What You'll Learn
- Fundamental barre exercises including plié, tendu, and grand battement
- How to maintain turnout when transitioning from a passé position to a grand battement
- The 'femur drop' technique to achieve higher leg extensions without hip gripping
- Proper foot alignment to ensure the heel stays forward during side movements
- Correction of common mistakes in grand battement execution to improve form
About This Video
Refine your foundations with this detailed 40-minute Beginner Ballet Barre class from Broche Ballet. This session is meticulously designed to help dancers understand the mechanics of turnout and leg extension, providing close-up views of footwork to ensure every movement is executed with precision. Whether you are just starting your journey or looking to polish your technique, this practice session offers invaluable insights into the fundamental movements that define ballet.
The class begins with essential warming exercises, including the plié and tendu, setting the stage for more complex movements. The instructor emphasizes the importance of alignment from the very first exercise, guiding you through the coup-de-pied and passé positions with a focus on stability and grace. One of the highlights of this lesson is the deep dive into the grand battement.
Many students struggle with maintaining turnout as the leg lifts, often allowing the hip to flip or the knee to rotate forward. You will learn specific cues to keep the bottom of the foot facing forward and the knee moving back, ensuring a clean and technically sound line. A key technical takeaway from this session involves the placement of the femur bone within the hip socket.
To achieve height in your grand battement without compromising your form, the instructor demonstrates how to drop the femur bone down, allowing for a freer range of motion. This approach resists the urge to use the outer leg muscles to grip the leg up, leading to a more fluid and effortless aesthetic. Throughout the class, you will also work on positions such as arabesque and movements like the cambré and développé, ensuring that your transitions remain seamless.
By the end of this 40-minute practice, you will have a better grasp of how to manage your weight at the barre and how to execute powerful movements with elegance. Join us at Broche Ballet and take the next step in your dance education by mastering these critical beginner techniques.
