conflicting arm positions...

[Guest meliss83]

I have one teacher, who studied in the Russian school who insists that when the arms are in prepatory position that the pinkies skim your leg just barely, so basically that the arms sit very closely to the body, and then a different teacher insists that the arms be well away from the body.. is one right and one wrong?

[Victoria Leigh]

Nope, just different schools of thought. Do it whichever way they want it

[vrsfanatic]

melissa83, of course Ms. Leigh is correct when she advises you to do whatever anyone says to you in a class. Preparatory position (as many other things), when originally written done by Vaganova, was not as clearly defined as it is today. In the literature there really is no reference to exactly where the fingers fall in relationship to the thighs. It basically says "above the tutu", but in the illustration, the young lady is wearing a different style tutu than we tend to wear today. In methodology class this very issue was discussed. You may find the following useful...

 

The important aspect of the placement of the fingers in relationship to the thigh is that the upper back and elbows are held correctly. With differing students/classes I to recommend different hand/arm placement. At first it is most important that the students are working with free arms with beautifully soft hands. The finger grouping is most important. The chest must remain open with lowered down shoulders and an expressive upper back. Different levels of students should have different lengths of arms. Ideally, eventually the pinky finger should fall in front of the middle of the thigh, however different arm lengths will produce different results. In general, the hand distance from the thigh is one hand width, index finger to pinky, away from the thigh. However it can differ from student to student and even teacher to teacher. My suggestion to you, to learn to really see what your teachers actually demonstrate with the arms and hands. (I am assuming your teachers really do attempt to demonstrate arms well) Then try to apply it to yourself.

 

If you are working with more than one teacher than you just need to adjust, but I would suggest that you talk to your teachers about the conflict. They may not be aware that the conflict exists or you may be misunderstanding what they are asking you to do. In any case, the issue could use some clarification.

[Guest meliss83]

Thank you so much for the responses!! Very much appreciated