Can somebody help me?

[FlexNPointe123]

If i do say so myself, I am not a bad dancer......But I think that all of my friends look so pretty while they are dancing, and they look like they are feeling and understanding what they are doing. Then, I look at myself, and I'm not boasting, but I dont think I'm ugly or anything, but while I am dancing, I am trying so hard that I do not concentrate on facial expressions. I do of course on stage, but during class I look a squinched up and serious. Please tell me if you have had the same problem and how you solved it!

[Victoria Leigh]

I think lots of young dancers have this problem, FlexNPointe! Developing a pleasant expression while you are dancing, and still being able to concentrate and work really hard, is not natural to everyone.

 

I always find that the music helps the most. First, of course, one must know what she is doing, that is, know the combination, and know what she has to do to execute it. Once you have that, then just enjoy DOING it and enjoy the music! Sounds simple, but acutually it is not very hard to create this habit. After all, a pinched expression is a habit too, and the best way to break it is to create a new one, which just means practice it until it becomes natural!

 

People always like to look at others who are enjoying what they are doing, and that includes teachers! I will always be drawn to the student with a positive expression as opposed to one who has tension written all over her face. And, those with positive feelings about ballet, and about moving and music, and who are able to let that show, will also dance better because they will have MUCH more freedom and flow in their movements! Excess tension STOPS flow of motion. Not a good thing! It generally shows in the face, neck, shoulders, and fingers. NOT pleasant to watch.

[FlexNPointe123]

Thank you! I will certainly try! What brought this up is that one of my friends/classmates said, "Erica looks so cute doing that combination!" Then my teacher said, " Yes, except for when she is all squinched up like this." Then she showed the example: Thanks again and I will take that into consideration!

[Victoria Leigh]

I just added another paragraph up there, above your last post. Check that out too

[FlexNPointe123]

Ok, I will try VERY hard to look at least normal and "loose"! That seems to be the best thing to do! As I improve, I think I will shoot for, "pleasant"!! This will be me after some treatment!!

[Victoria Leigh]

Payge, all of your posts on this thread have been deleted. This is not a chat board, it is a discussion board, and the Young Dancers' forum is for asking questions about ballet technique, pointe work, classes and performances. These questions will be answered by the Teacher/Moderators.

 

We welcome you to Ballet Alert and Ballet Talk for Dancers, however please take the time to learn about this board and how it works. There are rules and regulations, and they are all specified on the topics which are marked "Sticky", at the top of each forum.

 

We do NOT use teenspeak or computereeze here, and we try very hard to make all posts legible so that they can be understood by our members from all over the world, many of whom speak English as a second language.

[Guest dancinabbs]

Wow, Ms. Leigh, that's really good advice. I don't have a bad habit with looks on my face, but I realized I can justmake it better :-) Wow, Thanks!!! lol

[Victoria Leigh]

That's why we are here, Abbs!

[ConstanzaElisabeth]

I have always had this problem, especially since the other girls my level seem much more natural in ballet. I never breathe. Sometimes my teacher will just smile and tell me to breathe or make fun of me or something, which makes me laugh and relax, therefore making it more fun and natural. Also, she has described certain steps as 'yawns,' and emphasizes the use of breath and release, so it helps, especially for performances, to go through the combination or choreography to find the rhythm and identify how the breath is useful for emphasis or use of weight. my two cents.

[FlexNPointe123]

My teacher says the same things! She has a Russian accent, and we all think that shes "cute" She always makes sound efects, kinda like, "schwoop!" On pirhouettes and things. She always an example of how to do things. Like pirhouettes are hurricanes spiraling up. For first position arms, she says hold the big watermelon! She is awesome!

[Victoria Leigh]

Watermelon??? But watermelons are not ROUND, they are oval....when I imagined a watermelon, and held my arms like I was holding one (horizontally), they were angular, with elbows pointing side, instead of rounded. If I hold it the other way, the arms are too long and too far away. Maybe they have round watermelons in Maine??? I have never seen one, but I'm told that they do have them in Canada

[Marenetha]

This is sort of a side note, but I've been told that, if for some reason, you absolutely CANNOT DO THE COMBINATION without thinking about it, not only should you practice until you can not have the 'hideously focused' expression, but that you should try and stand up straighter, and use your upper body more - that you can fake it for a while, until you are capable of doing it without as much thought.

[onmytoes123]

I am in the same ballet classes as FlexNPointe. Our dance teacher is so cute. She is Russian so maybe they have round watermelons in russia!

[Victoria Leigh]

Well, the question is, is the teacher trying to create round arms? If so, whatever works for her and for you is fine. But if you see a watermelon as oval, and she wants round............hmmmm............just something to think about!

[Mel Johnson]

Depends on which way you hold the watermelon! If you hold it lengthways, it's oval; if you hold it around its middle, it's round!