Wacky Wednesday Recycle

Wacky Wednesday Recycle

Ballet is not only logical, it is ahead of its time. Ballet technique recycles. Not only that, ballet recycled long before it was cool and promoted.

How does ballet recycle? Here’s how: all early steps, from pliés to tendus, are used to create other steps. Think about it. A tendu is recycled into a dégagé, which is recycled into a grand battement, which is recycled into part of a grand jeté en tournant, etc. etc. That’s only a short list. There are many, many others. The arm positions recycle, too – all the time. The basic port de bras that every beginner learns appear everywhere later. Watch any video of professional dancers and you will see all these (and more) examples of ballet recycling.

This is why it is so critical at barre to hone and polish the basic steps. It’s hard to recycle something that is badly damaged, without compromising the final product.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #7aaa:  

“Ballet steps are always recycled.”

                Link of the Day:

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

Quote of the Day:

““I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” 
― Robert Frost

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers

Technical Tuesday Soutenu

Technical Tuesday Soutenu

A common step in ballet is soutenu. The word itself means “elevated, sustained or steady”. It is very frequently combined with a turn, becoming a soutenu en tournant. This step is most often performed as a half turn when changing sides at the barre.

In a basic soutenu, the feet move to the dancer’s best fifth position on relevé, displaying the lovely heart shape of the feet (see previous blogs). 

The secret for doing soutenu en tournant at the barre is to lift the back foot very very slightly (about the height of a piece of paper), then turn and reestablish the fifth position (the back foot becomes the front foot). Use of the rotational muscles helps with the turning action and the all-important stopping action. This is how a soutenu en tournant is correctly performed in a single movement – if not, the step becomes a bourrée en tournant – a different step altogether.

Isn’t ballet fun?!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #18m:  

“Soutenu means elevated, sustained or steady.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZL_Gqrq0KE

Quote of the Day:

“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” 
― Albert Einstein

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers

Mad Monday Confusion

Mad Monday Confusion

There are so many French words in ballet that aren’t as intuitive as we’d like them to be, and one of these terms is “sous-sus”.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary states that sous-su is a shortening of the term dessous-dessus which literally translates to “undercover”. But dancers are usually told that the word means “under –over”, or if spelled sus-sous, it logically means over-under. It is difficult, if not impossible, to differentiate these terms by hearing them pronounced. Confusing.

Dancers know that a sous-sus is a tight fifth position on relevé,which, when viewed front the front gives the appearance of a small heart shape, with two heels and one toe (I have blogged about this before). 

But I have to admit, I rather like the idea of going “undercover”.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #18l:  

“The word “sous-sus” is short for dessous-dessus, which means “undercover”.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.facebook.com/so.bailarinos.3/videos/900509306708545/

Quote of the Day:

““Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers

Sunday Look Back

Sunday Look Back

Dancers tend to be hard on themselves. This is largely because we constantly hear criticism (hopefully constructive), and seldom hear praise. We work long hours trying to perfect things that can’t be perfect. Crazy, right? Thus it is no surprise that dancers can suffer from depression, or are just saddled with a negative outlook.

It helps to look back. That’s right. Look back on how far you’ve come, and how much your technique has improved. Don’t let the drive for future perfection steer you into a dark hole. Reminding yourself about the things you do well, the improvement you’ve made and the positive things you hear from others is the way to keep from pulling yourself down. You don’t want to “live in the past”, of course, but recognizing the good you have done is necessary for maintaining motivation.

So look back and pat yourself on the back once in awhile. You deserve it.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #85:  

“Look how far you have come…”

                Link of the Day:

                            https://www.facebook.com/dancechanneltv/videos/1018576364836735/?fref=nf

Quote of the Day:

“Take pride in how far you have come and have faith in how far you can go.”

-Unknown

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers

Saturday Super Statute

Saturday Super Statute

Ballet barre is a tweaking operation. The word “tweak” means: “…improve (a mechanism or system) by making fine adjustments to it.” Synonyms are:  adjust, modify, alter, change, and refine. You get the idea.

Because ballet barre is so repetitive, so daily, so routine - sometimes dancers forget to look at the big picture. And that is:  the barre exercises are designed to refine (see above) technical skills as well as help prevent any bad habits that might be lurking around.

Look upon each daily barre as a way to polish and hone all the basic skills that are the backbone of everything else. Also, be alert to any odd habits that might creep into the technique: a sickled foot, a tense hand, a lift from the chest instead of the head, etc. etc.

Never underestimate the power of a perfectly executed basic skill!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Statute #47:  

“Ballet barre is a tweaking operation.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.facebook.com/iuliia.bobrova/videos/312584405546870/?fref=nf

Quote of the Day:

““Forget yesterday - it has already forgotten you. Don't sweat tomorrow - you haven't even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift - today.”
― Steve Maraboli

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers

Fun Friday Hair Raising

Fun Friday Hair Raising

To maintain a constant lift away from gravity, there are many images dancers can employ. I’ve blogged about lifting from “elf ears”, or just lifting from the ears. Those are the kinder, gentler ideas. Today I’m going to talk about a more outrageous image.

Imagine that a big clump of hair is tied to the ceiling, or held up toward the ceiling by someone. The dancer must maintain a good, constant lift away from gravity or else the hair will be pulled. If the dancer sinks badly (the image disappears during pliés, by the way), the hair can be pulled out. Ouch!

So to keep the constant lift, imagine having your hair tied to the ceiling. Otherwise…!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #1uu:  

“Imagine a clump of hair being tied to the ceiling.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkqW___UGIw&list=RDUkqW___UGIw

Quote of the Day:

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” 
― John Bunyan

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers

Throwback Thursday and Maria Danilova

Throwback Thursday and Maria Danilova

The name Alexandra Danilova is familiar to most ballet fans. But today I’m talking about a different ballerina: Marie Danilova who was born in 1793 and had one of the shortest careers in ballet, even though ballet is an art form filled with short careers.

Maria Danilova was born in Russian in 1793 and began training in St. Petersburg at the age of eight.  She soon attracted the attention of Didelot, and she made her stage debut only a year later. She graduated at age sixteen in 1809, but by age fifteen she was already performing with the famous Louis Duport with whom she had a love affair. The affair was short and sad, and some sources say that the stress of this relationship weakened Maria's health.

Maria was known as a beautiful, ethereal dancer with a fragile quality. She is said to have taken the audience’s “breath away”. Sadly, this fragility also existed in her health. She contracted tuberculosis and died at age seventeen.

One source on the internet states that a crater on the planet Venus is named for her “Danilova” : http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1994/0235/report.pdf.

By the way, Happy World Ballet Day!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Dance History Factoid #86p:  

“Maria Danilova was a young Russian ballerina known for her ethereal style.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YNpnbGmM5M

Quote of the Day:

““It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.”
― Henry David Thoreau

                Help expand the knowledge base!

 Leave a comment about any instructions, ideas, or images that worked best for you!

Want to know more about me? Read my interview at Ballet Connections:

http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers