Basic Principles of Classical Ballet (24 page)

111. Turn en dehors from 5th position

Right arm in 1st position, left one drawn to the side in 2nd position; during the tour it is the left arm that takes the force, at the moment of rising on half-toe, the arms join in ist position at 45°, as in the first example. Finish the entire exercise in 5th position, right foot back, or in 4th position.

All this is done also with a turn. It should be mentioned that if many tours are done in succession, the right foot may be placed in 5th position front, and not back at the end of each tour.

En dedans.
For a tour en dedans stand in 5th position, right foot front, demi-plié, spring on right foot, left one sur le cou-de-pied front. Lower into 5th position left foot front. Finishing in 5th position, one must restrain oneself so as to give a precise performance. The finish in 4th position is easier and does not require such precise restraint.

112. Turn en dedans from 5th position

In spite of the fact that the left leg is raised, the arms go through the same movements as in tours en dehors.
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TOURS IN ATTITUDE, ARABESQUE, AND IN OTHER POSES

We prepare for the study of these big tours with exercises on half-toe, similar to the preparation for the study of small tours, with the same preparatory poses.

En dehors.
Let us take for the beginning the preparation for tours in attitude. The preparatory pose is 4th position, right foot back, right arm extended in front, left one in 2nd position. Demi-plié, rise on half-toe of left foot in the manner described above, assuming the pose attitude croisée. To finish, lower yourself onto the heel.

Then, make one
tour
on half-toe. If we use this
tour
in adagio, it is preferable to finish it on half-toe without a change of pose. It is necessary, as in the foregoing exercises, to push off in plié with both heels from 4th position, and, beginning the tour, to rise on the half-toe of the left foot with one push, establish the pose in a fleeting moment, and then make the turn, never disrupting the turned-out position of the left leg.

In this exercise it is very difficult to take force, especially for two or three tours. One must develop great deftness in the push of the heel, in the upward thrust of the hands which during the preparation are stretched out palms down. At the instant of rising for the tour, the wrists are gathered into the desired pose. All this gives force to the movement.

Tours in 3rd and 4th arabesques and à la seconde are done with the same preparation. The wrist of the right hand, thrust out at the beginning of the tour in the direction of the tour en dehors, helps to gain force. In the same manner can be done tours in développé, front effacé, i.e. during the tour the right leg is raised front, and you turn to the right.

En dedans.
Force for tours en dedans is taken differently. This we learn during the preparatory exercises. Stand in preparation in 4th position, right foot back, left arm in 1st position, right arm drawn to the side. Rise on half-toe in attitude effacée, and in the same manner as in the foregoing exercise, lower yourself to the heel. When we begin to do the turn, we take force with the left arm, it is thrust into 2nd position, the right arm rises in attitude, the weight of the entire body is shifted to the supporting leg.

In the same manner are done tours in 1st and 2nd arabesques. In these cases, the left arm opens into 1st or 2nd arabesque. The arm must be hard and sure as to the required direction, otherwise it may easily shake or jerk the body which is extended forward (see description of arabesques). For tours with the leg in développé forward in croisé, force is taken as for tours à la seconde, but during the tour the leg moves front into croisé, and the left arm passes through 2nd position.

TOURS À LA SECONDE AT 90°

For the tour à la seconde from 2nd position I prefer the Italian rather than the French way, because the Italian is sharper, more dynamic, and hence more modern.

113. Turn à la seconde at 90° from 2nd position

We begin to study it with the following preparatory exercise:

En dehors.
Stand in 5th position, right foot front; demi-plié; rise on half-toe in 5th; arms front in 1st position; then open them into 2nd position and at the same time thrust the right leg with a grand battement into 2nd position at 90°, then both legs lower themselves into 2nd position on the floor in demi-plié, the right arm bends into 1st position; then the right leg is raised into 2nd position with a swift, short thrust, the left leg rises on half-toe, the arms open into 2nd position. Stop with the left foot on half-toe and the right leg à la seconde at 90°.

The tour à la seconde is practised from plié in 2nd position. Attention should be paid that the heel of the left foot at the instant of the beginning of the tour does not turn in, but remains turned out as long as possible. This is the deciding factor in getting a well-executed tour à la seconde.

114. Preparation for turn sur le cou-de-pied from 2nd position

Force for the tour is taken by thrusting the right arm into 2nd position after the demi-plié in 2nd position. The shoulders must remain straight, the right shoulder should not be carried forward in an attempt to gain force.

En dedans.
The preparation for the tour en dedans is the same as above up to the moment of the plié in 2nd position. After this the left leg is raised, and one should turn en dedans.

During the preparation the right arm is in 1st position, the left one opened in 2nd; force is taken with the right arm, never with the shoulder.

The French way differs from the above in that the right leg does a short développé à la seconde from the 5th position, after which comes plié in 2nd position, etc.

There exist also tours sur le cou-de-pied from 2nd position. They resemble those described above with the difference, however, that the right leg is opened to 45° and not to 90°, and that during the tour the right leg bends to the left leg sur le cou-de-pied. During the execution of the tour from this preparation the arms join in the preparatory position.

TOURS FROM 5TH POSITION (FROM A DEEP PLIÉ)

The manner of execution of tours in adagio from a deep plié in 5th position is entirely different. Beginning the plié, one should keep the heels on the floor as long as possible, but upon reaching the extreme point (i.e. lifting the heels from the floor) one should immediately extend the leg on which the tour is being done, and rise high on half-toe, keeping the back perfectly straight without any swaying. The arms, opened to the side in 2nd position at the beginning of the plié, should move smoothly down into preparatory position. At the instant of the rise the arms should remain immobile in that position
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TOUR CHAÎNÉS

The French term is
tours chaînés déboulés.
I use both names because together they vividly characterize the nature of the movement. A chain of rolling balls—this is the description of the step, and it gives an accurate picture of it. Chaînés are done in very fast tempo, each turn in
beats or
beats. The movement goes forward diagonally from point 6 to point 2. of our diagram. Chaîné is very effective in the composition of a variation or other dance, and it is often used to finish a variation. Chaîné is executed in the following manner:

115. Direction of tours chaînés

When moving to the right, the turn is on the right leg, extended diagonally. At the end of the turn the left foot is placed front on the spot of the right one (never back). Give yourself a push by thrusting the right arm forward, then join the arms in front of you. At the beginning of the study of this turn, the movement of the arms is repeated with every circle. When the technique of the turn is mastered and the tempo is more and more accelerated, the dancer has no time to thrust the front arm out, and aids herself only with small movements of the arms in the same direction, but without extending them too far from the body. In fast tempo, you give yourself a push to the right with the leg on the first turn and move on by impetus in the same direction, although the feet do not make a step but remain close to each other. The entire movement is aided by the arms (see above). In order to execute
chaînés
well, the dancer must possess great agility, must forcefully hold the back perfectly straight, and must never bend. Toward the end the movement transforms itself into a fast chain of turns which come to a close with an unexpected stop. One must stop perfectly motionless in a definite pose.