Friday, October 17, 2008

Online Ballet Dictionary

Mikhail Barysnikov in Don Quixote.

There is an online ballet dictionary. Check out this link to see_some_professional_ballet dancers_demonstrate_the ballet vocabulary. Watch the quicktime videos and check out the definitions of glissade, ronde de jambe, pique, and balance. Tell me what you'd like to incorporate into your movement from watching these dancers.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

In watching these dancers they all have lightness and sureness in their steps. They are tall, confident, and, if you will, light in that bouncy sort of way.
I guess that is the goal of ballet, and something we constantly talk about in class, after all, isn't that why we do royal walks? I would like to incorporate that sureness and lightness and relaxation into my dance ability. When I watch myself in the mirror I find myself to be thinking too much, or other times not thinking at all.
I like having the ability to access the definitions, especially with examples, so that I can do short little practices at home, especially with things I need to work a little extra on, like making sure I am hitting my first position as my foot slides through in a ront de jambe.

Anonymous said...

The dancer is sure footed, knows every step exactly, how and when to land, how much turn to give himself...and the height at which he is jumping is amazing. But he didn't just learn these movements, years of training and months of practising, he could probably dance that in his sleep. I guess for me what i take away from the video that i would like in my dance is to be better sure footed, better confidence in what i'm doing. But for right now my current goal is just picking up what is shown just a little faster so i can spend more time on the precision of my movements

mbrochmann said...

With the glissade and balance, as always, I want to incorporate a deeper and more accurate plie in 4th/5th in my movements. With the Rond de Jambe, more control of my center body while my leg moves as its own unit. With the pique, I want a cleaner step up while maintaining my vertical line - I don't think I have too much problem keeping my knees from bending, but I feel I have a bit too much wobbling in the hips when I step up. Hope your shoulder feels better Louis Gervais!!!

Anonymous said...

Watching the clip for the glissade demo made me think about working on the beginnings and endings of that movement--the plie and bringing the feet together at the end. From watching the balance clip, I saw that slight pop/spring in the balance movement. That's something I'd like to have in my dancing. For the ronde de jambe and pique clips I saw how precise those dancers were and it made me want to work harder to incorporate that type of precision into my dancing. On another note, I looked at the clip for jete entrelace and those look like they would be a lot of fun to practice in class!

ams said...

In glissade I'm trying to learn to keep my upper body from moving and preserve the vertical line just like that dancer. In ronde de jambe the dancer keeps her hips nicely in line and holds herself up so that the working leg has space to pass through the first position, that's what I have to remember. Watching these dancers do balancé made me think that perhaps I've given too much attention to the second step. In that clip they do it so lightly and quickly and never let the movement stop.

Baryshnikov is amazing, I love the incredible lightness and softness of his step!!

Unknown said...

All of the dancers seem so light in all of their movements, I often at least feel pretty heavy in mine. I would like to work on achieving the more ephemeral look that these dancers have. They are so precise but appear effortless, which I guess is the mark of mastery of any skill. They also look happy when they are doing these things, I think I have an angry/too concentrated face on a lot of the time. I need to remember to smile!

nramien said...

The power in Barysnikovs jumps are amazing. I think the one thing I take away as wanting to transfer to my own movement is the prescision. Each motion is so clean and right on target no matter where you pause the clip, I find that especially in combinations things I do get pretty sloppy.
I found this clip on youtube and the dancer (Polina Semionova) really has the graceful prescision I would like to strive towards:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz2Gp7a38DM

Anonymous said...

First, as for my observation of class last Friday. It was very nice to get a chance to watch my fellow dancers with the ease of not concentrating on the choreography but rather the dance as a whole. It was beautiful watching everyone step up to the plate of doing the hardest thing, at least mentally, that we have done in class this far. It was very much a collective effort of the class, and it really showed through the energy I felt as an observer.

I would like to incorporate more grace into my movement. I feel like a lot of the things that I do very ridged, especially when I am not sure exactly how to do the movements and I would like to smooth that out.

Anonymous said...

I always get slightly breathless watching Baryshnikov dance. He is the quintessential combination of power, grace, and agility. he makes everything look completely free-flowing and natural.
As for the examples, the timing is what I would most like to incorporate into my dancing. The physical placement of each technique is only half the story - each movement has its own attitude and beat to it. It would help my dancing immensely if I could make each movement fit the time it was supposed to.

Anonymous said...

Katrina Hamilton:

There is a security without violence that I'd really like to emulate. Other comments reflect similar ideas, about being sure footed and a sense of lightness. It's the idea that you can control your momentum to such a degree that when called upon, it is like you are working outside of physics. The power it takes to jump to a certain height plus the torque from turning should throw a person off balance, but in professional ballet dancers, it doesn't. I would like to work on pouring my energy so precisely that I have only exactly what I need. Nothing more, nothing less.

Anonymous said...

After watching the demostrations of particular moves, I know that I really would like to focus on isolationing the correct body parts while others are moving. Just having the legs really be the main focus during a glissade. Isolationing the whole body while the leg is doing a ronde de jambe, I know I still move my hips when doing this move, I guess I need to focus my energy up more at all times... Also having the legs coordinated with the arms like during fondues without bending or leaning to a side. I guess really focusing on holding my center at all times would help these moves a lot...

ajr418 said...

What I would like to incorporate is the sharpness of each move. Since everything is so sharp and defined it gives it a much airy appearance because the dancer aren't weighted down by miss steps.
I would also love to work on landing back into 5th after doing turns or jumps, my feet tend to not quite end up together.

Jared said...

One thing that stands out from the rond de jambe demonstration is how the leg is really the only thing moving. The rest of the body stays fairly still even though the leg is stretched through its full range of motion.
I also noticed in the demonstration of the pique how the girl's leg was definitely straight before she stepped on it, despite going through a full developpe before that.
I would like to try to add these points into how I dance. Now, I just have to remember to do it...

Kris said...

I feel like it helps a lot to be able to watch the movement over and over and over again so I can see what it is exactly I am supposed to look like. I think I want to make all of those four movements better in my dance, but specifically the balance. The dancer made it a rocking step that was like she was floating, rather than simply down, up, up, etc. It actually made the balance a pretty step to watch! :)

I also think my glissade needs to be better since I rush through the jump when I have to do it fast, and I think I don't have the skill yet to rush through a movement like that since I skip parts of it that are necessary, like the plie before the jump (I didn't even know you were supposed to plie before watching the video).

Anonymous said...

Barysnikovs' jumps are amazingly precise and smooth. It also seems like he doesn't feel the gravity. When he lands after jumps, it seems like a raindrop, very light and no force.
Watching the clips made me think why we are practicing many basic steps.
In glissade, the upper body of the dancer was very stable. Only legs move and change the position.
In ronde de jambe, the hips are equally balanced and need to keep square. Again only a leg is moving
and needs to pass through with the first position.
In pique, the dancer smoothly steps up and be conscious of the imaginary vertical line.
In balance, the dancer keeps looking forward and far. She never checks her steps or movements. It make her movement stable and elegant.
Learning and practicing all steps make such a perfect dance like Barysnikovs' ballet.
When I am dancing, I'll try to think what I am doing for and what I need to care for in each step.

Vanessa Williams said...

There are a number of ballet techniques that are made clear from viewing these clips. One is that it is very important to build strength and length at the bar in order to move freely and confidently on the floor. Also, stretching is important for flexibility and agility. The glissades seemed to be smaller and quicker in comparison to the longer larger leaps. The piques, although some what playful, are deliberate and strong but it is the standing leg that holds a lot of the strength as well as the arms which is something I feel I need to work on. Also, I could look for that extra length in my ronde de jambes from the front all the way to the back while pulling up and in with my standing leg and abdominals. So what I would like to do is work on the length in my muscles as well as flexibility and deliberation while at the bar so that when we are doing a combination the rest will fall in place and I can feel the music and have fun with the movements.

Anonymous said...

Nicole Boutillier

I guess what I mostly take away from watching dancers do steps is that need to always eligiate more, and to constantly think of my core and staying alligned. They remained in a vertical position at all times, and this is sometimes hard for me to remember, especially when I'm focussed on my legs, hips, feet and even arms. I would also like to work on finishing my steps. There is a certain touch that I often lack and that is most def what distinguishes a dancer from an amateur.

Barysnikov is amazing!! He is soo light and flawless and all his movements are refined and finished. It's a beautiful thing. I really need to work on my jumps as well. I know I cannot acheive his heights, but I would really like to master my jumps. : )

Anonymous said...

The dancer in the video clip had lightness in him. His muscle was ready to be moved into certain technique and find the balance in each movement. Watching each slid about each technique, I would want to incorporate all the techniques into my dancing ability.I got the meaning and the purpose of each movement and that I believe I need to work on cleaning up the steadiness and the clean cut of each movement. Like you said in class, people know when you're doing the wrong thing in ballet and I think it's true! So, in order for me to not do that, I have to clean up my movements and make it more clear and clean.

Tess Altiveros said...

What I particularly loved about these little videos was that I could stop it and watch it sort of frame by frame and see them in mid-motion. I could really see how nothing is left to chance--each seemingly simple motion of the foot or toe, head or hand, is...well, danced! If that makes sense. I was going to say it is so controlled, and it is, but it is controlled while giving the impression of ease, which I think is amazing.

Anonymous said...

The dancer in the video was beautiful to watch! I wish that I could even get close to the height of his jump and be able to spin in the way that he does. He was so light on his feet and looked as though he glided across the stage! I know that when I dance and walk I tend to act like an elephant. I would like to really work on making my dancing more light and airy.
The dictionary is of great use! I recognize the terms but have no idea how to spell them and this bothers me a tremendous amount for I like to spell things correctly. Plus this will help with knowing exactly what you want us to do!

kristen said...

I love watching professional dancers. I think that the strength of male dancers in particular is incredible. But even just the simple technique videos show that there is so much more to being a professional than just "doing" the steps.
One thing that I noticed from the clips that I really want to better in corporate into my own dancing is better plies at the beginning and end (especially the beginning) of my glissades. I also thought it was amazing how the it was only the dancer's leg that moved during her ronde de jambe. Her core was so strong! With the pique it's really easy to tell that she has to use the plie of the back leg to really push herself up and balance on the standing leg while keeping it straight the whole time. The balances are also very light and flowing. I always feel like mine are really heavy, so that is another thing that I would like to work on.

Anonymous said...

I really liked watching the specific video that was posted of Mikhail Barysnikov. All of his moves were very precise and strong. He also had amazing length and extension in all of his movements. The online dictionary is a great tool for learning more about ballet! I liked that each move has a video option posted with it.