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Knees looking bent on pointe


IvoryCiara

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I'm not sure whether this belongs in the Pointe section, so feel free to move it if it does. Just for some background information: when I'm standing on flat, my knees appear to be slightly hyperextended. In most positions on pointe, my legs also look slightly hyperextended. However, in poses on one leg my supporting leg sometimes appears slightly bent. I can balance fairly well on one leg, and it doesn't feel like I am bending my leg, but my leg still appears slightly bent. I am knock-kneed, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I'm confused as to what I should do to make my legs appear straighter. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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If you show hyperextension in other positions, then you may be releasing the knee too far to compensate for that structural characteristic. Add in the jarreté, and that becomes very likely. You have to find a happy middle way between fully locked and just free-floating when on pointe, and reinforce this "setting" on your kneejoint. Ask your teacher to keep an eye on it for you. S/he can provide the necessary "eye outside the self" to help you find the right way to do it.

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I have rather "bow" legs as my dance teacher calls them. Well, it was mainly a problem for me in arabesque :) . But when doing tendues and such i would try to over compensate and try to over straighten. The best thing was when my teacher saw that, she would say something quickly as she was walking by, or you just have to get in teh frame of mind to make that your correction to work on for a while.

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Sorry, I would have asked this in the original post but I've just remembered. This is also about when I am in arabesque. My working leg sometimes looks bent, when (again) I feel as if it is fully straightened. Could this be a result of being knock-kneed as well? Thanks!

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Thanks for the quick reply! It's really a relief to know that my legs aren't just being subconciously lazy or something (although I still need to work on it) :o

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