BRITTANY: Hello!
My name is Brittany Cavaco.
I am a professional Ballet dancer,
and I have danced with companies such as
The Washington Ballet,
The Los Angeles Ballet,
and English National Ballet.
And I'm your Intro to Ballet instructor on STEEZY Studio.
Ballet is such a beautiful art form,
but– it can be intimidating to start learning,
and it doesn't help that all the terms are in French,
But don't worry,
you don't need years of Rosetta Stone or Duolingo,
all you need is to learn these 10 basic Ballet terms to start.
And after this little French lesson,
if you ACTUALLY want to start practicing these moves- the right way,
then click the link in the description box
to start my Intro to Ballet program on STEEZY.CO- for free!
Now let's get into it.
10 French Terms You Need to Know to Start Learning Ballet.
Number one - Allongé.
In classical ballet, allongé is an adjective
that describes a position that is stretched or made longer.
Allongé is usually used with arabesque,
such as extending your arm-
and leg further before closing into another position.
Think extended, outstretched, elongated.
Two - Port de bras.
This means movement of the arms.
It describes how dancers move their arms from one position to another.
For example, if you move your arms
from first position to fifth position,
that is considered a Port de bras.
Number three - Plié.
Plié is when a dancer is bending at the knees.
Correct use and development of a plié is a basic,
but essential movement to a dancer's technique.
Bonus terms: Demi Plié and Grand Plié.
Demi meaning small plié and grand plié meaning a big plié.
Number four - Relevé.
Relevé means raised.
Think- getting on your tippy toes and lifting your heels.
Number five - Tendu.
Tendu means tight or stretched.
A tendu is one of the fundamental movements in Ballet
when the working leg is extended along the floor
until only the tip of the toe remains touching the floor.
Number six - Dégagé.
Dégagé means disengage.
A dégagé is when you move your leg off the floor
from a position with a pointed foot
and straight leg to the front, side, or back.
It gets its name dégagé,
because this step is a movement, not a position,
where a leg disengages from the other.
Number seven - Rond de Jambe.
Rond de Jambe means "round the leg,"
or "circular movements of the leg."
Number eight - Développé.
Développé means to develop or a developing movement.
It is when you're working leg is drawn up the knee of the supporting leg
and extended to an open position.
Number nine - Pas de Bourrée.
Pas de Bourrée means beating steps.
It's a transitional step that has many different forms
depending on the direction you're moving in,
or if your legs are bent or straight–
like these Pas de Bourrées.
Number 10 - Pirouette.
Pirouette means spin.
It describes when you turn on one leg
with the other off the ground and in a position.
The most common position being in passé,
which is when your foot is pointed on your knee.
Now, I KNOW I only said we were going to learn 10 ballet terms,
but–
I wanted to give you a little bonus,
and the bonus term is Soutenu.
Soutenu means sustained.
It is when you're on Relevé, in fifth position, and turn.
Now, I DON'T expect you to have memorized
ALL those words in the last few minutes,
but now that you know how they're pronounced
and have a reference to what they look like,
you'll be able to recognize the terms
within my Intro to Ballet program.
And don't worry, I'll be demonstrating
and guiding you through EVERY step
of the Intro to Ballet program,
so you have nothing to worry about.
THIS is your sign to get up and start dancing.
I know, Ballet classes at traditional studios
and, even other online platforms, are really difficult.
But– MY Intro to Ballet program is SPECIFICALLY designed for people
who are brand new to learning Ballet.
It's a 25 day program where you learn
the foundations and proper techniques of Ballet.
Each day's classes are specifically laid out for you,
so, there's no guesswork on what you need to do every day in order to progress.
Each day starts with a stretch and warmup,
then, introduces one new concept that you learn in practice.
The next day, we review the previous day's concept and learn one new thing.
Just- one day at a time.
Click the link for the free trial,
and I'll see you in my Intro to Ballet program,
only on the STEEZY Studio.
BRITTANY: And then her leg will extend out here.
Since she doesn't have a barre to hold on to,
she's really staying nice and tall on that supporting side.
She's like a tree, she's not letting her upper body...