develope devant----?

[ABT Wannabe]

ok i am really having a hard time with develope devant! I can only go to about 90 degress while alot of the people in my class can go alot higher! Does anyone know any good exercizes or tips to help me get my develope devant higher??

thanks!!

[Mel Johnson]

Developpé devant is one of the most difficult ones to get right. Either the student drops turnout, grips the quad and tries for height that way, or lets the hip out of alignment. Neither way is correct.

 

What happens is this: In taking the developpé, the leg comes to retiré, and at that point, you're committed. Neither the rotation of the leg nor the height of the knee can drop after that point. What has to come into play are the muscles which are UNDERNEATH the leg when it's properly rotated, like the abductors and the glutes. Sometimes we teachers say, "lift with the hamstrings", but they can't do that, and some of the muscles next to them do the trick. The quads don't grip. That will only stop the extension. The quads don't really get involved until the very last straightening of the knee.

[Guest limeymauve]

How do you stop your quads from gripping? That is my big problem, I've been doing it for so long that it automatically happens and I can't figure out how to stop it. Mostly I try to concentrate on turning out a lot while I'm extending, and I've been working on strengthening my inner thighs, but I concentrate so hard that I just tense up, and that doesn't help!

[Mel Johnson]

Don't tense up - that's the problem! The rotation is the right idea, but make sure that you're not striving so hard for rotation that you sink into the supporting hip. This is really tough to explain in writing, but it's easy to fix in class.

[Victoria Leigh]

A couple things that can maybe help: Feel like there is this vertical circle of energy going around you, sort of like a ferris wheel. It moves front to back, over your head and down under your leg and and keeps going upward. This will make it feel like your hamstrings are doing the work and not the quads. At the end of the extension, the quads must be working of course, or the leg would not be straight. Another aid is to take a breath as you reach the retiré and exhale as you developpé. This also makes it easier not to overuse the quads.

[Guest limeymauve]

Yeah, i know what you mean about sinking the supporting hip, that happens to me when I try to rotate too much, because I don't have very good natural turnout. I'll try to think about that wheel idea while I'm extending, but I have a question about that. I know you're supposed to keep you're hips square all the time, but there are exceptions, such as in arabesque sometimes. When I try to really think about lengthening my leg, my hip tends to go forward with it. I also notice when I'm doing a heel stretch to the front, to get a really good stretch I let the hips go, but when I want to hold it I try to square them (and the leg goes a little lower). Is it wrong to do that?

[Mel Johnson]

You can let go of the hips in that kind of a stretch. After all, it's just a stretch, and not likely to show up in a ballet of danse d'ecole - although "Gaité Parisienne" is another matter.

[Victoria Leigh]

Actually, I prefer to use that stretch (jambe à la main or pied à la main) as a stretch for well placed developpés, and therefore do not allow any contortion of the alignment or weight placement. I know it's done both ways, this is just my personal preference. Since you are not allowed to displace your hips when you developpé front and side, then I think you should also stretch within that control zone of placement and alignment.