2 3 Wacky Wednesday Écarté | Ballet Webb

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Wacky Wednesday Écarté


Wacky Wednesday Écarté

Ah, the wonderful eight positions of the body (Cecchetti method).  Today I’m going to discuss ecarté devant.  The term means “thrown apart” or “separated”.  The placement of the head in most of the eight positions involves both a turn and an incline – but not écarté. 

Instead, the head is not inclined as in, say, croisé devant; in écarté devant the head is directly turned and the chin lifted.  This allows the eyes to focus outward and upward, past the fingertips and into space.  The line of the chin should be parallel to the line created by the working arm.  The shoulder line has a slight angle, as well, although the remainder of the torso is straight.

Often performed with a high developpé , an écarté is a beautiful position, often seen in pas de deuxs in ballets like Raymonda, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty.   

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #18d:  
“In an écarté devant, the head is not inclined, but is turned with the chin lifted and the eye focus outward, past the fingers.”

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