Weakness of Port De Bras is a common occurrence in young dancers. Very often students concentrate so much on the legs and feet that the arms get lost in the shuffle. Telling dancers to hold their arms in a certain way or use them in a certain way is one thing, but what is really needed is to give them the tools to fully understand how to support their arms in an anatomically correct way. This is where Core Barre really comes in to play. If the dancers can fully understand the importance of strengthening their core muscles and know how to attain that strength, their Port De Bras will automatically improve. Also understanding where the movements need to come from and giving them regular exercises for the deltoid muscles and latissimus dorsi will empower them with beautiful use of their Port De Bras.
Typically, students work their Port De Bras from the shoulders, not from the back, and the end result is droopy elbows, stiff and shortened arms and very often tension in the neck and shoulder, which forces the shoulders to lift. When a student feels all of this happening it is uncomfortable, so they stop doing one of the things that is going to help them the most and that is to take good deep breaths. Yes, as always in dance, the use of breath is vital in order for the muscles to function in the correct way.
Lying on the floor is a good way to help a student feel where their torso needs to be placed and understand how the use of the breath will help to support the movement.
1. Lying on floor legs straight with the body in a relaxed position, take a deep breath in through the nose and, as you breath out through the mouth, push the center of the back into the floor. Repeat this at least 4 times. Ask the student what muscles they feel are working when they hold the back flat to the floor. They should talk about the abdominals and gluteus maximus, but they will also be feeling the latissimus dorsi, which runs from the lower and mid back area into the arms. Make sure that their shoulders are relaxed into the floor as they do this exercise, making them aware of the deltoid muscles, which enable the arms to lift to the front, back and side.
2. Repeat the first exercise, but now that they have their backs correctly placed to support the arms, maintaining that position and, breathing normally, take the arms to 1st position and then relax. Repeat taking the arms to 2nd and to 5th positions. This exercise is simple but really effective in helping dancers understand what it has to feel like when they are using their arms correctly. Identify the latissimus dorsi and the deltoid muscles for them so that they have a good understanding of what muscles need to be worked to achieve the desired result.
3. Now have them stand in 1st or 2nd position, whichever they feel the most secure in, and repeat both exercise 1 and 2.
Once they are standing they will probably revert back to the posture that they are used to, but by showing them how to correct it and how it makes a difference not only to the shape of the arms, but also to how they feel physically, it will be much easier for your students to understand what needs to be done to improve their Port De Bras.
Here are some additional exercises that you can give your dancers to help them strengthen the use of Port De Bras:
PUSHUPS. These can be done on the floor. Make sure that the hands are underneath the shoulders and that the abdominals and gluteus maximus muscles are really activated. It is also important to keep the legs tight as this will help dancers keep control in the upper body. Do this in sets of 10 if possible. Stretching the muscles in between sets is important.
PUSHUPS ON THE EXERCISE BALL. Start by kneeling behind the ball. Place the torso over the ball and roll forward until the ball is on the thigh area. Execute the pushups and roll back to starting position. To make the level of pushups more intense as students become stronger, roll further forward on the ball to the shins, then the ankles and, the hardest of all, the toes. I recommend that you start slowly, with them supported on the thighs until they are able to do the pushup easily and without any back or abdominal collapsing.
ABDOMINAL CRUNCHES. These can be done on the floor, with knees bent and feet flat. Make sure the weight is on the big toes and that the feet are in direct alignment under the hips and knees. You can start with more beginner students by having them crossing their arms over the chest; as they become stronger the hands can be placed behind the head, but make sure that the chin is lifted and the shoulders are not collapsed forward. To give the crunches a greater degree of difficulty, have the student sit on the exercise ball and walk their feet forward until they are lying on the ball, then do the crunches from that position. Sets of 10 work well and again stretching the muscles between sets is important. The great thing about using the ball is that it contours to your spine so really it is easier to maintain the correct position on the ball than on the floor. Some dancers will feel some instability in the abdominal area at first on the ball, but that will eventually correct itself as the muscles strengthen.
None of these exercises are complicated; they do, however, work and that is the key. As always in dance, repetition is important to train the muscles to remember what they need to do. Making it fun for your students will certainly help them work at these sometimes tedious exercises.
