Technique Tuesday! Using The Glutes In 2nd Position Plie.

This Tuesday's tutorial centers around maximizing the use of the glutes in a 2nd position plié. To go back to the basics of proper alignment during a 2nd position plié, click here for a tutorial.

I still haven't solved why the little Blogger elves (evil lil' buggers, they are!) won't link up directly to my You Tube channel. I'm sure if I appear frazzled and hopelessly inept enough my 12 year old son will come to my rescue (and I won't even have to pretend).

So whether you take ballet or a ballet flavored movement program or would just like to incorporate this into movements that you do at home or at the gym, you can easily do so.

Using The Glutes In 2nd Position Plie.

Throughout the week when I teach ballet or Balletone, I refer to the use of the glutes at the top, or completion of a second position plié. Especially when followed by a side port de bras, or side bend stretch. By emphasizing the maintaining of the gluteal engagement at the end of the plié into the side stretch the challenge of having the upper and lower halves of the body working together but separately is further illuminated. Bull on the bottom, Swan on top. As soon as any of my students are old enough to not fall apart into giggles at the words "butt cheeks", I try to instill this concept.

Thanks for hanging out!

Enjoy the dance that is life!

~ Erin

Technique Tuesday; Pelvic Alignment In Second Position Plie.

A few weeks ago I posted a Technique Tuesday about pelvic alignment for plies in first position. You can review it here.


This Tuesday's tutorial is super short. Everything from the first position plies apply.

Pull the belly button towards the spine
Feel the glutes "wrap around" and gently squeeze

As the knees bend, imagine the back of the pelvis is sliding up and down an imaginary wall.

Knees stay opened out over the tops of the feet.

As you straighten the knees, feel those glutes do that wrap and squeeze.

 

Because second position puts you in a wider stance, it gives a great opportunity to feel those thighs stretch out to the side, making sure to keep those knees over the feet.

 

In the video I start off by showing the pelvis out of proper alignment for plies, by showing the hips go behind the feet. When doing a squat you want the hips to go behind the heels, but not in a turned out plié.

Doing properly aligned plies in second is, of course, a necessity for classical ballet technique, but it is also a great move to add to any fitness regiment where you do squats. I'm a big fan of the squat. I do them all the time and I have my young dancers do them as well. Knowing how to properly align the pelvis for various moves can only make you stronger and more agile.

Thanks for hanging out and reading.

Enjoy the dance that is life!

~Erin

Technique Tuesday; Pelvic Alignment In First Position Plie.

The plié is probably the most important step in classical ballet, if not in most of the dance arts.

What makes a plié different from just a knee bend? For the most part, the alignment of the body.

A squat has a knee bend, but the alignment of the torso and pelvis are very different. As the knees bend, the hips go back behind the feet and ankles. The torso angles into more of a folding over position in reference to the thighs. Weight is transferred to be predominately in the heels.

I'm a big fan of squats. They are a great exercise for the glutes, quads and , if done wisely, the back. They are a very functional movement for human bio mechanics. But if you try to do a pirouette from a squat you will learn some unwelcome lessons about basic physics.

As well as making certain dance steps possible, plies, if done properly, offer a great lengthening component to building strength in the muscles of the legs. The muscles of the core are also engaged through the execution of a plié.

I have often found that focusing on the placement of the pelvis can aide in the proper alignment of a plié.

Towards the bottom of this post is a short video tutorial. You can scroll down, or hang out for the pictorial tutorial first.

Start by finding your natural range of motion for outward rotation (turnout).
Toes pointing forward
Bend knees, weight is evenly displaced down through each foot
Pull belly button towards spine and imagine that the back of the pelvis is sliding up and down an imaginary wall

Shifting the weight to the heels, open up the feet as you straighten the legs.
Evenly displace the weight through the feet again
You are now in first position.

 Often when people first learn to do plies, they will have a tendency to send the hips behind the feet as the knees bend, as well as bring the upper body forward over the thighs. This is because this is how we normally move throughout our daily tasks. For the purposes of a plié, we are going to move counter to that.

 Pull the belly button towards the spine
Feel the glutes "wrap around" and gently squeeze

 

 

As the knees bend, imagine the back of the pelvis is sliding up and down an imaginary wall.

Knees stay opened out over the tops of the feet.

As you straighten the knees, feel those glutes do that wrap and squeeze.

 

Here's a short tutorial video-

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for watching!

 

Enjoy the dance that is life!

 

~Miss Erin

 

 

Rolling Out The Glutes For Beginners.

I am forever battling sore glutes, which in turn makes my lower back tight and sore. Despite having two Trigger Point GRIDs and a high-density foam roller I don't roll nearly as much as I should. One of my promises to myself in the New Year is to roll out my trouble spots on a more regular basis.

Below is a video showing some beginner rolling techniques for the glutes and piriformis.

 

In an effort to hone my skills as an "armchair diagnostic specialist" for myself I stumbled upon a term "piriformis syndrome". Hmmmm...

 

 

 

Here is a cute video (cute referring to the clever use of captions and the presenter) for a great stretch for the glutes and piriformis .

In my searching I found this video about piriformis syndrome. It has a great, and simple, exercise for a technique referred to as "nerve flossing", or something along those lines, for the sciatic nerve. It also has the stretch from the video above.

Want to learn a bit more about piriformis syndrome? This video had some interesting info.

Don't have a rolling device? Interested in getting a roller? I highly recommend the TPTherapy GRID. On the right side of this site there is a TPTherapy link. Full discloser- I am an affiliate for TPTherapy products, so if you purchase through the link I receive a small percentage. It's a product I believe in.

Hope this info is helpful!

Enjoy the dance that is life!

 

Gentle Stretches To Prep Feet, Ankles and Lower Legs.

In this post I've laid out a few simple and gentle stretches to warm-up and prep the feet (especially if you are going to be doing something barefoot or with with minimal foot wear like ballet slippers), the ankles and the lower legs and even up into the hamstrings and glutes. I show them while holding onto a chair, but you can easily do them with hands pressed against, say a wall or a counter. You can even do them without your hands on anything but your hips or stabilizing you on your non-gesture leg (the support leg).

Before you begin take a moment to get in touch with your core.

Imagine pulling your belly button to your spine.

Imagine pulling on a very tight vest or corset made of muscle around your ribcage. Yes, exactly like something Lady Gaga would wear.

Feel the area of your lumbar spine lengthen. Not by tucking the pelvis under, but rather feeling the lower back region elongate.

Feel your collar bones open up as if someone has pasted the backs of your shoulder blades to a coat hanger. Don't forget your ribs. No popping!

Okay, where were we...

Exercise #1; waking up the achilles tendon.

Start with the back leg as straight as you can get it.

Then bend the knee of the back leg while keeping the heel in contact with the floor. It may be a very small range of motion.

Do a few rounds, 4 to 8 reps.

Exercise #2; working through the foot.

Going back to our starting stance...

Straighten the front leg as you elongate through the back leg until just the ball of the foot is in contact with the floor, toes spreading out on the ground.

Now extend, or point the toes, and oh so gently press over the top of them. You will feel the stretch on the top of foot. Roll back down through the foot to your starting position.

4-8 reps.

*Optional
In the video below there is a section where you can add some ankle rotations while also engaging the glutes of the gesture leg and quads of the support leg.

Exercise #3; gentle hamstring stretch.

Transfer your weight to the gesture leg (so, if you were just doing the previous exercises with the right leg, then your weight would have been on your left. Now you are transferring the weight to the right leg). Flex the foot of the front leg.

While holding the stretch, switch between flexing the front foot and then placing it flat on the ground.

4-8 reps. It is important to continue moving through the two foot placements rather than holding each one for an extended period, as this is a warm-up.

Using the flexed position for transitions, alternate rotating the leg inwardly and outwardly.
Do as many as you feel are needed.

Be sure and switch sides. You can switch sides in between exercises or do the series one side at a time. Just keep track of how many reps you do on each side.

Below is a video of all exercises together. I'm still trying to master Movie Maker for Windows. An old dog can learn new tricks, but in my case, really flip'in slow! Its a bit dark and somehow the music continues to play to 5:00, although the action only goes to about 2:00. Ugh. I'll nail it down eventually. But our family dog Mia decided to help out and forage for table scraps!

I hope you find these exercises useful.

Thanks for reading and watching.

Enjoy the dance that is life!