Throwback Thursday and Ludmilla Tcherina

Throwback Thursday and Ludmilla Tcherina

Born in Paris on October 10, 1924, Ludmilla Tcherina was a dancer and actress known for her radiant beauty. Her father was an exiled Georgian prince and her mother was French. She trained as a classical ballet dancer, but loved the world of film and television. As a child, she appeared in fashion shows. When she was sixteen, she made her debut as a dancer with the opera in Marseilles.

She joined the Ballet de Monte Carlo and was discovered by Serge Lifar who gave her the starring role in Romeo and Juliet in 1942. By 1945 however, she became interested in the movie world and her first film was Un Revenent in 1946.

In 1951 she formed her own company and created Les Amants De Teruel, a dramatic ballet choreographed by Mildo Sparemblek. This ballet became a film and Tcherina was reviewed as “the tragic actress of dance”.

In addition to her work in dance and film, she was also a painter and sculptor, and she published two novels involving dancers and tragedy, "L'amour au miroir" (1983) and "La femme a l'envers (1986). In her later years, she was often seen at theater premieres and galas, impeccably dressed in elegant style. She died on March 20, 2004.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Dance History Factoid #99:  

“Ludmilla Tcherina was a French dancer, actress and author.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVLrUq6XdHc

Quote of the Day:

“Butterflies are self propelled flowers.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

                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

            Or "Like" me on my Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Violet-Rightmire-256648280108/timeline/

Wild Wednesday Toes and Promenades

Wild Wednesday Toes and Promenades

Promenades can be used as practice for turns. If the weight is properly distributed and the skeletal system properly aligned, it isn’t difficult for a simple promenade to morph into a turn on relevé.  However, a common problem in promenades is improper weight distribution. Remember Ballet Secret #14p: In any promenade, the weight must remain over the ball of the foot.

Another way to think about this is: never let the toes leave the floor. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for this to happen, and often dancers pivot once correctly on the ball of the foot, but then shift and pivot once on the heel, rocking back and forth. Scary.

At no time in a promenade should the toes leave the floor. Never. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Secret #14w:  

“In a promenade, the toes never leave the floor.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.facebook.com/yaosheng.weng/videos/10151347355634747/ 

Quote of the Day:

“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

                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

Or "Like" me on my Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Violet-Rightmire-256648280108/timeline/

Technical Tuesday and Tier-Bouchon

Technical Tuesday and Tier-Bouchon

Most terms in classical ballet are the same, or at least similar, regardless of the school of training. However, tier-bouchon (teer-boo-shon) is one that appears to have multiple meanings. Here are a few. 

“A turn - the working leg is drawn up slowly to the side of the supporting leg as a turn is performed http://www.step-by-step-dance.com/ballettermspronunciationdefinitions.html.

“Tire-bouchon- Like a corkscrew. a term of the Russian school. This is a position in which the leg is raised so that the thigh is in the second position and the tip of the pointed toe touches the knee of the supporting leg. a pirouette in this position, when done with a renverse movement, gives the impression of a corkscrew.” http://www.dance.net/topic/10071008/1/Ballet-General/Cambr-en-rond-tire-bouchon.html&replies=0

“Balanchine, Vaganova and Legat (with Grant paraphrasing Vaganova almost word for word) all subscribe to the same notion that tire bouchon refers to the working leg held momentarily in retire'. This can be in the context of, as mentioned, turns (pirouette and renverse' cited) and grand battement de'veloppe' as depicted in the illustrations” http://www.dance.net/topic/10200407/1/Ballet-Beginners/Tire-Bouchon-illustrations.html&replies=10

I always heard it used as in the last example: “grand battement de'veloppe'”.

Ahhhh, the evolution of language.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Secret #12f:  

“Tier-bouchon is a term that means different things to different teachers.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc2fOynHOKY

Quote of the Day:

“Don't be afraid to be confused. Try to remain permanently confused. Anything is possible. Stay open, forever, so open it hurts, and then open up some more, until the day you die, world without end, amen.”
― George Saunders

                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

                Or "Like" me on my Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Violet-Rightmire-256648280108/timeline/

Mad Monday Mmmmm Habits

Mad Monday Mmmmm Habits

We all have our idiosyncrasies. Habits developed over time that are associated with something we do frequently, like studying or reading or walking, etc. This is not usually a problem unless one of these habits creep into dance training, like biting your lip while concentrating.

Another problem involves facial expressions, like grimacing when exerting an effort, or when worrying about some step. Obviously, this is not allowed in ballet, since we are trying to give the illusion that it is easy. Right.

Simply be aware of these sneaky little habits, and they will be more easily controlled.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Secret #16q:  

“Beware of habits of expression and use of the mouth.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LShihubC1Bw

Quote of the Day:

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
― Jim Ryun

                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

Or "Like" me on my Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Violet-Rightmire-256648280108/timeline/

Super Sunday Vision

Super Sunday Vision

It sounds a little bit silly, but visualizing what you want to achieve actually  produces results. Here is an example from an article in psychology today.com:  “Mental practice can get you closer to where you want to be in life, and it can prepare you for success! For instance, Natan Sharansky, a computer specialist who spent 9 years in prison in the USSR after being accused of spying for US has a lot of experience with mental practices. While in solitary confinement, he played himself in mental chess, saying: “I might as well use the opportunity to become the world champion!” Remarkably, in 1996, Sharansky beat world champion chess player Garry Kasparov!”

Visualizing what you want to achieve is mental practice, and studies have shown it to be almost as effective as physical, or “real” practice. Combining real practice with mental practice has been shown to produce the greatest results (see today’s Link of the Day).

Try it. Visualize whatever it is you wish to accomplish, then go into the studio (or wherever) and actually practice it.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #99:  

“Visualize what you want to achieve.”

                Link of the Day:

http://wishfulthinkingworks.com/tag/visualization-studies/

Quote of the Day:

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”
― 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

Or "Like" me on my Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Violet-Rightmire-256648280108/timeline/

Saturday Statute Following

Saturday Statute Following

Dancers learn early that the “the eyes look at (or follow) the hands”, and this is sometimes true. However, it isn’t literally and completely true.

The eyes follow the general pattern of movement that the arms take. Literally looking at the hand when it is overhead looks strange, to say the least. But the head and eyes do reflect the movement pattern of the arms – as per Ballet Statute #1:  If the arms are moving, the head is moving. But this does not mean that the dancer is focusing directly on the hands every moment.

The eyes do focus on the hands (most of the time) when they are in first (fifth en avant), but focus over and past the arm in front in arabesque. There are many examples of how the eye focus should be directed, and it varies from position to position. That’s why the single directive of “eyes look the hands” is so often misinterpreted.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Statute #59:  

“The eyes seldom focus directly on the hands.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.facebook.com/219703404866733/videos/429309113906160/

Quote of the Day:

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

                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

Or "Like" me on my Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Violet-Rightmire-256648280108/timeline/

Fun Friday Ironing

Fun Friday Ironing

I have blogged about under-circles, magnetic floors, energy down through the floor, and how tendues never leave the floor. Today I have a new image for those all-important tendues.

Since downward pressure, (energy) is crucial in any tendu, imagine that the floor is wrinkled and you have to iron it out with your foot. (You wouldn’t want to dance on a wrinkled floor, after all.)

Press down into the floor firmly enough to iron out all the imperfections. Voila! A smooth floor and perfect tendues. 

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Secret #4q:  

“In a tendu, imagine ironing the floor.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6GkbWkt3S8

Quote of the Day:

“Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.”

-          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 

            Or "Like" me on my Facebook Author Page:

https://www.facebook.com/Violet-Rightmire-256648280108/timeline/