penche arabesque

[duckie9876]

I noticed that in arabesque, it is much easier to maintain a turnout in both supporting and working leg but when the leg goes higher than 90 degrees, I find that I have to turn in my leg a little bit more to maintain my balance.

 

I was always taught that you should not have to make any adjustments in the leg (especially the supporting one) when doing penche because all you are supposed to do is bring the back leg higher but if I do that without turning in a little bit, I can't stay up.

 

Any ideas?

 

duckie9876

[Victoria Leigh]

Duckie, while that would be ideal to keep maximum rotation in the supporting leg, in reality most everyone will have to give in a little bit. As long as the leg is at least rotated, and not turned in, the more important thing is the line of the extended leg. Naturally you must work for keeping it as much rotated as possible, but the balance is a lot more difficult when you go into penché than when you are standing in a regular arabesque.

[Guest Pigeon]

Duckie, I was taught, and am still being taught, that when you do the arabesque penche, although everything still stays "square," you can maintain the height of the leg and turnout if you think "forward" on your standing leg and pelvis. It's not a dramatic move, but concentrating on "forward" movement seems to help.