ballet

Building Blocks

Posture

• elongation from top of head to tail bone

• knees pulled up

• pelvis in/neutral pelvis

• rib cage flat, upper torso lifted 

• open chest (imagine magnets on inner scapula)

• shoulders WIDE down and back

• neck long

• chin slightly up

• imagine hips are trying to lift up to the barre

• latissimus dorsi down (so feel a compression between hips and lats)

• sternum radiating diagonally forward/up

• fingers: thumb to lower phalange of middle finger

• draw up the front of the ankles, press in little toe into floor (raises foot arches) for stability

• COMMON MISTAKES

  • feet rolled forward, arches collapsed, knees twist => not turning out from the hips

  • anterior pelvis tilt, butt sticks out => keep the hips neutral. Don't tuck or tip

  • ribs forward, which causes core to switch off => ribs down, let center hold you up

  • shoulders lift or round, so neck tightens and upper body loses its length => drop shoulders, let it stay wide

  • weight not centered (too far on one ball of the foot, too far back on the heel, leaning forward too much) => find center, spread weight evenly on both feet

Foot positions

Turn out

• • the outward rotation from the hips, never the knees, feet or ankles

    • rotate from the hips and let the feet follow naturally

    • rather than wiggling into a turn out, first turn out where you're comfortable, then get onto your toes and lift your heels, pushing them as far forward as is comfortable and set the heels down

  • always work within natural range, nothing is forced

  • gluts activated

  • knees locked

  • focus on 4th toe to keep foot arches activated

  • UPPER BODY 

    • shoulders relaxed and wide -- out and down

    • lengthen spine

    • pelvis neutral

    • core slightly engaged

    • in rest, head slightly out to the side

• coupé

  • coupé devant: Working knee comes back with pointed foot touching internal ankle, supporting leg is held up and strong and arch lifted

  • coupé derrière: Working knee should be out and ankle of working leg against bottom of calf

  • tips: Keeping the rotation of both the working and standing legs open when the working thigh is held lower than 90° requires a little more effort. The turn out really has to come from the deep lateral rotators, underneath the gluteus maximus (the bottom of your bottom). Doing additional strengthening exercises will help train the muscles to keep activated when performing this step among many.

• passé

  • toes just below the supporting leg knee, working leg knee turned out

Leg movements

• passé

  • 5th pos front, pass the knee joint to 5th pos back

  • also refers to the position when the toes are just below the knee (to perform a pirouette)

  • strongly engaged hips and thighs

• piqué

  • stretch leg, sharply touch floor w/stretched foot and immed lift off the ground

Arm positions

Good Form

• Arms are always active, even in bras bas.

• Arms sloped in bras bas, 1st & 2nd so a drop of water will roll off: shoulder highest, then elbows, then wrists, then fingertips

• Arms are always curved

• Back are always involved

• Follow hand movements with eyes

• Elbows always lead: they lift first and arrive first. Then hand and the fingers 

Common mistakes

• lifting the shoulders when raising the arms

• straight, stiff elbows

  • lose form

  • elbows, hands and fingers move in one block instead of elbow arriving first then hand and fingers

• tense hands or broken wrists

  • wrists look locked

  • no air between fingers

  • want to see all fingers

• no back support

  • see in how chest collapses and ribs move forward, shoulders round

Tips

• let arms arrive after legs to keep the movement "breathing"

• ´port de bras devant (forward bend)

• cambré derrière (back bend)

  • 1st position, arm up, feeling of lift and bend from upper back, arm following bend and head facing arm

• cambré de côté (side bend)

  • 2nd position, one arm lifted, elongate over to the side opposite of lifted arm

Make sure that

• in general

  • legs and hips stay still (do not use as counterweight)

    • to help counter this, use strength of inner thighs and keep weight on balls of your feet

  • knees should be engaged the entire time

  • arm stays constant distance from body/head when bending

• cambré derrière

  • bend from the upper back, not from the lower back

  • feeling of lift while bending

  • head always towards the raised arm

• cambré de côté

  • keep shoulders even as bend

  • keep shoulder of lifted arm down

  • keep constant distance between lifted arm and body/head when bending

Bends

• ´port de bras devant (forward bend)

• cambré derrière (back bend)

  • 1st position, arm up, feeling of lift and bend from upper back, arm following bend and head facing arm

• cambré de côté (side bend)

  • 2nd position, one arm lifted, elongate over to the side opposite of lifted arm

Make sure that

• in general

  • legs and hips stay still (do not use as counterweight)

    • to help counter this, use strength of inner thighs and keep weight on balls of your feet

  • knees should be engaged the entire time

  • arm stays constant distance from body/head when bending

  • do not crunch down but keep upper body lifted by engaging lower core  

• cambré derrière

  • bend from the upper back, not from the lower back

  • feeling of lift while bending

  • head always towards the raised arm

• cambré de côté

  • keep shoulders even as bend

  • keep shoulder of lifted arm down

  • keep constant distance between lifted arm and body/head when bending

Body positions

in relation to

• body alignment (from audience's perspective)

  • croisé

• leg position (direction leg is pointing)

  • devant, à la seconde (to the side), derrière

• croisé devant

  • body facing corner, working leg extended to the front (and from audience's perspective, looks crossed)

• croisé derrière

  • body facing corner, working leg extended to the back (and from audience's perspective, looks crossed)

• écarté devant

  • body turned towards corner, working leg extended to side

  • wide, expansive line

• effacé devant

  • working leg and torso to corner, standing leg in the shadow of the working leg; to the audience, the lines are open

• effacé derrière

  • stand 45 deg to audience, leg extended behind

• épaulé

• à la quatrième devant / en face

  • face front, working leg in front

• à la quatrième derrière

  • face front, working leg directly behind

• à la seconde

  • leg extended to the side, body faces forward; symmetrical arms

Movement directions

• • • ´devant

    • à la seconde

    • derière

Make sure that

Barre exercises

Plié

Tendu

Stretch foot along the floor

The foundation for grand battement and arabesque. Establishes foot articulation and leg alignment.

• starting position: 1st or 5th

• foot of working leg slides along the floor in one of 3 directions, staying in contact with the floor the entire time

  • devant

    • lead with heel instead of toes to keep turnout

  • à la seconde (side)

    • lead with heel instead of toes to keep turnout

  • derrière

    • lead with TOES to keep turnout

• ends with pointed toe on floor, hold and return to starting position

Common mistakes

• Foot not fully pointed: toes not long, ankles weak -> floppy foot

• Heel stops leading à la seconde as toes lead instead -> lose turnout and no full point (think of heel pushing out)

• Foot sickles (rolls inwards/outwards)

• Soft standing leg (leg bends during movement)

• Hips shift or twist

  • Keep torso and hips square so hips do not follow moving leg)

• Lower back arches

  • Keep tailbone neutral and core engaged

Tips

• Paint the floor. Don't just slide on the floor. 

  • This engages your inner thighs and shapes your arches throughout the movement

Ronde de Jambe

• ...à terre

  • from 5th: tendu fwd, to side, keep heels forward (turned out at hips) and tendu back making sure hips do not turn back and go all the way back to  270 deg, close back 5th

• ...en l'air

  • like ronde de jambe à terre but 

• ...à la seconde

  • tendu to the side, keeping knee out to side bring lower leg in with foot just below the knee and extend back out hinging at knee

  • ...en dehors (outwards)

  • ...en dedans (inwards)

Make sure that

• in general

  • do not collapse arch (engage knees and  butt)

• ronde je jambe à terre

  • 
    

• ronde je jambe en l'air

• ronde je jambe à la seconde

  • keep knee still

Développé / Enveloppé

• développé

  • From coupé, working leg extends fwd to tendu and close in 5th fwd, extend side close back in 5th. Working leg passes through coupé or passé (retiré) before straightening.

  • coupé (working knee rotated out, foot below knee) -> passé (working knee rotated out, leg raised > 90 deg, toes pointing down) -> attitude -> full extension

• enveloppé

  • front: from 5th, working leg extends straight out, passes through coupé or passé (retiré), demi-point to close in 5th, close in 5th; 

  • side: straighten out to side, coupé/passé derrière or avant, demi-point, close in 5th

Make sure that

• in general

  • keep hip square (not lifted) when extended back

  • when lifting to 90deg, when working leg is in passé devant, make sure knee is turned out and heel is forward

Fondu

smooth movement where both legs bend, with the working leg in coupé or passé (retiré) and then straighten at the same tim

Make sure that

• in general

  • not sinking in on supporting leg even though bent -- retain engagement

  • supporting leg is bent a little less than working leg so start straightening this a little before so that legs end up straightened at the same time

Jeté, grand battement

Jeté

battement tendu jeté (RU) = battement glissé (FR) = battement dégagé (US)

Movement

5th position, brush fwd to point, lift

Focus

Make sure that

• not just lift foot but feel the floor all the way until lift

• hips square and down

• supporting leg straight

• quick up, control slowly down

Center Floor exercises

Chassés

• front: From 5th, plié while sliding front foot to 4th (not pointing but foot fully on floor). Shift weight onto front leg while straightening both knees.

• back: From fifth, plié while sliding back foot to 4th. Shift weight onto back leg while straightening both knees

• side: Plié while sliding foot to 2nd. Shift weight onto other leg while straightening both knees. 

Make sure that

• in general

  • keep hips neutral / do not tuck hips (i.e. tilt posteriorly) or tilt hips

  •