Hey, We Already Did That!

Start With Ballet

Did you know that professional dancers start their day with a daily ballet class?  Why, oh why?  Didn’t they figure out how to do the steps years ago?

Just like learning a language or a musical instrument, you can learn a few vocabulary words or learn to play a few notes, but that does not mean you are fluent or a musician.  Dance is the same way.  It is a long cumulative process with so many things to master.

Just for fun, here are some of the things that need to be mastered in order to do a proper plié (definition: to bend)

• bend your knees, straighten your knees

• knees go over toes

• with correct placement

• with hips forward over toes

• with core engaged and seat engaged

• with full turnout (knees over pinky toes)

• with push and pull

• with improvement on recovery (on the way up)

• with arm movement

• with head movement

• with correct breathing

• in all positions

• continuous movement

• with ribs lifting off hips at all times

• with epaulement

Gaining Mastery

Incredibly, this is not a complete list and it’s just one movement!  With the exception of the first thing, it takes years to learn and execute consistently.  This one movement happens before and after every jump, as a connecting step, as a way to smoothly come down from a high movement, as a prep and landing for every turn, and so much more!  So have a little patience with your dancer and watch them slowly gain mastery over their bodies and the art of dance.  They are superstars!!