A LOOK INTO A BALLET CLASS

by Natalie

A dancer’s bag is an essential item to have. It can carry everything and anything, from stage makeup to toe pads, leg warmers to snacks.

A ballet class doesn’t start immediately with centre work. We usually spend up to half anhour at the barre, doing exercises designed to warm up, stretch and prepare our muscles.These include ballet movements such as plies, tendues and grand battements.

Although there are no male dancers at my studio, maleballet dancers are certainly encouraged, and can becomejust as successful as their female counterparts.

A standard ballet “uniform” includes a dark-coloured bodysuit,creamy or white tights (preferably open-toed tights), and balletslippers. Teachers usually allow different coloured bodysuits.

The exercise shown here involves“coup de pieds,” which, literallytranslated, means “cut of thefoot,” and involves one foot“cutting” across the other.

A group of performing ballet dancers is called the corp (pronounced “corr”) and ismost prominent in ballets such as Swan Lake.

The dancers here are shown standing in fifth position, a turned-out position of the feet.

We are currently studying ballet in the RAD (Royal Academyof Dance) and Imperial methods.