Ok, everyone. Off the couch. We’re going to learn the five positions of ballet. These are essential to know if you ever wish to pursue a career in dance. I’m not a teacher or a dancer, so you’ll have to bear with me here. I am going to trust that your hair is up in a beautiful bun, and that that is not gum in your mouth…

First position – Hold out your arms and bend your elbows, so that your hands are in the center of your torso. It should look like you’re holding an invisible beach ball; if it looks like you’re holding an invisible box, then I’m afraid you’re doing something wrong. With your feet, touch heels and turn your feet out until they form a “V”, keeping as straight a line as possible.

Second position – Stretch your arms out to your sides. Space your feet apart, still turned out, by the length of a little less than a foot.

Third position – Raise your right arm and slightly curve it over your head, but keep your left arm stretched out to your side. Place one foot in front of the other, to where the heel of the front foot measures up to the middle of the back foot.

Fourth position – With your right arm still raised over your head, bring your left arm to your front and bend at the elbow, so that your left hand and forearm are in front of your torso. Space your feet apart, but keep them in the third position.

Fifth position – Hold both arms over your head, in the same invisible beach ball fashion. Bring your feet back together so that they’re touching, with the toes of each foot measuring up to the heel of the other.

These five positions help with a dancer’s turnout, as well as establish security in movement and assist in the development of fluidity and stability. It is best to practice these steps in front of a barre, to better your sense of balance, but they can be done away from the barre, too.

Until next time, dance enthusiasts!

-Rachel Norfleet

The Education and Community Engagement department of Nashville Ballet has the opportunity to engage, inspire, and elevate over 42,000 children, teens, and adults with creative, unique, and interactive dance programming throughout the year- we don’t want you to miss out on all the great things that the audience members are learning about dance in our programs so………… I am starting a Ballet:101 Blog!!!!!

I will pose information about a particular subject in dance and we can discuss it- like an informal on-line dance education course, without the grade or final exam! This will be a fun way to learn and share knowledge about topics like ballet history, the look of ballet, a dancer’s typical day, the training it takes to become a professional dancer, and so much more! -Cathy Ratliff, Director of Education

Ballet:101 TOPIC ONE-

What, When, Why, Where, and How Do We Dance?

When we dance, we create pictures and shapes with our bodies as we move through the space or environment around us.

Dance and movement are a part of every culture and community! It is a form of communication and expression and is used for different purposes- celebrations, rituals, ceremonies, entertainment, and more.

Dance can be social and participatory or non-social and observed by the audience, as in theatrical performances.

Every culture has a unique way of communicating through dance. Dance uses the whole body for physical expression. It is the unique way that each of the parts of the body are used that make a dance unique and special!

DISCUSSION:

Think of a time when you danced or observed dancing. How did you feel? What was happening?

What is dancing? Who dances? Where do you see people dancing? Where do you dance?

What events do we dance at? Why do we dance at these events? How do the dances look and/or feel different? the same?

Can you share different types, names, and movements of dances from different cultures?

The 2009-2010 season has begun. The trainees are back, and we’ve already got three outreach ballets under our belts: Ferdinand the Bull, which returns, along with The Singing Tortoise (also for elementary school) and Click (intended for middle-schoolers). In The Singing Tortoise, set to a wonderfully percussive score, a young man learns the unfortunate repercussions of failing to keep his promise. It also emphasizes the importance of treating all creatures with equal respect and concern. Click, meanwhile, plays with the double entendre of “click” the sound and a clique of people. It’s a flair-filled dance, bright and happy and entirely inclusive.

One of the most fun aspects of the outreach ballets is that we get the opportunity to play many different characters — and to play them to an exaggerated, fully animated extent that would be less appropriate onstage at TPAC. We get to be lions and zebras and gazelles (oh my!), and then moments later we become skeptical villagers, only to then become scheming councilmen. Or in Click, we get to act like a bunch of students running through the halls, late for class and wrapped up in the dramas of our individual lives. And that’s fun! For example, I was always the serious kid in school, but suddenly I find myself a fun-loving and very giggly member of a trio of fun-loving and very giggly girls. It’s fun for me personally, but also for the group, because it takes the efforts of the whole cast to create the different personalities and then to play them off one another.

In a matter of weeks, we’ll be making our rounds again, bringing ballet to schools across the city. If only they knew what that had to look forward to, back-to-school might not seem so bad!

– EG