Basic Principles of Classical Ballet (15 page)

I don’t bring participation of the arms into the elementary study of assemblé, but strive to achieve in the pupils a free position of the arms, without stiffness and jerking.

When the pupils have mastered assemble, one may introduce into it arm movements. The hands open at the same time as the leg goes into 2nd position, and they close in the final 5th position, joining into the preparatory position. Later on, the head begins to take part in the movement. At the movement of the leg and the arms into 2nd position, the head must be held in profile to the side opposite the leg which is being opened, and at the conclusion of assemble, the head is turned to the opposite side, also in profile. I indicate that the head must be turned in profile, because an indefinite turn of the head makes it look as if one were bending to the shoulder, and this creates a soft, weak impression.

In the advanced classes, when assemblé is done in its simple form and slow tempo, I do not require participation of the arms. Only in the more complicated combinations, which are designed for dancers and not students, do I include arm movements in assemblé. Assemblé can be done in all directions, forward, back, croisé, effacé, etc.

In class one must demand a precise finish of assemblé in 5th position. It happens that on the stage, during the actual dance, one is forced, once in a while, to execute a step not as precisely as it should be. To guard against loss of precision, the dancer, through daily exercises done assiduously and pedantically, must preserve and uphold the developed forms of the dance. The more a dancer practices in the classroom, the fewer mistakes will he make on the stage. This is the object of the daily classroom exercises.

PAS JETÉ

The French name of this step is very expressive; the French verb
jeter
means to throw, and the term jeté depicts the throwing of the leg and the falling onto it. But the step jeté acquires this character only in its finished form, grand jeté. For the beginning the following exercise is used.

Stand in 5th position, right foot front; demi-plié, left leg is drawn to the side in a gliding movement, the knee and toes are straightened and the toes touch the floor in 2nd position. Then push off the floor with the right foot in a jump, straightening the knee and toes, return the left leg to the place formerly held by the right leg and lower yourself on it in demi-plié. Bring the right foot sur le cou-de-pied back.

55. Pas jeté

This is the movement forward. In the movement backwards, the leg which is in front goes to the side. The position sur le cou-de-pied is also in front.

Further, jeté can be done in all directions, gradually developing the style of the dance, doing it with arms in various small poses, and then progressing to the study of jeté with the leg at 45° and to the grand jeté with the leg at 90°, and big poses.

It is proper to mention here the difference in the approach to jeté in the Italian school. The Italian school teaches the pupil to throw up the legs very high and to bend them sharply; the movement acquires a great strain and the design acquires a definitely grotesque shade.

GRAND JETÉ

For execution on the stage, grand jeté demands an entirely different approach from the small jeté.

It is done not from 5th position, but is preceded by a preliminary movement of a spring-board nature. This is the necessary transitory movement before every big jump and leap. It is necessary to send the body forward, it is necessary to push off from something.

56. Grand jeté (front)

There are various methods for doing that: one can do pas couru, glissade, or coupé, whichever gives the necessary push-off. Men very often substitute a wide careless run. I prefer a more complicated approach which brings into work the entire body and the arms. From this approach the concluding pose emanates as a logical result. It is coupé of the following kind:

Stand in pose croisé, right foot back. Forcefully transferring weight of the body to the right leg, move the leg forward to 4th position effacé with a strong push to the floor and squat on it, bending the entire body to this leg, push off the floor, throw up the left leg to 90° forward and jump onto it, trying to remain in the air in a definitely expressed attitude or arabesque.

The arms will move the following way: when the body is forcefully bent to the right, the arms will be thrown up into 2nd position; when the entire weight is transferred on to the right leg, the arms come together in the preparatory pose below, they should, as it were, lend force for the leap. The required pose is reached by the arms moving through 1st position.

There exists, although it is seldom used, a grand jeté back which is done in the following manner: start; left foot front croisé, shift the body forcefully onto the left foot back in effacé plié and, pushing off from it, thrust right leg back croisé to 90° and jump onto it, assuming the pose développé forward. The movement of the arms is the same as in grand jeté forward.

57. Grand jeté (back)

JETÉ FERMÉ

Stand in 5th position, right foot front; demi-plié, throw up left leg to the side as high as possible, jump onto it, transferring the weight of the entire body on to this leg. The right leg opens to the side at the same height as the left one. Lower yourself in plié and close the right leg front in 5th position.

58. Jeté fermé

This movement is done in two counts; plié on the pick-up, first count—transfer of weight on the left leg in plié after the fall on it, second count—the final 5th position.

At the initial plié in 5th position the arms are in preparatory position, from the moment when the leg is thrust out to the side and until the final 5th position, the movement of the arms goes simultaneously with the movement of the legs, i.e. they too open to 2nd position. The head also moves from right to left.

There exists also a different ending for jeté fermé: at the end the leg is put down softly and gradually. In this case, the movement is called jeté fondu (melting).

This jeté is done forward, back, in effacé, croisé, and écarté. The arms follow the ordered pose.

JETÉ WITH A MOVEMENT TO THE SIDE IN HALF-TURNS

Stand in 5th position, right foot front, demi-plié; take right leg to the side to the 2nd position for jeté (right arm in 1st position, left—in 2nd), change to that foot in a jump moving to the right side as far as possible in a half-turn. Stop in demi-plié with the back to the audience, left foot sur le cou-de-pied back, left arm in 1st position, right—in 2nd.

The head is turned in profile to the left shoulder. Continuing the movement, take left leg to the side to the 2nd position, remaining with the back to the audience, fly to the left in a jump, and only at the last moment do a half-turn in the air. Stop in demi-plié, right foot sur le cou-de-pied front. The left arm accompanies the movement of the left leg, i.e. it opens in 2nd position, the right one bends at the conclusion to 1st position, the head is turned en face.

In this manner the first turn is en dedans, the second—en dehors.

This jeté can also be done to the other side. Stand in 5th position, left foot front, begin the movement with the right, turning en dehors, finishing with the left foot sur le cou-de-pied front, and stopping in demi-plié with the back to the audience, left arm in 1st position, right one in 2nd, the head—in profile toward the left shoulder. Then continue the movement to the left with a turn en dedans and finishing with the right foot sur le cou-de-pied back.

59. Jeté with progression toward a half-turn

The right arm is in 1st position, the left one in 2nd, the head—en face.

In the first case it is necessary to leave the body en face until the turn, and in the second case to leave it with the back to the audience.

The head should be turned in profile.

JETÉ PASSÉ

Stand in pose croisé, right foot behind. Change onto right foot in 4th position, effacé forward, demi-plié, taking body forward, extend arm straight forward, keeping both shoulders level; i.e. not inclining right shoulder toward right leg. During the demi-plié throw left leg back and high. With a jump put left foot in the place of the right one, throw right leg into attitude croisée, bend the back backward.