Understanding Ballet Foot Shape: Mastering Tendu and Cou-de-pied Alignment

In this technical guide from Broche Ballet, we explore the nuances of foot shaping, focusing on how to achieve a professional line while maintaining safety. The lesson centers on the three primary foot positions: sickled, straight, and winged. A sickled foot occurs when the toes turn inward, breaking the line of the leg and risking strain.

Conversely, a winged foot extends the line outward, which is often desired in certain aesthetics but requires careful control. The instructor guides you through tendu and dégagé exercises to help you find a strong, straight alignment that supports your weight correctly. One of the most vital takeaways from this session is the placement of the ankle during relevé and sus-sous.

By keeping the ankles forward over the toes, you create a vertical stack that enhances balance and prevents the foot from rolling. This heels forward approach is essential for any dancer looking to improve their stability in center work. We also break down the cou-de-pied position, where the foot necks the ankle.

You will learn to keep the heel forward and the toes back, creating a crisp, clean shape that facilitates faster transitions and more secure turns. Throughout the 11-minute practice, we apply these concepts through movements en croix, ensuring you understand how foot shape changes depending on the direction of the movement. Whether you are working at the barre or practicing your tombé transitions, these alignment principles are the key to a more refined and injury-free practice.

Broche Ballet is dedicated to providing adult dancers with the technical breakdown necessary to succeed, focusing on both the why and the how of every movement. By integrating these foot-shaping techniques into your daily warm-up, you will develop the strength and muscle memory needed for advanced work en pointe and beyond.