Adv Ballet Midterm
Lexi Whaley
1. Plié means to bend and in our plié exercise we begin by standing in first position and lowering into demi-plié using our port-de-bra. We repeat once more to then deeply bend into our grand-plié. We then stretch forward and back, then move to the second position and repeat the combination but with the stretch side-to-side. En quoi. To finish we balance in first position. Plié warms up all the joints in our body through the small bends and big bends and the folding and stretching connectivity we aim for. These pliés prepare us for every other movement throughout the rest of ballet class. In center, our plié is what can make or break a pirouette. Without proper support or placement we would fling ourselves out of alignment. I think about core distal when I am doing my pliés. Degage means to disengage and in out degage exercise we begin by standing in first facing the bar. We degage 8 times on one foot to the side, for the first 4 times using body half support and then switching arms and feeling cross lateral support. Other leg slowly degages out while arms switch in cross lateral support. Leg snakes into other leg and back out to the side. Other foot reaches up into posse while other arm reaches up in cross lateral support. Degage warms up the body when you release the quad from the movement and actually let your body swing and stretch and engage with the body. By practicing degages we prepare for petit allegro in center. Sissonnes specifically need the degage feel to them as we jump from two feet to land on one. Cross lateral or body half connectivity to support the degage movement.
2. Two images I have been trying to focus on are the wheels of my body that you explained. My rib cage wheel is going forward and my pelvis wheel is going backwards. I find this really helpful at barre when I am able to hold on and find my proper placement with ease. I do think about it in center, but at barre I find it much more useful. The second image I use is my ring finger connection to my armpit. I often find that the energy stops in my hands and I think this image really helps me keep the energy flowing out past my fingertips.
3. The practice of classical ballet fascinates me because there is a set vocabulary of words and movements but the combination of them or the way they are choreographed
