Graceful arms??

[balletjames]

Hello Everyone,

 

Not been on here for a while but wanted to say Im still enjoying going to ballet. In fact I love it!

 

Im struggling with my arms, I just seem so robotic. I try to move them gracefully but still I just cant get them to look like a dancer.

 

As I am a guy I guess this isnt usual movement for men, hence my struggle, any comments?

 

 

I so love my classes and working through all the RAD intermediate work but want to fully look the part.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

:-)

[Mel Johnson]

It isn't usual carriage of the arms for anybody! It takes awhile to get comfortable feeling and looking normal when you have to turn your arms out from the shoulder and keep the elbows supported. Just keep working at it, and remember, unless told otherwise, all port de bras pass through the "gateway" to get from one place to another!

[Clara 76]

I think sometimes we can get so bogged down on one area of technique that we miss out on the concept of the whole...sort of a 'can't see the forest for the trees' kind of thing.

 

Remember that your arms are connected to your torso, so the arms should move as a result of something happening in the torso. If you follow a few simple 'arm rules', then you may start understanding better:

1. Keep your arms in front of your body.

2. Practice the arm positions in front of a mirror so you can learn where they are.

3. Now practice getting to a position with your eyes closed, then open them to check how well you're starting to feel the position.

4. Use your breath to change position.

5. Practice coordination exercises.

 

That combined with years of practice and training should help!!

[Claude_Catastrophique]

This might sound a bit strange but watching pros dance really helped me with my arms. I started to go to the opera to watch many ballets a couple of years ago and since then I got a better feeling for my arms.

[balletjames]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Really appreciate it! Comments and tips noted! :-)

[dancepig]

If you have a swimming pool handy, you might want to use it. Try standing in water that comes a little higher than your waist, move your hands and arm through the water, doing small movements, like you would when you "take a breath" just before a combination. Watch how your wrists move, and make note of the feeling. You can try going from preparatory through first, then to second and back to preparatory, again making note of how your arms, hands and wrists move through the water and how it feels. Watch how your hands follow your wrists, and how your wrists follow your arms. This helped me a lot. Oh and while you're in the pool - practice your entrechats - it's loads of fun!

[Clara 76]

Good advice, dancepig!!

 

Then, when you get out of the pool, try to transfer the feeling of the water's resistance to your movement into how you move your torso and arms (and legs!)

[balletjames]

Great stuff some more good tips, I like this site!

[Mel Johnson]

Remember, james, that we are here to help YOU! It's one of our basic missions here at Ballet Talk for Dancers, advice to students.

[swantobe]

Thanks for posting this. I need help with my arms and these tips will definitely help me.