Er... odd problem here.

[Guest Raedyn L.]

You know how the proper stance at the barre is having your hand a little bit forward so it won't mess up your shoulder, and elbow bent a little so you'll feel relaxed?

 

Well, I did that. But when I lifted my leg and tried to place my ankle on the barre like a good little novice, my foot slammed into the wall and I almost fell and hurt myself.

 

Actually it wasn't that drastic, but you get the picture. Even when I straighten my arm, the barre practically digs into my calf!

 

Are my arms too short? (My elbows reach about to the top of my hips, and my fingers reach to the middle of my thighs.) Are my legs too long? (...Okay, that's a little hard to describe.)

 

How can I fix this so I won't look like a human STORK??

[Mel Johnson]

Nooo. So far, so good. Can you elaborate a little please? What happens when you straighten your legs so that the knees are at full travel?

[vrsfanatic]

Raedyn L. it may be that you are standing too close to the barre. Also, try to rest your heel on the barre, not your ankle. Placing your heel on the barre helps the student to develop strength deeply inside the hip socket because the leg must be held rather than resting on the barre.

[Guest Raedyn L.]

Perhaps I should have elaborated.

 

Mel Johnson--When I straighten my legs completely I can't reach the barre with my hand. Can't even put my fingertips on it.

 

vrsfanatic--That's kind of the problem, only I'm not standing too close to the barre. When I put my heel on the barre, I can't put my HAND on it--unless I bend to the side, and that's kind of no fun. So my leg shifts a little, and before I know it it's my ankle on the barre, not my heel, and I've skewered the proper posture.

 

I'm beginning to think I'm disproportionate here. Short arms, long legs... grah!

[Mel Johnson]

What I'm driving at is the direct question, "Do you have hyperextended knees and elbows?" When you place the foot in question on the barre, are you perpendicular to the barre, or are you in effacé to it, as on a diagonal?

[Guest Raedyn L.]

Well, in answer to your first question: No, neither my legs nor my elbows are hyperextended.

 

And in answer to your second: I'm perpendicular to the barre because that's how I see everyone else do it.

[Mel Johnson]

Ah...right there is your problem. I don't think anybody can do a stretch with their leg perpendicular to the barre, and grasp the barre in the process - not and remain properly placed. Orangutans, maybe, but no people I know. If that's what your teacher is giving, that's a different problem, but not yours, unless your knees start to hurt. Try this stretch effacé to the barre, holding the barre with one hand.

[dance4life56]

If that's what your teacher is giving, that's a different problem, but not yours, unless your knees start to hurt. Try this stretch effacé to the barre, holding the barre with one hand.

 

My teacher often gives a stretch facing efface to the barre, but last week, and this week (just to try a differnet approach I guess) she had us stretch perpendicular to the barre, and my supporting knee began to really bother me. I was going to start a new thread, but I noticed that you commented on that here, so I was wondering what I should be doing diferently, or should I tell my teacher and refrain from doing it at all?

[Mel Johnson]

That really ought not to be done at all. Too much lateral stress on both legs, and a real good bet that the hips will be twisted.

[Guest Raedyn L.]

I don't think anybody can do a stretch with their leg perpendicular to the barre, and grasp the barre in the process - not and remain properly placed. Try this stretch effacé to the barre, holding the barre with one hand.

 

Oh! Thank you! Now I feel more like a human and less like a stork . I will keep that in mind and rewire my brain to do all my stretches effacé.