Routledge. Discovering the threedimensional. Shape Flow Support. Chapter 7

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1 Chapter 7 Discovering the threedimensional body Shape Flow Support *********************************** Imagine each joint in your body as tiny balloons. There are even balloons between each vertebrae in the spine and in the knuckles of your fingers and toes. Each balloon in your body breathes as you breathe, enlivening the volume of your body. You expand three-dimensionally from the core of your body to your most distal ends, and condense three-dimensionally from your distal ends back toward your center. Begin to perform a demi/grand plié exercise from class. Hone in on the lengthening or shortening of the balloons in your spine as you descend and ascend in plié. They puff outward from your center to the top of your head and the tip of your tail. They also soften inward from the edges of your body toward your center, shortening the distance between the two ends of the spine. Figure 7.1 Lengthen and Shorten during plié CE...TS...07-Body-Shape-Flow-Qualities.indd 1

2 2 Creative Ballet companion website material Figure 7.2 Widen and Narrow the lower body Next, attend to the balloons in your proximal and distal joints. Widen and narrow them as your legs and arms open and close with each plié. During large port de corps, notice your chest and abdomen expanding forward and backward in space as you dive into and out of various stretches. The balloons in your core, pelvis, and chest bulge and hollow, activating the volume of your torso and the support of your abdominals. *********************************** During technique class, your body passes into and out of still shapes, pouring from one step to the next like water flowing into different containers, or like balloons inflating and deflating in different directions, sizes, and shapes. When you emphasize only the static shape of the balletic positions, you miss out on a vital part of the balletic style: the actual process of moving changes in breathing patterns, subtle shape changes in your limbs and torso, and the feeling of your body moving through space. Chapters 5 and 6 teach you about the threedimensional process of moving your body from one position to the next, as a way to achieve greater fluidity, control, and artistry when performing balletic movement. Let s start with breath Breathing initiates three-dimensional shape changes in the torso during the process of inhalation and exhalation. Did you feel that in the opening exploration? CE...TS...07-Body-Shape-Flow-Qualities.indd 2

3 Discovering the three-dimensional body 3 During inhalation, the diaphragm pulls downward as the ribs expand and rise. As the ribs move away from the pelvis, the abdominal wall lengthens. The downward motion of the diaphragm allows the lungs to fill with oxygen. Pause. Inhale. Notice how the ribs lift and expand like the branches of a tree. Your diaphragm acts as the roots, grounding the upward movement of the ribs. During exhalation, this process reverses: the ribs depress and narrow as the diaphragm tendon ascends and relaxes its contraction. As the distance between the ribs and pelvis shortens, the abdominals narrow towards the body s midline. 1 Pause. Notice your exhalation. As the ribs condense and descend, your diaphragm ascends. To breathe is to experience three-dimensional shape change in the torso; the ribs, diaphragm, and abdominals all interact in an interrelated dance. 2 Table 7.1 Breathing is three-dimensional Inhalation Diaphragm pulls downward Ribs expand upward and outward Abdominal wall lengthens and widens Exhalation Diaphragm ascends upward Ribs depress downward and inward Abdominal wall shortens and narrows Respiration supports the body s fluidity. As we breathe, oxygen and carbon dioxide flow through our respiratory networks and into our fluid circulatory system. Even though this process is automatic, conscious focus on one s breathing patterns while dancing facilitates whole body coordination and greater ease of motion in the muscles and joints. Practice using your breath rhythmically, expressively, and directionally in dance technique training. This will support the flow of your movements in space. Shape Flow Support Shape Flow Support (SFS) accentuates the body s inner volume by providing directionality to the flow of your breath. Lengthening and Shortening emphasizes growing and shrinking along the vertical dimension, Widening and Narrowing along the horizontal dimension, and Bulging and Hollowing along the sagittal dimension. This three-dimensional shape change supports the body s changing and flowing form, hence the term Shape Flow Support. Ballet technique trains for spatial clarity, so you are already skilled at thinking about your movement spatially. SFS capitalizes on this intelligence by teaching you how to direct your breath along internal spatial pathways: those that emphasize length, width, and depth. Let s explore this! *********************************** CE...TS...07-Body-Shape-Flow-Qualities.indd 3

4 4 Creative Ballet companion website material Table 7.2 Shape Flow Support Lengthening/Shortening Widening/Narrowing Bulging/Hollowin Vertical Horizontal Sagittal (Up/Down) (Side/Side) (Forward/Back) Shape Flow Support Find a comfortable place to sit. Attend to your breathing patterns. Do not exaggerate your inhales and exhales beyond what you can support. This causes excess tension in the abdominals and upper back. If you feel this happening, simply stop and wiggle your spine, stretch, laugh out loud, or sing along to your favorite song. 1 Lengthening and Shortening Imagine your spine is a long, elastic band. As you inhale and exhale, Lengthen the elastic band upward and downward at the same time. The tail reaches downward, grounding your pelvis into the floor, as your head and neck extend upward toward the sky. This elongated sensation is one that you establish often in a ballet class. Does it feel familiar? On your next exhale, allow the elastic band to Shorten, softening the two ends of the spine back toward the center of the torso, a quality often felt when you bow or curtsy (see Figure 7.1). Experiment with other places along your torso. Place your hands on your sternum and your lower back (lumbar spine) feel thoso points moving toward and away from each other as you breathe. What about the back of the neck (cervical spine) and belly? 2 Widening and Narrowing Breathe into your width. Imagine your midline is a closed fan or peacock feathers. As you inhale, feel the fan or feathers opening sideward, causing the ribcage to Widen, similar to the sensation you feel when you expand your arms and legs into a wide à la seconde position. I sometimes send my elbows sideward as I breathe to enhance the Widening sensation. On your next exhale, imagine the fan or feathers folding inward, allowing the ribs to Narrow and condense toward your midline, similar to the sensation of closing your arms and legs inward from à la seconde to first position. Next, apply this image and breath pattern in the shoulder girdle, and then in the pelvis/hip joints. What does it feel like to imagine peacock feathers Widening and Narrowing these body regions? 3 Bulging and Hollowing Breathe into your depth. Imagine your heart and lungs are balloons lining the inside of your rib cage. Allow the balloons to inflate the front surfaces of the ribs and belly, as if you were Bulging forward into an arabesque line. CE...TS...07-Body-Shape-Flow-Qualities.indd 4

5 Figure 7.3 Widening during developpé à la seconde Figure 7.4 Upper body Bulges forward CE...TS...07-Body-Shape-Flow-Qualities.indd 5

6 6 Creative Ballet companion website material Then, deflate the balloons, feeling those same surfaces Hollowing inward toward the center of the body, similar to moving backward in a temps lié en arrière. Now feel the balloons inflating into the back surfaces of the ribs and lower back, similar to the feeling you might have in the upper body when lowering your leg from arabesque to fifth position. Next, try Bulging forward and backward at the same time, inflating all at once. Then, feel the simultaneous Hollowing of the front and back surfaces, similar to the feeling of being zipped into a tightly fit costume. *********************************** SFS: technique and artistry When you apply SFS to your movement, you invest in the subtle and dynamic nuances of shape change. Applying this process of shape change to movement is particularly important for dancers who seem to get stuck in trying to make the right shape, but are not connecting internally to enjoy the forming process itself. 2 Does this sound like you? If so, SFS is the ideal tool for you. Table 7.3 Technical and artistic benefits for Shape Flow Support Shape Flow Support is useful when: 1. Working on whole body coordination and movement fluidity. 2. Activating your core and breath support. 3. Accessing three-dimensional volume in your torso. 4. Using subtle shape change to enhance movement expression and artistry. As the previous sections demonstrated, active and conscious breath support enhances SFS. It is difficult to achieve good breath support if you grip your core muscles. Sucking in your stomach or excessively pulling up restricts your breathing and causes excess tension in your abdominals. As dance educator Eric Franklin cautions: Constant gripping of the abdominals creates compensatory actions such as lifting the shoulder girdle in an effort to increase the space within the lungs... making the body less stable and hindering balance and turns. 3 Allow the muscles in your torso, especially the abdominals, to change in tone throughout technique class. Using SFS to breathe fully during class will help you achieve this. Let s explore breath and SFS! Restrict your breath... then... breathe! 1 Consciously restrict your breathing during two exercises from class. CE...TS...07-Body-Shape-Flow-Qualities.indd 6

7 Discovering the three-dimensional body 7 Reflect: How did this affect your coordination and the mobility of body? How did it affect your ability to move expressively and rhythmically? 2 Perform these exercises again and consciously engage your breath. Perhaps you exhale or inhale during difficult moments. Or, maybe your inhales and exhales parallel the rhythm of the music, or the rhythm of your body opening and closing. Reflect: How did your performance and technique change this time? Take note of any improvements or challenges. One step, different SFS! 1 Create a list of your favorite steps or movement phrases from ballet class. 2 Choose three steps or phrases from your list. Perform each of them six times, emphasizing a different SFS element each time. For example, perform a developpé à la seconde by first emphasizing Lengthening, then Hollowing, then Widening, and so on. 3 Reflect: How does each SFS element affect technical execution of the steps? Do some work better during different parts of the step or movement phrase? How does each SFS element affect the expressive quality of the movement? Growing and shrinking! Choose one category to focus on during an entire technique class. You do not have to focus on all three elements at the same time. 1 Expansive SFS elements: Lengthening, Widening, and Bulging 2 Condensing SFS elements: Shortening, Narrowing, and Hollowing During the next technique class, focus on the other category. Reflect: How did SFS impact your technique and performance during class? Use specific movement examples when answering this question. Notes 1 See also Hackney, P. (2000). Making Connections. New York:, Chapter 6. Breath Connectivity is the first of six Total Patterns of Body Connectivity in the Bartenieff Fundamentals. 2 See also Franklin, E. (1996). Dynamic Alignment through Imagery. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, Chapter 16. Franklin discusses the relationship between the diaphragm, lung, ribs, abdominals, and internal organs during breathing. 2 Hackney, P. (2000). p Franklin, E. (1996). pp See also Hackney, P. (2000): holding the abdominals keeps them from participating in their natural ongoing reciprocal action with the diaphragm and will lessen the sense of internal connectivity (p. 64). CE...TS...07-Body-Shape-Flow-Qualities.indd 7

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Routledge. Moving three-dimensionally. Kinesphere. Chapter 10

Routledge. Moving three-dimensionally. Kinesphere. Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Moving three-dimensionally Kinesphere ************************************************** Hold markers in both hands. Begin to draw imaginary lines in the empty space nearest to your body. Create