Preparing your Head with Épaulement & 6 Port de Bras

The 2 main things to help prepare your head for centre work!
Thanks for watching my lessons and tutorials! Please leave questions and tutorial requests in the comments! I look forward to dancing with you!
About Me:
Hi, my name is Victoria! I’m a ballet dancer and teacher trained in the Vaganova method. I make instructional videos without sugar-coating the gritty details. I danced professionally as a freelancer, and in a contemporary company for several years in NYC. Due to the pandemic, I now reside in rural Pennsylvania. I'm a little salty because I struggle with chronic illnesses & invisible disabilities, but I try to keep it real and raise awareness...
FAQs:
Are you actually Russian?:
Yes, I’m technically a tiny bit Russian.
We always thought my mother was 100% Italian. But when she took the ancestry test, we learned she’s actually a bit Middle Eastern and Circassian (Southern Russia) as well!
Did you train in Russia?:
No, I did not attend ballet school in Russia.
But all of my instructors have direct lineage to the Vaganova Academy. I received a majority of my training from Ballerina Irina Lebedeva, as well as other former principal dancers from the Mariinsky Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet.
What ballet academy did you attend?:
I never attended a formal ballet academy. All of my training is a culmination of public dance studios and open adult ballet classes that would run 2-3 days a week- with the occasional summer intensive. This is why I’m only about 85% competent in my execution and lessons. I just do the best with what i've got- The average American dancer might not notice this, but the Russian dancers definitely do!
Growing up near NYC, I took advantage of the most prestigious schools and teachers in the area, including; Gelsey Kirkland, Simon Kazantsev, Yaroslav Fadeyev, Katherine Healy, Leslie Browne, Lupe Serrano, and collegiate programs at American Ballet Theatre.
I did visit St. Petersburg and Moscow after I graduated college in 2012. I had the absolute honor of visiting the Vaganova Academy and observing some classes. I also took company class with Yacobson Ballet.
Where do you work as a professional?:
Since I got such a late start in my training, (and went to college right after high school) I didn’t join a company until I was in my late 20s. Until then, I was mostly teaching and freelancing. I did Nutcracker gigs, occasional guest appearances for studio productions, and entertainment gigs for high end parties. In 2019 I joined a contemporary ballet company in NYC. I left in 2021 when I moved to Pennsylvania. Now I teach in multiple studios in PA, but I'm trying to start my own ballet company.
What’s the story with your company?:
I’m the founder of Indigo Ballet, a collaborative, dancer-run company with no hierarchy. Currently, I’m working on building a repertoire of virtual performances (music videos) to show people what we have to offer. We will be performing for a live audience in Spring/Summer of 2024!
If you wish to donate towards this endeavor, funds will go directly to the dancers of Indigo Ballet. You can do so at- gofund.me/fe17...
Why do you talk about your chronic illnesses?:
Firstly, this is just the platform where I have the most outreach. I am passionate about raising awareness about hidden illnesses, also called “invisible diseases.” I feel these illnesses are especially relevant to the average ballet dancer since; The field is dominated by AFABs that frequently gravitate towards dance because of natural flexibility. This correlates to hyper mobility spectrum disorders and connective tissue disorders which are rarely diagnosed, and can lead to serious problems later. AFABs also have higher rates of autoimmune disorders and are most likely to have our pain dismissed, if we are not already hiding it for fear of being seen as unreliable or weak.
The ‘teacher’ in me wants to educate any chance I get. If my shared experiences can help a dancer get a diagnosis, early treatment and a longer, healthier career; why wouldn’t I talk about it?

[@VetsrisAuguste]

I may be premature in my comments, I’m only 6 minutes in so far, but those remarks at 5:46 are golden. Any additional insights this video has to offer beyond that point I have yet to see, I’m looking forward to resuming after I post to find out. I just had to concur as a teacher who sees many students get distressed over making sense of it all. Yes, there are times when exactitude is required, but the conversation about which arm placement is the correct one for this or that pose often gets in the way of learning how to move. I love the reassuring tone you take on this point. Edit: some insight into the terms épaule and quatrième. When the term épaule is applied to any position like tendu effacé derrière, it means there is an emphasis on twisting into the shoulder line of the position. Before Vagonova and Balanchine there was less emphasis on showing the back to the audience in 2nd arabesque than there is today. It would have been considered a special detail to do so. Quatrième, meaning 4th is analogous to the conventional use of the term “ala second” to refer to tendu side and other similar positions. Anything on the side to side axis, including retire and coup de pied are variations on 2nd position. Likewise any position oriented on the front to back axis is a variation on 4th position, ergo ala quatrième for tendu front or back.

[@Mokainou]

Hi I wanted to say that I love your videos, keep doing them :) I started ballet this year at 22 years old, I´m taking classes with 11-16 year old girls that have took classes their whole life, and for me it was kinda embarrasing going to classes and not knowing all this things, I did research a lot of this things before but it´s not same looking to a drawing of the step to an actual video with a very good explanation, so everytime I see something in class that I don't have any how to do I look to your videos to check for tips or an explanation. Thank you so much!

[@donnamarie6840]

You are such a good teacher for absolute adult beginners like me. So many instructors who teach absolute adult beginner ballet throw around terms without explaining them or assume basic knowledge. Some give steps without breaking them down and showing you the correct way to do them. Which can lead to bad habits, injury and frustration. I would love more basic videos like this. On another note, I follow a few you-tubers like Dr. Dray (dermatologist) who have built up their KZbin channels and now are profitable by, among other things, consistently posting videos at least a few times a week. It keeps you in the viewers mind. Dr. Dray also has a video on this. I know that can be hard for you, but even short talks in your living room would suffice for this purpose. Dr. Dray videos her mom & her eating at Whole Foods, taking the dog for a walk, working on her journal, Q&A, shopping at Target, grocery stores and other places and commenting on the items she picks up, etc. This is in addition to the dermatological advice which is her main focus. Anyway, I am sure you already know these things, but I thought I would mention it. Thank you for this amazing video ! And Never Stop Dancing. :)

[@juanjosefarina]

Poses and positions are as the book says. En face is the body without épaulement, which is not considered a "pose", and quatriéme (fourth) front, back and a la seconde are the derivées positions en face, Vaganova calls them constantly like that in her book, which is the most traditional and correct way to call them. It is part of the classical dance theory, everything derives from the basic five positions. Croisée, effacée and écartée are POSES, and are slightly different to other methods. Vaganova has basic forms, preparations and study exercises for everything, but then later, everything can and should be changed looking for artistry and efficiency. Vaganova's book is still 99% accurate to today's method, though the book only covers basics of the Academy teaching method.

[@flightydancer]

Great and informative video. Thank you!

[@SoniaOchoaTV]

Wow! I love the way you explained everything in this video. It's definitely a great point of reference for me...thank you!

[@jessieborrell1856]

Thanks for clearing up the Epaule thing. My teacher and I were just talking about it yesterday because we were learning one of the new body positions and he had found a video on youtube (i think the same one you showed a screen cap from) and we were comparing her position to a ballet dictionary and were a bit confused. When we get to center floor, we go through all the positions to music as a little port de bra exercise. I agree that eface is a very pretty position. It really elongates your neck and opens up your face!

[@pipsqueek6855]

Thanks for your videos! They’re always helpful and informative. :-) I don’t know about vaganova, but in the French method, second arabesque is with shoulders square to the front and “épaulé” (“shouldered”) is with the back-arm shoulder down and back forming a single line from the front fingertips through to the back fingertips.

[@SaltySugarPlum]

Pips Queek thank you!! I figured epaule just implied a bit more twisting the shoulders, but.ive honestly never heard any of my Russian teachers use that word!

[@maryzee528]

I know you will prepare more videos about some basic combinations, but can you share some videos of you dancing a short classical ballet piece? Think of it as a motivation for us! I have seen your contemporary dance video and it was really nice.

[@himbeeraquarium]

Thank you so much for this! I appreciate it so much, you have no idea! I am in a L2 beginners class at Broadway Dance Studio in NYC and have some good basics but nobody ever explained the arms and head to me, so I costantly screw up in adage. I felt like my teacher, whom I absolutely adore because he is wonderful, was kind of starting to get annoyed with me simply not getting it right ever! I was starting to skip classes because I was feeling self conscious. I will practice this all week now and never look back, thank you so,so,so,so much!!!! I love you!!!

[@himbeeraquarium]

I have 100 lessons in classical ballet by the way and got so confused about all the points you explained, again, so, so, so helpful

[@maureendye6184]

Excellent demo and descriptions !! The best I have ever seen.

[@esstown]

OMG thank you so much! Will study this video several times in detail.....before the next video. Also, to me, it seems that Cecchetti system, etc., has croisse derriere with the highest arm opposite whichever leg is working. My theory is that Vaganova intended "opposition" to mean highest working arm opposite to whichever leg is in front, i.e., in croisse devant the working leg is in front, in croisse derriere the standing leg is in front. LOVE your positions - your lines are so beautiful and so much like the lines of the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky - I just KNOW they're right! Lots of work to do now.....lol! Thank you so much for sharing.....and yes.....go for monetization......you deserve to be paid for what you do. Us viewers will listen to some advertisements, it's only a tiny bother for a gold mine of information.

[@maryzee528]

Nice and detailed video, thank you!! I always mix up my arms and head positions, so this is very useful for me.

[@judithmcminn863]

Thank you, that was a really useful video to unscramble my head! X

[@alee3146]

épaulement - is where the upper torso (and thus the shoulders) twists while the hips remain square, like in balancés pau is pronounced more like pole (not like p’wah) thus ay-pole-mont not ay-p’wah-mont

[@SaltySugarPlum]

THANK YOU!!

[@amirasafwat7101]

I was waiting for you to upload. Thanks a lot.

[@Trusova111]

Very helpful video..

[@laylanahar]

Great video. Thanks.

[@donnamarie6840]

Probably the number one correction I get at the barre is that my hips are not forward. I find it very hard to correct on my own as I don't feel that the hips are not straight.

[@Jayy969]

We miss you

[@SaltySugarPlum]

i miss everyone!! i hope you're all dancing a lot and working hard :)