Vaganova Fourth Port de Bras

The Vaganova 4th Port de Bras involves a challenging twist of the upper body, achieving its characteristic line in the 4th arabesque arm position.  It requires a great deal of energy and strength in the back muscles, all the while creating a soft expressive look.

The dancer begins with feet in 3rd or 5th position croisé and arms in preparatory.  After a small breath, the arms rise together to 1st position, then split as they do for 2nd Port de Bras, with the upstage arm arriving in 3rd position while the downstage arm arrives in 2nd position.  During this phase, the eyes focus on the downstage hand, following its movements up to 1st position with a slight inclination over the upstage shoulder, and out to 2nd position with an inclination slightly backward over the downstage shoulder.

Now the dancer turns the focus to the upstage hand, watching it as it begins its reach towards the back corner of the room, opposite to the corner the dancer’s hips are facing.  As this upstage arm is reaching to the back corner, the dancer is twisting at the waist towards the back of the room and the downstage arm is beginning movement down to preparatory. 

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As the upstage arm nears its destination across from the shoulder, the dancer’s focus shifts back to the downstage hand as it rises from preparatory to allongé across from its shoulder.  In this position, 4th arabesque, the palms of both hands are facing the floor, fingers elongated, elbows just lightly relaxed.  Shoulders must be in an even line.  There is a common tendency to let the upstage shoulder push upwards and this must be diligently avoided.  The arms in this position are as they would be in 2nd position allongé except that the back is twisted at the waist such that the arms are reaching in what appear to be forward and backward directions. The dancer’s back should be turned strongly towards the audience.  At the completion of this line, the head tilts slightly over the downstage shoulder with a minimal lift of the chin and the eyes following the line of the fingers upward towards the downstage corner.

Mistakes to watch out for…

To complete the 4th Port de Bras, the upstage arm descends to preparatory and rises to meet the downstage arm in 1st position as the body returns to its original facing. The arms then open again to 3rd (upstage arm) and 2nd (downstage arm) positions.

Vaganova Third Port de Bras

Continuing our series of Port de Bras blogs, it is now time to cover Vaganova 3rd Port de Bras!  In this exercise, the dancer involves the full upper body along with the arms and head.  It is not only an exercise in developing the grace of the arms and the coordinated movement of the head, but also the control of the core and the flexibility of the hamstrings and the back.

The dancer begins standing with feet in 3rd or 5th position croisé with the arms a la seconde (2nd position).  The movement begins with a small breath of the upper body that causes the hands and elbows to turn over such that the palms now face the floor and the elbows drop just slightly.  With this breath, the eyes are on the downstage hand and the head tilts slightly back with a very small lift of the chin.

“Breath” before bending forward

“Breath” before bending forward

The dancer begins to fold forward by drawing the abdominals inward and bending very slightly at the waist to reduce the natural curve of the spine into a flatter back.  The dancer must be careful not to arch the back at the beginning of this folding forward.  To do so releases the engagement of the abdominals and sends the hips backward. 

Correct - Abdominals drawn in at beginning of forward bend

Correct - Abdominals drawn in at beginning of forward bend

Incorrect - Back arching at beginning of forward bend

Incorrect - Back arching at beginning of forward bend

After drawing in the abdominals to begin the forward bend, the movement flows into a folding at the hip joint until the dancer’s chest is as close to the legs as possible.  Meanwhile, the arms are folding down with the body such that they arrive in “preparatory” position (i.e. they are in an oval shape with the hands nearly or completely touching the floor at the bottom) at the same moment that the dancer has reached the full body bend downward.  The dancer should be careful not to let the arms hang behind the body as the body begins to fold forward.  At the bottom of this stretch, the dancer should let his/her head face into the legs rather than looking at the floor or the feet.  This completion of the bend with the head gives a further stretch up the backs of the legs as well as completing the flow of movement and the line.

Arms come down with the body as dancer bends forward

Arms come down with the body as dancer bends forward

Focus is towards legs at the bottom of the forward bend

Focus is towards legs at the bottom of the forward bend

Having achieved the full forward bend of the body, the dancer now begins to return the upper body to its vertical alignment.  This begins with the engagement of the core and back muscles bringing the upper body into a flat back position with the arms across from the diaphragm in a circular 1st position.  The hamstrings and glutes and rotators then engage to draw the dancer the remainder of the way up to vertical as the arms continue their trajectory upward, arriving in 3rd position overhead as the dancer’s upper body reaches vertical.  The head is now turned downstage with the eyes turned to the forearm of the downstage arm.

Upon returning to vertical, the focus is on the downstage forearm before beginning the cambre back

Upon returning to vertical, the focus is on the downstage forearm before beginning the cambre back

Correct - head and body coming up together

Correct - head and body coming up together

Incorrect - Head leading the body upwards

Incorrect - Head leading the body upwards

From here, the dancer begins a cambré back.  Another slight breath of the upper body involves a tiny dip forward of the head and hands which then immediately begin the arch back.  The focus remains downstage into the forearm and the elbows remain pressed wide open to allow to face to be seen above the arms during the arch of the back.  The top of the head and the hands lead this arch while the waistline is strongly activated to remain lifted and long.  The arch back continues to the base of the shoulder blades. Depending upon the flexibility of the dancer’s back, this arch backward may continue to go lower into the back, but there must remain a strong engagement of the lower back muscles such that the dancer does not “drop” into the lower back, causing a subsequent displacement of the hips and bending of the knees.

Having reached the culmination of the backward arch, the dancer begins the return to vertical from the base of the curve, radiating upward to the head which is last to return to vertical.  As the dancer arrives at vertical, the arms open to 2nd position as the eyes follow the downstage hand.

Some Common Pitfalls to watch out for:

incorrect - Elbow forward obscuring face


incorrect - Elbow forward obscuring face

Incorrect - Head dropped back

Incorrect - Head dropped back

Incorrect - sinking into lower back causing displacement of hips and knees

Incorrect - sinking into lower back causing displacement of hips and knees

Incorrect - Tailbone poking out behind

Incorrect - Tailbone poking out behind

Vaganova Second Port de Bras

In my previous blog we addressed the details of Vaganova First Port de Bras. “Port de bras” means “carriage of the arms.”  This blog continues our series on the six established Vaganova port de bras exercises by delving into the Second Port de Bras.  As you progress through each of these port de bras blogs you may wish to refer back to Zombie, Doll, Swan or Human – Its all in the Arms to remind yourself of some of the specific arm position details.  I also recommend that you practice your port de bras AS you are reading, taking each detail into account and creating a muscle memory as you do so.

Second Port de Bras trains the use of the arms in separate and opposing movements with complex involvement of the head and focus. 

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Stand with your body in croise (angled an eighth turn from front).  If the arms are in preparatory to begin, they will rise together to a circular First Position across from your diaphragm.  The eyes follow the palm of the downstage hand (that one which is closest to the audience or front) as the head inclines slightly over the upstage shoulder (that one which is furthest from the front).

From this point, they part ways. The upstage arm rises overhead to Third Position while the downstage arm opens to Second Position.  During this movement the eyes follow the downstage hand towards the front.

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Now your upstage arm opens to Second Position and the eyes and head follow this movement.  While the upstage arm continues its movement downward into Preparatory Position, the downstage arm moves up from the side to Third Position.  This downstage arm should lead its movement with the back of the hand, which turns as it arrives overhead.  Simultaneously, the focus and head turn downstage again with a slight incline forward, looking under the downstage arm.  From here, the arms move from their opposite positions towards one another, meeting in First Position where the focus is again on the downstage hand with the head slightly inclined over the upstage shoulder.

The Second Port de Bras involves quite a bit more complexity than First Port de Bras, both in the movement of the arms as well as in the use of the head and focus. It should be studied carefully as it provides an excellent basis from which to develop the coordination of arms and head together.  The fluid and correct movement of arms and head are crucial training for a dancer whose movements may look unnatural, awkward, lifeless and robotic without these details.  The dancer with elegant, expressive, fluid arms and head movements can draw an audience in to the internal emotional world the dancer seeks to convey while a dancer without this quality will generally deny his/her audience this deeper experience of the performance.

Vaganova First Port de Bras

In my previous blog we delved into the nitty gritty details of the various arm positions in classical ballet.  In this and the next several blogs, we will closely analyze how the arms should move from one position to another.  In Vaganova technique, there are six established port de bras exercises designed to train dancers in the graceful and fluid movement of the arms coordinated with the head and the rest of the body.  I will address each one of these exercises and its derivatives in separate blog posts in order to present the material in manageable chunks.  As you progress through these port de bras blogs you may wish to refer back to Zombie, Doll, Swan or Human – Its all in the Arms to remind yourself of some of the specific arm position details.  I also recommend that you practice your port de bras AS you are reading, taking each detail into account and creating a muscle memory as you do so.

Vaganova First Port de Bras

Vaganova First Port de Bras progresses from preparatory through 1st position of the arms up to 3rd and open to 2nd position, returning to preparatory at the completion of the movement.  As the arms and hands pass through their positions, they should adhere to the descriptions set forth in the previous blog.  But how do they move from one position to another?  And how are the head and eye focus involved? 

The goal is to achieve movement that appears both natural and easy, while being pure (not extra “flowery”) and fluid.  It is important not to disturb the shoulders or torso while moving the arms.  Moving from Preparatory position to 1st position, the hands and arms should feel as if they are “gathering up” a large round basket.  Neither the hands nor the elbows should be allowed to drag behind, but must be lifted together while the elbows deepen their bend to create the circular shape of 1st position, coming from the more elongated oval shape of Preparatory position.  The eyes should be cast into the palm of the downstage hand while the top of the head inclines slightly over the upstage shoulder.

As the arms continue their trajectory up from 1st position to 3rd position, the elbows again elongate to create an oval shape.  During this portion of the First Port de Bras, the shoulders must be actively kept in place so that they do not ride up with the arms, causing a closing-off and shortening of the neck.  Meanwhile, there must also be energy devoted to keeping the elbows open as they will otherwise tend to close inward slightly, causing a collapsed-oval look and angularity of the elbow joint, both of which should be avoided.  The focus of the eyes remains in the palm of the downstage hand while the chin gradually and slightly lifts, the head straightening on the neck.  One must be careful not to lift the chin too high here as this causes the dancer’s face to be largely lost to the audience who will then see mostly neck and chin.

From 3rd position, the arms open to 2nd position with a very slight initiation from the fingers.  The hands gradually turn into their correct placement for 2nd position (see previous blog) while the elbows maintain their elongated gentle curve.  The focus follows the downstage hand with the chin turning all the way to the downstage shoulder.

To begin the movement from 2nd position returning to Preparatory, the hands initiate a slight “breath” of the arms, allowing the hands to face downward as the outsides of the elbows also turn downward.  During this breath, the arms should not lift.  The insides of the wrists lead the movement of the arms down to Preparatory while the fingers trail slightly behind without creating an exaggerated break of the line at the wrist.  The eyes follow the breath and movement of the downstage hand and the head tilts slightly down as the arms move, lifting up and out over the downstage shoulder as the arms arrive in Preparatory.

Now you have the knowledge to execute a masterful First Port de Bras!  Be sure to practice both sides and take care that you are using your head correctly and passing cleanly and elegantly through each of the arm positions as described in my previous blog.  Start slowly so that you can be certain you are developing the correct muscle memories by achieving each portion of the port de bras with precision.  Remember that practicing things wrong just makes it harder to get them right!  So, practice with diligent attention to details!

Awfully Droopy! Vaganova First Port de Bras done WRONG!

Fun, but too Flowery! Clean lines and precision are lost.

Vaganova First Port de Bras