Category: ballet technique
-
Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is coming up and A Ballet Education’s Scholarship Fund: A Ballet Foundation is asking you to donate to our scholarship fund. Over the last 9 years we have given away over $400,000 through scholarships, pointe shoes, and fees associated with ballet. This year is our first official years a non-profit 501(c)3, this means…
-
Ballet History on IG
We all know that ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts in the 15th center, or at least we should. Famously, as ballet history and folklore goes, Catherine de’ Medici brought ballet to France when she married the second son of the King of France. A fourteen-year-old girl, not of royal blood, is responsible for…
-
Notes on La Vivandière
This variation is ferocious. It isn’t your typical 5 part female principal variation. In fact, this variation is 50 seconds of pure jumping. It is a mix of petit allegro, moderato, and grand allegro all finished with extremely fast pointe work.
-
Chassé You Don’t Stay: The Connecting Steps of Ballet
They say, when it comes to a professional dancer, that you can tell how talented a dancer is based on their connecting steps. Some say the petit allegro is the tell-all of a dancer, but when it comes to ballet these days, we often get caught up in pirouettes, hypermobility and flexibility, and what is…
-
The Less Common Arabesques
In America, we often forget about the last three arabesques. It is also probably why people in Europe think we don’t teach real ballet. (I imagine every teacher in America right now being like, “I’m a great teacher and I teach real ballet because I teach the fourth arabesque.” The fourth Arabesque in the Italian…
-
Understanding Arabesque
People ask us all the time how arabesque works, or why do all of the Clinic girls have such clean and high arabesque lines. The answer isn’t as easy as saying, “We just work the line.” To understand arabesque is to understand body mechanics, shape/line, and body potential. Ballet, classical ballet, as much as it…
-
Ballet Vocab of the Day: Entrechat Six
Not that we can all be jumping right now, but here is today’s ballet step of the day: Entrechat Six. This wonderful battu or batterie step is for both men and women of the intermediate and above levels. This jump usually is done in both allegro and grand allegro and can be done in petit…
-
Daily Ballet Vocab: Temps de Poisson
Our daily ballet vocabulary lesson with A Ballet Education: April 3, 2020 Temps de Poisson or Pas De Poisson or Sissone Soubresaut, or Temps Collé are all names for this difficult step. While back in the day it was a step of reserved for men, we are now progressive feminists and don’t discriminate steps via…
-
Daily Ballet Vocab: Tendu Pour le Pied
Daily Ballet Vocabulary: Sometimes it is hard to remember the names of ballet terms or the technique behind them, but today we are bringing you ballet vocabulary!
-
Notes on Saut de Chat…
Saut de chat or grand pas de chat, whatever you want to call it the mechanics are the same for this iconic grand allegro step.
-
Turning in to find your TURNOUT
Turning In to Find Your Turnout I think there is a big misunderstanding among ballet teachers and other teachers when it comes to turn in and turnout. The two cannot be separated because anything that is not turned out completely is turned in. I also believe that when it comes to working on the floor…
-
Notes of Pirouettes en dedans…
Notes on Pirouettes En Dedans… Working on pirouettes en dedans (pirouettes to the inside) can be hard. While it seems like they are easier than en dehors turns, the problem with en dedans is the turnout factor. Whether is a pirouette or attitude turn to the inside, these can be rather difficult to master because…
-
Notes on Demi Plié
Ballet is hard. Really hard. No matter how ballet has progressed, the fundamentals of ballet have always stayed the same: turnout, pointed feet, and becoming something unattainable and unimaginable. Yes, these are the fundamentals, but the principals that ballet is based on have constantly changed throughout the decades to progress the technique. The first of…
-
Notes on Second Position / Perfect Symmetry
Second Position is usually noted as the easiest position of the five as it has the least amount of pressure on the hips and knees, but lately I have been finding that second position might be even more difficult than first if done properly. Let’s break it down… The idea of Second position takes Davinci’s…
-
Notes on Fifth Position
Fifth position: home base. This position can be the best feeling in the world, or it can be your worst enemy. It is painfully beautiful, gives you the longest leg line, and most of all it is the ultimate measure of turnout, placement and technique. The ideal fifth position is taking the feet in first…
-
So, you got those hamburger hands…
In the great debate of hands and hand placement, I realized, hands might most be the most intimate part of ballet. The hands finish the line, the hands direct the audience, the hands create the most intricate negative space on the body. The hands glide into a woman’s waistline, a man offer his hand and…
-
Notes on Effacé
Effacé, effacée [eh-fa-SAY/]. Shaded. One of the directions of épaulement (body directions to classify the arms, head, shoulders, legs in relation to the audience) in which the dancer stands at an slight angle to the audience so that a part of the body is taken back and almost hidden from the audience’s view. This direction…
-
The Guide to Pas De Deux
It’s here! The Guide to Pas De Deux!! The first book in the Ballet Education Standardized Ballet Training Curriculum. 24 pages of information including 15 illustrations, vocabulary and mapped out curriculum! Click the book below to purchase. Or click here to buy!
-
Period of Adjustment…
It is that time of year again. For some, you are already back in the studios working, and for others, tomorrow will start the first day of ballet for the 2017-2018 season. Either way, we are getting back into the routine of things. For some, you are starting a new school, a big school, a…
-
Notes on the Ideal Arabesque & Getting it Higher… part 1
In ballet, there is one position above all others. It is the dreaded, gorgeous and controversial placement known as arabesque. There are a million ways to approach and improve arabesque, but the most important thing about it is to maintain control and show constraint. Below is how I teach arabesque and how to achieve an ideal…
You must be logged in to post a comment.