|
Dear Grace and Danni<P>Thank you both for your kind comments. Please do not take any of what follows amiss, as much of what I would like to say applies far more to those readers who are less well versed in the technicalities of balletic training then either of you and especially you Grace. This started as a letter and has practically turned into another article aimed at a wider readership. I would just like to say in advance that I hope that I will once again be forgiven for its length.<P>Best wishes Tuk<P>Before starting out I feel that I need to explain both the philosophical approach I try to take in my postings and how this relates to the amount of technical detail that I often end up providing. Then I would like to deal with my approach to the subject of turn out.<P>Presently I am a part time MA Ballet Studies student in addition to my teaching work. Consequently I am used to researching and discussing topics related to the art form in considerable depth. One of my principal concerns is to use this academic approach to feed into my practical work to try to overcome the schism that seems to exist between dance practioners and dance academics and feed what I consider to be valuable information into the training of my pupils in a form appropriate to their particular level. As the Internet has become a common research tool I have become increasingly familiar with both the amount and quality of dance related information that is available.<P>Over the last couple of months I have accessed quite a few of the boards where young dancers are constantly seeking advice. In this time I have become very concerned not just with some of the issues that are raised, the disturbing trend towards seeking new dieting hints is one, but with many of the answers that are given. That these tend to be very brief and lack detail seems to be indicative of how this form of communication has developed, but what is far more worrying is that much of the advice is fallacious and some may even be positively detrimental.<P>Please do not get me wrong here, I am not on some one-person crusade to clear up inaccuracies on the internet, but I do feel that if I am going to contribute to the understanding of dance on this media I want to do so in a way that gives far more substantive information which is, to the best of my knowledge, accurate.<P>Another reasoning I take is one that is purely practical and based on my own teaching experience. I guess I could best describe my work as the hands on, kneeling on the floor, feel the movement here approach. But here on the Internet that is self evidently impossible. When approaching an issue such as the one under discussion here I feel it necessary to take quite a broad perspective of the inquiry, unless the inquirer is very detailed on the problem they are having and very specific on the information they are seeking. This is because technical problems can have a number of causes and require a range of solutions. I would rather give too much information then not adequately deal with the problem at hand.<P>I am sorry about the above, which reads as a rather long piece of self-justification, but I hope it gives you some idea of what I hope to achieve.<P>Returning, you will probably be glad to read, to the issue of turn out I would like to start by considering the problems related to stretching. On this I really take my cue from Justin Howse and Shirley Hancock's book Dance Technique and Injury Prevention (Second edition 1992, A & C Black). As this is a very well known text I am sure that many teachers have already seen it, but for those readers who have not had access to the book I think the following paragraphs are particularly important.<P>"Everyone has an anatomical limit to their range of external rotation of the hips (i.e. turn out). This range cannot be exceeded. In the young student, limitation due to ligament tightness can be gradually improved by correct working and judicious stretching. This is most likely to be achieved before puberty.<P>"Apparent limitation may be due to tightness at the front of the hips or frequently by muscles controlling the turn out, especially the adductors."<P>(Howse and Hancock, 1992, 176)<P>The section on turn out includes very clear photographic illustrations, especially relating to the 'frog' position that, for copyright reasons, I have not included. However I would recommend that anyone concerned with this issues tries to obtain a copy of Howse and Hancock's book.<P>Before any confusion arises I should say that I am not advocating the principal that stretching is of no use to improving turn out, rather that it is necessary to be realistic about what such exercises are aimed at achieving. Karsavina's mantra of correct thought and correct movement always going together is as true here as in any other part of ballet. From the above it appears that stretching in dancers who have undergone puberty is unlikely to achieve any increase in the anatomical range of turn out and that great care must be taken with pupils who have not yet undergone this period. However, it is also clear that certain areas of tightness can restrict the available movement, making it seem that the dancer has less apparent turn out then is actually present.<P>In addition to the exercises for stretching out the front of the hip, one of which I included in my original posting, I have noticed that both stiffness and imbalance of strength in other muscle groups around the pelvis, lower back and upper leg can restrict turn out. Like much of dance, turn out requires both correctly placed effort and relaxation in the various muscle groups. It also fundamentally depends upon the correct placing of the various parts of the body, most especially the pelvis. Stiffness in certain muscle groups can actually restrict the correct placement of the pelvis negating the operative function of those muscles that are responsible for turn out. I am particularly here thinking about posterial muscle groups of the lower back, the glutials and hamstrings. However the specific muscle groups that need stretching will depend upon the individual pupil and need really to be assessed in person.<P>Personally I would advocate slow yoga style stretching for these areas, accompanied by careful strengthening exercises, as tight muscles are also frequently weak. It should be remembered that stiffness is not synonymous with strength.<P>As regards the emphasis I placed in my original posting on exercise related to pelvic placement I would like to explain my reasoning further.<P>Turn out is not a passive position, but a continually active movement. It has to be sustained by the constant use of the correct muscle groups. Muscular function is, however, more complex then a simple contraction or release. A muscle operates between two or more points of attachment to parts of the skeletal framework in order to initiate movement. Simply put the origin of a muscle is the attachment point that does not move when the muscle contracts, whilst the insertion is the attachment point that does.<P>The adductors, which were previously mentioned in the extract form Howse and Hancock as the principal muscle group concerned with external rotation, originate on the front part of the pubic bone and lower part of the hip bone and insert down the inside of the femur from the hip to the knee (Blakey, 1992, 40). Consequently in order for them to be able to be able to actively initiate turn out the insertion points, which are all on the pelvis, have to be stabilised in the correct position.<P>This is a common problem with students who come to ballet having done a great deal of gymnastics. At first it would seem that the emphasis from a young age on flexibility would be an advantage but it is frequently accompanied by what I would describe as unfortunate habitual practices that need to be educated out of the students body before they are able to utilise their physical aptitude in a way applicable to ballet. Not the least of these is the highly tilted pelvis with arched back that is still a quite common practice at the end of gymnastic movements. Until this is corrected the adductors cannot operate and consequently there is an apparent lack of turn out.<P>Whilst this is an extreme example the frequency of less severe problems with pelvic placement is such that it is normally my first concern when considering any trouble a student may be having with turn out if they are not exhibiting any obvious anatomical or technical problems. In addition I also add exercise for strengthening the adductors and stretching the front of the hip, examples of which I gave in my original posting. This I then try to follow through into the class work as I feel it is important that the student feels the use of the correct muscle groups in the context of the work that it is aimed at if they are truly to gain from the exercises.<P>Here I would agree with Grace in her use of exercises such as the example she gave, which I have also frequently used with my own students. This is an example of an exercise that helps to develop awareness of what the movement feels like, a sense of which is known as proprioception, or as Martha Graham more succinctly put it 'movement memory'. However as Howse and Hancock observe internal rotation, turn in, is indicative of the total joint range in rotation (Howse and Hancock, 1992, 177). Consequently turning in does not actually affect the anatomical range of movement available for turning out. It may however, have a more subtle and valuable effect.<P>In ballet maintenance of turn out is a self-evident requirement and, as has already been mentioned it is a movement initiated and controlled by specific muscle groups. This means that these muscle groups are in a constant state of use while the dancer is active in class. Continually using a muscle group has two adverse effects. Firstly they can become hypertonic through overuse and when stretched may be venerable to tearing. This is an example of where exercises that stretch and relax the adductors are a valuable adjunct to those already given to help with turn out. Secondly there is the problem of muscular imbalance. This needs a little further explanation.<P>All skeletal muscle groups have what is known as synergists. These are muscle groups that perform the opposite movement. In the case of the adductors the internal rotator muscle is the gracilis, which originates on the lower edge of the pubic bone and inserts on the upper part of the inside of the tibia (Blakey, 1992, 38). As this muscle is not deliberately going to be activated in the ballet class it is clear that there will be a tendency for it to become relatively weaker then its synergists, the adductors. The problem is that too great an imbalance between synergistic muscle groups can make the dancer venerable to injury. Therefore exercises that utilise those muscle groups that in the context of ballet class seem less relevant are of considerable importance. Another case in point would be exercises where the foot is (dorsi) flexed, to help counteract the imbalance between the anterior muscles of the lower leg and the calf muscles. In this way Grace's exercise is helping to avoid the development of a potential future problem.<P>Much of the above has been very technical but I hope that it proves useful. I would be most grateful for any further feedback regarding this topic. Please let me know what you think.<P>Teacher UK (Tuk)<P>Again much of what I have written above derives in part from my own experience, the help of some very experienced and knowledgeable teachers with whom I have had the privilege to work and my various studies. I include below some of the literature that I have used in part to compile this posting. Once again though I should emphasise that any mistakes in the text are my own.<P>Blakey, Paul (1992) The Muscle Book, Bibliotek Books Ltd<P>Blakey, Paul (1994) Stretching Without Pain, Twin Eagles Educational & Healing Institute<P>Clarkson, Priscilla M. and Margaret Skrinar editors (1988) Science of Dance Training, Human Kinetics Books<P>Grieg, Valerie (1994) Inside Ballet Technique, Princeton Book Company<P>Howse, Justin and Shirley Hancock (1992) Dance Technique and Injury Prevention (2nd edition), A & C Black (Publishers) limited<P>Mehta, Silva, Mira Mehta and Shyam Mehta (1990) Yoga The Iyengar Way, Dorling Kindersley Limited<P>Ryan, Allan J, and Robert E. Stephens editors (1987) The Healthy Dancer Dance Medicine for Dancers, Dance Books Ltd<P>Selby, Anna and Alan Herdman (1999) Pilates Creating The Body You Want, Gaia Books Limited<P>Watkins, Andrea and Priscilla M. Clarkson (1990) Dancing Longer Dancing Stronger, Princeton Book Company<BR>
|
Login
FAQ
Search
<P>thanks TUK: that's why i was so keen to see you here at CD. 
<P>i haven't had time to read your full post yet, but i just want to pop in briefly to say - danni: i wouldn't do that frog stretch (prone) if i were you. only last night, i explained to my students how some people do it, but it's hard on the knees, so why take the risk? <P>and you have answered your own question - some people may say improvement of this and other things, as an adult, is not possible - but you've already EXPERIENCED it! - so trust your own judgement here, and power on (with care)! 
<P>seriously, though, will print and read this properly, as i know it will be worth it - and i know EXCATLY what you mean about the internet seeming to encourage this instant answer thing.<P>what's been getting to ME at one other board which i know we both frequent, is the bratty tone of "I want this NOW - so GIVE it to me", in relation to asking technical questions. <P>i saw one, this am, that was headlined something like 'desperate info needed in one hour!!!!!' (i think it was all in CAPS, as well) - and it was a student going to a tryout in one hour, wanting to know how to improve her 'switch leaps and fouettés'(BOTH spelled wrong, of course)!<P>no further comment......or i'll go into a rant!