Questions from students: Plateaus and proprioception

Plateaus

"I can't seem to get any better with these jumps/turns/choreography. Is this the best I'm going to be?"

My snarky reply: If you think you're done, you're done.

My teacherly reply: No. You aren't done until I say you're done and you'll never be done as long as you work hard.

The realistic reply is somewhere in between the two. Let's be honest about dancing: it's hard. And ballet is well, it's really hard. Whether you started as a kid and have danced for fifty years (ahem, milestone achieved!) or you started as an adult and have been studying for less than five years; whether you are or have been a professional at some point, or if you've never performed on stage ever in your life...we all ask ourselves the question: Is this the best I will be?

dance by antonella morrone, cc license

We all plateau at some point, whether it's in our personal life or our dance technique. Sometimes we won't even realize we're stuck until we've been there for a while.

That's when we need to make the extra push to get out of the rut. And a great way to do that is to consult your instructor or coach. But don't just come to them with a whiny complaint (oops, that was the snarky reply!), come armed with a specific issue so they can help you tackle it.

How to do that? Easy-peasy. With your phone's camera. Just set it up to record you doing something you're not happy with (it's not for public consumption and you can always delete it later) and make an appointment to talk to your instructor or coach. Show them the video of your turn or your jump or your port de bras and together you can figure out what is wrong.

Maybe you're not getting high enough in your releve and no matter how many times you try to apply a correction, you still aren't getting it.

Maybe you're not traveling far enough in your grand jete and you thinking you're using all the right muscles but you still barely move.

Maybe your arms look weak or stiff and you can't seem to find the fluidity in them.

There is always an answer. But you may not know what it is. You may have to, get ready for it, push harder.

Build more strength in your calves to hold your releve; build more core strength to jump higher; take more care and time in your port de bras.

You may need to add an extra class or two to push your technique or you might need a private session to tackle a very specific issue that can't be addressed in class. You might have to take a more challenging class - or conversely, a more basic class.

I don't believe you're done. I don't believe anyone is ever done. There is always a way around a problem if it can't be fixed head-on.

Proprioception

"Why is it so much harder to balance in the center but I can balance forever next to a barre?"

The phenomenon is called proprioception. (And don't bother to look up the Wikipedia definition; they call it a sixth sense when it's no such thing.)

Proprioception is the awareness of your body in space and in relation to other objects, fixed or moving. It is as important in dance class as it is when driving a car or walking down the sidewalk. Just as you find awareness of other people or objects without actually looking at them, so too do you "feel" other bodies in class. This awareness prevents us from crashing into other people (or cars!).

When you're in a ballet class, you are first aware of the presence of the barre next to you. You rarely look at it; you just feel it under your hand. You move your body forward and back, to and away from it; and you slide your hand down the barre as you work.

What you also do is find your balance. The barre is your invisible partner. This is why we try not to grab at the barre or grip it too tightly. You want to keep a nice loose grasp on it, as if you were holding onto another person for support. Think too about personal space with your barre: you don't want to crowd up against it or stand too far away from it.

Awareness of the barre beside you also gives you an object to balance against. Because it's not moving, it's easier to gauge your alignment to it, to maintain a parallel or perpendicular support. We feel it beside us and we can adjust accordingly.

Yay, balancing forever!

balance Yaletown Illuminate by m sew, cc license

But what happens when we get to center? We don't have the same stationary object to align ourselves against and thus it's harder to find our balance. We can still use our proprioceptors, though - we just need to find another object. That can be a mirror or another body (although be aware that they may be moving too) or, for the more advanced dancer, our own bodies. Find the center of your body and use your proprioception to notice the alignment of your arms and legs and head in relation to that center.

Generally speaking, we simply need to practice. When you're at the barre, close your eyes or take your hand off the barre. In the center, practice a balance on one foot flat before rising to demi-pointe.

Got a burning question? Shoot me an email. Happy dancing!