Anna wants my arabesque with a more forward back.
I found the upper back in the arabesque today, by calling upon the same muscles that I feel when I do the back strengthening exercises.
Anna, similar to Molly, I suppose, asked us to use our arms in the jumps and open at the top. She even said this for fouettés in a relevé (from arabesque to a front extension).
Anna also likes the accent on the open movement for many of the petite allegro steps. Today it was a balloné.
Anna corrected my arms in high fifth during an en dehor pirouette. As soon as I corrected them I zipped around in the cleanest pirouette I've ever felt in my life.
My a la seconde on the right needs work. I need to remember to not use the hip flexor. That's why it's getting tight.
Also, reading Eric Franklin's alignment book, I found Lulu Sweigard's nine lines of the body. Many of them have already helped me. The back releasing down, the pubic symphysis coming closer to T12. the first ribs widening out into a bigger circle. the back of the pelvis widening, the front of the pelvis zippering up. The middle of the spine rising up.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Figuring out the mechanics of the steps
Marcus' Modern:
The psoas is what is being strengthened by the Graham work. (not sure exactly how that works, but it's worth thinking about more.)
Also, an idea I want to try out is the Russian idea that you breathe in on the effort. Maybe I should try breathing in on the contraction.
In the spiraled attitude on the floor, I had much more rotation than I thought I did with the right leg in attitude, spiraling to the left. The left attitude, spiral to the right needs work.
The épaulment is tricky in the spirals in second. Take a left spiral. It starts with the right hip pulling back, but the upper body, I'm still not sure about. I know that when the right hip pulls back, the head goes to the left.
The contraction to the ground is still tricky for me. Marcus said I get stuck in the contraction before I roll back. He said think of a steam roller, or a wave.
In the combination, Marcus told me to find the drama in the phrase.
Molly:
On the soutenu to the développé écarté devant, Molly said to use the upstage arm, the one in second, as a brake to keep the pelvis (and body, really) in the écarté line.
Going for the tour jeté, The second leg was in a flexed foot, as I took the leading leg into a chassé. Also, the feet need to keep strongly pointed for the jumps.
The psoas is what is being strengthened by the Graham work. (not sure exactly how that works, but it's worth thinking about more.)
Also, an idea I want to try out is the Russian idea that you breathe in on the effort. Maybe I should try breathing in on the contraction.
In the spiraled attitude on the floor, I had much more rotation than I thought I did with the right leg in attitude, spiraling to the left. The left attitude, spiral to the right needs work.
The épaulment is tricky in the spirals in second. Take a left spiral. It starts with the right hip pulling back, but the upper body, I'm still not sure about. I know that when the right hip pulls back, the head goes to the left.
The contraction to the ground is still tricky for me. Marcus said I get stuck in the contraction before I roll back. He said think of a steam roller, or a wave.
In the combination, Marcus told me to find the drama in the phrase.
Molly:
On the soutenu to the développé écarté devant, Molly said to use the upstage arm, the one in second, as a brake to keep the pelvis (and body, really) in the écarté line.
Going for the tour jeté, The second leg was in a flexed foot, as I took the leading leg into a chassé. Also, the feet need to keep strongly pointed for the jumps.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Working through an off day
Molly said the distance between my hip and ribs were too high on the gesture side of a balance in passé. Not sure what that meant, maybe an anterior pelvic tilt.
She said it came from the sous sous.
Left hip is sore in a new place. TFL? not sure, because it's not the IT band. Rectus femoris? not sure because it's not the normal one.
General correction to keep the foot pointed in arabesque.
Balances were off in passé on demi-pointe.
temps levé beats aren't always beating fully. beats the thighs.
Jeté beats still need to have the degagé side. aim for 45 degrees?
Molly: the turn happens from the en dehor leg.
Molly also physically corrected my shoulders. I felt much better about it afterwards. And it helps my focus.
She said it came from the sous sous.
Left hip is sore in a new place. TFL? not sure, because it's not the IT band. Rectus femoris? not sure because it's not the normal one.
General correction to keep the foot pointed in arabesque.
Balances were off in passé on demi-pointe.
temps levé beats aren't always beating fully. beats the thighs.
Jeté beats still need to have the degagé side. aim for 45 degrees?
Molly: the turn happens from the en dehor leg.
Molly also physically corrected my shoulders. I felt much better about it afterwards. And it helps my focus.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Port de bras
Cambre side: upper arm reaches its position and then the ribs tilt. As the ribs tilt, then the allongé upper arm rotates to the "regular" position.
My shoulders need to be a bit more back than where I think they need to.
Glissade pushes from the second leg. Likewise with assemblé.
The écarté head is a turn and a look up. Not a tilt.
From before, don't nose dive into a port de core forward. lead with the sternum.
Working on the ribs: keep lifted, back and up (a la Alexander Technique). This will help avoid the anterior pelvic tilt.
Image for the head and arms: present to the audience. Don't look down, look out.
My pirouettes to the left are falling out in the very beginning.
Addition: Forgot to mention tour jeté. With the left leg leading, I tend to fall toward the left (supporting) leg. Keep the ribs lifted. On the right, the left side tends to let go and cause me to over rotate. Keep strong in spite of the force!
My shoulders need to be a bit more back than where I think they need to.
Glissade pushes from the second leg. Likewise with assemblé.
The écarté head is a turn and a look up. Not a tilt.
From before, don't nose dive into a port de core forward. lead with the sternum.
Working on the ribs: keep lifted, back and up (a la Alexander Technique). This will help avoid the anterior pelvic tilt.
Image for the head and arms: present to the audience. Don't look down, look out.
My pirouettes to the left are falling out in the very beginning.
Addition: Forgot to mention tour jeté. With the left leg leading, I tend to fall toward the left (supporting) leg. Keep the ribs lifted. On the right, the left side tends to let go and cause me to over rotate. Keep strong in spite of the force!
Arms, etc.
It should feel compact around the shoulder blades.
My low fifth is not shaped correctly. Elbows should stay away from the torso.
Allongé hands should still be in line with the arms. Don't wing it too much. Also, allongé arms should feel like a stretch across the chest.
Feel the energy from the chest out through and past the fingers, just like the legs start from the abdominals and extend out through and past the toes.
My shoulders tend to be front and down. When they are back into place (but not behind), and feel a lift from underneath, not only does it look better, it also releases tension in the lower back.
Speaking of lower back, when in arabesque, if my lower back hurts, then I need more lift in the ribs.
Pirouettes: get to passé retiré quickly and hold as if it were an extension. But when coming down, go straight to the lunch. It should be as tight as closing to fifth or sousou.
My low fifth is not shaped correctly. Elbows should stay away from the torso.
Allongé hands should still be in line with the arms. Don't wing it too much. Also, allongé arms should feel like a stretch across the chest.
Feel the energy from the chest out through and past the fingers, just like the legs start from the abdominals and extend out through and past the toes.
My shoulders tend to be front and down. When they are back into place (but not behind), and feel a lift from underneath, not only does it look better, it also releases tension in the lower back.
Speaking of lower back, when in arabesque, if my lower back hurts, then I need more lift in the ribs.
Pirouettes: get to passé retiré quickly and hold as if it were an extension. But when coming down, go straight to the lunch. It should be as tight as closing to fifth or sousou.
Rules of this blog
The premise of this blog is that the act of writing down all the corrections I can remember will, in itself, help solidify the corrections.
Because this can seem time consuming, I am starting with just five minutes a day. If there are more, I can worry about it later.
My other blog was attempting to be more reflective than this, but it became difficult to maintain, so we'll see how this goes.
Because this can seem time consuming, I am starting with just five minutes a day. If there are more, I can worry about it later.
My other blog was attempting to be more reflective than this, but it became difficult to maintain, so we'll see how this goes.
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