2 3 Fun Friday and Flic-Flacs | Ballet Webb

Friday, July 25, 2014

Fun Friday and Flic-Flacs


Fun Friday and Flic-Flacs

What a unique step is the flic-flac turn!  Also called "petits fouettés en tournant", it is usually introduced at the barre, and often as part of a frappé combination, flic-flacs teach several concepts at once.  One is the double lift so necessary in many steps; another is the critical articulation of the foot against the floor.

I have often used the image of marbles to explain how the metatarsal area of the foot “flicks” against the floor:  it should flick the marble sideways into the wall, or sideways into the room depending on whether it is the “flic” or the “flac” part of the movement.

One year an enterprising student gave me a bundle of marbles and we tried using a few to see if the image worked in reality.  It did!  Of course marbles rolling around on a dance floor isn't usually a good thing, but using one or two to demonstrate flic-flacs can help a student achieve the correct sensation.

So try a couple of marbles in flic-flac turns – it’s fun and enlightening!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #20j:  
“Use marbles to illustrate the correct action of the foot in flic-flac turns.”

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