Good Line?

[dancepig]

At one of my adult ballet classes, I was recently told by the teacher that I have a good line. Now, I don't want to sound too obtuse, but what does that mean? She said it was a gift and that I should be thankful, but then in the same breath she said I need to work on pointing me feet more. However, I work extremely hard at pointing my feet, but I have this problem with every pair of flat shoes I've ever worn. I get the tightest fit I can get (leather or canvas) but eventually, since my feet are very tapered, before the shoes are worn out, the part where my baby toe is starts to curl up! I end up looking like I have elf feet. So, even though I'm pointing my feet till they will drop off, unless I'm in tendu (which puts my baby toe on the floor, my shoes tilt up. Not good. But, back to the basic question, what does it mean when a dance teacher tells you you have a good line? Thanks!

[Victoria Leigh]

Dancepig, you must be pointing your feet, as they are most certainly part of the "line"! Good line involves the shape that the body makes in space. It's usually thought of as the leg line, but it really should be the entire body, as even the best looking line of the legs can be wrecked by a tense or badly placed upper body and head.

 

Good line of the legs includes rotation, extension, and the shape of the foot. People with good rotation, extension, placement, and feet generally have, IF they have been taught to use it properly, good line.

[dancepig]

Thank you, that helps, and does make some sense. The teacher who made this comment teaches mostly ABT style, and my primary teacher is strictly Vaganova style, and she is dilligent about our head positions, fluency of port-de-bras and the turnout. I also noticed the ABT style class had a tendency towards sharper angles during center work. Now it all clicks. Thank you very much for your explanation.