Sunday Stories

Sunday Stories

I found this photo on Pinterest this week. I love photos and memes that make me think. This one made me think about stories and how they influence our lives, from the first picture books we have read to us (if we are lucky), to the tales our family members tell us, to the books we read now. Stories are powerful things, and they are, inevitably, about people.

Some tales are about people in love, some are about people rising above adversity, and some are cautionary tales about what someone did that didn’t work out well - either for them, or someone else, or both. Stories are often the first lessons we learn, and the way we learn things throughout our life.

The main thought I had from all this is that we should live our lives so the stories told about us someday will be good ones. Maybe, hopefully, inspirational ones. Ones that help someone stand taller, do better, and motivate them to pass on their own stories.

What will your story be?

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #50:

“Eventually we all become a story. What will yours be?”

                Link of the Day:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/01/26/o.questions.change.your.life/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Quote of the Day:

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
― Philip Pullman

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Super Saturday Magic Floor

Super Saturday Magic Floor

When frappés move up a level – literally - and are done on relevé, it is no longer feasible to brush the working foot on the floor because the floor is now too far away. Instead the foot brushes (or extends) as though there is an imaginary floor.

This floor exists at ankle height and extends outward, parallel to the real floor. It can be envisioned as a solid wood floor, or a see-through Plexiglas floor, or whatever sort of floor the dancer prefers. This floor is always used whenever the dancer is doing frappés on relevé.

All the other rules for frappés still apply; the “floor” is simply a bit higher.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #10d:

“When performing frappés on relevé, imagine an imaginary floor that exists at ankle height. This is where the brush occurs.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sEgjXxjxIw

Quote of the Day:

"Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor."

-H. Jackson Brown Jr.

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Fun Friday Credit Cards

Fun Friday Credit Cards

Here we are in December, and I thought this would be a good time to talk about credit cards. Not because of gift buying, however. Credit cards make me think of dancers who have the habit of pushing their shoulder blades together – usually because their arms are too far back.

This pinching of the upper back isn't attractive and it destroys the expansion of the back necessary for good posture and stability. The energy should radiate outward from the spine, extend through the arms and continue beyond the fingertips.

When the shoulder blades pinch together it looks like a credit card could be swiped down the middle of the dancer’s back. Not good. No credit cards allowed!

The arms should not be out of the ”control zone” (see previous blogs), and must be slightly in front of the side of the body (unless one is dancing Swan Lake). This will prevent someone from swiping their credit card in a place that will not help them make a purchase.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #1ii:

“The shoulder blades should not look like a place to swipe a credit card.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6xhKxDGWqo

Quote of the Day:

“When I turned fifteen, I remember my father gave me a credit card which I was allowed to use for two things: emergencies and books.”

-          Ann Brashares

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Throwback Thursday and Wayne Sleep

Throwback Thursday and Wayne Sleep

Wayne Sleep is only 5’2”, and is known as the shortest male dancer ever admitted to the Royal Ballet School.  He joined the company in 1966 and soon became known for his unique abilities in performing character roles.  He also had many parts choreographed for him. His distinctive style, acrobatic ability and talent for humor makes his performances memorable.

His career extends beyond the ballet stage into film (1979’s Great Train Robbery) and television, and in 1982 Andrew Lloyd Webber adapted a portion of his Variations album for Sleep as part of the stage show Song and Dance.  He is mentioned several times in the film Billy Elliot.

Recently he has been on cooking shows in Britain and in 2013 he joined ITV’s dance show Stepping Out as a judge.

In 1973, he performed an entrechat-douze (twelve beats or six crossings) and set a world record that still stands today.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Dance History Factoid #57:  

“Wayne Sleep was the shortest male dancer ever admitted to the Royal Ballet School.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcNN7YigZRM

Quote of the Day:

““Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher

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Wacky Wednesday Bourrées

Wacky Wednesday Bourrées

Ahhh those lovely bourrées – they make the dancer appear to be floating across the stage.  It is a great special effect, developed long before the days of movies and Photoshop.  One secret to beautiful bourrées is one I’ve blogged about before:  the knees must be relaxed so the legs can act as shock absorbers.  It is one of the only times in ballet that the knees are allowed to be in this state.  These relaxed knees prevents “bumpy” bourrées. 

The other secret is this:  It is the back leg that provides the push (impetus).  The front leg is not allowed to get ahead of itself, or ahead of the back leg.  The thighs remain crossed in a good fifth position and the traveling motion is driven by the back leg.

The French term “bourrée” means a running step, or literally, a step.  But running step is a good way to think about bourrées.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #13k:  

“Traveling bourrées are propelled by the back leg.”

                Link of the Day:

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

Quote of the Day:

““Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.”
― Dean Karnazes

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Technical Tuesday Brisé

Technical Tuesday Brisé

Ballet Secret #15n states that the secret to a brisé is in the plié.  Here is another one:  from that plié, the working foot must brush the floor aggressively.  This is critical to achieve the necessary impetus (push) for the beats to happen.  Often the plié happens, but the working foot anticipates the beat and comes off the floor too soon, effectively destroying the full push needed.

It can feel counter-intuitive, like so many things in ballet.  But a strong plié, and a strong push against the floor is what works.  This is especially true when brisés are reversed and the dancer is traveling backwards.

So at the beginning of a brisé combination, imagine pushing downward with the working foot as it leaves the plié.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #15u:  

“Another brisé secret:  a solid brush into the floor with the working foot.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko2y-X1_82U

Quote of the Day:

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

-          John F. Kennedy

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Marvelous Monday Floor

Marvelous Monday Floor

The floor is important in many areas of classical ballet technique, since dancers use it as a tool – pressing against it for resistance and/or for impetus.  But problems occur when dancers look down and focus constantly on the floor.

Teachers have developed a variety of ways of  addressing this issue with instructions like:  “We don’t write the choreography on the floor”, “I’m going to paint eyeballs on your eyelids”, or the ever popular and simple: “Don’t look down”.

I've blogged before about putting a positive spin on this by concentrating on what one should look at around the room or the stage, instead of thinking of what one should not look at:  the floor.  I try to use the simple directive:  “Look up and out”.

The other, companion problem with floor gazing is this:  the body tends to go in the direction of the eye focus.  If it is down on the floor, the dancer may end up there!

From the Itty Bitty Beige Book of Ballet Statutes:

Statute #26:  

“Do not focus on the floor.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t3tKjM32hs

Quote of the Day:

““Positive attitude enables you to go with passion and see possibility in every challenging circumstance. It was by that, that great achievers picked up metal scraps on the floor and saw machines built from it.”
― Israelmore Ayivor, Michelangelo | Beethoven | Shakespeare: 15 Things Common to Great Achievers

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