Ballet Class Pet Peeves 1 - spacing
This post might sound like a bit of a bitching session, and some people probably think it is. The reality is; this is a health and safety issue to protect all the dancers in a class.
Unless it's
If you are at a relatively crowded barre and the exercise is one where you take up lots of space and there is a risk of hitting one another (e.g. cloches or grand battements at the barre or if it's really cramped developes), a sensible teacher either sets it to be done ecarte and/or croise (to give the extra space of working on the diagonal) or splits the class in two ...
This is generally a nicety though ... unless it's a really small/overcrowded studio space
In the centre it becomes a health and safety thing.
Firstly, because if you don't give people the space they need there's a risk that you'll crash into them
Secondly if you are holding back/ 'dancing small' your balance is off / you are concentrating more on not crashing into people than on your balance and safety. So it's not arrogance when you see some of the taller girls heading to the front in the centre - it's for our and anyone's else's safety as we'll set ourselves to give us enough space to dance safely...
That's not to say that smaller or less confident dancers shouldn't come to the front when a combination is being taught , demonstrated or even marked through, but when it's being danced give the taller / larger/ faster moving dancers some space...
related to that, in a travelling combination , keep moving an follow the circulation around the studio, don't just stop you run the risk of being flattened, which if you are unlucky could be by a fast moving 6ft tall dancer ...
Unless it's
- the cygnets from Swan Lake
- jazz/ showgirl 'kick line'
- partnering
If you are at a relatively crowded barre and the exercise is one where you take up lots of space and there is a risk of hitting one another (e.g. cloches or grand battements at the barre or if it's really cramped developes), a sensible teacher either sets it to be done ecarte and/or croise (to give the extra space of working on the diagonal) or splits the class in two ...
This is generally a nicety though ... unless it's a really small/overcrowded studio space
In the centre it becomes a health and safety thing.
Firstly, because if you don't give people the space they need there's a risk that you'll crash into them
Secondly if you are holding back/ 'dancing small' your balance is off / you are concentrating more on not crashing into people than on your balance and safety. So it's not arrogance when you see some of the taller girls heading to the front in the centre - it's for our and anyone's else's safety as we'll set ourselves to give us enough space to dance safely...
That's not to say that smaller or less confident dancers shouldn't come to the front when a combination is being taught , demonstrated or even marked through, but when it's being danced give the taller / larger/ faster moving dancers some space...
related to that, in a travelling combination , keep moving an follow the circulation around the studio, don't just stop you run the risk of being flattened, which if you are unlucky could be by a fast moving 6ft tall dancer ...
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