Technical Tuesday Mercury Attitude

Technical Tuesday Mercury Attitude

I’ve talked about attitudes before, both devant and derriere. But there is another attitude, and a very interesting one at that. It’s the "Mercury Attitude".

Carlo Blasis is credited with creating the attitude position in 1829 and he is said to have based it on the statue of Mercury by Giovanni da Bologna. The specific “Mercury Attitude” we refer to today is a characteristic position of the Italian school and involves a twisting of the upper body in opposition to the working leg it attitude.  One arm is raised in fifth en haut and the eye focus is upward toward the lifted arm. The photograph above shows the great ballet master Enrico Cecchetti coaching Anna Pavlova and although she isn’t in attitude, her upper body shows the position used in Mercury Attitude.

If you remember the icon associated with a florist shop, it shows the god Mercury in a similar position. He has wings on his feet – wouldn’t that be something for dancers to have?!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #18j:  

“The Mercury Attitude is named after the Roman God Mercury.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN-nTGG7ggk

Quote of the Day:

“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think”
― Socrates

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Mad Monday Plié Sandwich

Mad Monday Plié Sandwich

You will remember that plié is the most important step in ballet. Therefore, today I present yet another way of thinking about it.

Ballet Secret #2a states: “Plié like you are in a toaster”; and Ballet Secret #3l states: “In positions such as retire or sous sus, the dancer’s body is “flat” enough to be in the middle of a sandwich without poking holes the bread.” Today let’s combine these ideas.

In a plié, imagine being in the middle of a sandwich and use the turn-out effectively so that no holes are poked in the bread. You should be able to slide up and down in plié very neatly between the two pieces of bread.

This is true any time you plié, whether at the barre or during center combinations.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #2s:  

“Plié as though you are in the middle of a sandwich, and don’t poke holes in the bread.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTrt15q7RLk

Quote of the Day:

“Life is like a sandwich. The more you add to it, the better it becomes.”

-          Unknown

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http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers

Sunday To-Do

Sunday To-Do

One of the most powerful tools dancers have is their brain. No surprise here. That’s true for “normal” humans as well. It is how we think about things that makes or breaks the outcome.

Dancers tend to be a rather pessimistic lot, and I’m not sure why. Perhaps it is the constant striving for an unattainable perfection, or perhaps naturally perfectionistic, pessimistic individuals gravitate to ballet. I don’t know. But I do know that changing one’s mindset is powerful – and necessary.

For example, when working on a particularly challenging step, beware of telling yourself what not to do: “Don’t bend the leg”; “don’t look at the floor”; “don’t take little steps”, etc.  Instead, each of these directives can be reworked: “Straighten the knee”; “Lift and focus upward”; “Take big steps”… you get the idea.

Practice telling yourself what to do and watch out for opposite thoughts. This is helpful for teachers , too. It is difficult, but not impossible, to remember that students should receive positive directives most of the time.

Thinking this way isn’t always easy, but like everything else in dance, practice makes permanent.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Motivational Secret #77:  

“Focus on what to do, instead of what not to do.”

                Link of the Day:

https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIS.AsZV8WIADhQsnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByZjF2ZHFmBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDNw--?p=Youtube+Meditation+From+Thais+Ballet&vid=2957622712a406f2f5e8c8514edac473&turl=http%3A%2F%2Ftse2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DWN.H9lLxG8Tb0WT8RaMCQCWng%26pid%3D15.1%26h%3D225%26w%3D300%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DVtJFtxe2FEY&tit=Meditation+from+Thais+{excerpt}&c=6&h=225&w=300&l=228&sigr=11bpboact&sigt=10v0g4ufe&sigi=12lc2mvfv&age=1421886132&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yhs-mozilla-003&hsimp=yhs-003&hspart=mozilla&tt=b

Quote of the Day:

““Instruction does much, but encouragement everything."

(Letter to A.F. Oeser, Nov. 9, 1768)”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Early and Miscellaneous Letters of J. W. Goethe: Including Letters to His Mother. With Notes and a Short Biography

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http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers

Super Saturday Pointed Statute

Super Saturday Pointed Statute

Today’s Statute is similar to Ballet Statute #22: “If it is off the floor it points, (or is on the way to becoming pointed).”  However, today’s statute presents another, more direct way of looking at this important concept. This statute does have exceptions, most notably in frappés, but it is almost always true and something to think about.

Here it is: “In classical ballet, the foot is fully pointed before it leaves the floor.”  That’s right. Except in the aforementioned frappés, the foot must be pointed before it ever releases its contact with the floor. Thinking about this can be daunting when considering all the ways a dancer takes their foot off the floor, but ballet technique with its barre work and repetition eventually makes this point-before-leaving-the-floor a habitual thing. At least that’s the idea.

It would be nice if ballet shoes came equipped with a little alarm that would sound any time the foot tried to leave the floor without being fully stretched. How about that for all you inventors out there?

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Ballet Statute #40:  

“In classical ballet, the foot is s fully pointed before it leaves the floor.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIEuUUkUzh8

Quote of the Day:

““Focus on making yourself better, not on thinking that you are better.”
― Bohdi Sanders

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 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 Pick It Up

Fun Friday Pick It Up

It’s Friday! And time for another image using a prop. Today it is the ever popular and readily available towel. I’ve blogged about towels before, and they are an every-ready source for lots of ideas, as well as their intended utilitarian usage.

When a dancer rises to pointe or demi-pointe in passé, or any other position that involves standing on one leg, the body weight must arrange itself in a balanced manner around the body’s central axis – the center “fireman’s pole”.  I’ve blogged before about how this arrangement is different in each position, but for passé and similar positions, the following image works well.

Drop or place a towel on the floor (flat and open), and then pick it up by lifting it in the center. Notice how all the folds instantly arrange themselves around the towel’s invisible central pole. This is what needs to happen in a relevé before a pirouette, for example. The body weight must shift to arrange itself around the dancer’s central axis.

So on this Fun Friday, do a passé and imagine yourself as a towel being lifted off the floor.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #20k:  

“Pick up a dropped towel in the center to show how the weight of the body should fall around a central axis.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKuPjU5iHGE

Quote of the Day:

“The unhappiest people in this world, are those who care the most about what other people think.”
― C. JoyBell C.

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http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers

Throwback Thursday and Galina Ulanova

Throwback Thursday and Galina Ulanova

Galina Ulanova was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, the day after Christmas in 1909. The daughter of two dancers, Sergey Ulanov and Marie Romanova, Galina grew up to become the first Prima Ballerina Assoluta of the Soviet Union.

She received her training at the Leningrad State School of Choreography, studying under the famous Agrippina Vaganova. Upon graduation in 1928, she joined the Kirov Theater, and rapidly became known for her dramatic abilities in ballets such as Giselle and Romeo and Juliet.

Galina was transferred to the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow in 1944 where she achieved great success during their tours. She made her American debut in 1959, and also danced in films – serving to increase a worldwide interest in ballet.

Galina Ulanova was known as a great lyrical, dramatic dancer in the tradition of Anna Pavlova. She recieived many awards such as the Anna Pavlova Prize of the Paris Academy of Dancing in 1958; and  the Oscar Parcelli Prize “Life for the Sake of Dancing” in 1988. A statue of Ulanova by sculptor e.A. Yanson-Manizer can be seen in Stockholm; and a bronze bust of her by sculptor M.K. Anikushin is in St. Petersburg.

Galina retired from the stage in 1960, and began coaching young dancers such as the ballerina Yekaterina Maksimova.  She also served as ballet mistress of the Bolshoi Theatre.

Galina Ulanova died on March 21, 1998

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Dance History Factoid #80:  

“Galina Ulanova was a Russian ballerina renowned for her dramatic ability.”

                Link of the Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDV3qcw4Lac

Quote of the Day:

““Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.”
― Judy Garland

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http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers

Wondrous Wednesday Cup the Foot

Wondrous Wednesday Cup the Foot

Hopping on pointe is something students aspire to do, often from the moment of their first pointe class. But this step should be introduced later, after the dancer has developed the necessary strength in the foot and ankle to perform the hops safely.

When dancers learn to hop on pointe, they must practice something that isn’t done elsewhere in pointe technique:  they must learn to have a slight “give” or plié, in the ankle. This is the shock absorber (along with the regular plié) for each hop. In other steps, this plié of the ankle would be strictly forbidden!

Some teachers call it “cupping the foot” and that is what it feels like. As the dancer pliés at the knee, there is a corresponding (slight) give, or “plié” in the ankle. This is one of the things that make hops on pointe appear so effortless.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #22m:  

“For hops on pointe, imagine a tiny plié in the ankle.”

                Link of the Day:

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

Quote of the Day:

“Peace starts with a smile."

-Unknown

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

http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers