Work in Ballet?

Ballet, as well as any other dance form, always requires constant and consistent effort put into each movement. The tricky part in ballet is when to decifer what's too much work, making the movement rigid and stiff, and what's not enough work, making the movement look sloppy. In my own exploration of my body I have found when I try to focus on engaging every body part for a particular exercise I become very tense and lose the lightness in the movement. I have a tendency to grasp concepts easily with my mind but when translating it to my body it all becomes a little fuzzy. In the new classes I have taken and am still taking I've tried correcting my body in a new way. Instead of trying to focus on everything at once creating my stiff movement, I have learned to only focus on one thing at a time. For instance, in a tondue I first focus on my hip placement, and when it's out to the side my tondue follows the line of turn out. Once that has become muscle memory for me I move on to the next thing, working on resisting through the floor. Next I focus on pulling up through my center, using my focus, and so on and so forth. Although I still have a long list of things to work on I have found that working in that manner for me has proven the most effective and I can visually see and physically feel changes in my movement. The work is hard but when you find the balance that fits your body and your needs the work proves all worth while.