What's the Point? : From Your Fingers to Your Toes - Nail the Perfect Pose!
We take the the time to make sure we are stage ready from head to toe, but the question is...are we truly ready from head to toe once we step onto the stage and it's time to strike a pose?
In the previous post, I discuss about expressions being a key component on stage in the blog post 'Watch Your Mouth!'. But another consistent key point literally comes down to the 'point' when nailing the perfect pose.
In dance, we learned the term 'en pointe' which translates to 'on point'. What this meant was for us to gently point our toe when in position. This creates a fantastic set of lines in the body, instead of just letting the leg and foot do its own thing.
Linework is a crucial element when it comes to striking the timeless pinup poses seen through various media. Take for example, the iconic 'S' curve for pinup posing.
Where we point our feet as well during posing can avoid the 'pee leg'. When first beginning, I was the culprit of the dreaded pee leg, thinking I was doing a cute pose. Nay, nay (saying this in a Bailey Sarian-esque voice) the photos came back and the results showed...that I was not the owner of a cute pose, but I did have custody of the pee leg.
Trying to describe how to avoid the dreaded pee leg, I love to direct others to Miss Lady Lace and her video 'How to Pose Basic Leg Lines for Pinups!' :
She absolutely describes leg lines perfectly! This is how one gets the elegant lines that are notorious in pinup. She also has many great videos on posing that I highly recommend checking out for those new to the scene, as well as those already in the scene looking to refine their skills.
Now...another awkward element I found on stage even when doing music, was trying to figure out what the hellfire do I do with my hands?!
Sometimes one has a prop to save them from this, but not every single pose will involve clutching onto the prop like grannies clutch their purses when they see a tattooed person in the supermarket.
The key is , just like making sure your toes / leg lines are always 'activated'...same goes for your hands.
Hold up your arm like you are raising your hand to meekly ask if you can go to the washroom in school, and flick your wrist down like a 'psssh, it ain't no big deal!'. You'll notice your index finger will want to stay up a bit while the rest want to dip down. Just keep your middle finger dipped down a smidge, while lifting the ring finger (and the pinkie will follow suit). This will lead you to the elegant 'princess hands', as I like to call it (You know..both cartoon and live action how sometimes you will see them hold their dress in one hand, and have their other arm out with that whimsical hand position?) . Hell, call it QUEEN hands because you are going to be placing on that podium, darling!
I am constantly looking at new ways to keep improving on my current skill set. As the late Les Paul said even in his 90's, he claimed how he was still learning guitar. One of the legends of guitar playing, still learning. As he said...we never stop learning. I hope to share that same fire and passion with others to constantly keep learning about their passions. There is no shame in learning from others in the field - there are so many good tips and tricks out there!
Keep growing. Keep being passionate about things you love.
