Grande Cabriole ouverte

[Claude_Catastrophique]

It is a looong time ago since I had to do grande cabriole in class and now we had to do them again yesterday. I never had any problems doing those but yesterday they were no good. My teacher told us to lean backwards, like a cambré while doing the jump to create a nicer line. She couldn't demonstrate it properly because she has an injured foot and cannot jump. I think she told us this with the leaning backwards, because we all kind of collapesed towards out legs with the upper body.

 

Basically I understand what she wants us to do but I am afraid to fall backwards on my butt when I lean backwards in the air. On the right side (I mean first right leg in the air, left one following), I can avoid to collapse forward and I can cambré when coming down. But on the left I start to bend my knees as soon as I am in the air, I cannot jump as high as on the right and my landing is insecure.

 

Any suggestions how to overcome my fear? Or any other advice? Thank you for your replies

[Mel Johnson]

Since you're already doing cabrioles, take them lower to start. Don't lean back as FAR as in a cambré, just enough to give epaulement, about the same as you would have in doing a developpé to effacé to the front. The higher the leg goes in front, the more you can bring the shoulders back. It's a matter of balance, and trial and error.

 

Use the barre, if necessary, to try to find equilibrium, and you know not to bend your knees in cabrioles when you're in the air. Correct that.

[Guest ingve]

Hi.

 

You do not lean back in the air. The image your teaching is something that just happens when you are doing the cabrioles right. If you lean too far back during the cabriole in the air you are risking to land with your standing leg knee in a position wich can make your front crusial ligament snap faster than you can think of it.

 

The cambre does happen when you have landed.

 

Take it easy. Cabriole is a step that takes time, and one day, after a lot of work, it will improve.

 

Fear is a healthy protection that keeps you from doing things you might not have the technique and/or knowledge to do. So do not try to push this natural protection away.

 

And appart from that I agree with all Mel said.

[Claude_Catastrophique]

Thank you both for your answers. I suspected that my teacher meant an epaulement in the air and a cambré after the landing.

 

Good idea with the barre. I'll keep all of that in my mind when I have my next class and try it

[vrsfanatic]

The Vaganova method does require an inclination back, at the top of the jump in grand cabriole. There can be an increase in the inclination on the landing, according to choreographic requirements, but not always. The body is to fly through the air in a very open V before the beating of the legs together. The torso is not perpendicular to the floor, but rather on a diagonal.

 

The movement is studied at first with the emphasis on the jump upward with the inclination (temp leve in pose efface front). The characteristics and scheme of pose efface front must be clearly defined in the air before the beating of the legs is introduced. Without the inclination of the body, a cabriole is lacking in artistic expressivity and breath.

[Mel Johnson]

A good place to see this in action is the second shade's variation in La Bayadere. The cabrioles get larger as the diagonal progresses.

[Claude_Catastrophique]

I just found a video on youtube and I see now what my mistake was! I twisted my upper body in bad way so that it kicked me out of the jump and I bent my legs to correct that. I just have to do it like I do it on the right side!

 

Thanks for your advice

[Mel Johnson]

Highly commendable initiative and analysis on your part! I know just what you mean about the bad twist. I see it in students frequently. Glad ingve, vrsfanatic and I could give you some help.

[tantalus]

What's a grande cabriole? That is, how is it different from any other cabriole?

The height of the kick? To 90 degrees?

[Mel Johnson]

As the name says, it's a big one. Any cabriole which ends with the gesture leg at more than 90° would qualify in my book.

[Claude_Catastrophique]

Highly commendable initiative and analysis on your part! I know just what you mean about the bad twist. I see it in students frequently. Glad ingve, vrsfanatic and I could give you some help.

 

That's why I love this board so much...usually I get adivce that is like a special sort of mirror that let me see myself in a different way and shows me my mistakes so that I can correct them!

[ToThePointe]

One thing I see with students sometimes is that they try to take the cambre from the lower back.

 

Think of the position of efface devant. It is an upper back arch with the chest reaching to the sky no matter what the leg height is.

 

The same is true in the cabriole.

[Claude_Catastrophique]

Oh, I think I have to write a list for today's class to remember all of your great advice and suggestions. I'll keep that in mind with the cambré in the upper back. Could be that I arche too low (my upper back is extremly inflexible backwards and cambré is one of my not so good points in class). Thanks for that one!