Ballet Styles & FS

[Fresca]

As another great discussion has been started, this time about ballet and fs, I've opened up a separate thread for you all, so there is no need to worry about cluttering other threads!

Thank you very much guys, I hope you continue on!
Edit by Yatagarasu

_______________________

 

On 5/17/2017 at 07:43, koneko said:

Dear Fresca, I wouldn't DARE come between you and your beloved Vaganova Fingers! I'm pretty sure I would end up like this guy: . I'm not even worthy to contemplate marriage to such a supreme being. I shall be the Paris to you two's Romeo and Juliet (albeit without the tragic ending), and nightly weep for my lost love, haha 

I'm primarily trained in the Vaganova technique (like you I prefer it more), but I still appreciate Nathan's very nice port de bras: big and elaborate arm movements, bending upper body and parallel a la seconde arms. Yes, very Balanchine. I think his jumps maybe are Balanchine-influenced too - Balanchine dancers are trained to jump quickly; maybe that explains the sometimes jerky working leg when he lands.

 

 

Most of my ballet training was also based on the Vaganova method.

I don't know all the particulars of Balanchine technique but yes, his ballets have a lot of very fast choreography. I'm not sure though if training to do fast footwork and jumps would affect Nathan's jump landings negatively. I would think speed would require even better plie and better strength so you can push off the floor faster for the next element. I also think Nathan has to work on his plie in his skates in general not just in his jumps as he has stiff knees and doesnt go very deep in the knee at all. I'd love to hear more of what you think!  (maybe in the Nathan thread if there is one?)

[koneko]

17 hours ago, Fresca said:

 

Most of my ballet training was also based on the Vaganova method.

I don't know all the particulars of Balanchine technique but yes, his ballets have a lot of very fast choreography. I'm not sure though if training to do fast footwork and jumps would affect Nathan's jump landings negatively. I would think speed would require even better plie and better strength so you can push off the floor faster for the next element. I also think Nathan has to work on his plie in his skates in general not just in his jumps as he has stiff knees and doesnt go very deep in the knee at all. I'd love to hear more of what you think!  (maybe in the Nathan thread if there is one?)

YAY! A fellow Vaganova dancer! I also learned Balanchine because some choreographers I worked with prefer it, and basically its core principle is: move ya a**, gobble up dat space and do it quickly. Nathan, being American, is most likely trained in the Balanchine method (but as we so agonizingly bemoan: where is that deep, beautiful plie?   Balanchine dancers are supposedly known for this, aside from the big and 'wilder' port de bras. Maybe because he keeps his weight over the balls of his feet, a la Balanchine? Hard to see over the boots). Me too, I'd love to hear more of your thoughts!  (like you, I am feeling guilty of "littering" the gen thread. I want to expound more, but I tend to ramble, LOL )

P.S. Congrats on your wedding to Yuzu's exquisite, ravishing, pulchritudinous, swoon-worthy (I could describe them all day )  Vaganova fingers! You two make such a beautiful couple! ->tears of joy

[Fresca]

@koneko

I'm bringing the discussion on Nathan's ballet technique and his jump landings over here into the Team USA thread. Your comment below on how dancers trained in Balanchine technique are taught to keep their weight on the balls of their feet is so interesting!

On 18/05/2017 at 19:11, koneko said:

YAY! A fellow Vaganova dancer! I also learned Balanchine because some choreographers I worked with prefer it, and basically its core principle is: move ya a**, gobble up dat space and do it quickly. Nathan, being American, is most likely trained in the Balanchine method (but as we so agonizingly bemoan: where is that deep, beautiful plie?   Balanchine dancers are supposedly known for this, aside from the big and 'wilder' port de bras. Maybe because he keeps his weight over the balls of his feet, a la Balanchine? Hard to see over the boots). Me too, I'd love to hear more of your thoughts! 

 

I'm a bit of a footwork geek because I started with ballet then tried out into other styles (jazz, contemporary, hip hop, ballroom) and different styles require your feet to have a different relationship with the floor. Latin ballroom is the same as Balanchine technique in the aspect of keeping weight on the balls of the feet. That's how you get the quick footwork and hip and knee action in Latin ballroom but it works because Latin ballroom is a "forward leaning" style, ie you don't really have shifts of weight backwards big enough which require you to put much pressure on the heel unlike a foxtrot.

 

In ballet, I can think of such shifts of weight backward which would require weight to be put on the heel for balance but perhaps it's because I'm not familiar with Balanchine technique. For example, developpe devant in plie (with the pelvis tilted backward even as in Rubies) or jete entrelace into arabesque in plie. How do they adjust to keep balance whilst keeping the weight on the balles of the feet? Since in skating there is such a shift of weight backward in jump landings, perhaps Nathan does some similar adjustment when he lands which leads to him to land tilted forward and lose speed going out of jumps.

[koneko]

On 5/20/2017 at 06:18, Fresca said:

Your whole wonderful post

 

Yay, thank you for bringing the discussion here!   I can ramble more haha. Sorry for the late reply: weekends are ballet days for me  My ballet students (some of them are cross-training figure skaters) were perplexed by the sudden influx of plie exercises at the barre  based on our fascinating discussions (maybe I'll actually ask them to come in their skating boots on the next lesson and just let them practice their plies with them on ROFL). Thank you again for providing me with your insights!  

I love your colorful dance history. I think it's great to experiment and branch out in different styles to become a well-rounded dancer. I can't get the rhythm and the 'popping' of hiphop right, coz my movements are too soft and 'balletic,' so I admire you.  Like you, I'm in love with intricate footwork  especially when done with precision.

 

I think keeping the weight at the balls of their feet is tied in with the Balanchine principle of moving quickly. It's very apparent especially in slower movements, like in reverence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIWSZIBRekA (this vid is the Nutcracker pas de deux, as choreographed by Balanchine). In 6:12 of this clip, you can see how her back leg does demi-pointe instead of full pointe when she bows so she can exit fast. The moving quickly idea is also why Balanchine changes a lot of classical choreographies (I can't find a video, but imagine the famous Odette variation with 2 quick sissones instead of 1 small/quick + 1 big/slow one ) At the barre, grande plies are done in two counts instead of the usual four.

On 5/20/2017 at 06:18, Fresca said:

How do they adjust to keep balance whilst keeping the weight on the balles of the feet?

Great question! This is why Balanchine dancers are supposedly known for their deep plies (which as we've discussed, are also needed to move quickly). It's kind of a contrasting idea because keeping the weight at the balls of their feet makes it hard to plie deep  Their bendy upper body and open/unsquared shoulders/hips help them balance (you'll also hear that a lot about Balanchine dancers: bend, bend, bend). I think that's why Nathan does that "tilting forward" thing when he lands sometimes. Additionally, their upper body posture shows that they are 'lifted forward' (I don't know if I explained that well )

One other thing, as we've touched about this before: Balanchine technique does not emphasize on squaring the hips and shoulders - they prioritize keeping the lines long. (If Nathan is indeed trained in Balanchine, maybe this is his mindset too. But I read that he did gymnastics too, and in gymnastics, they are even more strict at the squaring thing : my coach always harps on me on this one)

 

[Fresca]

So much to comment on in your post!!!  

 

On 22/05/2017 at 17:51, koneko said:

My ballet students (some of them are cross-training figure skaters) were perplexed by the sudden influx of plie exercises at the barre  based on our fascinating discussions (maybe I'll actually ask them to come in their skating boots on the next lesson and just let them practice their plies with them on ROFL). Thank you again for providing me with your insights!  

 

They will thank you for it later!! It's good for them!! On a similar note, here's something else I found that might interest you. The Australian ballet does releve to demi pointe exercises with feet in parallel rather than turned out and they've found it signficantly reduces ankle injuries

 

On 22/05/2017 at 17:51, koneko said:

I think keeping the weight at the balls of their feet is tied in with the Balanchine principle of moving quickly. It's very apparent especially in slower movements, like in reverence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIWSZIBRekA (this vid is the Nutcracker pas de deux, as choreographed by Balanchine). In 6:12 of this clip, you can see how her back leg does demi-pointe instead of full pointe when she bows so she can exit fast. The moving quickly idea is also why Balanchine changes a lot of classical choreographies (I can't find a video, but imagine the famous Odette variation with 2 quick sissones instead of 1 small/quick + 1 big/slow one ) At the barre, grande plies are done in two counts instead of the usual four.

 

I found a video of that Odette variation! I need to find more videos of Balanchine's ballets just to pay attention to their feet and plie! Grand plie in 2 counts instead of 4?? Yes that will get your tush moving like there are ants in your pants!

 

On 22/05/2017 at 17:51, koneko said:

Great question! This is why Balanchine dancers are supposedly known for their deep plies (which as we've discussed, are also needed to move quickly). It's kind of a contrasting idea because keeping the weight at the balls of their feet makes it hard to plie deep  Their bendy upper body and open/unsquared shoulders/hips help them balance (you'll also hear that a lot about Balanchine dancers: bend, bend, bend). I think that's why Nathan does that "tilting forward" thing when he lands sometimes. Additionally, their upper body posture shows that they are 'lifted forward' (I don't know if I explained that well )

One other thing, as we've touched about this before: Balanchine technique does not emphasize on squaring the hips and shoulders - they prioritize keeping the lines long. (If Nathan is indeed trained in Balanchine, maybe this is his mindset too. But I read that he did gymnastics too, and in gymnastics, they are even more strict at the squaring thing : my coach always harps on me on this one)

 

 

On Nathan, I need to watch more closely then how he tilts forward when he lands. It could be because as you say he lands keeping the weight on the balls of his feet so his center of gravity is forward of his feet rather than over his feet. If he had the deep plie to go with it, that would actually put him back in balance because it would move his upper body back and therefore his center of gravity back over his feet. However, because he doesn't have the knee bend, he ends up tliting forward and his hips need to save his balance.

 

On the open/unsquared hips helping them to keep balance, isn't this an oxymoron too? Wouldn't squaring the hips and shoulders help in keeping balance? Does this lack of emphasis on squaring the hips and shoulders apply for turns and jumps too? Or just for positions/extensions? I would think you would need the alignment to execute the turns else you'll fall out of them. The same for the jumps like double jete entrelace and double tours. I don't think you can get the rotation without the alignment and landing with the hips and shoulders twisted would be stressful to the body. *goes off to watch more Balanchine videos in slow motion*

[koneko]

On 5/24/2017 at 07:03, Fresca said:

The Australian ballet does releve to demi pointe exercises with feet in parallel rather than turned out and they've found it signficantly reduces ankle injuries

Ooh, this is interesting! My ballet teacher starts pointe-warm up exercises with feet in parallel (she calls it 6th position), but I never knew to what purpose! Thank you, this is precious. It makes the exercise more meaningful.

On 5/24/2017 at 07:03, Fresca said:

I found a video of that Odette variation!

Yes, this is what I was thinking of - dear Fresca, you are a genius not only at analysis but also at researching (add forum-posting to your innumerable talents coz I have no idea how you linked the vids at the exact points in time . My skill set is limited to quoting). Oh my, Balanchine port de bras don't really fit the image of the Odette, do they? Makes me think of a fluttering pigeon rather than a regal swan.

On 5/24/2017 at 07:03, Fresca said:

Yes that will get your tush moving like there are ants in your pants!

This made me ROFLMAO. My dog is judging me rn. Yes, Balanchine is all about being hella quick. Downside to it is that sometimes, nimbleness just becomes jerky.

On 5/24/2017 at 07:03, Fresca said:

If he had the deep plie to go with it, that would actually put him back in balance because it would move his upper body back and therefore his center of gravity back over his feet.

YES TO THIS. It would also lessen the jarring impact of his body weight on his poor landing knee (and hip). Sometimes, because he plies so slightly, it appears that he doesn't bend at all!  

On 5/24/2017 at 07:03, Fresca said:

Does this lack of emphasis on squaring the hips and shoulders apply for turns and jumps too? Or just for positions/extensions?

I think it depends on the kind of turn/jump? Like you, I've been taught that a proper alignment will stabilize the axis of the turns - I take it to mean that if one maintains the line, you can increase the number of turns your body makes. Balanchine was not overly concerned with the number of turns; he preferred to focus on the quality instead. A single/double pirouette is perfectly fine if done with quality. Someone learning Balanchine would be thinking more about the preparation and the landing, so the squareness is not emphasized. On a side note, I've been seeing new turns in contemporary ballet/jazz that are seemingly not in axis? (hunched shoulders, abstract arm/leg positions, etc) Maybe they rely more on their strong cores than alignment.

For jumps, if we look at the grand jete, Balanchine dancers don't square their shoulders/hips too (this is also one way to tell them apart from the rest: they tend to have a higher back leg than the front in grand jete). For double tours, I totally agree that keeping the line tight (no leaning) is visually more pleasing. Have you seen Baryshnikov's double jete entrelace?  I think he kind of slants his body slightly at the hips before landing to suspend in the air longer, so maybe it's possible to do it even without maintaining the line throughout (but then again, Baryshnikov's a genius and is more of an outlier than an example of the norm, )

On 5/24/2017 at 07:03, Fresca said:

Wouldn't squaring the hips and shoulders help in keeping balance?

I shamefully admit that I cheat on my Vaganova origins sometimes - I have hyperextended knees, and I find it easier to balance an arabesque penchee with my standing leg turned in and my hips and shoulders unsquared 

 

I've been rewatching Nathan's programs too - when he lands, sometimes he unwraps his free leg like he's doing a ronde de jambe, sometimes he raises it into passé first before unwrapping, like he's doing a tour en l'air en passe. Maybe it's an fs thing, but I find it interesting. *goes off to watch lots of vids in slo-mo with you* 

[Fresca]

16 hours ago, koneko said:

Yes, this is what I was thinking of - dear Fresca, you are a genius not only at analysis but also at researching (add forum-posting to your innumerable talents coz I have no idea how you linked the vids at the exact points in time . My skill set is limited to quoting). Oh my, Balanchine port de bras don't really fit the image of the Odette, do they? Makes me think of a fluttering pigeon rather than a regal swan.

 

To make a Youtube video play at the exact point you want, say 10 seconds into the video, you just add "&t=10s" at the end of the video link.

Yes, I agree, pigeons (maybe geese??) rather than swans...Vaganova is the way to go for swans, which is why Yuzu makes such a pretty swan

 

16 hours ago, koneko said:

YES TO THIS. It would also lessen the jarring impact of his body weight on his poor landing knee (and hip). Sometimes, because he plies so slightly, it appears that he doesn't bend at all! 

 

Yes I think so too Looks painful. It also looks like the tilting forward, wrenching back for balance and the lack of plie make him lose his speed going out of his jumps.

 

16 hours ago, koneko said:

I think it depends on the kind of turn/jump? Like you, I've been taught that a proper alignment will stabilize the axis of the turns - I take it to mean that if one maintains the line, you can increase the number of turns your body makes. Balanchine was not overly concerned with the number of turns; he preferred to focus on the quality instead. A single/double pirouette is perfectly fine if done with quality. Someone learning Balanchine would be thinking more about the preparation and the landing, so the squareness is not emphasized. On a side note, I've been seeing new turns in contemporary ballet/jazz that are seemingly not in axis? (hunched shoulders, abstract arm/leg positions, etc) Maybe they rely more on their strong cores than alignment.

 

Yes, I was referring to the number of turns your body makes if you maintain alignment. So Balanchine focused on the entry/exit to and from the turns when thinking of "quality" rather than the turns themselves?

 

On the contemporary/jazz question, do you mean turns like this one? Yes, contemporary/modern is core-centered. Squareness is also not the focus but rather openess of the torso and the hips so they can move freely around the core. You need the openness because there is a lot of off-axis/off-balance movement which can lead to falling or moving yourself back into balance. It's very different from ballet where keeping your balance is a must as movement is upward, light and lifted (hence, my fascination with Balanchine as what he values seems to have a very modern slant but what is emphasized in modern is different from ballet where gravity and weight are embraced). With such off-axis/off-balance turns, you're not meant to turn very much. The emphasis is not keeping balance/alignment but rather the shape you create with your body and its movement through space. However, these dance styles also have turns where alignment is the focus as triple/quad pirouettes are common in choreography.

 

16 hours ago, koneko said:

For jumps, if we look at the grand jete, Balanchine dancers don't square their shoulders/hips too (this is also one way to tell them apart from the rest: they tend to have a higher back leg than the front in grand jete). For double tours, I totally agree that keeping the line tight (no leaning) is visually more pleasing. Have you seen Baryshnikov's double jete entrelace?  I think he kind of slants his body slightly at the hips before landing to suspend in the air longer, so maybe it's possible to do it even without maintaining the line throughout (but then again, Baryshnikov's a genius and is more of an outlier than an example of the norm, )

I shamefully admit that I cheat on my Vaganova origins sometimes - I have hyperextended knees, and I find it easier to balance an arabesque penchee with my standing leg turned in and my hips and shoulders unsquared 

 

Yes, I've seen his double jete entrelace before I love him. He's so brilliant. Yes, I think he uses the slant at the hip when he enters to get the height but I notice he also straightens himself out in the air so when he lands, he's aligned. Maybe it is indeed possible for double jete entrelace to do it without maintaining the line throughout because you have the momentum from the left leg meeting the right in the air which might be enough to get the 1.5 turns.

 

To be fair, it's impossible to keep your hips entirely square when doing arabesque or grand jete if you don't naturally have the turnout and you want to get your leg higher.

 

ETA: Now I see what you mean, if you are not focused on keeping the square, then you have more room to adjust the different parts of your body to keep balance. I think the square gives you more stability (ie makes it easier to hold positions) but if the focus of Balanchine is speed/motion rather than stability/stillness then such adjustments are allowed by the aesthetic.

 

16 hours ago, koneko said:

I've been rewatching Nathan's programs too - when he lands, sometimes he unwraps his free leg like he's doing a ronde de jambe, sometimes he raises it into passé first before unwrapping, like he's doing a tour en l'air en passe. Maybe it's an fs thing, but I find it interesting. *goes off to watch lots of vids in slo-mo with you* 

 

Yes! I also noticed that he unwraps his free leg like he's doing a ronde de jambe but with his hip flying out along with his rib...There are degrees of alignment and degrees of misalignment!

[meoima]

This talk about ballet and alignment are amazing. Thank you very much @Fresca and @koneko .

 

The first person who told me that Nathan's landings were weird and not very good was Adelia my friend. She also did ballet and gymnasts since young. I did not ask what style she studied, but in short, she was very disapproved of his landings, Of course, she's not a skater so maybe we can not tell for sure the impact of the jump landings.

 

But do we see some similarity in good jumpers' landings? I think many good skaters have similar landings.

[koneko]

@Xen I'm also sorry for contributing to the thread 'litter' (to borrow @Fresca's wording ). Fresca, maybe we should create our own thread to geek out x100000? I'll [try] to keep this reply short (spoiler alert: I failed XD) 

Fresca, I have so many things I want to comment on your post, and I'm afraid I might miss something (like thanking you for adding to my forum-posting skills, fangirling about Baryshnikov and Yuzu [Yes! Such a pretty swan ], making avian comparisons of Balanchine White Swans [maybe hummingbirds? 'Coz they move so quickly] etc, etc.). Being succinct is such a tough thing 

On 5/26/2017 at 08:40, Fresca said:

So Balanchine focused on the entry/exit to and from the turns when thinking of "quality" rather than the turns themselves?

Yes. Pirouettes are started from a lunge position ('Ina Bauer', haha) and straight arms, to add to the element of surprise. To Balanchine, starting from 4th is 'predictable' and he wanted to shake it up. Majority of the weight is on the front foot. Exits are with an open, big and lifted arm position and the feet should be ready for the next step.

 

On 5/26/2017 at 08:40, Fresca said:

On the contemporary/jazz question, do you mean turns like this one?

Yes!  I agree with your analysis (I love how you described it as "creating shape in space"). Sophia Lucia, an amazing American dancer, is a good example too (She holds the world record for 55 consecutive pirouettes. 55!. She also trains in ballet and she can do 13 consecutive pirouettes en pointe).  When she did the leg behind the head turn, I think the key is how she maintains her balance with her core while opening her hip and shoulders to hit the different arms/leg positions (going 'off-axis'), and once she reaches her desired position, she corrects her deliberately misplaced alignment to turn more times. Maybe much like a figure skater (except the spotting LOL): while spinning, they can adjust their alignment along with their positions.

In general, I think ballet methods are getting more lenient with the squareness. People want the "wow" factor of a super high arabesque leg, or an a la seconde leg right next to the ear. Even the Vaganova Ballet Academy is hopping on the bandwagon.

 

On 5/26/2017 at 08:40, Fresca said:

Yes! I also noticed that he unwraps his free leg like he's doing a ronde de jambe but with his hip flying out along with his rib...There are degrees of alignment and degrees of misalignment!

I'm relieved it's not only me then  (that over-crossed ronde de jambe is soooo Balanchine). Should we also worry about his rib, too... along with his knee, foot, hip and back (did I miss anything?)? 

[koneko]

On 5/26/2017 at 11:33, meoima said:

Thank you very much @Fresca and @koneko .

Thank you very much, too, dear meoima! I'm glad you appreciate it. I enjoy reading your analyses as well because they are super informative and helpful. I have ballet students who are figure skaters (they just cross-train in ballet), and reading your input helped me understand their needs better. 

I completely agree with your friend about Nathan's weird landings. I think some (not all) principles of ballet and gymnastics can be applied to figure skating, like the importance of deep plies when landing jumps. Looking at it from a physics' perspective (sorry everyone for the geek math ): Pressure=Force/Area. The smaller the area, the greater the pressure. Force= mass X acceleration. Having a deep plie lessens the impact/pressure by creating more room/area to dispel the force of jumps - weight is distributed more evenly. Skaters' weight and the high acceleration (like a quad would have) would create more force; and they would have so little area (those thin 4-mm blades) to land on.

On 5/26/2017 at 11:33, meoima said:

I think many good skaters have similar landings.

I agree! I compare them to Yuzu  who I think is the epitome.

[Yatagarasu]

And to push this one up, so that it's visible as a new thread!

Thank you very much once again everyone, especially @Fresca and @koneko for your wonderful and informative posts!

[cirelle]

Okay, this thread is so much YAY! Thank you for the expert analysis, I had a blast reading it.

[kitsune]

Could @Fresca tell me which dance styles would most suit the skaters (Yuzu, Javier, Patrick, Nathan, Jin and Shoma)? 

P.S I do not know anything about dance, so if my question is meaningless or uncomfortable please let me know.

[koneko]

Did Oksana Baiul do an Italian fouette here? So cool! I really enjoy it when ballet-inspired fs programs pay homage to the original choreography (like Nathan's hand-to-shoulder touch thingies in his Le Corsaire SP)

[Fresca]

On 29/05/2017 at 14:39, koneko said:

Fresca, I have so many things I want to comment on your post, and I'm afraid I might miss something (like thanking you for adding to my forum-posting skills, fangirling about Baryshnikov and Yuzu [Yes! Such a pretty swan ], making avian comparisons of Balanchine White Swans [maybe hummingbirds? 'Coz they move so quickly] etc, etc.). Being succinct is such a tough thing 

 

Hummingbirds is good! They have such busy arms! Yes, being succinct is tough...I text people in paragraphs...

 

On 29/05/2017 at 14:39, koneko said:

Yes. Pirouettes are started from a lunge position ('Ina Bauer', haha) and straight arms, to add to the element of surprise. To Balanchine, starting from 4th is 'predictable' and he wanted to shake it up.

 

Yes I noticed that! Similar to jazz where you enter your turns from a lunge position but both knees are bent so not all the weight is on the forward foot!

 

On 29/05/2017 at 14:39, koneko said:

Yes!  I agree with your analysis (I love how you described it as "creating shape in space"). Sophia Lucia, an amazing American dancer, is a good example too (She holds the world record for 55 consecutive pirouettes. 55!. She also trains in ballet and she can do 13 consecutive pirouettes en pointe).  When she did the leg behind the head turn, I think the key is how she maintains her balance with her core while opening her hip and shoulders to hit the different arms/leg positions (going 'off-axis'), and once she reaches her desired position, she corrects her deliberately misplaced alignment to turn more times. Maybe much like a figure skater (except the spotting LOL): while spinning, they can adjust their alignment along with their positions.

 

55 consecutive pirouettes!! 13 en pointe!! And that is some insane adjustment to continue turning while raising her foot behind her head! She's a beast!!!! With that sensitivity to balance and alignment, what kind of monster figure skater would she have made???

 

Yes, when going off-axis/off-balance, not just in turns but for all sorts of movement, you need to develop an awareness of where your core is (the trick I learned is it's your 3 middle fingers down from your bellybutton!) and use the openness of the limbs/torso around the core so you can control your center of gravity and control your balance/alignment through space (from off-balance back to balance for example).

 

On 29/05/2017 at 14:39, koneko said:

I'm relieved it's not only me then  (that over-crossed ronde de jambe is soooo Balanchine). Should we also worry about his rib, too... along with his knee, foot, hip and back (did I miss anything?)? 

 

Given this discussion, I did a quick web search about Balanchine technique and injuries and what I found was very interesting. In this ballet school website about different ballet methods, their summary about Balanchine at the bottom of the page ended with "Balanchine Method dancers must be extremely fit and flexible. Injuries can be common for those inexperienced with this technique." In the comments section of this blog post on Balanchine, they mention that many Balanchine dancers have needed hip replacements early in life. I checked the names mentioned and they are indeed true. Finally, in this discussion board there is a very interesting conversation between a former Balanchine dancer (CygneDanois), another ballet dancer (leibling) and a dance teacher (Victoria Leigh) on the shortcomings of Balanchine technique.

 

I tried to do a bit of research on the Ballet West Academy syllabus which is where Nathan did his ballet training but didn't find any details on the method they use. They only say it's been created by the Director of the Company. However, on the website at least, I did not see Balanchine fingers. I don't know what style of ballet Nathan is trained in but I hope for his sake it's not Balanchine. I'm already worried enough about his hips given his bad jump landings without reading about these injuries from Balanchine technique