Sections of Ballet Class

Each ballet class has five sections to it; read below to find out more about each section.

Section One: Barre
The warm up of ballet, a chance for dancers to slowly warm up their entire body. See Barre Exercises Part 1 for a list of traditional barre exercises.

Section Two: Centre Practice
After barre the dancer moves to the center of the room where they do exercises similar to barre but with no support from the barre. Dancers also will practice pirouettes.

Section Three: Adage
This section is also done in the center of the room. Adage is a series of slow movements where dancers can focus on the lines of their body and on balance.

Section Four: Allegro 
This section is also done in the center of the room however unlike Adage, Allegro is a series of quick movements. It is often the section of class where dancers work on jumps.

Section Five: Reverence 
Every ballet class ends with Reverence. It is a bow or curtsey of sorts done at the end of every class to thank the teach and musician (if there is a live pianist) for their time.


I hope this all helps! Look for future posts explaining the specific exercises done in each section.

See you in class!

-Alesha

Barre Exercises Part 1

The first set of definitions for our basic barre exercises we are doing in class. 

Demi-plié [duh-MEE-plee-AY] Half-bend of the knees. Grand-plié [grahn-plee-AY] Full bending of the knees (the knees should be bent until the thighs are horizontal). Tundu [tahn-DEW] The working foot slides from the first or fifth position to the second or fourth position with lifting the toe from the ground, it then returns to the first or fifth position.  Dégagé [bat-MAHN day-ga-ZHAY] The working foot rises about four inches from the floor with a well-pointed toe, then slides back into the first of fifth position. Piqué  [pee-KAY]  The working foot rises about four inches from the floor with a well-pointed toe pricks the floor with the big toe and slides back into the first or fifth position. Ront de jambe [rawn duh zhahnb] Round of the leg, that is, a circular movement of the leg. Frappé [bat-MAHN fra-PAY] An exercise in which the dancer forcefully extends the working leg from a cou-de-pied position to the front, side or back.  Battement, Grand [grahn bat-MAHN] An exercise in which the working leg is raised from the hip hop into the air and brought down again, the accent being on the downward movement, both knees straight.  Here is a video so you can see each of these being done: Hope this helps! See you in class. -Alesha

Basic Ballet Positions

Knowing the basic ballet positions is the most important thing you can learn in ballet; well that and technique. All ballet barre and centre steps will use these positions and arms. 

Here is a great video showing you each of the positions:

Also here is a chart that you can print out that has each of the positions.

Hope this helps you all remember each of the positions! 

See you all in class!

-Alesha