2 3 Technical Tuesday Petit Battement | Ballet Webb

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Technical Tuesday Petit Battement



 
Technical Tuesday Petit Battement

The term “petit battement” means “small beating” or “small battement”. Most dancers learn this early in their training. But the way it is performed varies, depending on the teacher and the school of training.

Basically, a petit battement is a beating of the foot in and out around the supporting leg. The foot can be fully pointed, or not (Cecchetti school). The beats usually go to cou de pied front and back, but sometimes from sur le cou de pied (see today’s Link of the Day). The foot must describe a straight pathway in the air – not a circular one. This is the most difficult part of any beating movement. The supporting leg may be round in shape, but the beating pattern is angular, whether the foot is fully pointed or not.

All beats are angular in pattern, and petit battements are the exercise that trains the dancer to do this effectively. Always think about petit battements this way: beats go in and out, not in and around.
Also, during a petit battement, the working thigh must remain as still as possible, and this is done by rotating the legs in the hip socket (maintaining the turn-out), and engaging the muscles that hold the legs in this position.

Tomorrow I’ll discuss another way of thinking about petit battements using a prop.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Secret #15hh:  
Petit battement means “small beating”.

                Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
““Feel your emotions,
Live true your passions,
Keep still your mind.”
Geoffrey M. Gluckman

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