A plié is a very hydraulic step – there is that resistance that I have blogged about before, as well as the fact that a plié is a movement, not a position.

So if you have a small Matchbox brand dump truck, check out the way the dumping mechanism works – just as  hydraulic as a plié! 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #2j:  

“ A plié’s movement is hydraulic, like a child’s toy dump truck.”

 

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRtMGwMYyXM

Quote of the Day:

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal:  it is the courage to continue that counts.”

-          Winston Churchill

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Monday Pull Apart

Monday Pull Apart

In the chapter on Props and Demos from The Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets comes this demo, designed to help dancers feel the outward energy needed when the arms are in à la seconde.

Enlist the aid of two students to be the “Pull People”, and one student volunteer to be the demonstrator.  The Volunteer stands in first or second position with the arms correctly shaped in à la seconde.

The Pull People come forward, and one stands on either side of the Volunteer.  They each take a wrist and pull gently outward and on a slightly forward trajectory.  This pull is strong enough to be felt by the Volunteer, but not so strong that the Volunteer can’t resist it.  The Volunteer must maintain the correct shape in the arms despite feeling the consistent pull from the Pull People.

This is the way the energy must be felt whenever the arms are in à la seconde.

 

From The Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #20e:  

 “Have a student on each side pull gently on the arms in à la seconde.”
 

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UepOJDWe5jk

Quote of the Day: 

“No man ever got very high by pulling other people down. The intelligent merchant does not knock his competitors. The sensible worker does not work those who work with him. Don't knock your friends. Don't knock your enemies. Don't knock yourself.”

-Alfred Lord Tennyson

 

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Sunday WIN

Sunday WIN

In our quest for new inspirational and/or motivational thoughts I offer one I heard the other day.  It is a good way to approach any situation, but particularly those times when a decision is needs to be made right away.   I’m speaking mainly about those daily choices – nothing big like buying a house or saving for a child’s education – just those day to day choices we all make.

Remember W.I.N., which means:  What’s Important Now?  It is related to the old adage of living in the moment, but it goes beyond it.  Making any decision requires not only a thought about the future, but also about the present.   Can that golf game be put off so you can spend time with the family?  Can that remark be taken back once it has left your lips?  Can you take time to help someone else before you go on to your own agenda?  What’s Important Now? 

Just something to think about. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #29:  

“W.I.N.:  What’s Important Now?”

 

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh1uff62SO8

Quote of the Day:

“Never do something permanently foolish just because you are temporarily upset.”

-Unknown

 

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Saturday and Promises

Saturday and Promises

In a développé, it is not only the lovely fluidity of the movement that makes it fascinating to watch.  It is also the set up.   That’s right, the expectation that the dancer places in the audience’s mind from the moment the foot leaves the floor.  Does this sound contrived?  Well, I suppose it is.  But then, dance is a theatrical event, after all.

To wow the audience here is the secret:  As the leg moves past passé, the knee lifts – and it is this position of the knee that develops (no pun intended) the expectation.  The higher the knee – hopefully - the higher the dancer's extension will be.  It is very disappointing to see a knee drop as the leg extends.

Therefore, the placement of the knee should never be higher than the dancer’s extension can accommodate.  This placement of the knee makes a promise to the audience:  a high, beautiful extension is about to happen.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #11b:  

“In any développé, the height of the knee as the leg leaves passé makes a promise to the audience.”

                Link of the Day: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se1Sb8D_edI

Quote of the Day:

“People with good intentions make promises.  People with good character keep them.”

-          Unknown

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