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Arabesque [a-ra-besk]

2/19/2012

Not a French purebred, this word is well traveled and has morphed in meaning over time. I may be a bit biased, but think if Arabesque had a zodiac sign it would be a Pisces; a fish swimming where ever the current takes it and maleable like the water. Arabesque traveled from Islam to Italy and throughout Europe. While it's specific meaning has changed slightly to adapt to it's new homes, it usually refers to some form of art that has a vine like quality, with many circular intertwining lines.

In ballet, the term refers to the longest line one can make with the body. It is supported on one leg with the other extended behind the body. The arms can be extended in several positions which have different names depending on the school. Creating the long beautiful arc in an ideal arabesque requires a lot of flexibility in the back and hips as well as back and core strength. Arabesque you are beautiful and we love you!

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Emboîté en tournant [ahn-bwah-tay ahn-toor-nahn]

2/11/2012

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Emboîté in the nude means fitted together, boxed, or encased. En tournant means turning. In emboîte you jump from one foot to the other, without the brush of a jeté, generally ending with the "working leg" in sur le cou-de-pied devant. It takes two emboîtes to complete a full revolution in emboîte en tournant. Aside from it being a nice little step to watch, I think it is a good exercise to really work on keeping the shoulders and hips square with each other while turning consecutively. This becomes especially important when executing movements like fouetté turnes. The jump can be done barely leaving the ground, where the focus is more on the melting the landing position. It can also be done with more hight trying to get a lift at the top and both feet pointed underneath which is really great for strengthening.

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Failli [fah-yee]

2/4/2012

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This weeks word is for one of my students who loves to question things in class. "What does that mean?" and "Why do we do it that way?" are always floating in the air. I was not one for asking questions as a young dancer. I was a little on the shy side and also raised by a generation that didn't necessarily encourage dancers to have a strong voice. I did however always love it when a teacher explained "why". I also questioned in my own way by not applying corrections if I didn't agree. Whether I have an answer right away or not I love that my students ask questions. It makes me a better teacher and them smarter dancers. To question why we do things, is a practice I feel, that should not be confined to the classroom. So for little Miss Jackie who said, "Miss Jenn, next week you better come in with the definition of Failli", I thank you. I will probably not forget again, but just in case I have already written it down in my notebook that Failli means "giving way".

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Dessous[duh-soo]/Dessus[duh-sew]

1/4/2012

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Dessous meaning under, indicates that the foot of the action leg, passes behind the foot of the standing leg.
Dessus meaning over, indicates that the foot of the action leg, passes in front of the foot of the standing leg.

For example: pas de bourrée dessous or pas de bourrée dessus

Anyone have any tricks they want to share for remembering which one is which?

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Coupé [koo-pay] vs. sur le Cou-de pied [sewr luh koo-duh-pyay]

12/30/2011

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I want to have a little chat about this position that we use so much. Most people are in agreement in their teaching that when the foot is actually wrapped around the standing leg just above the ankle, it is called sur le cou-de pied. However, when the location of the pointed foot changes to the front or the back of the standing leg suddenly many people begin to call it coupé. Coupé in actuality is a verb meaning cut, or cutting. It is an action where one foot cuts to replace the other. If we are referring to the position where the foot is in front or behind we should just tag on a devant or derriére. For example: sur le cou-de-pied devant. Aside from the fact that you generally pass through sur le cou-de-pied while executed a coupé I wonder why this evolution has happened?

I myself do not know French. We all know that many ballet terms are in French and you can buy ballet manuals that give you a translation. Out of curiosity, I decided to check the translation with a program that comes on the Mac. Here is what it spit out at me:

Coupé: half-compartment
sur le cou-de-pied: on the instep

I would love some input from anyone that knows a little French, or anyone that knows how reliable the mac's translater is. Thanks for reading!

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Degagé [day-ga-ZHAY]

12/24/2011

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translation: disengaged or disengaging step. As a dancer today you have to be so versatile. So many of us were trained with several different techniques so when it comes to teaching, especially young students, it can be difficult to decide what terminology to use. What most of know as degegé can also be called Glissé meaning gliding or Jeté meaning thrown. I use the term degegé while teaching because I feel it is the most commonly used. I prefer however the translation of Vaganova's Jeté. The word disengage does not trigger any sort of image that aids me in the step's execution. Thrown however does. When you throw something with your arm, there is a circular action that ends with a follow through in the direction in which you are trying to throw the object. You can see the energy emanate out of the arm in a direct line. I like this image for degagé. There is a brush into the floor creating a circular feeling and then a throwing action sending the energy out through the end of the toes. Another dance teacher friend of mine felt the complete opposite though. Disengage did more for her than throw. Funny how a single word can change how you do a movement and how it varies from person to person. Try the movement three times for yourself, once while saying each word (thrown, gliding, and disengage) and see how it affects how you do the movement. I would love to hear what you observe!

While working on this weeks word I stumbled upon this website Ballet Talk for Dancers. Click Here to view a discussion on this very topic.

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Renversé [rahn-vehr-say]

12/14/2011

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I am kind of in love with what Gail Grant's Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet has to say about this one. "Upset, reversed. Of Spanish origin, this is the bending of the body during a turn in which the normal balance is upset but not the equilibrium." While teaching a few weeks ago I forgot the name of one of my favorite steps to do. Horrifying I know, to be giving a combination and realize midway through you don't remember the name of the step you are about to give. Horrible! Which is why I need to get back on the bandwagon with my self given homework. Renversé en dehors it is! "This step consists of a grand ronde de jambe en dehors ending in attitude criosée, then a pas de bourrée dessous en tournant with a renversé movement of the body." Renversé with the body? What exactly does this refer to? I had one brilliant teacher who had us almost do a space hold with our head during the pas de bourrée. She was quite knowledgeable on all the different schools of ballet, so I am not certain which one this extreme method of executing the step came from. My guess is Cecchetti, but that is purely a guess. I was taught to do the step by starting the grand ronde de jambe with the leg lower in criosée devant. The highest point of the whole movement is when you are passing through écarté derriére.(You naturally do a quarter turn in facing to get to that place.) Once you reach the attitute criosée derriére there is a lean or bend in the direction of the standing leg also allowing the hip of the lifted leg to open a bit.(I feel the balance point starts to resemble that of one of those Horton laterals T's in a way.) As the lifted leg reaches back to step pas de bourrée the body lingers a bit as it comes around hence the renversé. That's how I see it folks!

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Plie [plee-AY]

6/4/2011

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I chose this as the first word because it is typically the first move done in a ballet class. It's meaning is bent or bending. It is a knee bend that can be done in any position, turned out or parallel. Demi-plie means "half-bend". In all positions aside from second you will typically take the deepest knee bend possible while still keeping your heels on the ground. How deep your demi-plie is will depend greatly on the flexibility of your achilles tendon. To execute a grande plie (grande meaning big) you start by doing your demi-plie and when you reach the deepest point you will continue your decent downward letting the heels release off the ground. From my reading, sources are saying that the thighs should be close to horizontal at the bottom of the grand-plie. I had honestly never thought too much about this. You want to make sure that your legs and pelvis are staying very active in all parts of the plie so that you do not end up "sitting in the bottom of your grand-plie". It is a common fault to get to the bottom and relax. All turned out plies should start with the inner thighs separating, the knees bending and the muscles in the lower pelvis resisting this by staying active and lifted. The torso should maintain it's length and should only lower as a result of the knees bending. When you straighten the legs from any plie you want to think about the legs continuing to turn out, not by pushing your heels forward, but by feeling the energy of all the muscles in the legs (calves and inner thighs) spiraling outward. You also want to feel you are pushing the floor away so that your are reaching into the ground in opposition to having a very active and lifted pelvis. I may not write so much about all the terms but as this is something that we do everyday as dancers it gets a great deal of thought. What do you think about when you plie?

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First word coming soon!

5/23/2011

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Term of the week

For people who are complete beginners to ballet, it can all be a little overwhelming. You are asking your body to do things that are completely foreign and you're asking your brain to work in a completely different way. On top of that your instructor is spitting out terms you have never heard before. Even for people who have been dancing a long time and hear the terminology every day from your teacher, you may never learn what all the different terms mean. Most ballet terms are derived from the French language. I am going to post a ballet term each week with it's meaning and a little bit about it. I am no ballet god so I am hoping that if any of my ballet nerd friends have anything to add, or disagree with anything I say, that they chime in and leave a comment. To be honest, with teaching ballet twice a week and only taking it about once a week I feel the vocab slowly slipping away from me. Not only is the purpose of this to educate others, it is meant to help me to keep up with what I feel is important to know. I am using Gail Grant's Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet as a source for the direct translations and or definitions.

Term of the week

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