Focus on Alignment

We all know that without proper alignment, you can’t succeed in ballet. This has become abundantly clear to me since arriving at OSU. I had been taking ballet for years, practicing with bad habits, and never really moving forward as much as I would have liked because I wasn’t properly aligned. Without knowing how to get on your leg during turns, or square off in arebesque, you can’t expect to turn more or balance longer. You can practice all day, but until you are practicing it with proper technique, it’s useless. I can already feel a difference in my dancing. I am much more on top of my legs during adagio, and can move with more ease during petit allegro. My biggest struggle right now is correcting my muscle memory and building up strength in the correct muscles.

Ballet alignment is full opposite spirals. The sternum is going up and out, while the ribs are down, and the lower abs are knitting together and pulling up, while the inner thighs and rotators are fighting to turn out; the shoulders dropped down the back, while the elbows are up etc. It is difficult to connect and really feel this in the body without getting bogged down in thought and turning your focus inward, but focus is also part of proper alignment. Last year, Courtney taught us that using your eyes and head not only looks much better, but is also part of the technic itself and will improve your dancing. After all, ballet originated as a court dance, created by royalty. This was a dance done by people in high places, so the confident, sometimes pompous attitude is inherently necessary to executing the movement itself. Look up and out! Take pride in the hard work you are doing.