Apr 17, 2021
Liberal Arts Blog — Ballet — Seven Movements, Five Foot Positions, Five Arm Positions
Liberal Arts Blog — Saturday is the Joy of Sports, Dance, Fitness, and All Things Physical Day
Today’s Topic: Ballet — Seven Movements, Five Foot Positions, Five Arm Positions
Last week, the tango. Before that a seven-post series on the waltz. Today, a review of some of the basics of ballet plus three paintings by Degas. Two of the links below go into the “sordid truth” behind the pretty pictures. Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
THE SEVEN MOVEMENTS — from “plier” to “relever” to “elancer”
1. Plier (bend at knees), etendre (stretch knee, ankle, toe into straight line), glisser (glide across floor as in ice skating).
2. Relever (lift as in ankles off the floor to balance on balls of feet or to the tips of toes if wearing pointe shoes), sauter (jump, natural extension of “relever,” the hardest part being landing softly)
3. Tourner (turn around can be in place, across the floor or in the air), and elancer (to “dart” just above or on the surface of the floor).
THE FIVE FOOT POSITIONS — heels, toes, together, separated
1. First position: Heels together, toes pointing out to either side. Second position: heels hip distance apart, toes pointed out as in first.
2. Third position: starting with first position move the heel of one foot to the middle of the other, both feet still pointing outward.
3. Fourth position: one foot in front of the other about a foot’s distance apart, each foot pointed outward in opposite directions. Fifth position: same as fourth but feet against each other, not separated. The last is the hardest.
THE FIVE ARM POSITIONS — out in front and over head
1. First position: like holding a beach ball in front of your stomach. “The fingers do not touch, but have the tips pointing towards each other about 4 inches apart. Your hand should be slightly tilted so the inside of your hand is facing towards your face. A good way to imagine and work on this slight tilt of the hands is to imagine holding a mirror; if your hand is tilted right, you’d be able to look down and see your face reflecting back at you. Your elbows should be lifted so they are held higher than your hands. A well placed first position should not have the arms parallel with the floor, but angled down slightly so the hands are in the middle of your torso.”
2. Second position: just a more open version of first position. Third position: one arm stays in first position, the other in second position.
3. Fourth position: starting with third position lift the first position arm over the head. Fifth position: starting in first position, lift both arms over head and extend slightly. This is perhaps the most “iconic” of ballet positions.
The Five Basic Positions of Ballet — Ballet Lesson — BalletHub
The 7 Movements of Dancing — Everyday Ballet
How to Do the 5 Basic Positions | Ballet Dance
The sordid truth behind Degas’ ballet dancers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet
Click here for the last three years of posts arranged by theme:
PDF with headlines — Google Drive
YOUR TURN
Please share the coolest thing you learned this week related to sports, dance, fitness. Or the coolest thing you learned about Sports, Dance, of Fitness in your life — whether on the field, on the dance floor or in the gym, whether from a coach, a parent, a friend, or just your own experimentation.
This is your chance to make some one else’s day. Or even change their life. It’s perhaps a chance to put into words something you have never articulated before. And to cement in your own memory something cool you might otherwise forget. Or to think more deeply than otherwise about something dear to your heart.
