What You'll Learn
- How to use the 'salad spinner' analogy to improve your vertical axis during turns.
- The secret to staying forward in chaînés to counter the feeling of falling backward.
- Why exaggerating your posture can actually help you find a true center while in motion.
- Techniques for maintaining a stable relevé during fast-paced turning sequences.
About This Video
Mastering the art of turning in ballet is a delicate dance between physics and poise. If you find yourself losing balance or falling backwards during across-the-floor sequences, you are not alone. It is a common challenge that many adult dancers face when building momentum.
In this Broche Ballet quicktip, we address the technical 'why' behind this struggle and provide a simple, effective visualization to fix it. When you perform chaînés, your body is subject to centrifugal force. If you do not engage your core and maintain a strict vertical axis, you become like the lettuce in a salad spinner—flung outward toward the edges.
This 'lettuce effect' results in a loss of control and that frustrating sensation of being thrown off your legs. Instead of being the lettuce, you want to be the center post—the 'stick' in the middle of the spinner. This post stays perfectly vertical and stable while everything rotates around it.
To achieve this, you must consciously fight the urge to lean back as you travel. In fact, to find true verticality while moving at speed, you often need to exaggerate a forward lean. When you initiate your chaînés, focus on keeping your weight over the balls of your feet in a clean relevé.
As the momentum builds, keep your nose and chest slightly over your toes. You might feel like you are about to fall forward, but this sensation is actually the 'sweet spot' where your center of gravity aligns perfectly with your rotation. At Broche Ballet, we believe these small mental shifts make the biggest difference in your technique.
By visualizing the central 'stick' of the salad spinner, you can transform your turns from chaotic to controlled. Practice this forward-leaning feeling in your next class to experience the stability of a centered turn.
