Ballet as a Project

In ESL class, the students are allowed to choose a topic they would love to talk about. We should learn about it and put it into a project. I chose ballet as a topic because I think movements in ballet are really pretty and I want to know more about it. The ballerina is my inspiration because they look graceful when they dance. I limit my research to only the basic movements which are the legs and the arms.

In these 10 weeks I will do a trial of some of the ballet basic movement that covers the legs and arms. At last, I will video my effort and submit it to my teacher. If it is good enough, I will post it in my blog.

Some of the legs movements that I will try to learn:

First position:

Stand up with your feet together. Make your heels touch. Your left toes will face toward the left, and your right toes will face toward the right. Your feet nearly form a straight line except your toes point ever-so-slightly forward.

Second position:

From first position, transfer your weight to your left leg and slide your right foot sideways along the floor. Your right foot should remain turned out during this motion — that is, your right heel should stay forward, just as in first position.



Third position:

 One foot is in front of the other with the of the front foot touching the middle of the back foot.


Fourth Position:

Go to the first position. Set one foot to the toe of the other foot, so the legs are crossed. Set a foot apart from each leg.

Fifth Position:

From forth position, draw the legs close to each other. 

There are also a lot of glossary of ballet that I should know such as: Arabesque, Fouetté en Tournant and Grand Jete.

Arabesque

One of the basic poses in ballet, arabesque takes its name from a form of Moorish ornament. In ballet it is a position of the body, in profile, supported on one leg, which can be straight or demi-plié, with the other leg extended behind and at right angles to it, and the arms held in various harmonious positions creating the longest possible line from the fingertips to the toes. The shoulders must be held square to the line of direction.

Fouetté en Tournant

Fouetté en Tounant means turning. This fouetté may be done on demi-pointe, on point or with a jump. It is usually done en dedans and may be finished in attitude croisée, attitude effacée or any of the arabesques. 

Grand Jete

A long horizontal jump, usually forward, starting from one leg and landing on the other. In the middle of the jump, the dancer may be doing a split in midair. One of the most memorable of all ballet jumps; the dancer seems to float in the air, as a result of the shift of his center of gravity from the split.