Magnet fingers! Palm mirrors! Portrait elbows! Tips to make your port de bras smooth

Beautiful dancers, we can all learn from a Basic Ballet class, even if we are experienced. Sometimes we learned steps incorrectly or incompletely; sometimes we jumped over a level or two when we were younger. Arms and head positions in particular are frequently skipped - many instructors assume you already know what to do or that you will figure it out on your own. 

Those of us who have danced for many years have built muscle memory for heads and arms. We automatically move arms when we move legs and tilt the head at the right time without having to think about it too hard. It just happens! 

But how does it happen? And if you are new to ballet, can you make it happen automatically? 

Of course you can! You just need to spend some time doing it and understand why you're doing it. Remember, when we are young, we absorb what we see like sponges. As adults, our brains question things more and we often need to know the how and why of a movement in order to fully incorporate it into our memory.

Here are a few helpful hints that I have been using in my brand new Basic Ballet class. This class is great for newbies and oldbies as well. There is always something new to learn!

Magnet fingers

WHAT: Ever look at a dancer's hands and wonder how they get that shape? It's not quite "sticking the pinky out when you drink a cup of tea" but it's also not plastic Barbie hands. It's something in between.

HOW: Take your palms and place them together, fingers matching, and then peel your palms apart until just the tips of the fingers are touching.

Imagine that the pads of your fingers are magnets and try to pull them apart. You will end up with your middle fingers about an inch away from each other and curved slightly inward. Your other fingers will be at different angles too. 

WHY: This will shape your hands and fingers so they don't look like they are stuck together (like when the Queen of England waves!). 

Palm mirrors

WHAT: How do you move the head? When do you move the head? It feels weird!

HOW: Imagine that you have mirrors on your palms. When you open your arms from first to second at the barre, try to look at yourself in your palm mirrors. You will naturally tilt your head in order to do so. Practice this at the barre (yes even when the arms are en haut!) and it will start to feel natural to you so that when you are in the center, it will feel weird to not move your head.

WHY: Tilting the head when you move tells the audience where to look. If you stare at the mirror, this will translate to staring at the audience, which (unless used for dramatic effect) can be awkward. When you coordinate your head with your body movement, the audience will follow.

Portrait elbows

WHAT: Elbows are tricky. Experienced dancers, how many times have you heard the direction to "round your elbows"? You can't round your elbows! Your elbows aren't round - they are angular!

HOW: Instead think of an old-fashioned portrait or a cameo brooch. It's not round but not exactly oval. Take your arms en haut and place your head inside them like you're in the portrait. The arms (and elbows) will naturally curve to form that shape around you. 

Now lower them just like that to your first position and then en bas. The portrait shape should remain intact through the whole movement.

WHY: Holding your arms in this shape will keep them active and not simply decorative; engaging your muscles will make it easier to jump, turn and do slow sustained movement.

Hope these tips will make your port de bras smooth and feel more organic. Happy dancing~

A "point"-ed pet peeve and a student's question

1. From me:

When you're driving your car, isn't it annoying when the driver in front of you puts his turn signal on long before he needs to turn? You become fixated on that signal because you don't know when or where you will have to slow down in order to accommodate him.

The same is true when you dance, when you pique or balance or even chassee. Some dancers flex their toes in anticipation of stepping up to the turn or out to the balance and what do we see? An ugly flexed turn signal.

I'm going now!  Nope, here I go. Yes, here it is, here is my pique arabesque!

This is a particular pet peeve of mine, as a teacher and as an audience member. There is the esthetic of it (awkward and ugly) and the technical aspect (your foot isn't pointed or straight). Always - always -always point your feet all the way down to your toes.  The aim is to melt the foot into the floor with every step and to roll through the demi-pointe softly. When you pique, stab those pointed toes into the floor and only bend them when you absolutely have to. It will look much better and the line will be complete.

2. From student:

 Why would a teacher tell me to work in 3rd position instead of 5th? Which is better? Does it matter?

Third position is kind of a midway point: the heel of the working leg sits at the arch of the standing leg, rather than the toe. It can be useful if you are brand new to ballet (although I never use it with my new students) or are injured, as the turnout is not as forced and the knees can fit more comfortably, if necessary.

However, it is really more of a transitional position, as we usually think of working through 3rd on the way from 2nd or 1st to 5th when we do tendu or degage. It can help students feel the tops of the legs closing more tightly.  I use it to emphasize a closure on glissade for instance, which can often be quite wide and loose for new students.

Is it better? No. It's useful but not better. For one thing, when you do not close your feet to 5th, you are not engaging your inner thighs so center work like allegro will not be as smooth or as quick as you'd like. By working in 5th at the barre, you are more likely to feel and engage the muscles you need to use to stabilize yourself in the center for adagio as well.

Does it matter? If you are injured, by all means, work in 3rd until you can comfortably tighten to 5th. Teachers who insist on 3rd are concerned with forced turnout and about the potential for rotating the knees too tightly and ultimately developing tendonitis or other knee pain. But if you work in your turnout and do not force it, you should be able to work in 5th rather than 3rd.

What's new? Why, it's Elementary (ballet)!

Coming in February...

A four week course in Just the Basics - for adults only - on 4 Saturdays at Le Studio.

--Got a friend who'd love to take class with you but she's a little anxious about stepping on her toes? Or other people's toes?
--Have you been frustrated with a drop-in class that can't slow down to address the Super Basics, like "What's first position?"
--Need a crash course before you tackle a full class?

Try Elementary Ballet!  It's designed to give you the very basics you need to feel more confident in a drop-in class.  I will help you with terminology, classroom etiquette, basic barre and floor exercises, and class progression. You absolutely do not need to know anything about ballet in order to take this short course.  But you will finish with an understanding of a ballet class before you try a drop-in class.

What: Elementary Ballet
When: February 16 & 23, March 2 & 9 (4 Saturdays)
Time: 1:30-2:30PM
Cost: $75
Where: Le Studio Dance, 57 Palmetto Dr, Pasadena 91105

Happy dancing!

New videos! New link!

Check it out - videos for demi-plie and tendu! Thanks to my fab webmaster for putting them up on Vimeo and YouTube.

Also, take a peek at the left sidebar of the blog: just under my info and above the studio location is a link to the 5 Basic Positions of the Feet in ballet. Thanks to one of my new students for asking about it.

As I mentioned in my intro video, please feel free to post a comment or send me an email if you have any questions about dance that I can answer in a video or blog post!

Happy dancing~