This week I plan on sharing some basic ballet vocabulary with you.
All ballet classes at Allsteps are taught using the French terminology. I firmly believe this is important and even the youngest students are introduced to it.
French is considered the language of ballet and the terms are used worldwide. Many of these ballet terms, when translated, give clues to their corresponding steps. Take a look at the following terms:
- Plié - bend
- Changement - change
- Battement - a high or low kick
- Pas de chat - step of the cat
- Demi - half
- Petite - small
- Grand - big/whole
- Port de bras - carriage of the arms
To understand ballet and enjoy it, it is important to learn some of these terms and what they mean. How about learning some of these words at home? It's not a long list and most of you should be familiar with them! At the end of each lesson we will have a quick practice, then a fun verbal test at the end of term.
Did you know……..?
- Most ballerinas will go through between 3-5 pointe shoes per week;
- Being on pointe requires a ballerina’s toes to take up to three times their own body weight;
- It can take upwards of 90 hours to make a tutu;
- The fitness level of a dancer is very high. A single performance is the equivalent of running 18 miles!
Miss Rafferty