made my first essay under the eye of my father

Whilst he extemporised on the pianoforte, I en-deavoured to follow his musical intentions, and to

form

pas de deux, de trois.,

which

I afterwards performed in the operas Raphael, Achille, Debutade,

&c. These essays were so fortunate as to

meet

with general approbation.

58

CHAPTER

X.

FiEST ExEBCiSEs.

Temps

^:

THE Lesson

: Gait.

Elementary Positions.

In the first position the legs are quite straight, the twoheelsclose to eachother,the feetturned com-pletelyout in a straight line (figure 1, Platei.)

Inthe secondposition th^ legs are

more

apart but only

by

the length ofthe foot (figure 2,Plateii.)

Inthethird position the feet halfcrosseach other

and

are closetogether (figure 3,Platei.)

The

fourthpositionis verysimilar tothethird,with this difference, that the feet half cross each other without touching (figure 1, Plateii.)

In the fifth position the feet cross each other entirely (figure 4, Platei.)

In allthesepositions the knees

must

be bent with-out raising theheels in the least fromtheground

;

butto giveflexibility

and

strength to the instep the positionshould be oftenpractisedon thetoes, (figure 5, Plate i.,

and

figure 3, Plateii.)

Battements.

A

battement consists ofthe

movement

ofone leg in the air,whilstthe other supports the body.

They

are ofthreekinds, viz.,grandsbattements,petitsbattements,

and

battementson theinstep.

Grands battements are done

by

detaching one leg

THEORY OP THEATKICAL DANCING. 59

from

the other

and

raisuigittothe height ofthehip, extending it to the utmost. (See^figure 5, Plateii.,

which

shows also the

manner

in which a beginner

must

hold himself.) After the performance of the battement, the leg falls again into the fifth position.

They may

be crossedeither behindor before.

Grands

battements enable adancertoturn herlegscompletely outwards,

and

give

much

facilitytothemotionsofher thighs, for the high evolutions

and

the execution of grands temps.

Grands

battements are

made

both forwards

and

backwards^:

when

theyaredoneforwards the leg

must

bein thepositions

shown

in figure 1

&

2 ofPlate iv:

when

backwards, its positions

must

be thatof figure 3, Plate iv.

Petits battements are performedin the

same

way, but instead of raising the leg into the air

you

only detach ita little from the other 'leg, withoutletting your toesleave the ground. These battements

make

the legsvery lithsome, because the pupil is obliged to

make

these

movements

veryquickly.

Petits battements

on

the instep. It isthe hip

and

knee that prepare

and

form these

movements;

the hip guides the thighin itsopenings,

and

the knee

by

its flexionperforms the battemerds,

making

the lower partoftheleg cross either before or behindthe other leg,

which

restson the ground. Supposethat

you

are standing

on

your left foot, withyourright leg in the secondposition,

and

the right foot just touching the ground at the toe; cross before theleft,

by

bending your knee

and

opening again sideways,then bend the knee again, crossing your foot behind, opening also sideways;

and

so continuetodoseve^lofthese

batte-ments

one after the other. Gradually increase in

60

THEOEY

OP THEATEICAL DANCING.

quickness, till

you

can perform

them

so rapidly that the eye cannot count them. These battements have a very prettyeffect,

and

give

much

brilliancy to the motions ofthelegs.

They

should alsobe practised a greatdeal withboth legsresting

on

thetoes.

Bonds

dejamhes.

To

beginyour rondde

jambeivom

theoutsidetakethe

same

position as that in

which you commence

your

petits battements. Supposeitistheleftlegthat stands

on

the groundwhilsttheright inthe second position ispreparedforthe

movement

;

make

itdescribea semi-circle backwards, which brings your legs to thefirst position,

and

then continue

on

the s\^eep till it

completes thewhole circle, ending at the placefrom

whence

itstarted. This is

what we

technicallyterm

rond

dejambe.

The

ronddejamhefrom the insideis

begun

in the

same

position,but therightleg,insteadof

commencing

thecirclebackwards,

must

do soforwards. Afterthe pupil has practisedthe ronds dejambe onthe ground, she should exerciseherselfin performing

them

inthe

air,keepingthelegthatsupportsherbodyonthetoes.

The

pupil in her first exercises ought to resther

hand on

somethingthat she

may

keepherselfupright,

and

exercise each leg alternately.

When

she has acquired

some

facilityinthis, let herpractise without holding; this gives her uprightness

and

equilibrium, essential qualities in a good dancer.

She

will also thereby gain strength and the

means

of executing with ease every kind of step. She

must

repeat this practice daily togainproficiency.

For

wereshegifted

THEOEy

OF THEATRICAL DANCING. 61 with therarest talent she could never

become

perfect but

by

incessant application

and

study.

In document THE THEORY OF THEATRICAL DANCING (Page 77-81)