Sway back, turn out and straigtening knees

[Danza2]

Thanks for your contribution on this topic swanchat. I appreciate. I am going to go over some video with my daughter's private pilates/ballet teacher and ask him what he thinks. I don't think my daughter is forming bad habits but possible she can lean into her arabesque more. I am still confused???

[swanchat]

Sorry if I added to the confusion. You are smart to have a qualified teacher look at your dd's technique as bad habits are hard to break. I do remember the director of dd's first school telling her that she would find the training at her new school to be painstakingly slow compared to the pace of the instruction she was used to. She had no idea what that meant but discovered that it meant going back to basics and getting everything as close to perfect as possible before moving on to "more, higher or faster." Perfect meant clarity of line and placement, 45 and 90 degree arabesques, clean double pirouettes, maintaining turnout in jumps, finishing every step properly and importantly, learning to use epaulement! This was slow compared to her first school which is known for training tricks (more pirouettes, whacking legs up to emphasize flexibility (even if the dancer doesn't have the strength to hold that whacked leg, it made for great photos), extreme poses which by their nature compromise the purity of of line or technique.

 

Her second school is world recognized and it is deemed the upper school, final years of training, and yet she was back to basics! It wasn't until her final year that the teacher gave the class their "Christmas Present," working on Ponché in center! It wasn't until then that the teacher felt the class was strong enough to do this cleanly and with control. It was kind of cool when she gave them this present because she made the announcement of their present while we parents were in for parent observation and you could see the excitement among the girls and the pride of the teacher that they had worked hard enough for this milestone in their curriculum.

 

It's been said many times on this board, good ballet training is like a slow cooker.