"In the Russian School the angle formed by the legs in relation to the vertical axis of the body is measured in general terms. For example, 45 degrees for half height (Demi-Hauteur), 90 degrees for a horizontal position with the toe at hip height (à la Hauteur) and 135 degrees for any position considerably above hip height."
The French School refers to these angles as Positions Soulevées. But also uses the same terminology, à la Demi-Hauteur and à la Hauteur. This school also adds Piqué à Terre which is with the toes touching the ground.
See my post about en l'air for a great picture of these angles.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
One e or two ee?
The next term in the Ballet Dictionary is Allongé or Allongée. There are many terms that have these two different spellings. From my understanding, the first one is masculine and an noun where the second on is feminine and a verb. Since english doesn't have masculine and feminine endings to words, this is not a concept that many English speaking students understand, unless they have taken a foreign language in school. For the consistency of this blog, I will use the term as a noun when describing it, but when it is associated with another movement I will use the verb spelling.
Back to Allongé which means extended or outstretched. I have really only used this term when preparing for Pirouettes. The basic preparation for a Pirouette for younger students is a Tendu to the side, then a Demi-Rond de Jambe to the back followed with a Plié in Fourth Position, and then the Pirouette. An alternate preparation is to use a Fourth Position Allongée with the back leg straight instead of bent. This keeps most of the weight on the front foot which some teachers prefer. I am not one of those teachers, but can appreciate the movement. I prefer to have students execute a Pirouette from a Fourth Position Plié because I think that it sets them up with more power and also prepares them for Pointe Shoes in the future. Not that Allongé is wrong, I personally don't like to use it with my younger students, until they can master leaving the ground from a Plié.
This term is also most notably used with Arabesque Allongée. Which requires the line of the leg to be horizontal to the floor. Or in Arabesque Allongée à Terre, which follows what I previously said with the Pirouette preparation. I will go into more detail on these terms in the future.
Back to Allongé which means extended or outstretched. I have really only used this term when preparing for Pirouettes. The basic preparation for a Pirouette for younger students is a Tendu to the side, then a Demi-Rond de Jambe to the back followed with a Plié in Fourth Position, and then the Pirouette. An alternate preparation is to use a Fourth Position Allongée with the back leg straight instead of bent. This keeps most of the weight on the front foot which some teachers prefer. I am not one of those teachers, but can appreciate the movement. I prefer to have students execute a Pirouette from a Fourth Position Plié because I think that it sets them up with more power and also prepares them for Pointe Shoes in the future. Not that Allongé is wrong, I personally don't like to use it with my younger students, until they can master leaving the ground from a Plié.
This term is also most notably used with Arabesque Allongée. Which requires the line of the leg to be horizontal to the floor. Or in Arabesque Allongée à Terre, which follows what I previously said with the Pirouette preparation. I will go into more detail on these terms in the future.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Allegro - Brisk and Lively
Allégro is "a term applied to all bright and brisk movements" also that "the most important qualities to aim at in Allégro are lightness, smoothness and Ballon (bounce)."
As much as I love Adagio, Allégro is just so much fun. A well executed Allégro makes me feel like a little kid bouncing on a bed, although much more difficult.
My "go to" Allégro for my younger classes is usually eight Soubresauts in First Postition, eight in Second Postition, and eight Échappé Sautés. Allégro's in my more advanced classes usually consist of some combination of Échappé Battu, Changements, Royales, Sissonnes and Assemblés. I've attached a video of myself performing a basic combination of these movements here. Let me know what you think!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Body Alignment
Gail Grant states "The direction in which the dancer stands in relation to the audience is very important. If all the steps and poses were taken en face (facing the audience), the dance would be very monotonous." She is completely right. Facing different directions adds interesting angles in which to view the dancers.
This is not at all what I thought of when I saw the term alignment. I was thinking about the definition that is found in Medical Terminology Complete! by Bruce Wingerd. He states that "Body alignment is the optimal placement of the body parts so that the skeletal bones are efficiently used, so the muscles have to do less work for the same effect." I have had many teachers refer to this definition in their classes, including myself, but I like to think about it as training your body so that its allowed to be lazy, or do less work.
This is not at all what I thought of when I saw the term alignment. I was thinking about the definition that is found in Medical Terminology Complete! by Bruce Wingerd. He states that "Body alignment is the optimal placement of the body parts so that the skeletal bones are efficiently used, so the muscles have to do less work for the same effect." I have had many teachers refer to this definition in their classes, including myself, but I like to think about it as training your body so that its allowed to be lazy, or do less work.
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