Monday and Ice Cream Cones

Monday and Ice Cream Cones

I’ve talked before about the movement of the foot in tendu.  How it never leaves the floor, and how it should go “through the foot” as it moves along the floor.   But since tendu is the second most important step in ballet, it is useful to have as many images related to it as possible.

One that works well is to imagine the floor as a giant ice cream cone, with the dancer standing on the top.  Imagine any flavor you like:  chocolate fudge, vanilla caramel, etc.  If the bottom of the foot had taste buds, like the tongue, then performing a tendu should be like licking the ice cream.

The foot should “slurp” along the floor (the ice cream), on the way in and on the way out.  Yummmm!

 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #4d:

“A tendu should “slurp” along the floor like licking an ice cream cone.”

                 Link of the Day:

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47koNFAGcXw

Quote of the Day:

“My love for ice cream emerged at an early age - and has never left!”

-Ginger Rogers

 

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Sunday and the Happiness Chase

Sunday and the Happiness Chase

“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are familiar words.  But I wonder if sometimes we are not chasing happiness – happiness is chasing us.  We are so focused on our goals, or the problems of the day that we never allow happiness to catch up with us.  We leave it in our dust.   I think dancers can be particularly prone to leaving happiness far behind us as we pursue a perfection that is, by definition, unattainable.

Now, I am not suggesting that we give up the drive to succeed.  Not at all.  Dancers must be hungry, and stay hungry if they want to compete.  But within each day there should be enough time allowed for happiness to catch up and fall in step with us. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #15:  

“Allow time in each day for happiness to catch up and fall in step with you.”

 

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpuDyGgIeh0         

 

Quote of the Day:

“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”

-Guillaume Apollinaire

 

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Super Saturday and the Magic Turn-out Detector

Super Saturday and the Magic Turn-out Detector

When students learn to plié, often the concept of “knees over toes” can be hard to understand and even harder to produce.  Even for experienced dancers, the tendency for the knees to roll forward – in front of the knees - is a habit that can creep into the technique.

One answer: a Magic Turn-out Detector that is simple to make.  Using a string or shoelace, put a weight of some kind on the bottom (a drapery weight, an eraser, or even a marble if you glue it).  Then hold the top of the string at the center of the kneecap, and have the student plié.  The weight should fall directly in line with the toes of the turned-out foot.  If it falls in front, the turned-out plié position must be corrected.  

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #3g:  

“Use a Magic Turn-out Detector to make sure that the plié knee is aligned over the toes.”

 

                Link of the Day:

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iS4Yj_84Co 

 Quote of the Day: 

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

— Mark Twain

  

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Valentine’s Day and Hearts

Valentine’s Day and Hearts

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d talk about the beautiful heart shape that should be created by a dancer’s feet when they stand in sous-sus.  This heart is especially evident when the relevé is on pointe but is also noticeable on demi-pointe.

When correctly executed, the heart shape is created by a turned-out relevé in fifth position;  and when viewed from the front shows two heels but only one toe. 

Creating this perfectly shaped heart is more difficult than it may appear.  It requires the front toe to align directly in front of the back toe.  It is all too easy to cross the feet too much, or too little.  In either case, the heart shape disappears.

 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #8e:  

“In a sous-sus in fifth position the feet should make a heart shape.”

 

                Link of the Day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeTwl_Tzhf8             

 

A Valentine Quote of the Day:

 

“Love is friendship set to music.”

-Joseph Campbell

  

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Throwback Thursday and Shirley Temple

Throwback Thursday and Shirley Temple

This week the world lost a wonderful talent and a great human being.  Shirley Temple Black, famous child star from the movies of the Depression era, died Monday at age 85.

She helped lead a generation through the Great Depression with her charm, her smile, and her face surrounded by ringlets of curls.  She danced on screen with many legendary performers, including Bill Robinson.  At the time, he was 57 and she was six years old.  Together, they created a groundbreaking moment in the movies where two races came together and gave us some of the most wonderful minutes of choreography ever recorded.

Shirley Temple retired from performing at age 22, and in 1969 President Nixon named her ambassador to the United Nations.  Later, she became ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia, working under several different U.S. Presidents. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Dance History Factoid #16 :  

“Shirley Temple was a child star of the Depression era, who helped change the face of American movies and dance.”

                Link of the Day:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZy8sa3qUlE&safe=active

 

Quote of the Day:

“Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings.”

-Agnes Martin

 

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Wacky Wednesday and Zippered Knees

Wacky Wednesday and Zippered Knees

This is turning into the Week of the Knee.  Which is very different than being weak in the knees…. :)

Anyway, one common problem for dancers is having a supporting leg that is almost, but not quite straight.  This also happens frequently in arabesque on both legs.  The legs may feel straight, but they are not quite there.

To help achieve a leg that is fully straight with a fully pulled up knee, imagine a zipper running up the back of the leg, and pull it up.  The sensation of pulling the zipper should be like trying to put on a pair of snuggly –fitting jeans.  

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #7k:  

“To achieve a fully straightened knee, imagine a zipper running up the back of the leg.”

                Link of the Day:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC9Nkn9DZ4k

 

Quote of the Day:

“Gossip is hardly uplifting.”

-Ginger Rogers

 

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Terrific Tuesday and Relaxed Knees

Terrific Tuesday and Relaxed Knees

Today I am addressing the ladies – mostly.  In an earlier blog I talked about how the knees have smiley faces when the patella is pulled up, and the knees should almost always be smiling when the legs are straight.  Now I’ve come to the exception:  bourrées.

Bourrées are one of ballet’s most magical steps, especially when performed on pointe.  Without any special effects at all, a dancer who executes them well will appear to be floating across the stage – more so if there is a layer of mist from dry ice wafting across the scene.

To achieve this floating illusion, the knees must be relaxed.  The legs work like a fine sewing machine needle with more of an up and down motion than a side to side one.  The back leg propels the dancer forward, and the thighs come apart very little or not at all.  But it is the relaxed nature of the knees that allows all of this to happen. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #13f:  

“In a bourrée, the knees must be relaxed.”

 

                Link of the Day:  

Beginning at 3:25 for some beautiful bourrées

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db4xlqnpB7U

 

Quote of the Day:

“Work.  Don’t Think. Relax.”

-Ray Bradbury

 

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