BreakingDownCambr

Introduc on
Beginner dancers are often asked to execute a cambr before they fully understand it. This leads to poor alignment, bad posture, possible injury, and a misunderstanding of one of the fundamental movements in ballet. Young dancers should fully understand a movement before attempting it, because once a movement is engrained, its hard to correct. This guide is for beginner dancers and ballet teachers. Cambr is the French word for Arched. In ballet, it is often incorrectly replaced by the phrase port de bras, or movement of the arms. Port de bras is a movement is executed specifically by the arms, but a cambr involves the upper body (above the hips). It can also be called port de corps, or movement of the body. Cambrs can be done forwards, backwards, to either side, in a circle, in tondue, in pli, in a lunge, in pass, in the attitude position, or in almost any other position. It is most commonly used at the barre while warming up or stretching out, but it is sometimes used in a reverence or an adagio.

Figure1:Cambrback

AllphotosaretakenbyHaleyMathiot

CambrtotheFront
Correct Cambr: In Figure 1 below, the dancer is straight over her feet, her arm is over her head, and her face is towards her knees. Sinking back: One of the most common mistakes is sinking back in the hips, or leaving the weight backwards while bending forwards (Figure 2). Always keep your legs perpendicular to the floor.

Figure2

Figure3

Not Stretching the Neck: A common mistake is keeping the head up while dropping the arm. This is most often seen in beginners; they look down at their feet to keep their balance (Figure 4), or they try to look up at the teacher and follow along (Figure 5). Instead, drop the head and allow the neck and back to stretch out. The arm should be over the head the whole time.

Figure4:Lookingattheoor 2

Figure5:Crunchingtheneck

CambrtotheBack
Correct Cambr: Start the movement by tilting the head and bending the upper back and allowing the rest of the back to follow the movement. Popping the chin: Dancers often try to keep their heads stationary (Figure 7). This strains the neck muscles and ruins the graceful line of the cambr. Turn the head outwards towards the high arm and look at the elbow.

Figure6

Figure7

Bending from the hip: Many dancers start the cambr from the hips by pushing their backs out of alignment to try to bend as far as they can (Figure 8). This causes them to lose their turnout, and could lead to a strain or injury in the back.

Theangleofthebackandpelvisisshallow,andthetail boneispoin ngdown.

Theangleofthebackandpelvisissharper,andthetail boneispoin ngout.

Figure8 3

CambrtotheSide
Correct Cambr: This movement should come from the ribs. The head should be turned toward the direction you are leaning. Curve the upper arm around the head, and the lower arm in front of the body (Figure 9).

Lifting the heel: Another mistake in cambr side is letting the heel come off the floor (Figure 10). Keep your weight even and directly between both legs.

Figure10

Figure9

Tilting the chin: In cambr to the side, a common mistake is tilting the head instead of turning the head (Figure 11). Always look the direction youre bending.

Figure11 4