What You'll Learn
- Master the alignment of hips over heels for a more stable center balance.
- Utilize head movements and closed-eye drills to enhance proprioceptive awareness.
- Apply wishful thinking techniques to maximize turnout and extension height.
- Engage the core and glutes to maintain a long spine during challenging positions.
About This Video
Achieving a stable arabesque balance in the center is a significant milestone for any aspiring dancer. At Broche Ballet, we believe that true stability away from the barre is a combination of technical precision and deep proprioceptive awareness. In this focused 10-minute session, we move beyond basic positions to explore the intricate drills that build a professional-level center.
The class begins with a deep dive into the mechanics of turnout. For many dancers, maintaining turnout in the center is more challenging than at the barre. We address this by focusing on hip placement, specifically pushing the hips forward so they are perfectly aligned over the heels.
This alignment is crucial for creating a vertical line of balance. By squeezing the legs together and pressing the glutes forward, you engage the deep rotators necessary for a secure arabesque. We then transition into proprioception drills, which are the heart of this lesson.
Proprioception is your body’s ability to sense its position in space. To sharpen this sense, we perform exercises where you look up toward the ceiling and then return your gaze to the center. This slight shift in head position challenges your equilibrium, forcing your core to stabilize your entire frame.
For an even greater challenge, we practice closing our eyes while holding the position. This forces you to rely entirely on internal sensations to maintain your alignment, ensuring your back is long and your pinky toes are pressing firmly into the floor. A unique aspect of this class is the concept of wishful thinking to improve your turnout.
By visualizing yourself with more rotation and a higher extension, you can often unlock physical potential that felt previously out of reach. We combine this mental approach with physical drills involving tendu movements and active flexion and extension of the feet. By the end of this session, you will have a toolkit of exercises to improve your stability in first position, second position, and especially the center arabesque.
