Author: Carolinda

I completely agree with dance physiotherapist Lisa Howell in one of her latest videos that the mechanics of the simple tendu are often overlooked and it’s critical for dancers to reacquaint themselves with the movement by watching her short video here.  She does a great job explaining why improper execution fails to engage the muscles we’re trying to strengthen and tightens muscles we need to keep supple to avoid pain. For those of you consistently practicing the foot exercises like doming, you will recognize some of the same strategies. Additionally, Lisa provides an added tip toward the end of the video on how to successfully close in fifth position without bending either leg. Enjoy!

Ballet Rotoscope
Created by Massahiko Sato
Production Euphrates

It comes as a surprise to many that the world of dance training is experiencing tremendous change because of the research of some very brilliant dance physiotherapists and the strong shoulders they stand upon-the pioneers of dance medicine. And as they pass this knowledge down to the committed teachers that hopefully teach in your area, everyone benefits as the form and function of dance continues to make this world a better place.

For as long as people have danced, injuries related to the movement arts have been analyzed and studied. And even the relatively short period of time that I myself have been studying human movement, so much has changed. Committed dance educators everywhere are saying the same thing – in our lifetime, there’s been a massive amount of information we can now use to help our students dance longer, dance safer, and dance more efficiently. There are many people to thank for this wealth of information even though, as you can imagine, funding for such study is scarce. But dance has adapted in spite of it and students are lucky to have teachers that continue to learn and hone their craft for the good of the art form.

Recently I was listening to a podcast interviewing author Eric Kaufman about his latest book Four Virtues of a Leader. While I was intrigued by the subject, it occurred to me that in my teaching of young dance artists, these same four virtues are critical.

The first trait is focus. The complexities of body movement, particularly as the dancer matures and must tackle an ever more complex vocabulary requiring strength, flexibility, and balance requires a tremendous amount of concentration and attention to detail. The author asks “what am I creating?” For the artist, this is a critical query while interpreting the intention of the dance maker or choreographer.

The second trait Eric Kaufman explores is courage. For a leader, he encourages the question “what am I avoiding?” The dance student is often unable to make that choice in a classroom setting however it is no less valid as the artist matures. Fearlessness is often encouraged from a young age precisely because it allows for pushing physical boundaries. Pushing beyond yesterdays limitations or not confronting challenges is to limit progress.

Trait number three in the author’s book is grit. With so much interest in the wellness world on resilience, I like to think of this as the foundation that sustains the dancer. Inevitably there will be emotional, physical, and psychological/spiritual setbacks in the trajectory of any artist and this is the ability to bounce back. This hot topic alone can be studied at length however in the life of a dancer, it may be the most important virtue of the four.

Finally, the fourth virtue of a leader is trust. The beauty of this one in the dance world is that we have hundreds of years of history to observe. We know that the training yields great results. Every student stands on the strong shoulders of those who came before them. Trusting the process is not easy for all dance students but once embraced, success is inevitable.

For Kaufmann, these four virtues enable and empower leaders of the world. But every artist, by arts very nature, is given the opportunity and task each and every day to create and recreate their work based on their inner guidance. In Mr. Kaufmann’s work as a leadership coach, he holds people accountable on this path. And for me as a dance educator, I do the same. But at the end of the day in spite of disappointment and frustration, battling physical limitations and fatigue, it is up to the individual. This is how the arts create leaders. Those that learn to trust in themselves and the process, who have the courage to show up, the grit to keep going, and the focus to know why they do WILL be tomorrow’s leaders.

thanks to TedTalks/ Jennifer Tortorello and Adrienne Westwood (and YouTube)

As we head back into the season here in North America, it’s a good idea to revisit some of the concepts from last year. As a movement teacher who spent the last few  year learning about the Pilates MVE chair, I think the central axis/mid line topic deserves some attention.

The informative picture below (kindly provided by Lisa Howell) offers several valuable reference points to help orient dancers in a stationary position. It does an excellent job defining where strength is necessary with supporting considerations such as softness in the jaw and fingers as well as proper weight distribution in the standing leg. However once the dancer begins moving through space, it becomes far more difficult to keep these concepts in mind. Without a clear understanding of the central axis point in our bodies, students will struggle.

“The axial skeleton forms the central axis of the human body and consists of the skull, vertebral column, and thoracic cage.” (Source: Boundless. “Human Axial Skeleton.” Boundless Biology. Boundless, 08 Aug. 2016. Retrieved 17 Sep. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks/boundless-biology-textbook/the-musculoskeletal-system-38/types-of-skeletal-systems-215/human-axial-skeleton-813-12054/) In classical ballet training, the mid line/central axis point is so critical because it orients the dancer to a position in space as they’re traveling. Constant recalculation based on the ingrained patterns studied and practiced over years of training as well as kinesthetic memory come into play.

“A three-dimensional object always rotates around an imaginary line called a rotation axis” (Wikipedia). So this would apply to the human body in motion. Since we are bi-peds and our four limbs connect to and extend in space away from our central trunk, dancers, knowingly or not, are constantly using physics and re adjusting in order to achieve movement through space. Additionally, they are challenged as the choreography demands, particularly in more contemporary applications of these principals where the central axis contracts, rotates, etc.

Of course this is a very large area of exploration for the developing dancer and one that each must ultimately explore for themselves. But even a general awareness of movement intent is important here. The dancer can explore this in class with the instructor or in rehearsal with the choreographer. Obvious starting points can be movement where the  dancer feels unstable.

Below the dancer in in developpé devant anchoring the right hip and the left shoulder in such a way that they work from each side of the body toward the midline. The same is true for the right shoulder and left hip, stabilizing the left standing leg and the right supporting shoulder. I would encourage my students to work with this concept in class and  rehearsal, reporting back whether they can recognize for themselves other examples.

Hi, there! This is your dance teacher. Your older dance teacher. Let’s chat.