Tricycles, Dots, and Feet

Tricycles, Dots, and Feet

When a dancer is standing “on the whole foot” the entire bottom of the foot should be in contact with the floor.  That being said, the body weight is distributed in a way that matches the shape of the foot.  The ball of the foot is the widest, and the heel, the narrowest.  So, to illustrate the correct distribution of weight, I have the students imagine three dots:  two at the ball of the foot, and one at the heel.  It is like a tricycle, with three areas of support.

However, the area with two dots takes the majority of the weight (since the body is always slightly forward from the ankle), and the single dot carries the least.  In fact, some teachers (Balanchine was reputedly one) suggest that a piece of paper could be slipped beneath the heel.  A slight exaggeration perhaps, but the point is well taken.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #1g:

  “Imagine three dots underneath the foot:  two under the ball of the foot, and one beneath the heel.  A triangle of support.”

Link of the Day:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/boston-ballet-timelapse_n_4023111.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Quote of the Day:

“We are who we are because of three things, the choices we make, the habits we keep and the disciplines we have.”

-Ricardo Housahm

Carpe Diem and Dancers

Carpe Diem and Dancers

Yesterday’s Link of the Day brought back memories of the wonderful movie Dead Poet’s Society with its message of “Seize the Day”.  Today’s link is another scene from early in that movie.

Carpe Diem.   It’s a theme dancers should think about frequently.  Because artists - and dancers in particular, are always striving for a perfection that is not attainable, and listening to criticism (hopefully constructive) on a daily basis, we can easily slide into the trap of forgetting to look at the good things that surround us.  The big beautiful picture, if you will.

Dancers, and dance teachers, are privileged to participate in one of the most beautiful art forms on the planet, (in my opinion, anyway) and sometimes when a student executes a particularly beautiful movement it hits me like a flash:  I have been given an opportunity to see an instant in time of pure beauty:  a fledgling dancer achieving a great moment – and hopefully just one of many more to come.

 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #1:

“Remember to seize the day, and see the beauty around you.”

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wjpRQ__lsI          

            Quote of the Day:

“Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities.  Seize common occasions and make them great.”

-  Orison Swett Marden

 

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World Teacher Day

World Teacher Day

In each student’s journey there are many great teachers.  And sometimes, it only takes a single small moment to make a teacher “great” in the life of a student.  A kind word, a phrase of encouragement given at the right moment, or just a genuine smile may be all it takes to change a student’s path.  A teacher myself, it helps when I remember this – especially on a trying day.

We are all teachers, in many ways.  As the song goes in The King and I, “…when you become a teacher, by your pupils you’ll be taught…”  How true!  Over the years I have probably learned more from my students than they ever learned from me.  And they would probably be surprised to hear this!

What else makes a teacher great?  When I think back on my own teachers, it’s the small incidents that stand out.  Sometimes, it was the one statement I needed to hear in order to grow.  Sometimes, it was the proverbial push of “tough love”.  Sometimes it was a compliment I never expected.  All of these little things, and more, added up.

 So to all the great teachers who lined my road:  Thank you!  I use your wisdom every day.

 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #3a:

“The road to greatness is always lined with great teachers.”

 

                Link of the Day:

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQU3EphIpMY

 

Quote of the Day:

“A teacher affects eternity:  He can never tell where his influence stops.”

-Henry Adams

 

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Finger Painting and Port de Bras Highways

Finger Painting and Port de Bras Highways

The ability to use the arms and hands correctly is a hallmark of a beautiful dancer.  But achieving it can be a sticky wicket.  The prescribed pathways and correct architecture of the arms and hands can produce stilted, stiff port de bras in some students.  In addition to the flow of energy that I’ve talked about in several previous posts, it helps to have the students imagine finger painting in the air as an exercise to foster a greater sensitivity in the hands and fingers.  This is particularly useful with very young children, and the sensitivity they gain follows them throughout their dance training.

But it works in older students too.  If the fingers are used like paintbrushes, applying the colors over the correct highways, the port de bras develop beautifully.  It also has the double benefit of helping the students “see” the colorful highways that the arms travel.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #1h:

“With paintbrush fingers, color the highways for your arms with many hues.”

                Link of the Day:

http://classicalballetnews.com/

Quote of the Day:

“Your purpose is to make your audience see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you felt.”

-          Dale Carnegie

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Helium Balloons

Helium Balloons

Another way to think about the “lift” that should happen in a dancer’s posture is to use the image of a large helium balloon.  Emphasis on large.  This huge, imaginary balloon is attached by an imaginary string to the top of the head and thus exerts a constant, but gentle, upward pull.   This upward pull should be matched by an equal sensation of sending energy downward, through the floor.

The helium balloon image is especially useful to think about during any plié, since that movement has the tendency, especially in very young dancers, to pull everything down, and effectively “squash” the desired correct posture.  Bear in mind that this lift is always up and slightly forward, not straight up, as described in last month’s blog about “rocket angles”.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #1h:

“Imagine a helium balloon attached to the top of your head.”

                Link of the Day:

http://www.dancespirit.com/2013/09/youre-doing-it-wrong/

Quote of the Day:

“The goal isn’t to live forever; the goal is create something that will.”

-Chuck Palahniuk

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Practice Makes Permanent

According to the book “The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle, it takes about 10,000 repetitions to firmly establish (make permanent) a physical skill.  And this presumes that these 10,000 repeats are performed as correctly as possible, since the body/brain remembers (solidifies) whatever is repeated.  No matter what is practiced, right or wrong, it is “made permanent” through repetition. This could be scary.  Only “perfect” practice makes perfect; practice without attention to detail just makes permanent.  This is how bad habit patterns are born, and bad habits are extremely difficult to change!

So for all the dance students out there:  now you know why your teachers are so picky!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #2a:  

“Practice makes permanent.”

Link of the Day:

http://www.athleteassessments.com/articles/book_review_The_Talent_Code_Daniel_Coyle.html

Quote of the Day:

“Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired.”

-          Martha Graham

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Port de Bras and Inflatable Suits

A beautiful port de bras is the hallmark of a mesmerizing dancer (see yesterday’s Link of the Day).  Yet the patterns of the arms are simple, geometrically speaking.  The arms always move along prescribed “highways”, and seldom come close to the body, except in fifth en bas or when playing a specific character (White Swan, etc.).These” highways” are circular, with the exception of moving to an arabesque position of the arms.  I call those movements “dead end streets”.

 I tell my students to imagine wearing an inflatable suit, similar to the diving suit in the above photograph.  In a diving suit, the arms cannot come close to the body and one is forced to move the arms in the more correct circular pathway. 

Those pathways are:  one that goes from the front of the thighs in almost a complete circle over the head (like a long rainbow); one that runs in a half circle, level with the floor, at the height of the lower rib cage (like a half hula hoop); another that forms a half circle from the top of the " rainbow" in front of the body and finishing in front of the thighs; and the aforementioned “dead end streets” as the arms move from first or fifth to an arabesque line.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret # 6a:  “The arms move in specific highways.”

                Link of the Day:

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMXfjFQDqC0&feature=share

Quote of the Day:

“If you can’t make a mistake, you can’t make anything.”

-          Marva N. Collins

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