Ballet Basics: The Positions of the Feet...

Seeing as I didn't have any requests for ballet steps, I decided to make a simple tutorial of the feet positions for you.

Let's get started!

First position. This is the most basic foot position, excluding parallel, and it is the first thing you learn. Ensure that your heels are together and your feet are turned out as far as you can, making sure that your knees are pulled up.

This is second position. Once again, turn your feet out and pull your knees up. Don't let your feet be too far apart, but also don't keep them too close together that people mistake them as a really awful first position ;)

Now, this is third position. I think you should take it as certain that you need to turn out and pull up now, so I'm not going to repeat myself again, you'll just thinking I'm nagging you! Just remember!

This is fourth open. Before you nag me, let me just say that, yes, I do know that this isn't the correct position, this is. My model and I were being hurried along before the next class got into the studio, so I wasn't thinking straight. Basically, your heels should be in line with each other.

Fourth closed. I remember that this is closed because you're squeezing your thighs together and therefore closed. The heel of your front foot should be in line with the toe of your back foot.

Finally, this is fifth position. It seems so natural to me now, but you must remember to turn out that back foot too!

Now, would you like to see my model? Alright, meet Hannah :)

Alright, so that marks the end of today's post, I hope you enjoyed it! Would you like to see any particular guides next week? I'm running out of ideas and we've barely even started! Aha, bye for now ♥

Ballet Basics: Developpé...

While I was in the studio today, I was able to take the necessary photos for this post! Alongside my glamorous assistant, I came up with this.

Hannah

Let's get started.

Start at the barre, with your feet in first position.

Peel your foot (furthest from the barre) off the floor and up your leg.

Continue to peel your foot up the supporting leg, ending at the retiré position just in front of your knee. Remember to turn out the working leg, keep your hips square and your supporting foot turned out. And relax those hands!

Start to unfold your leg. Your should try to keep your thigh still and extend from the knee, but make sure to get your retiré as high as you can to achieve maximum height.

Your developpé should look something like this. Ideally, your arm would be in second, although it's been a while since Hannah and I have practised barre work.

This can also be seen in my developpé.

Starting in first position with free arm in bras bas. Remember to turn out and keep shoulders and arms relaxed.

Start to peel foot up the side of your supporting leg, turning out from your hips, keeping them nice and square.

You should be in retiré.

Before you start unfolding your calf, you must get your thigh as high as you can. I can't find a better way to phrase it, but your thigh should be as high as your hip allows before unfolding. This works best if you're stretched so your hamstrings are 'longer' and more relaxed so it can go higher.

Extend outwards. Try not to lean towards the barre as much as I am; use your core and hips to pull up straight.

Now for some tips.

You need to practise these a lot to get better! I practise my developpés every day just around the house, and I have noticed a difference.

Hip flexors. You need them to be fairly loose to work with, and also you must build up their strength. You're going to have to hold your leg up pretty high so you need muscle for that!

Stretch! This may seem obvious, but you must properly stretch your leg muscles (especially hamstrings) before trying these, as it helps drastically.

Links!

I found this amazing page of tips and videos to help you!

This is a great resource for developpé devant, and it's one of my favourite dance instructors!

I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial! I feel obliged to say that these tips are only from my experience, so please feel free to add any tips of your own that may help!

Also, if there's any techniques, steps or tips you'd like help with, just drop a comment down below, and I'll try to come up with a tutorial for you. Thanks for reading, please share with anyone you feel this would help.

Ballet Basics: Tendu...

I was recently asked by a wonderful lady named Gabrielle to create a guide to how to get a good tendu. For those of you who don't know what a tendu is, it's a ballet step which involves pointing your foot in any direction, working through the floor.

I decided to make a blog post about how to do it, and while making it, I learnt how to make gif files and upload them to blog posts, and also that my brother makes a lousy photographer! But anyway, here's the tutorial.


You need to start with your feet in first position, or in the position you need to work with. Remember to pull up through your body, nice and tall. Bums and tummies in!

Next, you slowly start to push through the floor with the foot you want to tendu.

Keep pushing through that floor, with your heel forwards. Try to imagine the floor as being covered in sticky toffee, and you need to work and push through your whole foot to make it point.

Keep pushing your foot through the floor, but now start to straighten your ankle - this is important! In order to get a good tendu, you need to push through your ankle before you start to point your toes, as so to speak. This creates beautiful lines and works your foot better.

Now you finally get to point your toes! See those beautiful lines? Just remember to work and really push through the floor the whole time. One thing you don't want to be doing is lifting your foot slightly above the ground and then placing it on the ground in the position demonstrated below. Don't scrunch your toes up either!

An important thing to remember is not to put any weight on your extended foot during tendu, or it could end up looking like my foot does in the photo below. Not a pretty sight!

Also, you need to keep your ankle pushed forwards to maintain your turnout, which is a target I recieved in my Grade 5 IDTA Ballet exam.

Remember, these 'rules' apply for tendus in every direction!

Here's a gif I made demonstrating how to tendu a la second.

I would like to point out (no pun intended) that I am only a 15 year old girl who takes ballet lessons for an hour a week, and that I am not an expert on the subject. I am simply trying to help out fellow ballet students who are seeking help.

I also think that this would be a great idea for a series of posts, so feel free to leave a comment below saying which ballet steps you would like help with, and other basic steps I could post tutorials for.

But until I see you again, have fun and practice hard! Byee!!