What You'll Learn
- Mastering the coordination and depth of the fondu to improve leg strength.
- Techniques for scooping the heel in coupé and retiré to maximize hip rotation.
- Maintaining pelvic alignment and standing leg stability during grand pliés.
- Correct core engagement to support a high, stable arabesque line.
- Developing a frog stretch sensation to improve functional turnout.
About This Video
Welcome to this comprehensive 44-minute Technique Barre session at Broche Ballet, designed to refine your technical foundations and enhance your functional turnout. This class focuses deeply on the mechanics of hip opening and core engagement, providing dancers with the tools to find more space and stability in their movement. We begin the session by revisiting the fundamental mechanics of the fondu.
Unlike a standard bend, the fondu—meaning to melt—requires a sophisticated coordination of the standing and working legs. You will learn to maintain a strong, bent standing leg as you draw the foot in, ensuring the standing hip remains pushed forward to create necessary space for the rotating working leg. A significant portion of this class is dedicated to the intricacies of the coupé and retiré positions.
We explore the concept of scooping the heel forward and under while simultaneously pushing the knee back. This dual action is essential for opening the hips and achieving a clean, turned-out line. Whether you are practicing a retiré devant or working through an enveloppé, the focus remains on muscle engagement and pelvic alignment.
The class also incorporates grand pliés, where we emphasize the continuous rotation of the thighs and the maintenance of a vertical spine. We transition into more expansive movements like the arabesque, focusing on how to find height without compromising the integrity of the lower back or the squareness of the hips. Throughout these exercises, our Broche Ballet instructor provides real-time corrections and anatomical feedback to help you internalize these technical nuances.
By the end of this session, you will have a better understanding of how to use your core to support your turnout and how to achieve a frog stretch sensation within your standing exercises to maximize hip mobility. Join us at the barre to elevate your technique and find more freedom in your classical ballet practice.
