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Task 5: Moving from the five positions

You have already reflected on the feeling of the ballet positions and now you will be thinking about how sustaining and moving from the five positions facilitates physical and aesthetic dimensions of practice.

This is a pencil drawing of a dancer jumping forward. He is only wearing yellow shorts. His torso is naked and he is barefoot.  His right leg is bended while his left leg is stretched backwards. His right arm is stretched forward and his left arm is stretched backward. He is holding in his hands what appear to be small torches. He is facing to the front slightly upwards.

In class we will explore how you move between positions in space and the feeling in the body of opposition and alignment.

Activity 5.1

Tully explains in his book how alignment and opposition are simultaneously engaged. Read a few pages (pp. 9-12 and pp. 32-33) from his book and answer the question below.

Tully, R. (2011) The Song Sings the Bird. A Manual on the Teaching of Classical Dance. Rome: Gremese.

1

According to Tully, what action is enabled by establishing the line of leg from hip joint to the foot?

This is a black and white photo of a ballet dancer performing. The photo is taken from her back. She is standing on her right pointe shoe with her left leg bended to the back. She is looking to her left raising her right arm and moving her left arm forward. She is wearing a short light tutu.

The 'downward thrust' through the heels and feet, giving the upward lift through the hip joint in the opposite direction (pp. 32-33). You can experience this dynamic when you sustain the 5th position.

Previously (pp. 9 -12) he explains that the passing of the two legs equally across the vertical in the fifth position creates the potential for movement in all directions (front, side and back). This is the 'spring' action that not only sustains shape but also enables movement upwards into the air.

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Activity 5.2

Paskevska refers to an oppositional pull in ballet technique. Read chapters on "Alignment" (pp. 33-35) and "Opposition" (p. 55-62) from her book and answer the question below.

Paskevska, A. (2005) Ballet Beyond Tradition: The Role of Movement Concepts in Ballet Technique. New York and London: Routledge.

2

What functions of the oppositional pull in ballet does Paskevska mention in her text?

She suggests that oppositional pull:

  • equalises the forces acting on the body;
  • transmits energy in opposite directions from the centre;
  • has an important aesthetic function;
  • helps to achieve balance.

Paskevska links opposition with achieving balance, while Tully refers to the dynamic of opposition held in a position. In both approaches, the centre is implicit and found in relation to the oppositional pull in the body shape. Both authors express a similar idea: Awareness of the oppositional pull between points in the body that enables freedom of movement.

This image illustrates the downward thrust in the 5th position that supports the reach of the upper body and port the bras into space.

This photo shows two ballet dancers rehearsing in a studio. They are standing on a fifth position. The female dancer is stretching her arms and bending her upper body to he right side, while the male dancer is bending to his left side producing a mirror image of each other.

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Activity 5.3

In this activity you are going to consider the execution of alignment and opposition in two ballet dancers.

3

These two images show two ballet dancers en point. What are the similarities and differences between them with respect to the concepts of alignment and opposition?

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Image 1

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Image 2

Both images show a raised gesture of arm and leg on the same side of the body, both elongate their spines and limbs in an upright position with their heads turned towards the front. The lifted legs reach outward while the supporting legs reach downward to the floor.

The main difference is that image 1, captures the dancer in movement where the points of opposition in her body and limbs enable her to balance with the weight a correctly aligned around the line of aplomb, passing from her toes to the centre of her body to her head. The dancer in image 2 seems to be lengthening the spine upwards and maintaining the shape while moving off the centre; the action captured in the picture does not show a vertical alignment through the supporting leg and foot.

Image 1 suggests that the dancer arrives at this 'position' and moment in space/time as part of a movement sequence. Image 2 suggests the dancer sustains the oppositions to hold the 'position' as it moves through space.

These images can also be seen as reflecting differences between a more Romantic style (image 1) and a Neoclassical style (image 2). This is evident in the flow of lines rather like water in image 1 and more staccato sharp quality in image 2 in which the dancer is falling away from the vertical line. Another stylistic clue is given by the type of the tutus. Later on you will have a chance to discuss aesthetic aspects and styles in ballet.

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