Happy New Year's to you all!! Anyone make new year's resolutions? Well, I've only been to one class so far, but I know Mr. f has demanded that I jump more, anyone else deal with this? Emily, i remember he told you not to look down so much. Sorry, just something i remembered. Umm...let's see...we had a small class which was cool. I know I have a lot of things to work on, but after Angela's class on Saturday, I know I will have tons more of corrections.
Well, a lot has happened over the past few weeks. Shannon has left, I know I'm sad...my level is a whopping 2 people. Things won't be the same, either. We're in the middle of auditions, and I think I really need to focus on Angela's corrections. She kept telling me to stay over on the balls of my feet, use my turnout(which I think I will get until the day I die), and lifting up and supporting in my back. I could feel what she was doing, but I can't really put it into words. I wish I had more of her classes...she's a good teacher. I have to use my feet more, as Mr. F keeps saying to me...my feet, turnout and extension. Yeah, I have a lot to think about. Well, I can't think of more to say, so I will write some other time!
February 16, 2001
Wow, I just realized that I haven't updated this in a while! Let's talk corrections for a moment. The other day I got some photocopies of leg muscles and their functions the other day. I actually found it useful! When I get the chance, I will post some of this information here on this site. Lately, I have been getting major corrections on how I stand. I guess I stand with my rear end sticking out. I am trying to correct it, but nothing seems to be helping me, unfortunately. I also need to work on getting my leg up higher. I have the flexibility to do it, but I need to work on that strength part of it.
Since I last wrote, I have been accepted to a couple of programs. I was accepted to Washington Ballet's Special Repertory Program, which I really want to go to, and Briansky-Saratoga. I also auditioned for Boston Ballet, but I won't hear back from them for another week and a half. I'm really excited about attending a program, something that I think will help my technique, and help me to improve greatly.
~Mr F's Famous Bourrees, Arabesque strengthener~
Here's another exercise which I often like to do. Put your left leg on the barre (so that you're in an arabesque position, croissee) with your left hand holding the barre. Make sure your hips are square. This may seem awkward. Bring that leg on the barre into an attitude, with your knee and lower leg flat on the barre. Bring your right side back, and hold onto the barre with both hands, so your whole body is facing outwards. Keep doing demi plies in this position. Do 8 reps of them, 2 or 4 counts up and down. When you are done, keeping your leg in the attitude position, and bring your leg off the barre (promenade slightly if you have to), and hold the attitude position. This exercise has helped me greatly.
Now that I have given some exercises and some corrections, hopefully I will write more next week (since I am on vacation!).
Let's see, some other corrections...I'm working on my turns on pointe. I have finally gotten back my double pirouette on pointe to the right, and now I am working on that to the left...it will all come, hopefully. And Mr. F was going off about bourees. For some help with these, he doesn't want us to do them with completely straight legs or completely bent knees. It should be a bend-straight type motion. Keep in mind that the back foot leads as well. Also, don't go fourth, fifth, fourth fifth, they should be small, quick steps.
I also just saw a great arabesque strengthening exercise, as well. Start off at the barre with your outside leg tendu-ing back, making sure to keep NO weight on that back leg. Go into a backbend, and as you come up, bring that tendu-ed leg up into an arabeque as you come up, keeping your back lifted and supported, do not break that arch in your back.
Sunday, February 18, 2001
Well, yesterday was Angela's class, and it was a good one! I'm trying to focus on my body placement, but I'm not quite sure what she wants me to do!
We had a good discussion on brisees, and what we're supposed to do. You're supposed to move in a straight line, and she emphasized NO CHEATING! This means that say you're in a fifth position left foot front croissee, and your getting ready to do the brissee. Keep that left foot on the ground, WITHOUT MOVING IT, OR TURNING IT IN AT ALL! Slide your right foot forward, straight in front of you, then bring your left foot to your right, beating it back then to the front, landing in fifth, not a fourth. Try practicing this on a Marley tape line. The same thing goes for reversing the brissees.
~Flexibility~
February 19, 2001
If you're working on your splits and flexibility, you could try doing this: Try getting a mat that's about 5 inches high (or anything that's firm but won't hurt you. If you're working on your right split, put your right foot on the mat, and try doing the split, with your left leg extended behind you on the ground. I tried this yesterday, and I really got a stretch from doing that. When you do this, make sure that your hips are even, facing straight. You will get a nice stretch in your hamstrings.
Well, I talked to Angela about my body placement, and it makes a little more sense now. I have to keep my shoulders down, and back, making sure that the bones don't stick out. My ribs have to be closed and relaxed, but not creating a complete concave feeling. My back needs to be long, and my bottom should be like a weight going down, to keep the line long. I also need to keep the tension out of my shoulders. She describes everything as having circular motion, for example, in the front, the circle should be going away from you, the energy in that. Also, the energy needs to be coming from the chest as well. She recommends taking pilates. Tonight's class was a good one, I need more of her classes. If anyone has any questions about anything here, feel free to ask!!
Ah yes, those fouettes that we all just love!! If you're having trouble with these, look these over, and also ask your teacher on how to improve on them.
Monday, March 6, 2001
Sunday, July 22, 2001
Saturday, January 12, 2002.
For starters, you will want to start at the barre. Start with your left hand on the barre. Just releve up to passee for a start, and try and find your center (keeping your hips down, staying over your supporting leg, keeping the supporting side long, keeping your back long as well). Developee that leg out in front (in a nice deep demi plie), with your outside arm in fifth en avant (or 1st, as it is also called). Bring that leg out to seconde (keeping your placement, and still in plie), and with your arm in second, then bring it back to passee relevee, arm in first, pirouette position. Once you have done this many times, on both sides, try it turning, never forgetting to bring that leg out to the side before pulling it in. When making that ronde de jambe to the side, make sure you are fully extending it, energy going through the toes. When you turn, don't forget to bring your opposite side around. At the barre, slide that opposite hand down the barre to make sure that it stays in front of you.
In the center, you can start off with a pirouette into the fouette, without forgetting those other things. In the center, there may be a tendency to lean on that supporting side, and sit on it. Make sure that it is lengthened. Practice doing what you did at the barre in the center, so you can get used to that feeling. Try working on your worst side first, although this sounds strange, you will need to be able to do fouettes on both sides, and not just on your best. Don't forget about your arms either, they, too need to be in proper placement.
I was not in class last week, 'cause I was hurt in an accident. Saturday class with Angela was a hard one, though. The theme of class was turn out, and we had to keep that in mind all the time, which we should anyways. We worked on our pirouettes, and doing an en dedans attitude turn landing in a second arabesque. For this, she told us to keep reaching in opposite directions, arm pulling one way, and the back leg pulling in another. For pirouettes, she does not want us to "wind up" our arms to turn. We should picture it in our heads, but not actually do it (and I know that's something that I do!!)
We had rehearsal for Red Riding Hood, and we practiced Antiquities. I'm gonna feel like an idiot in Red hood!! Sorry, just venting. I will write later this week!
Yeah, I know I haven't written in a long time. Right now, I'm at ballet camp, and there's six days left, I'm so excited!!! I can't wait to get home!!! A lot has happened since I last wrote...Little Red Riding Hood, Garden Party, our end of the year culmination show...where I only did one thing, and that was Paquita. That was fun though, my variation was hard, but I liked doing it. And a ton of other things have happened. I would write about it all, but I have no time. I'll write about my experiences here, and about other things when i get home. buh bye.
Yep, I haven't written in a long time. I'm not even sure where to start. Ballet camp was awesome, I suggest attending one for all you girls out there wanting to be dancers someday. I can't even describe the experiences that I had there. Well, I've decided to write about some of the things that I have learned in the past week at ballet, something about body placement that I would like to pass along.
I learned a lot the past two Saturdays about how we should hold our bodies. I suggest that you find a book about the anatomy of the human body, the muscles, and how they move. Ballet is all about math and physics, and biology. I'm actually going to tell you a lot about some very basic positions. For first position, you need to rotate from your hips. But it's not as simple as that. You need to work underneath the butt. Feel like your sitting on a cold toilet seat (yep, strange analogy, but that's what it should feel like). Your legs are acting like spirals, rotating outwards, but lifting upwards. Keep your pelvis flat, meaning there should be no crease or bend where your hips/pelvis meet your legs in the front of your body, where the line of your leotard is. That needs to be flat, but not pushed so far forward that your top thigh muscle is being rounded front. You should feel it behind your legs, not in front. Always remember to keep your arches lifted, and your knees need to be over your toes. Remember that your hips need to be square, one should NOT be higher than another, and the sides of your torso should be lengthened, which may mean lifting up in the abdomen, and feeling like your pelvis bone is going in the opposite direction. Keep in mind that dancing and practicing things like this is not to always "feel the burn." Yes, some things will feel different, it's because you are not used to working a certain muscle group. There are about 206 bones in the adult human body, not to mention the tons of tendons, ligaments, and muscles that go unnoticed. Read up on these muscles, and figure out how to use them. I would suggest visting this site www.danceart.com
February 19, 2002
I've been meaning to update for a while, yet I never got around to it. I do want to put a picture here which I found on line, and hopefully through seeing it, you can correct any of your own problems that each of you may encounter.
When you look at this picture what is it that you see wrong? I'm not sure if you can see what I had written in, but I will explain again. Let's start with her arms. First of all, when your arms are held in a position, they need to be supported, and held strong. Here, they look weak. Her arm which is held in second, the elbow is drooping. The elbow needs to stay lifted at all times without the shoulders going up. The fingers need to be more relaxed with air flowing through them. When you are in attitude croisee deriere which is shown here, your weight needs to be on the supporting leg, without leaning. That supporting side needs to be lifted, and not sunk into. The working leg, the leg in attitude, the knee needs to be lifted, and the leg directly behind the body. The foot needs to be stretched fully, and not sickled. The supporting leg needs to be stretched. Here, one can see that the knee is bent. This is extremly dangerous on pointe, to have bent knees like this on pointe. Sometimes, it may be asked of a dancer to bend her knees on pointe, but usually that is in choreography, and needs to be done correctly. Her foot which is on pointe, is sickled. Again, it needs to be fully pointed, and her weight needs to be over the box, and not leaning back. I hope that this makes sense to you. If you feel that you may have a problem with any one of these, ask your teacher. He/she would probably be happy to help you out.
December 2002
If you feel that you need work on your alignment, I would strongly suggest taking a pilates class one or two times a week. I have taken it once a week this year, and I have discovered that it helps me a lot. It strengthens and lengthens your muscles, so that they are not bulky. Pilates also helps to stabilize your spine. I guess that's all I have to say for today! Hope all of this is helping you out!
Well here I am, a college student!! Here I've been dancing four days a week, and I've learned that teachers here have different expectations of us dancers. Not as strenuous and they are not as picky. But I still am, although I've been a little lazy about it...not good. One thing that I have learned though...in an arabesque, my teacher has used the term "opening up in the quadricepts" meaning opening up and turning out the thigh. This will create a better arabesque line. When you do this, you may have the tendency to create a "dog on a fire hydrant" image, meaning your supposed "arabesque leg" is actually anywhere BUT behind you. So make sure that you keep your leg directly behind your shoulder!! And keep your hips down, level, and shoulders down...yep a lot to think about! I can't think of anything else right now...maybe I'll write again soon with an update!!
