What You'll Learn
- The mechanics of chaînés turns: why you must turn before you step.
- How to use a yoga block to improve alignment and prevent stepping across the midline.
- The technical distinctions between a chaînés turn and a soutenu turn.
- Maintaining core control and musicality during center port de bras and combinations.
About This Video
Welcome to a focused 20-minute beginner center practice with Broche Ballet. This session is designed specifically for adult beginners who are ready to take their skills away from the barre and into the center of the room. Led by Julie, this class emphasizes the technical foundations of balance, alignment, and the mechanics of rotation.
A major highlight of this lesson is the deep dive into chaînés turns. Many beginner dancers find traveling turns intimidating, often attempting to step out before their body is ready to rotate. Julie provides a breakthrough perspective: the importance of turning first and then stepping.
By focusing on rotating the body before placing the foot down in first position, you will find more stability and consistency in your turns. This 'turn-then-step' approach is the secret to mastering the momentum required for professional-looking chaînés. To refine your form, we incorporate the use of a yoga block as a training tool.
This helps dancers maintain proper alignment and prevents the common mistake of stepping across the feet, which can lead to loss of balance. You will learn to distinguish between the mechanics of a chaînés turn and a soutenu turn, understanding how weight placement and rotation differ between the two movements. Throughout the 20-minute class, you will practice various combinations that integrate plié, relevé, and bras bas positions.
Each sequence is designed to build your muscle memory and improve your musicality. Julie also focuses on allongé movements to help you find length and grace in your upper body while your legs perform technical work. By the end of this session, which concludes with a traditional révérence, you will have a clearer understanding of how to control your center.
Whether you have a dedicated home studio or a small living room space, these exercises are adaptable and effective for improving your foundational ballet technique. Join Broche Ballet today to master your center work.
