Ballet Positions Explained In Plain English
Every girls dream is to learn ballet and be part of a real dance class! The very
first moves your teacher will demonstrate are the five basic ballet positions. This will take you on to more exciting moves, jumps, turns and leaps which will be incorporated to form a dance routine. Ballet is a perfect foundation for all types of dance such as Jazz, Tap or even Hip Hop.
Premiere En Bas
Before and after you perform any ballet routine, you assume this position. The words mean "preparatory position."Head high, you will stand tall. Pretend there is a string pulling your body straight up to the ceiling and make sure your chin is level. Allow your shoulders to relax, and curve each arm slightly. The fingers and thumbs of each hand should point toward, but not touch, one another. There are numbered positions for both your arms and your legs. But you won't always perform them together! For example, sometimes you will have your arms in First Position and your feet in Fourth Position. If you are just running through the Five Ballet Positions, however, do the First Position of the arms with the First Position of the legs, and so forth.
First Position, Legs
When you stand in first position, touch your heels together, and strive to point your toes outward in opposite directions, one foot from the other. The balls of your feet touch the floor. You are trying to form a straight line with your feet.
First Position, Arms
From your preparatory position, raise both arms slightly but still curved, as if you were holding a beach ball. At chest level, your fingers should curve slightly.
Second Position, Legs
In second position, stand with your feet apart-about the length of one of your feet. But you still have the heels facing one another, with the toes pointing out.
Second Position, Arms
Next, raise your arms so that you are holding them straight out to your sides. But remember you are a graceful ballerina! Even though your shoulders are up, let your elbows drop slightly below the level of your shoulders. Your fingers curve gently downward.
Third Position, Legs
You reach Third Position by placing one foot in front of the other. The heel of the front foot rests against the arch of the back foot. Your toes continue to point away from one another. Practice this with first your right foot in front, and then your left foot, so that you can stand either way with equal ease.
Third Position, Arms
In this position, one of your arms remains as at Second Position. The other arm is raised gracefully upward so that your fingers are over the top of your head, as if you are trying to feel the top of a hat. If your legs are in Third Position with your right foot in front, then your left arm should be the one over your head. The right arm will curve slightly downward.
Fourth Position, Legs
Your feet are the same as in Third Position, but there is about a foot's-length of space between your front and rear feet.
Fourth Position, Arms
In this position, keep on feeling for that top hat perched up on your head with one arm. Move the other arm forward, curved slightly inward at the level of your chest. If your right foot is placed in front of your left foot, then your right arm is the one in front of your chest.
Fifth Position, Legs
In what some dancers have named as the most difficult ballet position, stand with your feet aligned against one another. The toes of each foot touch the heel of the other.
Fifth Position, Arms
Raise both arms, curved, over your head. Ensure they are approximately six inches apart. Facing your palms inward, without raising your head, you should be able to see your fingertips.
And Remember...
As you transition through your ballet positions, use your hip and thigh muscles to move your legs. If you try to turn your feet outward from the knees, you're going to hurt your knees eventually, and you'll never learn good form. As you move your feet from one position to the next, keep your toes on the floor. And your arms should always be graceful!
by: Amanda Groves
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