Degagé

This degagé combination for the barre is nicely accompanied by Gill Civil’s music. I particularly like how it goes with number 10 for petits battements. The track is called All Aboard. This combination could also be done first with tendus at a slower tempo. I like track number 3 called Tightrope Walker for a slower tempo.

When using as a tendu combination, you could change the piqué to this: from point tendu front at count 2, lower ball of foot to work through the metatarsal and quickly lift to point tendu again (&3), brush through 1st to point tendu back on count 4.

5th position

1        Plié in 5th, arm to 5th en avant
2        Degagé front and straighten legs, open arm 2nd
3        Piqué front
4        Brush thru 1st to degagé back
5-8    4 Degagé back closing 5th, arm to arabesque
1-8     Repeat with inside leg
1-8     Repeat side, finishing with foot in 5th back
1-7     En cloche degagé bfbfbfb
8         Close 5th back
1-32  Repeat all from back

Degagé at the barre 2/4 or 4/4

5th position

1-4   4 degagé front closing in 5th front, accent in 5th (arm 5th en haut)
5-8  4 degagé side closing 5th front each time, accent in 5th (arm 2nd position)
1-2   2 degagé front closing 5th front (arm 5th en haut)
3-4   2 degagé side closing 5th front each time (arm 2nd position)
&     Degagé front (arm 2nd position)
5      Cloche thru 1st to degagé back
6      Cloche thru 1st to degagé front
7      Cloche thru 1st to degagé back
8      Close 5th position back
1-16 Repeat all from the back with arm in arabesque instead of 5th en haut

Here is some great music by Gill Civil that works well for this combination.
https://soundcloud.com/rotoruagill/sets/ballet-class-music

 

Tendu A ballet barre combination

Begin 1st position
1        Tendu devant, or front
2        Flex foot at ankle
3        Point foot
4        Turn in 4
5        Turn out
6       Close 5th position plié
7-8    Chassé devant, point tendu inside foot back, close 5th
1-2    Tendu devant, close 5th position
3-4    Petit passé (ankle height) to close back in 5th
4-6    Tendu side close 5th front
7-8    Petit passé to close in 5th back.

1-16   Repeat all from back

1        Tendu a la seconde, or side
2-3    Flex and point tendu side
4-5    Turn in, turn out
6       Close 5th position front in plié
7-8    Chassé away from the barre to the side, close 5th front
1-8    Repeat last 8 counts with inside leg, finishing with chassé toward barre

1-8    Demi plié relevé to cou de pied (foot at front of ankle, not wrapped), balance arms 5th en avant

Infusing Fun into Ballet Barre

Infusing Fun into Ballet Barre Combinations

There are many things that can be considered in order to make ballet barre exercises more interesting and beneficial to your students. In my last post, Anatomy of a Ballet Combination, I did mention that using épaulement (shouldering, meaning arm and head movements) is important to include in combinations at the barre so the dancers don’t look uncomfortable dancing in the center. Since I wrote that post I’ve thought of more things to add that can make your barre combinations really dance!

Switch Things Around

Change feet. It’s easy to get caught in the en croix crutch. One tendu en croix, one degagé en croix, etc. But en croix gets boring, and the pattern doesn’t make the dancer use their minds as well as their bodies. I love combinations that shift weight and change feet. For example, you could do a tendu combination and have the pattern be front, side, (change leg) – inside leg front, (change leg again) – back. Or you could do front, inside leg back, outside leg side, and inside leg side, and then reverse.

Along these same lines, you can work the outside leg and turn the body ¼ away from the barre to work in éffacé devant, or ¼ into the barre for croisé devant. The same is true for working to the back. You can also change directions entirely, moving the body to face the barre at one point in the combination, perhaps moving through promenade in attitude or arabesque, and finishing on the second side where you’re ready to begin everything on that side.

Do Turns at the Barre

One of my favorites was always pirouettes at the barre. At first this is tricky because you’re afraid you’re going to hit your knee on the barre, so it may be helpful to begin with the foot on the ankle or calf rather than at the knee at first. Becoming comfortable doing pirouettes at the barre makes doing them in the center infinitely easier. It’s like having a permanent partner right there; one that you know will be there when you come around at the end of the turn. You can add pirouettes to practically any barre exercise, but I think it makes more sense to do this toward the middle to end of barre rather than at the very beginning.

Fouetté turns are commonly done at the barre during rond de jambe en l’air exercises. You can also do pirouettes en dehors or en dedans during degagés, rond de jambe, frappé, or grand battement. Flic flacs are great for adding turns during frappé. And in pointe class, doing turns at the barre really helps build a dancer’s confidence before moving into the center.

Vary the ways you turn to the second side

One last thought and I’ll close this post. If you’re short on time and want to move from one side of the barre to the next without stopping in between sides, there are tons of ways to make the transition to the other side more fun. You can do tombé pas de bourrée to 5th position away from the barre and still facing the side you were working on, then detourné ½ turn toward the back leg, and tombé pas de bourrée to 5th position on the other side to finish at the barre, ready to begin the second side.

And another plug for my new book! Classical Ballet: Combinations for Ten Complete Advanced Classes.