French Ballet Terms

Pirouetting furiously to an orchestra performing Tchaikovsky under hot fluorescent spotlights is anything but easy. Nor are the long work days with up to eight hours of technique and rehearsal, not to mention evening and weekend recitals. Eight to ten years of intense training, often compared with the rigorous preparation necessary for any Olympic hopeful, precede any kind of professional ballet career. But there is more to classical ballet training than learning balance, flexibility, and endurance. Regardless of nationality or ethnicity, a dancer's education begins with French vocabulary lessons.

Nearly every ballet term used by dancers and choreographers around the world originated in French, the universal language of ballet. While the art of ballet developed in 15th century Italy, it was France that cultivated it into international phenomenon. By establishing the first ballet academy, French dancers were able to christen each position and step with a French ballet term.

The need to acquire a foreign language to keep up in a ballet class puts some students at a disadvantage. However, a little time spent with an online ballet term tutorial will make that first lesson much less intimidating. Ballet Academy.com gives an easy-to-understand definition for each French ballet term. Included in the dictionary are ballet terms coupe jete en tournant (a complicated jump sequence), and chasse (a series of steps in which one foot chases the other). ABT, the American Ballet Theater, provides a visual dictionary that matches each ballet term with a photograph or video clip. This resources allows the student to actually see the graceful movements of the ballet terms coupe de jete en tournant and chasse inspire.

Once the basic positions and steps are familiar, test this new knowledge with a ballet term quiz from the Perfoming Asrt Centre website. Then practice responding to a ballet term with the movement it calls for. “Take A Master Class with David Howard,” a 90-min ballet class DVD, is available for purchase at Dancer.com for $17.99. Also a challenging workout, the New York City Ballet Workout is an easy to follow introduction to this classical fitness regime. Each French ballet term used on this DVD is explained in the special features ballet term glossary.

The next level of exploration comes when the blossoming ballerina is ready to open the yellow pages or review the local community college's upcoming P.E. courses. Finally at the barre, an unfamiliar ballet term will tickle the ear every now and then. Don't freak out! Just follow along with the rest of the corps. No one will ever notice. The occasional confusion is completely worth the excellent posture, graceful mannerisms, and muscle development cultivated by ballet training. It's anything but easy. But is anything worth accomplishing ever easy?


Sources:
“Ballet.” Wikipedia. 27 June 2007. 28 June 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet.
Ballet Dictionary. American Ballet Theatre. 28 June 2007. http://www.abt.org/education/dictionary/index.html .
Ballet Terminology Quiz No. 1. Performing Arts Centre. 28 June 2007. http://www.performingartscentre.net/FunStuff/bquiz _1.htm.
Dictionary of French Ballet Terms. North Virginia Ballet School. 1999-2007. M3Company, Inc. 28 June 2007. http://www.ballet-academy.com/dictionary_cd.htm.How Would I Become a Professional Ballet Dancer? BalletMet Columbus. 28 June 2007. http://www.balletmet.org/EDUCATIO/Life.html.
Sight & Sound – NYCB Workout Video/DVD. New York City Ballet. 1998-2006. 28 June 2007. http://www.nycballet.com/nycballet/workout.asp.
Training Aids. Gaynor Minden. 2007. 28 June 2007. http://www.dancer.com/store/video.php.