How about receiving your posture advices from a real ballerina? I had the pleasure to ask an amazing one based in Paris, India Rose.
A quick introduction before the lesson...
India Rose was born in Los Angeles, California. She finished her ballet studies at the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet in New York City, and was subsequently engaged in the Gelsey Kirkland Ballet where she danced leading and soloist roles of the classical repertoire.
In 2015, she left the company and moved to Paris after meeting master floor barre teacher and legendary ballet coach, Jacqueline Fynnaert. She has since danced in several major theatres in France, including the Opera National Bordeaux, Theatre du Capitole Toulouse, Opera de Metz, Opera de Tours, touring with the Les Ballets de France and guesting with the Cork City Ballet in Ireland.
In between performing engagements, India is based in Paris where she continues to study the Kniaseff method, in addition to teaching it in boutique sized classes and one on one sessions. Since Covid-19, India has introduced a full schedule of floor barre classes and private sessions to the online community. It is one of India’s biggest joys to share the essence of classical ballet through this accessible and ingenious technique.
Now that you have an idea of whom you are getting your advices from, let's dive into the lesson.
3 tips to improve your posture
1. Wear your inner corset - lower abs in , but diaphragm open ! The lower stomach should be constantly zipped up into your pure denim, no stretch 1980’s jeans. However, that doesn’t mean your upper body such as your solar plexus area or shoulders should feel constricted either- quite the opposite ! While your lower abs are in, think of breathing in with your ribs opening sideways instead of your chest lifting up and down. To get the hand of this, try a few breaths with one hand on your lower stomach, and the other placed on the side of your ribs.
2. Eyes on the horizon - a small remark which makes my students immediately look like a ballet dancer is when I simply tell them “chin up”. While walking down the street, lift your chin up and imagine looking at a boat on the horizon line. You’ll notice that your shoulders will naturally roll back and slide down- especially if you’ve incorporated tip #1
3. Weight of the tailbone towards the ground - Everything in the body is interconnected, so if you are having trouble maintaining or accessing the placement for the first 2 tips, it might have to do with the placement of your hips. A pelvis tucked far too forward or far too back makes it difficult to support an elegant (and in our case artistically expressive) upper body, but luckily this can be improved easily. Try walking around imagining you have a small weight, or an imaginary arrow, pointing to the floor. Your hip flexors should feel relaxed and your popo (or butt) might naturally engage without gripping.
If all else fails, I told one of my clients in Paris to pretend she was a duchess in Chateau de Versailles (she was actually playing in a Molière period piece at the theatre there!). While she was having lots of fun pretending, her posture was impeccable - for a duchess or a ballerina.
Luckily for you, I used to have an in-depth programme that would provide all the knowledge to develop the skills you need, this programme is no longer delivered through consulting however, it will be available in a comprehensive book I am working on! Don't hesitate to subscribe to get an alert whenever it is out!
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