2 3 Technical Tuesday Brisé | Ballet Webb

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Technical Tuesday Brisé


Technical Tuesday Brisé

A brisé is a traveling jump, basically a traveling assemblé. In fact, having students do a series of glissade assembles across the floor can be a good preliminary exercise before introducing brises. If the pupil can achieve the assemblé, they will more at ease with the beat and lean of the body in brisé.

The term “brisé” or “pas brisé” means “broken step” in French. And brisés can appear that way due to the beating and landing of the jump. The secret to brisé is the lean of the body toward and over the beating legs – which is counterintuitive but absolutely necessary. The upper body is the same as it is in jetés – with the lean of the upper body being slightly forward and slightly side with a slight contraction in the abdominal muscles. The other secret is that the push from fifth must come from both feet. The body doesn’t want to do that, it usually wants to slide the working foot outward too soon.

Brisés can be performed from one foot, however, with the working foot coming from cou de pied. This is not the most common way, but they can be done this way. Brisés can also be reversed, with the dancer traveling diagonally back and the working leg extending backward instead of forward.

Isn’t ballet fun?!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #15kk:  
“Brisé, or pas brisé, means “broken step”.

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“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” 
 
Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

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