Positions In Ballet
The Different Positions in Ballet
The Five Arm Positions - The five basic arm ballet positions follow. Sometimes a sixth position, the preparation position is taught first and we'll mention it here.
Preparatory Position - Back straight, head high, round the arms in front, slightly away from the body with fingers nearly touching.
Position Number 1 - From the preparatory position, raise the arms until the fingers almost touch the navel.
Position Number 2 - From Position 1, raise arms to the side and lower elbows below the shoulders.
Position Number 3 - Raise one arm above your head, the other arm is rounded so the fingers are at the height of the navel.
Position Number 4 - Bring the raised arm (3rd position) forward, rounded, at the height of the chest, raise the other arm above your head.
Position Number 5 - Start with the arms in Position 1 and raise them over your head, rounding the arms with elbows slightly bent.
These arm positions are normally each practiced with all of the 5 foot positions. Note that in arm positions 3 and 4, the arm you raise is opposite of the forward foot (when combining these arm positions with foot positions 3 and 4).
As you can see there are many combinations of these ballet positions and ballet masters practice these every day from their first lesson until the time they have retired from the ballet, and probably long after that. Learning the positions isn't the hardest part although hard enough, perfecting them can take a lifetime. These are the basics behind everything you will do on the ballet floor. Even the first of the foot positions takes work. Placing the feet heel to heel in a straight line requires the hips to turn out which can be difficult to do when first tried, and the hip turnout must be mastered before hoping to ever perform in a ballet. The fifth foot position is certainly no easier, with the heel of one foot touching the toe of the other.
Combinations - The next step is usually to perform the various combinations of the five foot and arm positions while doing balances on the toes, bending the upper body forwards and backwards, and even while doing knee bends. Now you can begin to see what is behind the dancer launching into one of the classic ballet movements. These exercises generally take grueling hours of work, much of the time working on the bar during class, and after class as well. One can now begin to appreciate the fact that the ballet is not just a graceful dance, which it certainly is, but is also an athletic event of the highest order. Performing the ballet positions and the movements they lead into requires tremendous strength and concentration.
It should be noted at this time that you don't start learning ballet and the various ballet positions dancing en pointe, that is on your toes. That would probably be disastrous. Most performers don't start learning the routines en pointe until they have had a number of years of practice wearing slippers, usually special ballet slippers. Ballet slippers by the way are usually a couple of sizes smaller than those you would wear around the house. The extra snug fit enables you to get the feel of the floor and help you with your balance and movement.
Head Movement And Fluidity - So, where do you go from arms and feet. Probably the head. Start working on your combinations while incorporating slight head movements. It's probably going to be a bit hard to coordinate your movements and also maintain your concentration at first, but that is just another step along the way to be learned. Another thing to practice, and practice hard at, is fluidity, moving from one position to the next with grace and elegance. At this stage you are learning the groundwork for what is eventually going to become your style. You want to do it well, so those you perform in front of will take note (hopefully very positively) of your style. In addition, if you're a guy you'll probably want to eventually begin to learn the famous and spectacular leaps, if you’re a gal, perfecting the dance en pointe is more likely your goal.
Back To The Starting Point - Eventually you'll be working on the Plies, the Glissades, and Arabesques and other classical moves. It is these that the audience has come to see not the basic ballet positions. But the positions are always there, and always must be practiced. In fact most of the time, as far as the feet are concerned it all gets back to Position 1, with heels together and the feet turned out to a straight line. This requires the thigh bones to rotate sideways, a very difficult and unnatural position. Some do it better than others, but all ballet performers to it the best they can and practice doing it faithfully. The other thing to bear in mind is that everything the dancer does, starts with one of the ballet positions. It is starting from these positions that allow the dancer to move in any direction, easily and gracefully. When you take your first lesson, and learn the first position, it will be with you forever.