9 Dance Books I Can’t Live Without

Today’s post is a result of my participation in Day Two of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog which is a program being hosted by Darren Rowse at his site Problogger. His blog on — well… blogging! — is one of the most comprehensive sites around. I have learned a lot by reading his posts. I appreciate the spirit of his teaching methods in a realm that sometimes feels dominated by pushy sales people. Therefore, I have no doubt that these 31 days will be well spent. Not all of his challenges will involve creating posts but hopefully you’ll notice the improvements, regardless!

The challenge today was to create a list post. I’ve done them before but usually my points or tips have lots of explanation. My challenge for myself was to try one that was more to-the-point! Wha-la!

1. Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance

I use this book all the time. There are so many great ideas and images to share with students in class and it is set up in a way that allows one to reference things quickly. Although, I do not own it, I understand that Franklin’s Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery, is excellent as well.

2. Dance Kinesiology

3. Creative Dance for All Ages: A Conceptual Approach

Another college textbook, this has proven an invaluable reference and guide for, not only teaching creative dance classes but, for working with children in general.

4. Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet

They’ve recently updated the look of this book but it still holds up as a great reference for ballet terminology.

5. The Pointe Book: Shoes, Training & Technique Second Edition

I have the first edition but, I’ve often shared information from this book with ballet and pointe students and parents. It’s a concise overview of history, training, shoe care, and more.

6. The Art of Making Dances

There are several quality choreography books out there. However, this guide is great for it’s simplicity. A helpful tool for dance crafters and those teach composition.

7. Ballet and Modern Dance: A Concise History

Another one that was a college text and that’s been around a while. It is great for developing a basic understanding of the dance history timeline and discovering major influences and players in theatrical dance.

8. Physics and the Art of Dance: Understanding Movement

Kenneth Laws’ presentation of dance as it relates to physics might change the way you dance or teach!

9. Choreography: A Basic Approach Using Improvisation

A bit more colorful than Humphrey’s book, with lots of solid, beginning improvisation and compositional techniques, this is one I’ve used and shared with students a lot.

@Twitter Pals

Today I posed the following question to some of the lovely folks that follow me on Twitter.

What is one dance book or reference you couldn’t live without?

Here are some of their replies.

@amej Valerie Preston-Dunlop’s Looking at Dances. Incredibly insightful, inspiring and beautifully written.

Dunlop’s book is not available at Amazon but you can read more about her and her works at her website. Click here.

@cpmomcat One dance reference I would want on hand: George Balanchine’s Complete Stories of the Great Ballets

This book has been through a few revisions over the years. The older versions may be a bit harder to obtain. 101 Stories of the Great Ballets seems to be a condensed version of the original. It claims to offer the most popular ballets, old and new. But of course, this final volume was written in 1975.

@love2d I gotta say Martha Graham’s Blood Memory was truly inspiring for me, and Psychology Of Dance really interesting and useful.

Blood Memory is Graham’s autobiography. Again, this is a collectible so you may want to check out your local or college library to see if they have a copy. Psychology of Dance is on my wishlist.

@love2d If I can add another one: Dancing – the all in one guide for dancers, teachers and parents. More interesting information.

Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement, could be the book mentioned here. Or, it could be Dancing: The Indispensable Gude, also mentioned by @sarah_rose.

Thanks to all my twitter pals that took the time to offer their responses. If you are a Twitterer? Tweeter? Twit?, be sure to check out these birds of a feather. And, make sure you stop by and say hello @danceadvantage!

What are some dance books YOU can’t live without?

The content here at Dance Advantage is available free of charge, however maintaining the site is not. If you like the content here and would like to offer a bit of support, one way that you can do that is by purchasing one of my nine recommendations through the widget below. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn pennies on the dollar but every bit helps. I don’t want to hide links in the text – I want to give you the option! And I don’t want to recommend or try to “sell” you on something that I haven’t used myself. The books below are all in my home library.

A FREE Download for Parents of Dancers

It often starts innocently with that first preschool dance class. A year or two later, one class becomes two, or three, or four. Before you know it, your entire household’s schedule begins to revolve around classes and rehearsals or competitions. Work, phone calls, and sometimes even meals take place in a studio lobby. Your purse contains bobby pins, hair nets, and bandages. Your taxi (er… car) is littered with stray dance shoes, water bottles, and sequins. Your wallet, on the other hand, is empty! If this sounds familiar, you’re probably a Dance Parent!

If you are a family that has welcomed dance into your household and your hearts, you may have had no idea when you began this adventure that it could become so all-consuming! You receive direction, advice, and even… ahem… orders (nicely stated orders) from other parents, teachers, and even your own child. Yet, despite all of this input, there may still remain the questions and concerns of a parent whose focus is the welfare, health, and happiness of their own child.

Objective Answers

It can be difficult to know where to turn for objective answers to these questions. Fortunately, I’m happy to announce a resource that contains some excellent information and solutions to the frequent concerns of dance parents everywhere. The offer is a free, download-able manual, written by Lisa Howell of The Ballet Blog specifically for parents of dancers. I recently highlighted some of Lisa’s work with Deborah Vogel of The Body Series. Lisa is a physiotherapist in Australia that works specifically with dancers. However, her mission and message reach a worldwide audience through her work online. She is the author of several manuals and resources that are aimed at helping students stay healthy and injury free and arming teachers with a strong base of information with which to guide their dancers toward this aim.

Her Parent’s Manual is certainly geared to those parents who have daughters embarking on a serious and intense study of dance, and particularly ballet. However, much of the information is quite useful for recreational students that take multiple classes, male students, or students taking classes in other disciplines. This is due to the wide variety of topics covered in this 100+ page e-book, which begins with lots of nutrition guidelines and concerns, goes on to speak about the physical development of a dancer, discusses injuries and their prevention, psychological issues in dance and dance training, choosing a school or teacher, and frequently asked questions about beginning pointe work.

A Knowledgeable Parent

Parents play a huge and important role in the education of dance students. A knowledgeable parent is one prepared to make decisions, offer mindful support, and ask informed questions. Ms. Howell’s manual is a quality resource that offers knowledge on important topics. I have read the material and appreciate Ms. Howell’s other work. She offers informative and professional guidance to the dance community.

The Parent’s Manual is not only great for parents but can be a useful tool for teachers in communicating with the parents of dancers. In fact, I have referenced Ms. Howell’s materials in my teaching and when working with parents. That is why I feel comfortable in sharing this resource with you.

To be clear, there are other materials available for purchase at Lisa Howell’s website. I do not currently receive any compensation for sales on these items. This manual has been made available for free to dance parents (and teachers) and I  simply hope you will take advantage of the information offered. I also want to be clear that Lisa is asking that you submit your name and email address in order to reach the link for downloading this e-book. You will be subscribed to newsletter updates which will often contain articles and answers to readers’ questions. I have enjoyed the information contained in these articles, however, you can unsubscribe from these additional emails easily via a clearly marked link at the bottom of the newsletter.

Okay, here’s the link:

Go Here to Download

Lisa Howell’s Perfect Pointe Parent’s Manual

Let’s Hear it for the Boys!

A while back I did a post entitled Encouraging Boys to Dance. It had a good response and I was even asked to submit an edited version for the PTA (National Parent Teacher Association) website.  It is my firm belief that boys should be encouraged to dance by dance teachers and parents in particular. After all, there are many who would discourage them – we should be making it an easier choice for young guys who may have an interest in the art form.  Sadly, many dance schools seem completely geared toward females (maybe without even realizing it), effectively turning young men away.  Dancers thrive in an environment where they feel comfortable to be themselves and safe from judgment or abuse.  Therefore, dance schools and parents must make an effort to provide this environment for boys in dance.

Check it out!

I recently came upon two blogs which are the primary purpose of this post.  They are excellent resources for male dancers and their parents.  The first is My Son Can Dance, a chronicle of one dance mom’s experiences with raising a boy who dances.  Teachers, dance moms, and male dancers should definitely take note of this site! The second is Boys and Ballet, essentially a collection of news articles from around the globe that feature boys or men in the dance world (specifically ballet but other genres are occasionally featured) – an excellent resource that can act as a source of encouragement for young men involved in dance.

While we’re on the subject…

Here are some other links:

• Teacher lesson plan that reinforces the idea that dance is a beneficial activity for men and women.
• Bad Boys of Dance – a company of male dancers who tour… field trip!!
• River’s Edge Dancewear – large selection of men’s dancewear.
• All About Dance men’s dancewear selection
• The Ailey School’s program for boys.
• The Men in Dance festival in Seattle
• A clearly written article on boys in dance in an educational setting (pdf).
• Inspiring Boys through Dance – interesting education project (UK) which provides insight applicable to other settings.
• Helping Boys Make the Leap to Ballet – from the Washington Post, a good reminder that boys in dance can enjoy both dance and sports.
• Born to Be Wild – The Leading Men of American Ballet Theatre
• Billy Elliot: an enjoyable movie (note: it is rated R for language)
• The Jacob’s Pillow gallery of Ted Shawn’s The Men Dancers (prints available for purchase)
• An excellent example of grace and masculinity -

Children’s Books (great for your studio waiting room or home library)

• Jose! Born to Dance: The Story of Jose Limon
• Alvin Ailey
• The Only Boy in Ballet Class
• Ballerino Nate
• Dancing to Freedom: The True Story of Mao’s Last Dancer
• …and more children’s books!

Participate – Wordpress now has PollDaddy!!

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Turnout – How to Nurture Your Turnout

This is a continuing series. Certainly, it would be impossible to write about everything you ever wanted to know about turnout in one, two, or maybe even twenty posts. But, welcome to Part II!.

Part I explored the history of turnout in dance and the anatomical definition of outward rotation at the hip joint.  Here, I will discuss the three ways in which a dancer can nurture their ability to turnout and to actively maintain that turnout during movement.

Awareness

Awareness comes from both developing an understanding of how the body, or the hip joint in this case, works (which we’ve already talked about in Part I) and adjusting or bringing attention to the way you think as a result of this understanding. The number one problem for students struggling with turnout is that often they are thinking about what they see happening to the pelvis rather than what is occurring in the joint. Teachers can help their students develop x-ray vision by discussing the actions of the joint in anatomical terms.  Many students do not even have a clear picture of how their bones and muscles look so keep in mind that diagrams can be very helpful.  Of course, accuracy with terminology is great also, but what students really need to understand are the concepts behind what the bones and muscles are doing. This is far more helpful than talking about visual imperfections like “lifting hips” which occur when students are not properly using their turnout. Consider using mental imagery to aid in this kinesthetic understanding. For instance, in her article Turnout is a Verb, Linda Kjesbu suggests imagining the quadriceps “as you would a barber shop pole that continually rotates up and out, around the leg.” This image hints at the idea of upward lengthening and outward rotation of the whole leg – a different picture and feeling all together than opening the feet like a book or in the shape of a slice of pizza, which is only what we see happening on the outside.

In Conditioning for Dance, Eric Franklin uses the image of the pelvic floor opening like a fan in turnout.  With this tool one can visualize that the sitz bones come together as the femurs open away from each other. Attention is drawn to a very important portion of the body – the base of the centre – which will help students begin to harness the power of the pelvis in jumping, leaping, and other movements.

In addition to imagery, tactile information (sense of touch) can also be extremely helpful for a dancer. Encourage students to find bony landmarks on themselves and one another. Find ways to isolate certain muscles through manipulation and touch while encouraging the use of mental pictures. Again, I will highly recommend Conditioning for Dance as a wonderful reference for this type of sensory learning.  You will also find a variety exercises with bands and balls targeting specific areas of the body. For an in-depth understanding and analysis of joint and muscle actions, I constantly refer to Sally Fitt’s Dance Kinesiology. These make excellent additions to a teacher’s dance library.

Release

Too much tension in the musculature around the hip joint is often responsible for limiting the degree of turnout. Therefore, releasing that tension is key if you’d like to improve outward (and inward) rotation. Tight inward rotators inhibit outward rotation and visa versa. Dancers have varying methods which they use to accomplish release in the hips. Some use passive and lengthening stretches and others utilize props like balls to facilitate an opening within the joint.

A common stretch for the inward rotators is the prone (face-down) frog. In this stretch it important to avoid

forcing or pushing the turnout of the hips because doing so can damage the tissues and ligaments surrounding and leading from the hip. A more gentle and effective version of the frog can be done either sitting or lying supine (face-up). While sitting, place the feet together and hands just below and outside the bent knees. Push the knees outward against the force of hands which are pushing inward. Hold this for about 20-30 seconds, then release, opening the knees wide and stretching the inward rotators. While lying, point both knees to the ceiling. Open one knee toward the floor and press down with this leg, lifting the thigh, hips and lower spine off the floor. Maintain this press and lift the opposite leg off the floor so that only the rotated leg and the shoulders are supporting the body. Hold this for 20-30 seconds (breathe!) and then release and lie with both knees open wide, then repeat with the other leg. Both of these stretches utilize reciprocal inhibition, a method of increasing flexibility favored by dance medicine specialists.

Strengthen Without Tension

Many dancers have more turnout capability than they are able to use because they lack the strength in their outward rotators and supporting muscles to fully open and maintain turnout in the hips. Strengthening these muscles is a gradual process and can be done primarily during technique class, focusing particularly on rotation during plié, fondu, and passé/retiré exercises. Performing prone leg lifts and the Pilates side kick series also target the appropriate muscle groups. Make sure you have a trainer, guide, or teacher when learning these, however, so that you are not repeatedly strengthening or targeting the wrong muscles. Turnboards, discs, and other devices are also becoming popular for strengthening the outward rotators.

No matter what method of strengthening you practice, it is essential to focus on doing so without tension in the muscles. “Squeezing” the buttocks is never a good idea when trying to achieve turnout. This language is often tossed around in dance classes, perhaps because the gluteus maximus is partially responsible for achieving turnout, and it is a muscle we can see working. However, squeezing implies that the contraction is a forceful one which will only lead to over-development of the muscle and possibly injury. Dancers should always strive to create less effort in movement as opposed to more, therefore it helps to pay more attention to the opening and lengthening involved in turnout rather than constantly contracting or holding tension in the muscles, which leads to muscular imbalance.

Avoiding Injury

Almost all injuries in dance are caused by imbalance. Imbalance in muscle strength is created when one muscle group is overused or underused in relation to the opposite muscle group. For instance, the excessive use of the outward rotators in dance can cause sciatic syndrome, a condition in which the sciatic nerve, which runs through the deep rotators, becomes pinched when this muscle group is constantly working without release. For this reason alone it is important for dancers that work in turnout to make time for stretching the external rotators. We’ve all done the sitting yoga twist (pictured right), which is a great stretch for this muscle group. Reciprocal stretches, like the ones for the inward rotators above, can be effective for the outward rotators as well. Lie supine with your knees up and press the insides of your knees together, holding this for 20-30 seconds. Then, open the feet and drop one knee (in inward rotation) toward the floor. Press again and then drop the other leg.

Another serious consideration is that when dancers chase the almost impossible ideal of true 180º turnout, and outward rotation is forced beyond the range of one’s bone structure, an abnormal erosion of the hip socket occurs. This is probably the reason for the high numbers of aging dancers with arthritic hips. Avoid forcing turnout now and you will lessen the chances of needing a hip replacement later in life. Creating false turnout (as mentioned in Part I) can also lead to problems. Excessive pronation can cause shinsplints, strained arches, bunions, misaligned knees, and strained ligaments. Issues such as these have a way of working their way upward through the body, and will in turn cause strain in the hips or cause pelvic tilt, which often leads to back problems and iliopsoas shortening/pain. As you can see, rolling in to get that little bit of “extra” turnout is clearly not worth it.

At the beginning of this two-part article, I asked two questions:  How important is turnout, really? And is having extreme turnout really ideal? What I hope you take away from this article is that it is not the degree to which one is capable of turning out, but the healthful and educated approach to achieving the individual’s own potential for turnout that is important.  As for the importance of turnout itself, I believe it is only as important as we allow it to be.  Even most ballet professionals, I think, would agree that having extreme turnout is trumped by mastering the ability to properly execute and maintain the degree of whatever outward rotation that exists.  This attitude, when applied to training or teaching, can transform a student’s technique. Coupled with the knowledge of how turnout works, it allows the dancer to dance longer and stronger. It is never too early for a dancer to begin to make kinesthetic connections to the movements they are producing in dance class.  Turnout can be properly enforced with imagery and knowlege by teachers who have their pupil’s wellness in mind.

If the turnout is mastered early and properly, the student, and later the dancer, does not have to waste energy on the placement but instead can concentrate on the muscle energy needed to  jump higher to turn better, and to control the weight of the leg.

- Istvan Ament, A Systematic Approach to Classical Ballet: A Four-Year Program

Tell me about your successes or frustration with turnout.

Do you think too much emphasis is placed on the degree of turnout? If so, what are some ways that teachers or educators can correct this?

Do you think the ballet aesthetic is changing?

What are some images, stretches, or exercises relating to turnout that have worked for you?

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Turnout – What Is Turnout?

This will be a continuing series. Certainly, it would be impossible to write about everything you ever wanted to know about turnout in one, two, or maybe even twenty posts. But, welcome to Part I!

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. What is Turnout?
3. Recognizing Proper/Improper Turnout
4. Nature vs. Nurture

Want to learn some techniques for improving your turnout? Read Part II

If you study classical ballet, you are well aware that the outward rotation of the hips (or turnout) is essential to the training and traditions of this form.  Even if you are not a trained in ballet, as a dancer you probably use turnout at least some of the time.  Concert or theatrical dance forms (like modern or jazz dance) in particular utilize turnout within their movement vocabulary. Ask most dancers, and you’ll discover that turnout is high on their list of things to improve and increase.  But how important is turnout, really? And is having extreme turnout really ideal?

The human body is designed primarily for forward motion.  We walk, run, sit, and stand in the sagittal plane.  In dance, the use of turned out legs is primarily utilized for ease of motion on the proscenium stage, a venue in which the performers present movement to an audience which sits entirely on one side of the stage (as opposed to all around or on three sides).  When dance (ballet) moved to this forum from the royal courts, dancers spent more time moving side to side, necessitating a degree of turnout.  Since then, this rotation of the legs has been exaggerated, accepted as the ideal, and adopted as the aesthetic in ballet.

With developments in dance medicine, most dance educators would now agree that 180-degree turnout is not truly a necessity in ballet or otherwise (although this has yet to really change ballet tradition).  Sideways locomotion certainly does not require rotation to such a degree.  Turnout does allow the greater trochanter to avoid the ilium as the leg is lifted above the waist,  however 180 degrees of turnout is not required for this clearance.  In fact, some research (discussed here) suggests that “most dancers have a maximum rotation of 55 degrees in their hips.”  This means that many who appear to have 180º turnout are probably making up the difference in the lower leg.  I suspect that dancers who have danced for years without injury probably discovered early that it is not how much turnout you have that is important, it is how you use what you have. Therefore, it is imperative that one have an understanding of how the hip functions, what is improvable and what is not, how to increase turnout safely and without injury, and how to make the most of what one has.

What Is Turnout?

In anatomical terms, turnout is the outward (sometimes called lateral, or external) rotation of the hip joint.

The hip joint is the joining of the head/top of the femur (thigh bone) to the acetabulum, or hip socket

(seen in the diagram below).

This joint is a ball and socket joint, which allows for a wide range of motion on all three planes (sagittal, lateral, and transverse).  The hip joint can produce flexion (forward of the body), extension (as in standing, not the unfortunately labeled lifting of the leg which is actually flexion in anatomical terms), abduction (away from the midline of the body), adduction (toward the midine of the body), inward rotation (turning-in), and outward rotation (turning-out).  Most dance movements are a combination of these actions.

The hip joint is very complex and most of the muscles surrounding the socket are responsible for more than one action of the hip joint.  These muscles both initiate and restrict movements of the hip. The outward rotators are pictured in the diagram on the right.  The muscles that pass posterior (behind) the hip joint contract to initiate turnout while the anterior muscles lengthen, and those anterior (in front of) the joint contract to initiate inward rotation while the posterior muscles lengthen. If this is confusing, picture the spine of a book – when the book is opened the outside edge of the binding contracts while the other edge lengthens and visa versa.  This inverse relationship is true for all muscle actions and is the key to analyzing movement.

Turnout, although often used in dance as a noun or a position, would more appropriately be considered an action, a verb.  Outwardly rotating the hips requires continual action within the body even when the rotation is held or maintained.  The work does not stop once the position has been attained because maintaining turnout is not what the body is designed for.

Turnout does not occur from anywhere other than the hip.  A false turnout can be achieved by pronating the tarsus (rolling in) to create the illusion of a wider turnout than is being achieved by the hips alone.  This causes a twisting in the knee, a joint which is only designed to extend and flex in the sagittal plane, and this usually leads to misalignment of the pelvis, which actually reduces outward rotation.  False turnout also creates the potential for a myriad of injuries, as we’ll discuss in Part II.

How To Recognize Proper/Improper Turnout

There are some simple visual cues that teachers and students can look for that indicate if turnout is being executed properly and without force.  First of all, if someone is bending their knees (no matter how slightly), turning out, and then lengthening the legs, they are very clearly forcing their turnout. If you try this, you’ll see (and feel) that the feet are rolling toward the big toe (pronating) to maintain this position. When you hear teachers say “knees over toes,” they are asking you to properly align the turnout of your legs and avoid pronation both in standing and in plié. When the legs are opened without force and turnout is supported with the deep rotators, iliopsoas, and abdominals, one should be able to trace a line directly from the hip, through the center of the knee, and to a point between the second and third toe of the foot.  A neutral or properly aligned pelvis (with the sitz bones pointing downward) is a good indicator as well because when the turnout is forced, generally the pelvis will tilt, creating a swayed back.

Dance instructors looking for indication of false turnout will expect to see the feet roll in, the pelvis tilt, and the knees and toes pointing a different direction than the center of the hip joint indicates.  When a dancer is forcing turnout beyond their physical capabilities, tension will appear in the buttocks and probably other areas of the body such as the shoulders or neck.  A dancer who consistently performs with false or forced rotation in the hips will eventually complain of sciatic, knee, foot, and/or back pain.  Therefore, if a dancer is having any of these problems it is always a good idea to pay special attention to their turnout and alignment while dancing.

Nature vs. Nurture

Almost everyone “afflicted” with what he/she considers a limited degree of turnout has at one time found solace in the idea that, for some, the degree of turnout is limited by the unchangeable structure of the body and not for lack of trying.  It is true that some have a narrow sacrum which allows for more efficient locomotion overall.  Men have a narrower sacrum than women, giving them the potential for more impressive jumping skills.  Of course the width of this area varies among women as well.  But, before you begin to think that having a narrow pelvis is ideal, some have observed that this narrow pelvis often is paired with a forward facing acetabulum.  This facing results in, you guessed it, a lesser degree in outward rotation than those with a side-facing hip socket.  The depth of the acetabulum can also affect turnout.  A shallow hip socket allows for higher degrees of both outward and inward rotation in the hip than does a deeper hip socket.

Aside from these natural limitations, turnout is only hindered by problems in how we have nurtured (or not nurtured) the muscles and tissues surrounding the hip. There are three ways in which a dancer can nurture their ability to turnout and to actively maintain that turnout during movement:  Awareness, Release, and Strengthen Without Tension.  And we will learn more about these in Part II!

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Pilobolus

There is much I could write about Pilobolus, a dance company that’s been around for over 35 years. If you’ve been fortunate enough to see them live as I have, you probably understand their appeal and popularity with audiences. The company’s artistic directors and dancers have managed to create “a profoundly serious artistic enterprise that has successfully reached out to a popular audience.” They inject humor, acrobatics, wit, and awe-inspiring partnering work into their dances. Read more

Dancing with the Stars (Not Those Stars)

Celebrities get their fair share of exposure so, no, this is not another post on reality tv’s hit show. Instead, I wanted to highlight one woman’s realized dream to create dance in zero-gravity. Read more

What I Did Over Summer Vacation…

If your dance teacher asks you to write an essay on this topic when you return to dance this fall, will you be able to fill your page with descriptions of dance related activities or… not so much. For those that continue dancing all through the year, good for you. However, if you attend a dance school that, like many, takes an extended break for the summer, this post may help you discover additional ways to spend your holiday (other than watching TV or summer blockbusters and sun-bathing). Don’t get me wrong, enjoying a little deserved R&R after a long year of school, dance, and other activities is good for you (just be sure to wear sunblock, ok?), but setting aside some time to focus on dance will help you grow as a dancer and keep you from needing to brush-up or re-focus when you come back. Here are some ways you can include dance in your summer fun… Read more

Battement

I’m sure that many dancers reading this blog have used or heard the term battement before. If grand battement immediately comes to mind, I’m not surprised, as dancers and teachers often drop the word battement from the name of other common terms. As a result of this practice, some dance students may not realize that battement is actually a family of movements that includes battement tendus, dégagés (sometimes called, battement tendu jeté), frappés, and fondus développé.

The ABT dictionary defines battement here and further defines several movements in the battement family (many with accompanying video). For more video links, also visit this post at Dance Outlook.

Battements, as they are practiced at the barre and in centre, are the foundation of many other movements in ballet (jumps and travelling steps such as assemblé, tour jeté, grand jeté, and so many more) and in other dance forms. In other words, it is necessary to have a solid grasp on the simplest forms in order to perform the others correctly. Often battements are separated into two categories: petit and grand. However,  one could also divide these according to their interaction with the floor – those that brush the ground, and those that come from a position that is already lifted from the floor.

In battements that brush the ground it is important to remember the use of the feet. I have encountered many beginning dancers that neglect “working through” the foot as the working/gesture leg is disengaged from it’s standing position. Think of the foot as a paintbrush creating a brush stroke on the floor, using the intrinsic muscles of the arch and finally, the toes. This small action will strengthen the foot for jumping and relevé, and helps to “ground” the movement, providing stability, particularly in centre. Stability can also be increased by imagining the standing leg rooted deep into the earth as the working leg moves outward and/or skyward from the midline. For grand battement especially, I like to remind my students that power and height of the working leg is achieved through first sending force into the floor. Much like a rocket ship which propels itself into space by sending heat and energy downward, a dancer must send energy into the floor through the leg to create “lift-off” in battement.

Battement that do not interact with the floor will be discussed in a later post.

In all battement, maintaining turn-out is crucial. Many students struggle with this and it can take years to develop the strength to utilize and maintain turn-out with consistency. One way to “find” or create awareness of turnout in battements is to place the fingertips on the greater trochanter. This is the portion of bone at the outside of the hip joint that you’ll probably feel pressing into the floor when lying on your side. With the fingertips on this protrusion, execute a battement tendu. When properly utilizing your turn-out you will feel the trochanter slip backward but not dip lower or lift higher as you disengage the leg. This exercise may be used as an alternative or supplement to the more commonly taught concept of allowing the heal to lead in tendu.

Of course, each movement within the battement family could have it’s own post! Therefore, I’ve included some excellent links below that go into detail about specific battements.

• Battement tendu
• Grand battement
• Battement frappe
• Battement degage
• Battement fondu

A resource that will prove helpful in your study of ballet (and other dance forms that make use of ballet terminology and movements) and understanding of terminology are a good ballet dictionary like the Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet.

What are some images that have helped you (or your students) in executing movements in the battement family? What do you think of my categoriztion of the two types of battement? What are some other pointers you can offer?

Celebrate National Dance Week

National Dance Week is approaching ( April 25-May 4, 2008 ) and if you haven’t already, now is the time to decide how you’re going to celebrate!  Obviously if you’re visiting this blog, you probably have an interest in dance and may already feel like you are immersed in its practice.  However, there are lots of ways you can observe this special week that will enrich your own or your school’s dance experience. And who knows, they may even spill over into the rest of the year, too!!

Sometimes in movement classes we are so focused on learning dance that we forget that appreciating and understanding the art form is just as important.  Of course, we learn to appreciate through doing, but here are some other ways to discover and embrace dance during National Dance Week and beyond.

• See dance – Attend or watch videos of professional performances (it doesn’t matter if it’s a style you are studying) or view video biographies of dancers/choreographers.  If there are no opportunities to attend a professional performance, try a local university with a dance program or a community group that performs ethnic dance forms.
• Discuss dance – Share observations about a performance, dance artist, or a significant event in dance history with your class, your friends, your peers, or your family.  An in-class discussion is great if you’ve experienced something as a group.
• Write about dance – Write a review or report about what you observed about a performance or learned about a particular dancer, company, or choreographic work.  You could share these with your dance class, in school, or even on your own blog.
• Read about dance – There are lots of books and online resources on dance history, dance vocabulary and technique, biographical texts, and dance criticism (reviews of dance performances).
• Make dance – Try your hand at your own choreography, guide your students through the basics of composition, produce your own dance performance (don’t forget to consider costume, makeup, and lighting if available), or share your knowledge of dance with someone else who has never experienced it.

Another important way to celebrate National Dance Week is to reach out to the community.  Many dance studios perform at local festivals, parades, and other events in honor of NDW.  Some other methods of reaching out would be to hold free classes or an open house at your dance school, perform at nursing homes or hospitals, or give workshops at public schools or boy/girl scout meetings.  Perhaps you could also organize volunteering opportunities for your dance studio during this week. Activities like road clean-up, serving at a soup kitchen, or collecting canned goods for a food bank, reflect that dancers, in addition to giving the gift of their art, seek to improve and strengthen their communities in other ways.

As we lead up to NDW, I want to discuss in more detail how teachers can celebrate by incorporating a little dance history, performance, and discussion into their classes; help you build a dance library for your school; and address why all of this is worth the effort.

What are some ways that you have celebrated National Dance Week?  Is there anything you’d add to my list above?

Be Sweet to your Feet – Free Sample

This week for What’s In Your Dance Bag?, I want to give you the opportunity to take The Gilden Tree Soft Feet Challenge and get a free sample of their Nourishing Foot Cream which is organic and aloe-based.  What dancer couldn’t use a foot refresher once in a while?  Thanks to Heather at Freebies 4 Mom for directing me to the sample. 

Also, while we’re on the subject of feet, check out The Dancer’s Foot Book (A Dance Horizons Book).  ”A complete guide to the common foot injuries of dancers in ballet, modern, jazz, and aerobic dance. Includes information for dance students, professionals, and teachers. Covers basic foot anatomy and has an alphabetical listing of injuries with recommended treatments.” It is a great book to add to your dance library. I personally own this and have referred to it several times for myself and when aiding a student.