Ballet's "eight characters" technique

Ballet's "Eight Characters" Techniques

Eight characters can represent the characteristics of beautiful and elegant ballet dance. These eight characters are: open, stretched, straight, and upright. , light, accurate, stable and beautiful.

1. ?Open?

It means that dancers, regardless of gender, all need to use the five major joints of the shoulders, chest, span, knees, and ankles. Symmetrical opening, especially the 180-degree expansion of the feet, extends the dancer's body lines to the maximum extent, expands the range of dance movements, enhances expressiveness, and also enhances the body's balance ability and flexibility of movement. sex. The famous American dance critic Jenny Cohen pointed out that the classical style of ballet is based on the five positions of the feet. The essence of splay in these five positions is that the legs rotate outward at the hip joints. When performing, show off and promote the aristocratic style in the limited space of the stage. ?(As someone said, one of the ballet foot positions shows attention, two shows confidence, three is modesty, four is pride, and five is artistic effect.) Noble grace is not only an important historical manifestation of ballet, but also It is an important part of aesthetic standards. Through systematic and scientific training, the body can reach a state that non-professional dancers cannot achieve, making the body ideal and professional.

2. Stretch?

It refers to the straightness of the dancer’s ankles and insteps, which is one of the fundamental aesthetic standards of classical ballet. The training of straightening is mainly through the practice of Battement tendu (wiping the ground), and during various jumping processes, the lower limbs are tightened, and the heels, soles, and toes are pushed to the ground in sequence to jump high into the air to lengthen the body lines. Take Battement tendu (wiping the floor) as an example. During the action, the heel pushes the instep and the toes rub outward until the toes reach the furthest point. The toes hook toward the soles of the feet while still maintaining a feeling of extension, as if they are going to wear. The broken floor continued. Ballet is a linear art. Only by stretching all parts can the audience have the visual sense of extending the body lines. Only by stretching can the limbs be made more radioactive in a limited space, making the dance more stretched. Ballet has been pursuing "spiritual space" for a period of time. The dancers must have the artistic charm to make the dance light and elegant. Only by stretching can the muscles be tightened and the upward momentum produced.

3. ?Straight?

It means that the knees of the main leg and the power leg are straight and the back is vertical. In other words, the muscles of the whole body are lengthened to achieve the ballet dance posture. Achieve stretched, long lines and perfect visual shape. This is one of the fundamental standards of classical ballet aesthetics. There is also a saying that ballet is a linear art, and the movement route on the stage is mostly linear, which is also consistent with the way of thinking in Western countries. This is very different from China’s aesthetic standards of circles and curves. Keeping the body perpendicular to the ground is also necessary for classical ballet techniques, such as spin techniques. In addition to tightening the whole body and launching into the sky during the movement, more importantly, the neck, back, waist, and hips are perpendicular to the ground, so that the power is concentrated on the center line of the body. Only in this way can you make your rotation move, otherwise all rotation will be impossible.

4. Standing?

It means that the body should be upright and straight, and the center of gravity of the body should be accurately placed on the center of gravity of two legs or one leg. Its space occupation feels like a classical posture. It stands proudly and majestic like a palace. This style is consistent with the style of classical ballet that originated in the royal court. Its purpose is to show the style of royal aristocrats, not the flavor of servants and common people. The actors are required to tuck in their abdomen, lift their chest, raise their center of gravity, and launch into the high altitude to accurately complete various dance movements and techniques. It is one of the fundamental standards of classical ballet aesthetics.

5. ?Light?

It refers to the dancer's light and free movements, such as: jumping movements, strengthening the body's control ability when taking off and landing, and the whole body looks very relaxed and moves freely. , especially when landing, you need to land on your toes, soles, and heels in sequence and squat slightly, just like a kitten with fleshy pads on its feet, without making any sound. As the former Soviet ballet master Ulanlova said: "It is the dancer who makes the dance light and light, and the lightness is the dancer." An excellent ballet dancer can control his body and breath well even when he is very tired, and always shows graceful and light dance postures to the audience. It gives people beautiful visual enjoyment and spiritual pleasure.

6. ?Accuracy?

It refers to accurately completing the specifications of each action and dance posture, so that the movement route and position of the action are accurate. Someone has done an experiment. During training, a skilled dancer did Battement tendu (wiping the floor) 100 times. His toes touched one point every time, and his route was not bad at all. Even very technical movements are no exception. Another example: make two turns (720 degrees) in the air. After the dancer takes off with five feet in the air and maintains a good dance posture, he still lands accurately on the fifth position when he lands. This is particularly important in classical ballet, even if the technical content is No matter how high the movements are, they must be performed accurately, otherwise the movement specifications of classical ballet will be deformed and will soon lose their luster.

7. Steady?

It means that the movements must be not only accurate but also steady and solid. For example, there are many lifting techniques in pas de deux in ballet, which require tacit understanding between male and female actors. Don't make the audience feel as if the actress is about to fall. Her movements are erratic and make the audience watch on tenterhooks. In this case, it would be better to watch a thrilling acrobatic performance. In addition, when performing rotating movements, the actors are required to maintain good stability during the rotation. At the end, the dance posture must be accurately and steadily stopped at a point. Coupled with the rendering of music, the artistic expression of the work will make the audience respond. to warm applause.

8. ?Beauty?

Ballet, like other dances, is also a highly ornamental visual art. It requires beauty in every move. Ballet has extremely high requirements for beauty. of. It is "flowing music and moving sculpture". Like music, it is limited by time, and like sculpture, it is affected by space. The choreographer discovers beauty and uses beautiful dance forms to reflect beautiful life, while the audience imagines and creates through the perception of dance beauty, thus arousing emotional resonance. . ;