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8
SPA – Dance 8
Quarter 1 – Module 2:
Characteristics of Classical Ballet
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into consideration
their needs and circumstances.
In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of
the module:
As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to
manage their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist
the learners as they do the tasks included in the module.
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities
for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be
enabled to process the contents of the learning resource while being an active
learner.
This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:
What I Need to Know This will give you an idea of the skills or
competencies you are expected to learn in
the module.
1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part
of the module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other
activities included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your
answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with
it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you
are not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning
and gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!
What I Need to Know
This module was designed and written for you to identify the characteristics
of classical ballet. You will learn the turnout, alignment, and port de bras which
are fundamental characteristics of ballet. It is important for you as ballet dancers
to keep these positions in check while you are dancing ballet. Other important
aspects include posture, toe pointing, and correct body positions, lines, and angles
basic movements. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many different
learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of
students.The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course.
But the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the
textbook you are now using.
• Lesson 1 – Characteristics
What I Know
Direction: Read the questions carefully. Choose the letter of the correct answer.
Use a separate sheet.
_____1. If you’re talking about “turn out” what are referring to?
a. To outward turn of the hips
b. How quickly you can turn
c. How far out you can spend your legs while jumping.
_____2. Por de bras is…
a. Carriage of the arms
b. Rotation from the hips
c. Positions of the feet
_____3. An important part of body mechanics that describes the position of a
person’s body while performing a task is ___.
a. Posture
b. Balance
c. Alignment
_____4. Turn-out measure ability of the dancers to his/her feet and legs from
what part of the body?
a. Waist
b. Knees
c. Hips
_____5. When lifting with proper posture, all of these body parts should be in
line except for___
a. Elbows
b. Back
c. Head
______6. This part of the body is used to maintain turn out
a. Patella (knees)
b. Hips
c. Metatarsals (toes)
______7. What is a pointe shoe
a. Really pointy shoe that spelled wired
b. Special shoe th a foundation at allows ballerinas to dance on their
toes
c. A ballet slipper
______8. Known as the external rotation which considered the foundation
technique in ballet.
a. Port de bras
b. Turn out
c. Alignment
______9. Who invented an early version of pointe shoe in 1795
a. Marie Camargo
b. Charles Didelot
c. Ana Pavolva
______10. What makes a pointe shoe hard?
a. Cardboard
b. Paper mache
c. Wood
Lesson
1 Characteristics of Classical
Ballet
Classical ballet emphasizes fluid, graceful movements and long lines, along with
strict adherence to correct form and technique, especially turn-out of the legs.
There’s also a focus on narrative and storytelling achieved through dramatic
visuals and complex choreography. Technique is important to exhibit ballon. It is
important for a dancer to have good technique before progressing onto pointe work.
What’s In
Direction: Arrange the scrambled letters to form a correct word using the clue.
What’s New
Directions: Write the word TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if it is
wrong. Write your answer on a separate sheet.
What is It
A. TURNOUT
As a beginning dancer, the angle of your turnout should be at natural
turnout, which is about 90 degrees, or 45 degrees for each leg. As you practice
turnout, your legs and feet gain muscle memory to stand, move, and stop while
continuing to maintain the turnout in various positions.
Turnout is one of the defining characteristics of classical ballet and the
foundation of your technique, but the deceptively simple concept of external
rotation can be hard to execute. For those born with hip joints that don't naturally
make a tight fifth position, it's tempting to take shortcuts in the quest for more
rotation, but you'll end up with weaker technique and a higher risk of injury.
Turnout extends from the hip joint through the upper and lower leg and the foot.
Muscles of the upper and lower legs and the abdominal muscles are essential to
attaining and controlling turnout.
Lie on your back with legs in the air and feet flexed. Rotate from parallel into first
position and back again, seeing how the upper leg rotates and the feet follow. Feel
the muscles at the backs of your legs—where the elastic of your leotard's leg seam
is—and your inner thighs engaging to make the rotation happen. Notice how you
can turn out without using your bigger gluteal muscles.
Lie on your side with your back and feet flat against a wall, both knees bent and
the legs stacked. Open your top knee as far as you can. Hold this position
before slowly bringing your knee down. Repeat until the point of fatigue and
switch sides.
Still lying with your back against a wall, bend your bottom leg with your foot flat
against the wall and straighten your top leg. Turn out the top leg and lift it
slightly (like a small dégagé), keeping it firmly pressed against the wall.
Progressively lift your leg an inch or two higher at a time, holding at each level
for 1–2 seconds. Go as high as you can go without losing contact with the wall.
Lower slowly with control, maintaining the turnout you achieved on the way up.
"Holding your placement against the wall going both up and down is key for
pelvic alignment," says Apple. Start with 6 reps per side, aiming for quality over
quantity.
Spending hours each day in turnout causes the external rotators to shorten,
tighten and work less effectively, Sandow says. To maximize your potential
turnout, balance stretches (like the figure four stretch and pigeon pose above)
with strength work and spend time not turned out. "If you're and rehearsing all
day, walking turned out just leads to chronic overuse of those muscles," she
says. "Plus, you're unnecessarily stressing taking class the ankle ligaments and
tendons."
B. ALIGNMENT
Having proper alignment means having good posture that integrates the
dancer's body as a whole—head, torso, arms, and legs. Alignment is both a
static and a dynamic movement principle, which means it applies when holding
a pose (static) and while the body moves through space (dynamic). Dancers
adjust body alignment quickly and with control during exercises and
combinations. Once one part the body is out of alignment, other parts
compensate, causing misalignment and possible injury. When the body is not
aligned it affects all major joints. Learning and practicing good alignment are
critical to correct dancing and benefit you both inside and out of class.
Stance
When you stand or move, the weight of your body is either on both feet or
one foot. In classical ballet stance, the weight on both feet should be equally
distributed over the foot triangle. Stance has an obvious connection to
alignment. Weight distribution and weight transfer interact directly with stance.
Properly lifting the body involves pulling the body forward as well as upward.
Correct lift (pull-up) involves a constant mental awareness of the feet, calves,
thighs, buttocks and abdominals.
C. PORT DE BRAS
The goal is to achieve movement that appears both natural and easy,
while being pure (not extra “flowery”) and fluid. It is important not to disturb the
shoulders or torso while moving the arms. Moving from Preparatory position to
1st position, the hands and arms should feel as if they are “gathering up” large
round baskets. Neither the hands nor the elbows should be allowed to drag
behind, but must be lifted together while the elbows deepen their bend to create
the circular shape of 1st position, coming from the more elongated oval shape of
Preparatory position. The eyes should be cast into the palm of the downstage
hand while the top of the head inclines slightly over the upstage shoulder.
As the arms continue their trajectory up from 1st position to 3rd position,
the elbows again elongate to create an oval shape. During this portion of the
First Port de Bras, the shoulders must be actively kept in place so that they do
not ride up in the arms, causing a closing-off and shortening of the neck.
Meanwhile, there must also be energy devoted to keeping the elbows open as
they will otherwise tend to close inward slightly, causing a collapsed-oval look
and angularity of the elbow joint, both of which should be avoided. The focus of
the eyes remains in the palm of the downstage hand while the chin gradually
and slightly lifts, the head straightening on the neck. One must be careful not
to lift the chin too high as this causes the dancer’s face to be largely lost to the
audience who will then see mostly neck and chin.
From 3rd position, the arms open to 2nd position with a very slight initiation
from the fingers. The hands gradually turn into their correct placement for 2nd
position while the elbows maintain their elongated gentle curve. The focus
follows the downstage hand with the chin turning all the way to the downstage
shoulder.
Stand with your body in croise (angled an eight turn from front). If the arms
are in preparatory to begin, they will rise together to a circular First Position
across from your diaphragm. The eyes follow the palm of the downstage hand
(that one which is closest to the audience or front) as the head inclines slightly
over the upstage shoulder (that one which is furthest from the front).
From this point, they part ways. The upstage arm rises overhead to Third
Position while the downstage arm opens to Second Position. During this
movement the eyes follow the downstage hand towards the front.
D. POSTURE
Good Ballet posture is vital to the success of the dance. The quickest
thing that will give away the newbie is poor posture. And the fastest thing that
will make you look and feel like a Ballet dancer is to make some minor but
important posture adjustments.
But also, of course, if your Ballet posture is poor, when you dance the steps, not
only with they not look right, but you run the risk of injury, too. This is because
adopting the proper posture is designed to protect the joints and muscles, by
ensuring they are positioned in a way that gives them maximum strength and
range.So it's not just about how you look, it's also about how well you will be
able to dance.
One of the first things a ballerina dancer learns is how to properly hold her
body. One of the distinguishing factors of a ballet dancer is outstanding
posture, while dancing or not. You can find your center of balance by imagining
a straight line running through the back of your spine. Having good posture as
a ballet dancer is necessary for balance and proper functional movements in
dance. Furthermore, having strength and flexibility allows dancers to perform at
peak levels.
E. TOE POINTING
Ballet Pointe Technique
Pointe technique is one of the most iconic elements of ballet. The inspiration
for pointe technique is the wish that ballet dancer appears weightless,
lightfooted and graceful while jumping and looks lightweight like defying gravity.
Ballet dancer must have great strength and good technique to be able to do
pointe work, so a lot of practice is required. Dancers have to dance for a few
years before they can start practice pointe technique. At the age of 8 to 14 years
old foot bones begin to harden, so pointe technique should not be practiced
before that age to avoid deformed feet. Before 11 years of age bones in the feet
are too soft. So young ballet dancers do not begin with pointe technique too
early.
Before starting using this technique, ballet dancer has to have straight,
balance, turnout and good pull up of the legs. Strength in legs, feet and ankles
is developed on the barre, which is a stationary handrail that provides support
for ballet dancers during warm up exercises.
Dancing with pointe technique can cause injuries by the lack of cushion, no
fitting pointe shoes, lack of accessories and overall improper use of the
technique. To prevent injuries like blisters, calluses, ingrown nails and bruises
ballet dancers wrap tape around the toes and use accessories like gel toe
spacers. Pointe shoes are made with the specific structural reinforcement. In
this way, dancer’s weight is distributed throughout the shoes and foot, and the
weight is reduced on the toes. The foot is placed with toes perpendicular to the
floor, and the instep of the foot is fully stretched. The flattened tip of the pointe
shoe is called toe box. The perfect pointe technique can be seen visually by
ballet dancer’s alignment. When you view the ballet dancer from the side, you
can imagine the line passes through the center of the hips through the toes.
revelé – toe boxes remain in contact with the floor, and ballet dancer rises
slowly rotating the feet downward and then upward until reaching fully
extended vertical feet, and it is used for adages
sauté – the feet in shortly in the air and the ballet dancer springs up and
lands en pointe, and it is used for allegros
piqué – one foot is raised from the floor and the ballet dancer goes with
another foot directly in the fully extended vertical foot, and it is used for
adages
Body Positions
In ballet, there are eight (8) body positions that dancers must know and are
executed prior to any other steps. The 8 body positions in ballet are common
and used in every ballet school. Here are the 8 positions in order:
1. Croisé Devant
2. Quatrième Devant
QuatrièmeDevant is where the dancer faces the audience with the working leg
extended in the fourth position. The working leg is pointing on tendú to the
front with the arms in second position and head facing the audience.
3. Effacé Devant
EffacéDevant is when the dancer stands angled to the audience, facing a corner.
From this position, part of the dancer’s body is hidden. The leg further from the
audience is the working leg and extended in the fourth position. The working leg
is pointing on tendú to the front. In this position, the dancer’s arms are places
in fourth position with the lower arm on the same side as the extended leg.
4. à la Seconde
à la Seconde is when the dancer is facing the audience with the working leg
extended in the second position. The working leg will be pointing on tendú to
the side with the arms in second position, and the dancer’s head facing the
audience.
5. Croisé Derriere
6. Ecarté
Ecarté is when the dancer is facing any corner, and the leg closer to the
audience becomes the working leg. The working leg will be extended in second
position, pointing to the side on tendú. The dancer’s arms will be open in the
fourth position so the highest arm is on the same side as the extended leg. The
dancer’s head will be slightly raised, turned to the raised arm with the eyes
looking at the hand of the raised arm.
7. Epaulé
Epaulé is when the dancer stands at an oblique angle to the audience. While at
this angle, the dancer will be standing in arabesque facing a corner. The
working leg is the one closest to the audience. The dancer’s working leg will
extended to the back in fourth position, and the arm closes to the audience will
be extended to the front, and the head will be raised and turned slightly towards
the audience.
8. Quatrième Derrière
Quatrième Derrière is when the dancer faces the audience with the working leg
extended to the fourth position. The working leg in fourth position will be
pointing on tendú to the back, and the arms will be in second position, while
the head faces the audience.
Lines
Is a classical ballet term that describes the outline of a dancer’s
complete body while performing steps or poses. Striving for a “good line” is very
essential to the success of a professional dancer or advanced student.
A dancer who is likely thinking of their line as they dance, for example, is not
just thinking about the first leg being thrown in a grande jeté, but the slight tilt
of their head over a second arabesque arm while also thinking that their back
hip can’t open too much into a “seca-besque.” If this dancer then had almost
every piece of their body in place while in the jeté(not just the points listed
above), he or she would then have accomplished a good line.
When speaking generally about a dancer’s line, it is meant that you are
speaking about the complete look, from toes to top of the head and everything
in between. When speaking specifically about “the line of the foot,” you are then
speaking specifically about the connection and shape between multiple key
points of placement for the toes, ankle, shape of the foot and its relation to the
calf.
What’s More
Direction: Complete each statement with correct word. Choose your answer
from the box below. Write in a separate sheet.
Shoulders Torso
Neck Feet
Knees Hips
Legs Center
Chin Chest
1. Your weight should be distributed between both ______. Keep all ten toes on
the floor. Do not allow the ankles to roll inward or outward.
2. Your ______ should be directly over your toes.
3. Turn your ______ out at the hips. Keep your knees straight.
4. Align your hips with the ______ of your feet.
5. Pull your ______ down, keeping them wide and flat.
6. Hold your ______slightly forward.
7. Lift your ______. Do not allow your ribs to stick out.
8. Relax your ______, holding your _____ up.
What I Can Do
___________1. the working leg in fourth position will be pointing on tendú to the
back, and the arms will be in second position, while the head
faces the audience.
___________2. the dancer is facing any corner, and the leg closer to the
audience becomes the working leg.
___________3. dancer is facing a corner at an angle to the audience.
___________4. when the dancer is facing the audience with the working leg
extended in the second position.
___________5. dancer stands at an oblique angle to the audience.
___________6. the dancer stands facing a corner at an angle to the audience.
___________7. the dancer stands angled to the audience, facing a corner.
___________8. the working leg is pointing on tendú to the front with the arms in
second position and head facing the audience.
Direction: Read the questions carefully. Choose the letter of the correct answer.
Use a separate sheet.
_____1. If you’re talking about “turn out” what are referring to?
d. To outward turn of the hips
e. How quickly you can turn
f. How far out you can spend your legs while jumping.
_____2. Por de bras is…
d. Carriage of the arms
e. Rotation from the hips
f. Positions of the feet
_____3. An important part of body mechanics that describes the position of a
person’s body while performing a task is ___.
d. Posture
e. Balance
f. Alignment
g.
_____4. Turn-out measure ability of the dancers to his/her feet and legs from
what part of the body?
d. Waist
e. Knees
f. Hips
_____5. When lifting with proper posture, all of these body parts should be in
line except for___
d. Elbows
e. Back
f. Head
______6. This part of the body is used to maintain turn out
d. Patella (knees)
e. Hips
f. Metatarsals (toes)
______7. What is a pointe shoe
d. Really pointy shoe that spelled wired
e. Special shoe th a foundation at allows ballerinas to dance on their
toes
f. A ballet slipper
______8. Known as the external rotation which considered the foundation
technique in ballet.
d. Port de bras
e. Turn out
f. Alignment
______9. Who invented an early version of pointe shoe in 1795
d. Marie Camargo
e. Charles Didelot
f. Ana Pavolva
______10. What makes a pointe shoe hard?
d. Cardboard
e. Paper mache
f. Wood
Answer Key
What I Know
1. a
2. a
3. c
4. c
5. a
6. b
7. b
8. b
9. b
10. b
LESSON 1
What’s In
1. Ana Pavolva
2. Alignment
3. Good Posture
4. Line
5. Port de bras
What’s New
1. False
2. True
3. True
4. False
5. True
What’s More
1. feet
2. knees
3. hips
4. legs
5. center
6. shoulders
7. torso
8. chest
9. neck
10. chin
What I Can Do
Performance based through video recording.
Assessment
1. a
2. a
3. c
4. c
5. a
6. b
7. b
8. b
9. b
10. b
References
BOOKS
2. Fligorio5thballet.weebly.com
3. Getballetbox.com/8-body
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