Varied to Infinity

I knew there were a lot of Arabesque listings in the Ballet Dictionary, but when the description said that  "The forms of arabesque are varied to infinity" I became concerned.  There are 23 different listings of Arabesques in this book, many of which mean the same thing, but just said differently based on which method you are studying.  The actual definition is:  "One of the basic poses in ballet, Arabesque takes its name from a form of Moorish ornament".

I thought long and hard how I was going to tackle this element of dance, and so I will go through each of the versions of an arabesque, but will combine the ones that are essentially the same thing.  So here we go...

A is for... Absolutely All Aspects (of Ballet)

When I started pointe class when I was 12 we were required to buy the Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet by Gail Grant.  Now, 18 years later I'm returning to college for a second degree in dance, and the same Ballet Dictionary was our required text book for my ballet courses.  I'm amazed that this one book has stood the test of time, and is so valued among dancers.  It is my dance bible, and I always have it on me for the classes that I teach, and the ones I attend as a student.

I have been teaching dance in one form or another for the last 14 years, and this blog (since blogs have been around) has always been a goal of mine.  I will be going item through item of the Ballet Dictionary and researching each element, fully understanding them, and post some pictures and videos of these moves as well.  I know this will help me become a better student of Ballet, but also a better teacher.

I will also be posting different barre lessons, center and across the floor exercises for some of the different terms.  Its an ultimate goal to make this a place where other dance teachers can purchase my lesson plans that I've spent so many hours designing.

So here's to the new year, and Ballet Basics from A-Z!