Fun Friday Palm Reading

Fun Friday Palm Reading

No, this is not a blog about fortune telling.  It is about the position of the arms called fifth en haut, or high fifth.  This lovely position frames the dancer’s face, much like a portrait in an oval picture frame.  Note that it is an oval picture frame, not a round one.  An important difference.

One common error in this position is a lack of rotation in the arms.   The triceps should rotate back and the hand rotates toward the dancer.   If this is done incorrectly, the palm of the hand faces the audience, when it should face the dancer and not be seen by the audience. (see cat above)

When correctly placed, with the palms facing the dancer, the hands could provide a great place for written notes on choreography.  That way the dancer can just look up and have a set of Dancer Cliff Notes so they won’t forget any steps. 

Alas, this “cheat sheet” on the palms isn’t workable in reality since sooner or later the arms will come down and the palms of the hands will be at least partially visible. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #6m:

“In fifth en haut, the palms face the dancer, not the audience.”

                Link of the Day:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugHPJOC9lGk&feature=share

 

Quote of the Day:

“Look up to the sky.  You’ll never find rainbows if you are looking down.”

-Charlie Chaplin

 

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Throwback Thursday and Marie Camargo

Throwback Thursday and Marie Camargo

Marie Anne de Cupis was born in 1710.  She took the name of her Spanish mother’s family – Camargo.  She changed the course of ballet in more ways than one.  She made her debut in Paris in 1726 and instantly became known as a virtuoso, especially for her jumps.  She is said to be the first person to have performed the entrechat quatre.

This expertise in petit allegro probably caused her next two innovations:  changing from heeled shoes to soft slippers, and the one she is most remembered for:  shortening her skirt so her footwork would be more visible.  Thus began the trend toward shorter and shorter skirts until we reached the classical tutu style known today.

Camargo was so famous in her day that chefs created dishes named for her, painters painted her, two operas were written about her; and in 1930 The Camargo Society was formed in London.   

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Dance History Factoid #19:  

“Marie Camargo is credited with shortening the dance skirt.”

                Link of the Day:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F7w1uMwbxo

 

Quote of the Day:

“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything.  You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”

-Michael Crichton

 

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Wonderful Wednesday and Floating Pelvis

Wonderful Wednesday and Floating Pelvis

One thing dancers should think about is something that sounds like a fancy dessert.  They need to imagine that they have a “floating pelvis”.  One that levitates slightly above their legs.  It is all too easy to have a “sinking pelvis”, one that rests heavily on top of the legs.  Not good.

This floating pelvis sensation involves the famous pulling up sensation – always from the top of the head and not from the chest.  A floating pelvis allows all the ligaments, tendons and muscles room to stretch and thus be fully effective.  It also prevents a “squashed” spine, and as we know, there is no squashing in ballet.  

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #1u:  

“Imagine the pelvis floating above the legs.”

 

                Link of the Day:  

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=740746119303080

 

Quote of the Day:

“Seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around us, but they only take root in minds well prepared to receive them.”

-Joseph Henry

 

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National Pancake Day

National Pancake Day 

Yes, it is National Pancake Day! I don’t have any images at the moment that specifically relate to pancakes, but there is the beautiful style of tutu that’s often called the “pancake tutu”.

However, many people put honey or syrup on their pancakes.  And honey is a wonderful image for movement.  In order to create a lovely flow of movement, dancers should imagine that they are moving through honey or syrup.  This provides resistance – imaginary perhaps – but very effective resistance nonetheless.

Without resistance, the arms and legs look limp and droopy.  And resistance upward is there all the time especially as it relates to resisting gravity.  Gravity can’t be turned off.

So imagine dancing through honey!

 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #7m:  

“Imagine dancing through honey to create correct resistance.”

 

                Link of the Day:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPPYUDWi36I&safe=active

 

Quote of the Day:

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

-Melody Beattie

 

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Monday Sickle Symptom

Monday Sickle Symptom

A common problem for dancers is a “sickled” foot.  Often caused by trying too hard to point the foot, a sickle involves the little toe side of the foot stretching further than the big toe side, resulting in a sickle shaped foot. 

Another cause that is often overlooked is failure to rotate the leg in the hip socket.  Correct rotation in the hip travels down the leg, rotating everything below it, including the ankle.  This fosters a more correctly shaped foot.  It is simply more difficult to sickle the foot if the ankle is rotating forward.

So if sickled feet are a problem, check for proper rotation of the femur in the hip socket.  Sometimes that is all it takes. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #7l:

“A sickled foot is often a symptom of not using the rotation in the hip socket.”  

 

                Link of the Day: 

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nK3UkA5H74

 

Quote of the Day:

“Jealousy is when you count someone else’s blessings instead of your own.”

-Unknown

 

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Sunday Motivation

Sunday Motivation

What motivates a human?  Many studies have been done on this subject, but I ran across one recently that is interesting.  It is described in a book by Gordon Torr called Managing Creative People.  Psychologist Theresa Amabile did a study involving 29 professional artists.  They were asked to submit ten works that were commissioned, and ten that were not.  Overwhelmingly, the ten that were not commissioned – that is, the artists created what they wanted – were rated higher than the commissioned works.

Now, I don’t think that is surprising.  Amabile writes in How to Kill Creativity:  “…people will be most creative when they feel motivated primarily by the interest, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself – not by external pressures.”

So what can we take away from this?  We need to focus on what drives us internally.  That’s difficult, especially for dancers who are constantly under the microscope of others.  So we need to remember why we dance.  We need to remind ourselves to focus on the passion within that got us here in the first place.  Place that love first on a daily basis and it will help keep the motivational fires burning.   

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #17:

“Remind yourself daily about the passion that lives inside you.”

 

                Link of the Day:

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQxIstHtJw0

 

Quote of the Day:

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.”

-Jim Rohn

 

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Saturday Chaînés

Saturday Chaînés

Chaîné turns are beautiful to watch with their seemingly effortless whirling progression across the floor.  There are lots of hints associated with traveling turns, like chaînés, but I’m going to start with one of the most critical.

The problem with traveling turns is maintaining the intended direction (often a diagonal).  Especially when dizziness interferes, the path of the dancer can become altered – particularly dangerous onstage if there is an open orchestra pit!

To maintain the correct pathway, even when dizzy, imagine a florescent yellow line on the floor that extends from starting point to ending point.  The leading foot in the chaîné must always fall on this line.  Another way to think about this is: always place the leading foot directly in line with the intended ending location (usually the corner of the room or stage.)

If the leading foot is always in the correct place, the path of the dancer will remain true.

 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets

Secret #14e:

“The leading foot in a chaîné must always step in line with the intended ending location.”

  

Link of the Day: 

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

  

Quote of the Day:

“You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.  You’re on your own, and you know what you know.  And you are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

-Dr. Seuss

 

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