Act One: Pliés for Power

When we do a plié, we bend our knees, and therefore, the length of our legs contract. When we go back up, our knees straighten up again, and the length of our legs returns to what it was. This is called an oscillatory motion, which is a motion that oscillates around an equilibrium in position [2]. For the case of pliés, this motion is the up and down motion between the very top of the plie (legs fully straight) and the very end of the plié (knees half bent or fully bent depending on if you are doing a demi-plié or a grand-plié). We can define the equilibrium as the position at the very top of the plié, with the legs fully straight.

Director's Letter | A new era

With the closure of so many community spaces like Dovercourt House, GMD and Dancemakers themselves, we believe that now more than ever we have to do whatever we can to keep our art form alive and most importantly, our community thriving (not just surviving). If you ever had a doubt, now is the time to fight for what you love the most.

The ballet body: what it is and what it isn't

I know I’ll be anxious to start again, still feeling largely disconnected from my body, having lost a lot of my turn-out, flexibility, cardio endurance, and strength. I know I’ll have to work hard to bring myself back to the body I used to use in my regular practice and will have to get used to training regularly again mentally and physically. But I also know that this feeling of dissociation I feel with my body is informed by a lot of lies we’ve been fed as dancers, as human beings in a pandemic. And now is the time to be expunging them from our muscle memories.

Guest PostsKendra GuidolinMay 17, 2021body image, ballet world, pandemic lifeComment

Is yoga the answer to becoming a better dancer?

Interestingly, hip internal rotation deficits have been correlated with low back and sacroiliac pain (4). Studies have shown its prevalence to be around 12% of all dance types of injuries and it can prevent you from performing the most basic positions. In other words, a healthy range of “turn-in” equals a better performing “turn-out” (5).

Director's Letter | A commitment to Toronto's dance community

I'd like this to be a love letter to all artists and arts supporters alike. The Fifth as an institution has a strong but straightforward mission, to be a facilitator, a provider if you will. If there's something that this year has left us with is a newfound commitment to being of service to our dance community. We might be young in age and for some, perhaps our dreams of encouraging a non-toxic, all-inclusive community might be too utopian.