The Arabesque

[sierracasa666]

Da faq? How do you obtain that position I've tried?

[MimisaysRAWR]

So you just want your hips very forward? I still think it stresses your back a bit. I was going from a first to a penchee. Please correct me if i am wrong. Pointe shoes in a week!

[soyuncatacol]

@MimisaysRAWR- Yeah, arabesques are going to compress the vertabrae your lower back no matter what, but keeping the hips forward relives a lot of that pressure. :)

[Lauriefishbone]

I can't hold it like that on own strength.

[Trebuchet1066]

Wonderful, wonderful video! Your anatomical explanation exceeds anything I got as a student & easily compares to my A&P classes in nursing school!!! Love your philosophy and applaud you for stressing the importance of dancing in the safest and most beautiful way! Using your methodology will allow these dancers to dance longer and healthier!!

[Tnotare]

This is one of the best technique descriptions and demonstrations that I have ever heard for correctly placing the leg in arabesque--thank you!

[Karen1andKaren2]

How exactly do you rotate the hip, though? I'm having trouble finding that...

[MrKLT1945]

@Karen1andKaren2 Sadly, as any ballet phsio/specialist surgeon will tell you, how much you can rotate the hip (turnout) for classical ballet is determined by Mother Nature. Almost no difference can be made to rotation with exercises. Surgery would do it - but then extreme mobility would = great weakness and no ballet career! It's a sad truth that one is born for pro ballet or not. Recreational ballet a different matter. Either way, forcing turnout is very counter-productive.

[michaeljoseph63]

i bet pedo bear spend a lot of time here in youtube

[fallinloveromance]

little skeleton :)) so cute

[BootyBallerina]

lovee tihs viideo but for me its soooo hard to get the rolling of the hip joint -_- .. i have a TON of back flexibility i worked really hard for and now all i havee to show for it is an crapabesque with my hipps all out of wack and my upper body completely falling forward.. any tips to get more flexibility and strength in that back hip joint area would be GREATLYY APPRECIATED

[iDancer101]

Wow! This is extremely helpful! I feel my hamstrings and my butt as a whole rather than squishing my back to get my leg higher! This really helps me feel a better elongation within my arabesque and i swear, it just raised a few inches and looks much nicer! Thank you so much for posting! :)

[fishyfish4444]

You must cringe at the arabesque method taught at NYCB.

[mangamacho122897]

hahaha this was great and a big help to many dancers but... it looks like you are going to break her leg hahaha :)

[DarkMusicalNote]

the music is not well for the videos.

[SanneMusic]

Wow how interesting! I never ever noticed the 'crease' near the hipjoint on the leg. I'm going to ask my teacher if she sees the crease if I do arabesque. Normally I have a lot of strain in my lower back muscles if I do an arabesque. So interesting! Thanks!

[oyasumisakura]

I still get the stress point in my back from doing Arabesque even by doing it with my hips forward. someone help my please :'( I don't know how to do it in the video.

[nevroth]

Wonderful video! I wish someone would physically roll my hip joint forward so I can feel it! A question I have is that I know that all hips aren't created equally, and that the shape of the hip crest and socket can be limiting for turnout or even middle splits, so can this be a factor for arabesque also? Or maybe not since the arabesque is more a front/back motion as opposed to a inward/outward (middle splits) or rotating one?

[Lauriefishbone]

I can't do it.

I started at the age of 14, so my turnout isn't supergood, maybe that's the cause. But I can't hold it without having that back pressure. I don't know how to roll in. If someone holds my leg or if it put it on something I can do it, but stiil I can't keep my pelvis and ribs square. It sucks. Can anyone help me?

[erraib]

Wow.  Thank you, thank you, thank you. As a dancer with an exercise science background, it's so rare to see a teacher take such an anatomical approach. It's healthy, explanetory, and professional. We need more educated teachers like this in the dance world!!!

[rqlhappy1]

that's the right way to do it...but you are not gonna find many places where it is taught that way...so sad...

[iROCKThis4life]

JUST TRIED THIS!! THANK YOU!!! I was just asking my teacher why my leg wasnt at a good 90 degree angle in arabesque...she told me it was because of my back, but when i tried this with my shoulders and hips square, my leg easily went to 90..i could even hold it in a releve...ahhh thank you soo much..no one has ever explained arabesque to me in this way..it seemed like all the emphasis is usually placed on the back..anyway LOVE IT!!

[sarahjurecka]

I like the emphasis on "the crease" in the leg. It's always difficult to keep your hip low enough to do this, but it's good to have something to focus on. Stretching the hip flexors can really help with this too.

[erinl400]

its sarah silverman!

[xandraeon]

@erinl400 ?

[Atanua]

This helped me so much! I am an adult beginner, and always had the feeling that if I wanted to get my leg higher something locked in back, and obviously my line looked wierd. After watching this video I tried again, and this feeling was gone...and to my surprise my arabesque was suddenly twenty degrees higher. Thanks a million times!!

[Lauriefishbone]

Belts look cute.

Pfew, thank got that hipturning is normal. I thought I did something wrong.

[lehcar96]

@Lauriefishbone the belts are to make sure your hips stay square so it the belt isn't parallel to the floor your twisting or something.

[ThEeaMaZiNgCaT]

damn, i wish she was my ballet teacher:(

[TheeSkyTurnsGreen]

Why are they wearing the belts?

[ThEeaMaZiNgCaT]

@TheeSkyTurnsGreen its their level

[TheeSkyTurnsGreen]

@ThEeaMaZiNgCaT oh :) thanks

(we've never worn them ..)

[ThEeaMaZiNgCaT]

@TheeSkyTurnsGreen alot of studios dont do belts and what not i never knew they had them until i switched studios

[MarieTherese821]

@TheeSkyTurnsGreen they're hip alignment belts.

[MegCT]

how beautiful! i wish i could do that!

[CiaraJune11]

great video but i think you forgot to mention the training you need before doing this arabesque

[Kellyx125]

What's the music playing at 4:05??

[Seekballet]

@Kellyx125

It's from the Nutcracker

[JohnDapper]

She did not explain that thoroughly well at all. In laymens terms she should have just said, keep your hip down, keep your hips parallel.

[smoopie0101]

I did ballet when i was younger but stopped. Now im taking dance classes in high school and my arabesque is much like this (the good one) my dance teacher was very surprised that after such a long time i could do it!

[littlehorror1]

my dance techer recently told me this thechnique i just wish she told me before as i am now 15 and have been dacing since i was 3 and have just started mt teacher training course so this is something that i will deffently think about from now on and it shall help my teaching practice :)

[whiskers]

Im confused too...i think its the rolling part and the crease, i may have to get my teacher to do the same thing you are to get the feeling.

[maddie271]

I'm so confused

[crazyspaz247]

i tried this- and i couldn't feel the rolling.. perhaps im doing it wrong :(

[Astrathiul]

Does anyone have any tips for strengthening back muscles? My arabesques are really quite nice, and i get the leg at an amiable height with good turn out, but i drop my back far too much. Any help would GREATLY appreciated :)

[creativitychick101]

@Astrathiul I am the same :) What i tried, is to stand parallel infront of a wall. then lift my leg as much as possible, becuiase the wall is there, it stops my back from dropping too low. Dont worry if you cant get your leg as high as before, because the point is to strengthen your back and get it used to doing an arabesque in the correct position :) It worked for me :) i just did it 10 times on each leg holding for about 5-10 seconds. You can really feel it working too x hope this helps x

[lehcar96]

@Astrathiul this might sound kind of weird but if you put your legs under a bed or a sofa and try to lift your upper body up like a seal it will help. putting your legs under the bed or sofa/couch will help you get your back higher and will help your arabesque. once you get better you can try to do it without the bed or couch.

[Astrathiul]

@lehcar96 Yeah, l already do this, it's called the Big Back Excersize, i already do this without something on my feet, but thank you very much :)

[scphotograph]

Thank you SO much

[IssaKivilaakso]

really helpful, thanks!

[Lisa13245]

I just too my first dance class last week.

Holy crap if I can ever do this.

[Cori1357]

whats the purpose of a dance belt? (or whatever its called) does anyone know?

[BrandilynBreakdown]

@Cori1357 It's to help keep your alignment squared off and let's the teachers, as well as yourself know if you're correct in your position.

[MrLuis781]

Wow nice video that girl is flexible, does that stretch hurt to the girl being stretched. So hard by the instructor.

[veramentegina]

wow.. thank you for the clearing this up. I never seen this detail before. How wonderful!! my gratitude.

[balletmaster002]

I agree, forcing turn out leads to spine compression and might cause injury

[Lissbirds]

So the trick is to lift from the hip and keep the pelvis square and that will alleviate the strain on the back? I tried it and found it pretty hard to feel that "rolling" in my hip, but my PT says my psoas muscles are tight and that could be the trouble. I'm guessing that your method will take a little more hamstring strength to keep the leg lifted rather than rely on lifting from the lower back muscles.

It produces a great line, though, and I'm going to keep working towards it. Thanks!

[blackphoenix1323]

@Lissbirds Me too. I never realized that I was doing something wrong either!

[jessskiinha]

quero um professor desse jeito com migo so assim serei melhor

[cosenza58]

What a very interesting video, I wish more teachers shared their "secrets" to enable us all to improve our teaching practice.