Correcting Teacher Corrections
As teachers, we have the challenge of framing our corrections in a way that is concise, accurate, and effective. Certain catch phrases, quibbles and mantras have been told to us by our teachers, and, as we became teachers we use them in our turn. I’ve been thinking a lot about correcting students and how effective some of the standard dance teacher vernacular really is. One such correction is “Get up on your leg”
“Get up on your leg”…
Teachers have a habit of saying this when students are “sinking” into their supporting leg while balanced on one leg. A lot of dancers do, in fact, demonstrate this, but is “get up on your leg” the best way to correct it?
When a dancer is supporting the body weight on one leg, either standing or en relevé, there is a tendency to release the gluteal muscles (maximus, medius and minimus) and abductors (tensor fasciae latae, piriformis, obturators, gemelli and sartorius). Whether this is due to laziness or lack of strength isn’t quite the point, but ultimately lax muscles that are meant to support the hip allow it to fall away from the midline and sink.
The big problem I have with saying “get up on your leg” is that students often overcompensate by raising their working hip. Then you tell them to drop their hip, and they overcompensate by sinking into their supporting hip again. Then you tell them to get up on their leg…. it’s a vicious cycle.
What To Do
Sinking in the hip is an error many student dancers (and, let’s face it, some professionals) experience that takes a while to correct, as it is likely the result of weak muscles in the ankle and hip (3) (specifically gluteus medius and minimus; tensor fascilae latae; and posterior tibialis, flexor digitorum longus, and flexor hallucis longus).
While some corrections are given due to negligence or laziness on the part of the dancer, if a student is continually being asked to get on their leg and simply can’t seem to maintain the proper alignment, try encouraging them to strengthen their abductors. Though other muscle groups are implicated in a sinking hip, the abductors are not especially targeted by ballet technique, which makes them a likely culprit. Working with the feet in a parallel position (by taking a jazz or _w_therab_2.gif)
modern class) can strengthen these muscles-especially exercises that extend the leg to the side in parallel.
Use a theraband wrapped around the legs, for dancers who can’t “get up on their leg”. Although it is a trademark of dancers to walk through their daily lives in turnout, simply making it a point to walk in parallel can help keep these muscles active. For dancers interested in Pilates, the hip abductor series is a great tool for this problem.
Related Injury
Weak hip abductors can also be implicated in a couple of common dance injuries. Runners with weak abductors experience increased knee abduction during the stance phase (which is essentially equivalent to dance positions placing the body weight on the supporting leg) (4). In this case the femur is not stabilizing the hip and is not fully supported at the knee joint, causing abduction of the knee and the potential for the femur to rub against the patella (5). Patellofemoral stress syndrome has been also correlated with weak hip abductors as a result of this movement within the knee joint (2).
What To Say
So if “get on your leg” doesn’t work, what do you say to a dancer who sinks in her supporting hip?
As I’m sure you already know, it depends on the student.
Some students respond better to metaphors that will encourage them to activate the muscles of the hip and ankle:
“Drive your leg into the ground like you are mounted in cement…”
or to engage the gluts and lower abdominals:
“Lift the upper body and perch it on to of the legs like a bird resting on a thin branch…”
Some students might respond better to physical manipulation. Back up your adjustments with verbal cues:
“Lift the lower tummy; feel a pinch under your bottom; engage your hip and feel it wrap around to your back…”
What do YOU say to a student who sinks in her hip?
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References:
- Calais-Gemain, B. (1993). Anatomy of Movement
. Seattle: Eastland Press.
- Dierks, T. A., Manal, K. T., Hamill, I. S. (2008). Proximal and distal influences on hip and knee kinematics in runners with patellofemoral pain during a prolonged run. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 38, 448-456.
- Grieg, V. (1994). Inside Ballet Technique: Separating Anatomical Fact from Fiction in the Ballet Class
. Hightstown, NJ: Princeton Book Company.
- Heinert, B. L., Kernozek, T. W., Greany, J. F. & Fater, D. C. (2008). Hip abductor weakness and lower extremity kinematics during running. J Sports Rehabil 17, 243-256.
- Schamberger, W. (2002). The malalignment syndrome. Oxford: Churchill Livingstone, 344-346.
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Lauren Warnecke is a freelance writer and editor, focused on dance and cultural criticism in Chicago and across the Midwest. Lauren is the dance critic for the Chicago Tribune, editor of See Chicago Dance, and founder/editor of Art Intercepts, with bylines in Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, St. Louis Magazine and Dance Media publications, among others. Holding degrees in dance and kinesiology, Lauren is an instructor of dance and exercise science at Loyola University Chicago. Read Lauren’s posts.
I teach yogaDance to adults and I tell them to imagine a line of energy that goes down the leg, through the foot, and into the floor, but to also imagine a line of energy going the other way. Then I remind them to drop their tailbone heavy like a dinosaur tail. This corrects the hip AND aligns their spine correctly.
This is a great correction to break down.
I find that understanding and strengthening the abductors is so helpful. I also think that it is equally important to make sure the leg is balanced by strengthening the adductors as well. The leg lifts suggested here are helpful for strengthening adductors. Just lift the bottom leg instead of the top.
I encourage my students to strengthening both sides of the leg and then feel how the sides work together to balance the hips. This is especially helpful in one-legged balances.
Like you said, it can be a long corrective process (heck, I’m still working on this stuff!) but it is so worth it! Especially if a student plans to dance, in some form, for life.
Great ideas, Christine! The energy into the floor is similar to my concrete image, which works for kids–I tell them they walked onto a new sidewalk that isn’t dry yet.I also like a circular energy: down through the back of the boddy and up through the front of the body.
It seems we have all heard the same thing, and still use the same ideas. I have found kids just can’t understand many concepts that require you to just “think” of your body is a specific way. I have found physical manipulation is the best for some, but certainly not all. In the pulling up, getting up on your leg concept, I have my students stand in releve in 1st and tell them to imagine a string coming out of their head and someone is pulling it up towards the ceiling, causing them to “pull up.” I notice also, students are usually pulled while on 2 feet, but as soon as they pick 1 foot up, they loose muscle strength and immediately sink in their standing hip. Here is the exercise I have my students do, that helps. 1. Have them stand in releve in 1st. Explain to them the pulling up, while pushing down into the ground (a very difficult concept for some). 2. Without moving anything (referring to your core), have them tendu 1 foot. Their big toe should be helping them balance. Explain, all they should do is shift their weight, but nothing else should change; still staying pulled up and pushing down. 3. Finally, have them bring the foot in tendu, up to passe….WITHOUT MOVING ANYTHING. They should’ve already shifted their weight, so now they bring the foot to passe. This really seems to help for some of my kids. Let me know if it works for you!!
I like your ideas Heather and this weight shift process you lead your students through. That opposition: into the ground and out of the ground is a difficult concept but so important for stability. Nice work!
I was just thinking that “pulling up” is another interesting phrase we use in dance. I’ve found it means a number of things, depending on what is going wrong for the dancer. It’s a concept a lot of teachers know in their own body but I’m not sure it really communicates much information for students. Lifting a sinking hip and engaging the abdominals are definitely related but not quite the same thing.
It’s like pulling up is really a chain of adjustments but we refer to each link as “pulling up” regardless of where it is in the chain. Am I crazy? What do you folks think?
Thanks ladies! Nichelle, I agree that I distinguish between pull up and get on your leg. I think they are sometimes used interchangeably, but pull up has more meanings. In my view, both corrections are often misused and ambiguous. I think that as teachers we really need to think through what we are actually trying to say, and not just repeat catch phrases we learned from our teachers. Heather, I think it’s great that you have developed exercises to address the common errors that often elicit these corrections. That way the students know what you mean, and what they need to do, when they are asked to “get on their leg” or “pull up”
Yes it’s explaining to children so they understand the concept and good points
All of these comments are so useful. I am finding the most successful way of getting the hips/turnout better controlled is simply to use something I read about in Maya Plisetskaya’s autobiography. She talks about Vaganova telling her students to imagine holding a Kopek between the lower half of their cheeks/glutes, this has worked every time for my students. It is not a tensing of the whole of the backside, only a focus on the lower part, and they need to be aware of this hold not just when on two feet, but also when standing on one, regardless of whether the legs are bent or straight. With regards to ‘pull up’ I find that once we get the torso placed correctly over the pelvis, connecting the ribcage to the pelvis by use of the muscles in between, I can then ask them to carefully lift the ribcage away from the waist, up and slightly forwards, whilst still maintaining the slight ‘hold’ on those muscles. If you feel an aching around the solar plexus area as you hold this placing for a while then you are probably on the right track, and tiring muscles out that are not used to working much! The use of the head lifting/leading upwards and/or string from the top of the head to the ceiling I also find very useful.
Very good description and the positioning of the pelvis and the exact location of the muscles may be tricky but I’m willing to try and will try out your glutes method and a fantastic response and very grateful for your wise comments and do you have any tips for Arabesque and the lifting of the leg aside from up and over with the front arm?
Arabesque seems to be a whole other ball game because you are allowing the pelvis to tilt forwards. I’ve heard a great analogy of the pelvis being a punch bowl; as you lift the leg you don’t want any punch to spill out. This helps maintain lift through the abdominals while allowing the pelvis tilt forward as it must…. perhaps this is the topic of another post!
I love your descriptions and yes it would be helpful as a new discussion and teachers need new tips and have some students who have stiffness in the muscles as they lift the leg and they want to know how this can be loosened up.
Thanks again for your comments