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I have yet to meet a dancer who is happy with their body. They always tell me 'I wish I had her legs and her feet.' Unfortunately or fortunately, we have to deal with reality.
To begin with, one should stand in front of the mirror to give ones self a physical analysis. First of all, start with the head. Is it large, small or proportionate for the body? Move down to the neck is it long, short, proportionate, wide or thin? Have a look at the shoulders. Are they wide, narrow, square or sloping? Now, let's move down and have a look at the torso. Again, is it long, proportionate, wide or narrow? Now let's have a look at those lovely arms. Are they long, short or proportionate with the body? Do we have big hands? Big hands for the gentlemen will help make him a very useful partner. Before we move to the legs, we must have a look at the pelvis. Is it wide, narrow or proportionate? Unfortunately with the ladies, this is the area that often widens out.
Finally we get to the legs but please go through all of the above before and don't be unhappy with what you see. One has to remain positive!
Stand in first position and turn your legs parallel to the front. Start by looking at the inside of the leg. Does it look straight from the inside of the thigh to the knee or look like a letter C curve going to the outside of the leg? Have a look at the knees. Do they seem to be facing front or dropping to the inside of the leg?
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The next thing we have to look at is the tibia, the bone that goes from below the knee cap into the ankle joint. Is it straight or again is there a letter C that curves to the outside of the leg? This is called tibia tortion which sometimes goes together with bow legs.
Now you are wondering, is there anything we can do to help this? YES!
If bones are curved, it is almost impossible to straighten them. However, we can rearrange muscle structure. A very good exercise is to stand in parallel with a tennis ball between the knees and pressing against the knees, doing demi plie in parallel position and always watching that when you straighten the knees, the ball does not drop from the knees as you go back into the familiar bow.
Over the years, I've worked with many famous skaters; many of them without their skates have bow legs. This comes from too much work on outside edging.
How can we apply this to dancers is to make sure that your turn out always comes from the hip socket and not from the knees. Make sure you discuss this with your teacher, therapist or doctor. You might also want to engage yourself in some Pilates.
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