Ballet is a means of expressing a theme or, as in most cases, telling a story through the medium of dance. As such, ballet as a genre may generally be broken down into the following four basic elements:
There are certain set positions in ballet for the arms and particularly for the feet which give the dancer a particularly pleasing aspect as well as providing a starting point for particular moves and interchanges. Described on this page are just a few of the more basic principles.
There are five basic foot positions in ballet, which are common to all teaching methods. Note that all of these are based on the 'turn-out', ie. with the feet pointing in opposing directions either in a straight line, or offset with one foot in front of the other.
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| First Position: Feet together, in line, heel to heel. |
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| Second Position: Feet apart, in line, heels opposed. |
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| Third Position: Feet together, front and behind, overlapping by about a half foot length. |
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| Fourth Position: Feet apart, front and behind. Feet may be a) closed - fully overlapping, or b) open - no overlap. |
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| Position: Feet together, front and behind, fully overlapping. |
| Please note that for clarity of illustration the above diagrams show a small seperation of the feet in the 'feet together' positions, whereas in fact the feet would normally be touching in these positions. |
The most striking and beautiful parts of any ballerina's routine are when she rises en pointe, balancing on the very tips of her toes whilst she pirouettes or takes small steps across the stage, or simply holds a pose balanced on one or both feet. Rising en pointe gives the ballerina a majestic, ethereal quality, appearing so light that she is floating up from the ground.
Of course to do this she needs help, the toe joints are simply not strong enough to support the whole body unaided. Pointe shoes are a special type of shoe worn be ballet dancers to enable them to dance en pointe, and have two vital structural features to provide the support the dancer needs to do this.
Even with these special shoes, dancing en pointe requires considerable training to build up the necessary strength, and places considerable stress on the feet often resulting in minor injuries such as bunions and/or blisters. These are the tribulations that any ballerina must endure for her art.
Unlike the foot positions, the positions of the arms are not standard with different teaching methods each having their own numbered set of arm positions. The following illustrate the basic set of arm positions commonly taught in ballet. Note that the arms are never held straight but are always gently curved. Furthermore, it is the positions of the arms and legs in combination that give the overall character to the pose. Note also that the tilt of the head and the facial expression can be used to enhance or radically alter the character of the position (see 5).
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Preparatory Position: Arms lowered, hands a little in front of the thighs (bras bas - "arms low"). This is the ballet dancer's equivalent of 'stand at ease'. |
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First Position: Arms forward (held curved and apart as though embracing a large object. This position is known as the gateway position since it is the mid point of transition between other positions. |
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Second Position: Arms held out to the side, curving slightly forward. |
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Third Position: Arms held aloft (en couronne - "like a crown"). |
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Combination: One arm extended to the side, other held curved in front. |
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Combination: One arm raised overhead, other held curved in front - note change in character from head straight to head tilted. |
Ballet can be analysed into seven basic categories of movements (the invention of this classification has been variously attributed to at least two 18th Century dance masters, Noverre and Feuillet). These categories are:
The facing of the dancer on stage is summarised according to eight basic compass points.
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The movements of the dancer on stage are similarly summarised as follows:
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In most ballet companies dancers are ranked according to experience and ability. These may generally be summarised as follows (although larger companies may add intermediate ranks).
| Author: Don Gillan, www.stagebeauty.net. |
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