HOW TO GET EFFORTLESS, EXTENDED LINES

Working towards the ‘longer lines’ as a dancer can be tricky. Besides, you can’t make your limbs longer than they are. Ronni Favors, director of rehearsals for the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, says that trying to lengthen your limbs is essentially “trying for something outside of yourself.” The aesthetics associated with long lines can sometimes be unhealthy: “Long lines can be a euphemism for thin bodies.

Favors suggests that instead of thinking of long lines as an aesthetic ideal, aim to find length and elasticity in your line, an effortless line that’s proportional to your body, as another tool in your toolbox. He says that, “as a dancer you create shapes in space. So to be able to cover as much space as possible is something that we’re all really trying to do.”

Get organized

Physical therapist Andrea Lasner, who works with dancers at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, says that having freedom in the limbs to reach and stretch requires having a secure, aligned torso to initiate the movement.

Miami City Ballet School faculty member Maribel Modrono says core strength is key, but you need to make sure your workouts aren’t counterproductive to lengthening your spine. For example, when doing a crunch, the tendency is to pull in the neck or push out the belly, instead of pulling the abs in and up to create more length.

According to Favors, practicing alignment is also important for core stabilization and limb release. On the other hand, misalignment can manifest itself in shorter lines by creating too much tension in the body or causing dancers to clench their arms in an effort to gain a sense of control. Finding alignment, she says, is often a long journey that can be helped by Pilates and Gyrotonic or a good teacher or coach.

Create space

Just because a line is elongated doesn’t mean it has that airy stretched quality that many dancers want. Favors points out that sometimes when a dancer goes for a long line, it actually looks like they’re pulling or straining.

For easy toned lines, she suggests imagining that there’s extra space at the joints to avoid compressing them. She also likes the idea of feeling the air around you, between your toes, above your head, and keeping that air in constant motion.

Of course, making room for maximum mobility and therefore maximum toned lines means having supple, warm muscles. Modrono stresses the importance of proper warm-up before class and rehearsal, especially dynamic stretches for the hips and calves, and recovery afterwards.

Elongation from distant points

Modrono sees the head and neck as an ‘exclamation’, capable of extending or completing the line. Hands and feet, in turn, can be either the finishing touches of a line or the unintended breaking points. Both Favors and Modrono introduce the dancers to da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man to emphasize the idea of energy radiating from the center of the body and outward to distant points.

Still, Modrono says, focus can also give the illusion of a longer line when used correctly. An example is to look up slightly as you jump to give the impression of more height in the air. Favors adds that looking beyond the walls of the studio or theater into the imaginary distance can enhance this illusion.

Angles and circles

It’s a lesson most ballet students learn at a young age, but it’s worth remembering for every dancer: When you make angles with your body, imagine you’re standing in your own imaginary box. In other words, Modrono says, to get firm and flattering lines, it’s best to aim for the angles of your body, not the angles of the stage or studio.

Favors finds circles to be a useful image, too. He says that, “Even when you get to the end of your line, it’s always going in circles, but you want each end to meet at the edge of the circle, as opposed to all being pulled into the center.”

Elongation through transitions

Achieving long, effortless lines is easier when you have plenty of time to play and experiment. But it’s a whole different challenge when they need to be done correctly during a fast or transient movement. Lasner suggests focusing on efficiency, finding opportunities to lengthen in difficult combinations, and getting very specific about exactly what your body is doing and how much muscular effort it will take to do it.

Favors agrees and suggests analyzing traffic to find the shortest routes between destinations. He says that “you have to save because you don’t want to cut off traffic, but you don’t want to overtake it either. You have to know where the movement starts and ends.”

This also means that you should not neglect the moments in between. Favors says that “you have to make sure that as much attention is paid to your transitions as to the next big move. Because a lot of times we just think about the ‘ta-da!’

Creating elegant lines is less about the length of your legs or the flexibility of your hips and more about this kind of attention to detail and dexterity. Favors says, “I love to see people with a beautifully crafted line that they’ve created and sculpted through their own discovery. It’s as beautiful as someone with their foot through their ears.”

Channel your breathing

Dancers sometimes get so caught up in “achieving the line” that they’re actually holding their breath, or look like they are, says Modrono, which can make the line appear static and stilted. But, she says, adding breath to your movements, like port de bras, landing a jump or finishing a turn, can add grace and spirit to the quality of your dancing.

Modrono says dancers sometimes get so caught up in “hitting the line” that they actually hold their breath or look like they are. This can make the line appear static and distorted. But, he says, adding breath to your movements, such as port de bras, landing a jump or ending a turn, can add grace and soul to the quality of your dance.

Article from: https://www.dancemagazine.com/get-longer-lines/