teacher attention

[Guest meliss83]

i had class tonight and we had a substitue, an he is dancer with the PA ballet and i have seen him many time and he is great, and not only that but i love his teaching! He really gives you corrections, not only tells you but manipulates your body to do what he's trying to show you... well i was wondering if teachers could let me know if this is a good thing or a bad thing; the whole class from beginning bar through center he corrected me non stop, granted i was messing up a good amount in center but he seemed to kind of pick on me. he was perfectly nice about it, but i felt very singled out... though i was grateful for the correction. Is this type of attention a good sign or a bad sign? i felt like i was taking so much away from the others in the class, but i did enjoy the correction. but if any teachers have any insite i'd appreciate it. thanks!!

 

also... i am having huge issues with turns... and the directions of them i can't figure out the difference between endedans and endehors (sp) what happened to good old left and right any advice of a good way to remember? thanks again!

[Victoria Leigh]

Melissa, usually a lot of correction is a good thing, however, it's hard to know when it is a teacher you have not had before. I would just take it as a good thing and appreciate it!

 

As for en dehors and en dedans, try thinking outward, as in away from your standing leg, and inward, as in towards your standing leg. It's just like rond de jambe at the barre........when you go from from to back your working leg is moving away from the standing leg, or, en dehors. When you go from back to front the working leg is coming over, towards the standing leg, or, en dedans Under and Over and en dehors and en dedans are basically the same thing.

[Guest meliss83]

i'm sorry i read that so many times and still have no idea. maybe i just need to find a teacher to show me and drill it in to me to understand it. thank you so much for the help though!!

[Victoria Leigh]

Okay, let me try one more thing. Stand on your left left, and do a rond de jambe en dehors with your right leg. Pretend you are drawing a capital "D" from the first position, to the front/sd/bk/and close first. That is "outward", with your right leg moving forward and out and around to the back, away from your standing leg. Now, place the right leg in 4th position in back, place your right arm in front and the left arm to the side, and turn to the right. You are turning away from your standing leg, outward, en dehors.

 

If you reverse this from first position, drawing the "D" backwards, from back to front and into first, you will be going inward, towards the standing leg, or, en dedans. Place your right leg in 4th back, LEFT arm front, and turn to the left, towards your front leg, or, en dedans.

 

Both of these turns relevé onto the FRONT leg, but the en dehors moves outward, and the en dedans moves inward. Hope this helps

[Mel Johnson]

To help with pirouettes anyway, think about this: If you're standing on your left leg and turning to the right, that's en dehors, outside. If you're standing on your left leg and turning to the left, that's en dedans, inside.

 

And be glad of the attention! The teacher was most probably helping you because he could use you to give corrections and the entire class could learn from them. Remember that when another student gets a correction, see how it applies to you! That's the way we learn in ballet class.

[Guest meliss83]

thank you so much! i think i got it...i just stood in front of the computer screen and practiced and mentally taught myself everything you told me to do... but i will definitely continue to practice! haha thank you so very much again!

 

-melissa

[Veronica]

Knock, Knock!

My DD teacher once explained en dehors as going "out the door" away from the standing leg.