Basic Principles of Classical Ballet (25 page)

The virtuosity of this movement has achieved great heights, the tempos that are reached are breathtaking.
Chaînés
are done on half-toe and, later, on pointes.

It should be added that tours chaînés, jeté par terre, and others are often done in a circle around the entire stage.

TOURS EN L’AIR

These tours are the domain of the male dance, which I do not discuss here in general. Although the steps and the daily lessons are the same, the male dance requires more complicated movements because of the stronger physical development of the male dancers. Their work is easier because they do not dance on their pointes, a detail which takes up a great deal of the female dancer’s energy and time. This energy and time the male dancer devotes to the elaboration of steps which are common to both sexes, but which, when executed by the male dancer, acquire a different character and a different grade of virtuosity. The male dancer also devotes less time to adagio. The female dancer needs adagio as an exercise to strengthen her body, which is by nature more flexible and weaker than the male body. At the same time this very flexibility of female dancer’s body allows her to achieve those perfect lines of the well-developed dance which, with very few exceptions, are unachievable for the male dancer.

If I touch here upon tours en l’air it is because they can also be done by girls, and contemporary choreographers from time to time use these
tours
for girls.

Stand in 5th position, right foot front;
demi-plié
deeper than usual (but without lifting the heels from the floor), left arm opened to the side, right one front in ist position. Push off with the heels, jump into the air, turn in the air, join the arms during the turn. Fall into 5th position in demi-plié, right foot back, arms closed in front. Attention should be paid that, in taking force, the right shoulder should not move forward before the jump, the body should remain perfectly en face.

GENERAL REMARKS ABOUT TOURS

The first condition of good tours is an absolutely straight, held-together body. One should not lose the spot of the finish, and should always “feel” the front so as not to get dizzy. For instance, if in the popular 32 fouettés the dancer should lose the spot in front of her and not face the front while doing plié, the fouettés would not come off.

Theoretically speaking, during tours as well as during all kinds of turns the head should face the audience as long as possible. But in tours the approach to this work of the head should be very careful. Attention should be paid to see that the head is not bent to the side and turned away from the axis around which the turn is executed. If you do not adhere to this, you will easily lose your balance. To gain the numerous multiple tours which are possible for the contemporary technique, this movement of the head should be used in moderation, stressing the movement only with your eyes, i.e. each time you face the audience look at it, and keep your eyes on it as long as possible.

In supported tours the male dancer must first of all stand well on his feet. An inexperienced partner involuntarily moves back his body at the beginning of the tours and bends forward only at the last tour, thus pushing his partner and throwing her off balance. He must stand perfectly straight, so that his partner may turn between the palms of his hands. The rest depends on the female dancer. If she turns well she should be left alone. If she does not turn well, the partner must help her turn with his hands.

There are several different kinds of pirouette in adagio with a partner. Tours are done from a preparation in 5th position on pointes, and force is taken in the following manner: remaining standing on the pointe of the left foot, bring out the right leg to croisé front, thrust it forcefully to the side, trying not to change the position of the hip (force is taken by the leg), bend it to the left knee front or back, and turn. The partner assists by holding the dancer at the waist, at the beginning slightly turning forward her right side, and at the swing slightly pushing with the left hand for the tour.

From the same preparation the dancer does tours holding on to the middle finger of the partner’s right hand raised above her head. The dancer should hold on to the finger with the entire right hand, the partner assists her by turning his finger. But force is taken by the same strong swing of the leg. The deftness of the turns is concentrated in the experienced utilisation of the assistance of the partner’s finger.

During the execution of all tours with a partner, the arms should be held not higher than 45°, closing them tightly, one over the other, in front. Another concluding remark: in tours en dehors, once a preparation is taken with the arm in front, the turn must be made from this preparation, and one should not swing the arm before the turn.
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XI

OTHER KINDS OF TURNS

TURNS IN ADAGIO

IN ADAGIO in the centre slow turns are done on the whole sole of the foot. Such turns are also used occasionally on the stage. These turns may be done in all positions: attitude, arabesque, 2nd position at 90°, développé front. This slow turn is achieved by slight movements of the heel in the required direction.

RENVERSÉ

Renversé, as the term implies, is the bending of the body during a turn. There are several forms of renversé, and it is one of the most complicated movements taught to the classical dancer. It is very difficult to describe, and nothing will take the place of a live example in the classroom. To demonstrate it properly the teacher himself must have a virtuoso’s mastery of the dance.

We shall describe here the following forms of renversé:
Renversé en dehors.
The movement begins with attitude croisée; demi-plié, the body bends slightly forward, stressing the movement by inclining the head, then rise on half-toe, at the same time centring the initiative of the movement in the back. The body is forcefully bent back at the very beginning of the turn en dehors. The turn is done by the body, the legs follow this movement at the last moment, doing pas de bourrée en dehors, when the body, which changed its centre of gravity, forces the legs, as it were, to make a step. The body forces the leg to move, the leg does not turn the body. For the effectiveness of this movement in ¾ time, on
one
the body bends and the turn begins with the rise on half-toe of the left foot, on
two
the body is held with the back to the audience, on the right leg, the back forcefully bent, the head in profile. This pose is held as long as possible, so that for the final part of the turn and for
pas de bourrée
there remains the shortest part of the third count of the bar.

The usual mistake of insufficiently brilliant dancers is to turn the body in renversé by the movement of the arms and steps of the feet, making the body follow the arms by their momentum. In such cases only the name of the movement remains. In addition to that the dancer loses self-control. The instant she repeats the movement several times in succession, she is carried to the side; trying to find her balance, she loses the rhythm, etc.

116. Renversé en dehors

Renversé en dedans.
This is a reverse movement, and its execution is much simpler and easier. Do a développé front croisé; the body bends forward and then does the same back bend and retardation in croisé, as in en dehors, into the pas de bourrée en dedans.

Renversé en écarté
is done from the 4th arabesque. The right leg, from the 4th arabesque, bends into the position en tire-bouchon with the pointe to the knee of the supporting leg, which is on half-toe.
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At the same time the body bends forcefully to the right, towards the knee of the supporting leg. The body turns en dedans, bends back, and at the same time the heel is placed quickly and firmly on the floor; the other leg opens in écarté back while the body bends to the left; stop firmly, and close into 5th position.

The arms join from the 4th arabesque with a forceful movement in preparatory position while the leg is en tire-bouchon, and simultaneously with the opening of the leg and the body, sharply open into 3rd position in écarté back. This movement, as well as the first form of renversé, presupposes a strongly developed body and a knowledge of how to take a movement with the back.

FOUETTÉ EN TOURNANT AT 45°

En dehors.
It is done from demi-plié on the left leg, right leg at the same time opens to 2nd position to 45°; turn en dehors on left leg, during the tour swinging the right leg behind the calf, bring it quickly in front of the calf. The stop is again in demi-plié, opening the arms and the leg into 2nd position. During the movement of the leg into 2nd position, the arms also open into 2nd position. They close in preparatory position during the tour.

En dedans
. It is done as above, but the leg moves first in front of the calf and later to back of it.

When fouettés en dehors are done successively a number of times, one should take something like a “swing”. It may be done this way: do pas de bourrée en dedans and then begin fouettés. But this manner is not very dependable. It does not concentrate the balance of the body and may push the dancer off the spot. All depends on the individual qualifications of the body.

A more dependable way is the following: take a preparation in 4th position, spring on to the pointe, do one tour en dehors, and continue to turn, doing fouettés.
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GRAND FOUETTÉ

Although this kind of fouetté is done without a turn I describe it here together with the other fouettés.

The grand fouetté which we have worked out is somewhat different from the others. It contains certain elements from both the French and the Italian schools. Let us first analyse the Italian fouetté during which the body always remains en face.

En dehors.
Pose croisé back with left leg. Coupé on left leg on half-toe, opening the arms into 2nd position during coupé; lower yourself on left leg in demi-plié, bend left arm in 1st position, carry right leg half-bent to 90° front, rise on half-toe of left leg, quickly do grand rond de jambe to the back with right leg, and finish in 3rd arabesque en face left leg in demi-plié. During grand rond de jambe the arms do the following port de bras: left arm is moved through 3rd position and in 2nd, while the right arm moves to 3rd position and through 1st position into 3rd arabesque, which it reaches at the instant the left leg is lowered in plié.

I shall now describe the fouetté which my students do, although in words it is practically impossible to describe the “method” by which the movement is taken and to reveal the correlation in time between the movements of the legs and the arms. This fouetté is governed by the arms; they give the movement to the entire body. To execute this fouetté on the stage without fear of losing balance, its entire structure must be fully understood and mastered.

Preparation, the same coupé, rising on half-toe of left leg, open arms into 2nd position; bend left arm to 1st position, demi-plié on left leg, turn body in efface, carry right leg half-bent in efface to 45° front, bend body to the leg, pulling in the right side of the body and arching left side; rise on half-toe, carry leg through grand rond de jambe, and during its transfer, raise it, turn body to attitude effacée at 90° and higher, because with this swing one may give the greatest height; simultaneously, the left arm is raised to 3rd position and opened into 2nd position, the right arm goes up from 2nd position to 3rd position in pose effacé. Lower yourself in demi-plié.

117. Grand fouetté

The movement done this way acquires more plastic, classic forms, while the Italian fouetté is somewhat drier and more schematic, without transitional poses which soften croisé and effacé, etc.

En dedans.
The right leg is half-bent behind in effacé at 45° and the body is bent to the leg; the right arm in 1st position, the left one open in 2nd. Rise on half-toe of left leg, carry right one through rond de jambe in the manner described en dehors, open leg to 90° front in effacé.