I often have trouble finding the balance between the proper amount of work and giving way to stylistic choices. Of course, work isn’t necessarily always about effort, because there are times when I feel that I am applying more effort, yet somehow doing worse. This is because I am adding unnecessary tension, and there is nothing artistic about that. My main goal right now is to learn how to work more efficiently. Then, I will have proper placement, strength, and the freedom to add a bit of my own spice. Although, as we all know, this is the work of a lifetime.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Effort vs. Efficiency
Work in ballet feels much different to me than the work in my moderns classes do. Often times in a modern class I feel as though to be successful I should push harder, reach further, release my weight more here and then find the momentum there. The movement does not look the same on everyone, but that does not mean that they were not all successful with the exercise. This is not quite the case for ballet. Not only does a ballet class require the intense concentration and physical rigor of other dance practices, but it is also an extremely specific and codified technique that requires one to find the small deeper muscles in order to properly carry out the movement. I developed a few bad habits at a younger age, and now struggle to commit minor adjustments to my muscle memory. However, these minor adjustments are critical to my success in ballet. Not to mention the strength and control of these muscles, gained in ballet class, inform and improve my work in all other technique forms.
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* modern classes :/
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of questioning effort in a ballet class. In a modern class, we can be told to release into our plie or release into the floor, and it is magically easier and more efficient. But within the structure and constant work of ballet, it seems harder to find those moments. Breathing has been a surprisingly huge help for me in that area. I also think stylistic choices should be more welcome, as long as they are chosen with full knowledge of the structure. Whenever you watch a professional ballet dancer in class, they look completely different from the dancer next to them, for obvious reasons like body shape, but also because of their artistic choices. We should all embrace our artistic and stylistic choices some in our pursuit to grasp ballet.
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