What You'll Learn
- Internal sensory techniques to improve balance using eyes-closed drills
- How to maintain long, stable hips and active turnout without barre support
- Proprioception exercises involving arm variations and leg lifts to challenge stability
- Refining weight placement during center tendu, rond de jambe, and fondu
- Engagement strategies for the core to maintain control in adagio movements
About This Video
In this specialized 13-minute session from Broche Ballet, we transition away from the barre to focus on the core of your technique: center stability. Balancing in the center is one of the most challenging aspects of classical dance, requiring a sophisticated blend of physical strength and proprioception—the body’s innate ability to sense its position in space. This class is designed to push your boundaries by introducing drills that challenge your equilibrium in unconventional ways.
Throughout the lesson, your instructor will guide you through a series of exercises including tendu, rond de jambe, and fondu. The focus remains on keeping the hips long and stable while maintaining active turnout. To heighten your sensory awareness, we incorporate specific proprioception drills, such as crossing the arms across the chest or lifting one leg into a retiré or low fifth position. These variations force the body to find stability through the core rather than relying on the arms for counter-balance.
A key highlight of this class is the practice of balancing with eyes closed. By removing visual reference points, you are encouraged to tune into internal sensations, feeling the weight distribution through your standing foot and the engagement of your supporting muscles. We also explore the importance of turnout in the center, working through adagio movements where a straight, turned-out leg is essential for a secure posture.
Whether you are tapping your foot front, side, and back to test your weight placement or flexing the back foot during a fondu to add a layer of difficulty, these drills are designed to build confidence. By the end of this Broche Ballet class, you will have developed a sharper sense of your center of gravity, allowing for more fluid and controlled movements in any center combination.
