Basic Principles of Classical Ballet by Agrippina Vaganova Read Free Book Online Page A

transfers of the foot may be increased, depending on the step for which this movement serves as a preparation.
    For assemblé battu one transfer is sufficient; for entrechat two or more are necessary.
    Speaking of the execution of all classic pas, it must be remembered that they are all done with the toes and arches extended (with the exception of those mentioned above). It must be understood that when we speak of extended toes we also mean extended arches, though we may not mention it every time. One cannot extend one’s toes without also involving the arches in the movement.

    GRANDS BATTEMENTS JETÉS 14
    These are done like battements tendus, but the leg continues the movement and is forcefully thrown out to an angle of 90°.

    10. Grand battement jeté devant
    The body should not make any involuntary movements, any tremblings which are the results of wrong efforts.
    The body will remain quiet if the leg works independently, without involving other muscles in the movement. The inexperienced dancer tends to strain her shoulder, neck and arms. This is wrong. The hand which lies on the barre with the elbow lowered should not change its position. The barre should serve only as a point of support, and the dancer should not grasp it with force.

    11. Grand battement jeté à la seconde
    Only when the grand battement is done backward is it recommended to bend the body forward, because only in this position will the general line remain quiet and the leg work correctly.
    In the exercise of the Italian school, the body is held straight also during the battement backward. But then the leg inevitably bends in the knee joint, and the entire line is restless and broken up.
    In the beginners’ class it is best not to demand an angle over 90° in this battement, so as not to spoil the performance of this movement for the sake of a cheap effect.
    The teacher should hold back even those pupils whose individual build of the leg permits an angle of 135°. The finished dancer with an acquired self-assurance can choose any desired height.

    GRANDS BATTEMENTS JETÉS POINTÉS
    This battement begins with a grand battement jeté, but the foot does not return into the 5th position. The leg, extended at the knee and the instep, is lowered to the floor in the same position which it holds at the extreme point of a battement tendu simple.
    Slightly touching this point with the toe, the foot is raised again and continues the movement, returning to the 5th position only in the last movement. The body, of course, remains in this battement as it was in the preceding.

    12. Grand battement jeté pointé

    GRANDS BATTEMENTS JETÉS BALANCES
    This battement is done in exercises at the barre.
    At the beginning the leg is taken back with the toes pointed. With a sliding movement the leg is thrown out through the 1st position forward to the angle of 90°, and due to the force of the throw, the body bends backward. Then the leg is thrown through the 1st position backward, the body bending forward. The result is a swinging movement forward and backward.
    The body should bend evenly backward as much as forward, the back should remain straight and the shoulders on an even line.
    Beginners should not be satisfied with bending the body only forward and trying to avoid the backward bend, though the latter is more difficult. If they do so, they deprive this exercise of its form and sense.

    13. Grand battement jeté balancé
    In the 2nd position battements jetés balances may be used only in the centre, not at the barre, and it acquires a different form. The leg thrust into 2nd position is supplanted through 5th position by the other leg in 2nd position. As the legs are quickly interchanged, the body bends each time to the side of the supporting leg.

    BATTEMENTS FRAPPÉS
    The starting point of the right leg is in the 2nd position, with the toes pointed. The right foot beats the left one sur le cou-de-pied front and returns to the 2nd position, hitting the floor with the