Abby: Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 4 of ‘Abby’s Dance Class’. The series where we learn about all things dance! So beginners, in-betweeners, professionals, you’re all welcome here.Today, we will be completing our ballet unit by learning three more ballet terms, sur le cou-de-pied, passe, and pique turns. So throw on something you can dance in, it doesn’t matter what and let’s get dancing!
Abby Voice Over: First, let’s learn what a sur le cou-de-pied is. This term means “on the ‘neck’ of the foot” The position of sur le cou-de-pied is when the working foot is placed on the standing leg between the base of the calf muscle and the top of the ankle. Make sure your foot is pointed and turned out. Make sure your foot is just gently wrapping around the ankle. I’ll show you just one more time. This is your sur le cou-de-pied!
Now that we’ve learned how to do our sur le cou-de-pied, let’s move on to our passe! We will learn our passe in first position. Passé means “passed”. This is because one leg, your working foot, passes the standing leg, sliding up the leg and close to the knee. The leg ends up in a bent position, with the foot positioned right above the standing leg’s kneecap, making a triangle shape. Point those toes and squeeze those leg muscles. You want to be sure both legs, but especially your working leg, is turned out. This position ends with the working leg sliding back down the standing leg and back into first position. This is Passe!
The last step we’ll learn today is called a pique. Pique means “to prick” or “pricking”. It is meant to describe how a dancer transfers weight onto a leg onto high Demi pointe. This step is a traveling step in which your foot is in passé. First, let’s practice this one by going over arms first. You’ll start with your arms in first position and then you will open to second position, then once you are facing the back, you will close to arms first and land with your arms like this. For our feet, you want the standing leg to always be under you. You’ll want your weight to be on your standing foot. Remember that class when I talked about thinking of yourself as an animal on a carousel ride with a rod going right through you? We are going to think of this again when we pique. Tighten that core, strengthen that standing leg and put your weight on balls of your foot to balance well.
Now to do a pique turn we need to learn how to spot. Spotting is a technique involving the head and eyes that help keep a dancer oriented and aware of the movement, direction and location in space during the turns. For example, I will make something on the wall my focal point and I will spot this focal point in my turn. I’ll look at this focal point until I can’t look at it any more and then snap my head around the other shoulder to find my spot again. And I continue to rotate the rest of my body until it catches up with my head. Now let’s watch it full speed. This is a pique turn.
Abby: Now the challenge is doing sur le co de pied and passes at the barre and then do pique turns in the center? I think you’re up to it. Let’s do it! First we’ll practice our sur le co de pied’s doing it from a tendu in each direction and then we’ll practice our passe’s at the barre. And then we’ll move to the center and practice our piques first then we’ll move into our pique turns. Got it?
[Pause! Take a moment to grab a sip of water and set up your chair. To start, put the back of your chair to the right of you. Mirror me!]
Abby Voice Over: Alright everyone, follow along with me. First we’ll tendu to the front. We’ll tendu one, close two, sur le co de pied and close first. We tendu front again, close first. We slide up to passe, hold, slide back down to first. We tendu side, close first, sur le cou de pied, hold, close to first. Tendu side again, close first, and passe, squeeze, and slide into first position. We tendu back, close first, we sur le cou de pied, turn out that foot, close first. We tendu back, last one, passe squeeze that leg, turn out that knee, and slide back into first position. Okay, other side!
Alright we’re gonna tendu to the front. We’ll tendu one, close first two, sur le cou de pied, turn out that knee, close first. Tendu two, close, up to passe, and back down to first position. And tendu side, close. Sur le cou de pied, nice and turned out, and tendu side, keep that knee pressing back as you slide into passe, and back down. We tendu back and close. Sur le cou de pied, wrap that foot, back down. Tendu back, close, keep that knee back, and close first position.
Now let’s go to the center for our piques!
I’m gonna hold onto my barre to practice these piques. First we’ll do three piques. Prep that standing foot by pointing out and shift your weight onto the standing foot and passe, back down. Again, we shift our weight to the standing leg and hold, and down. Last time, shift and point. Now we’re gonna practice our pique turns. We’ll prep, we’ll pique turn one shift the weight and down. Two shift the weight and down, make sure you spot, three! Beautiful work everyone! Switch sides.
Okay, we’re gonna prep on the other leg so point that foot out, shift the weight onto your standing foot and down. Keep that knee in passe turned out and down. Shift the weight nice and tall, and down. Okay let’s do our pique turns. We’ll get into a prep, find your spot on the wall, and we turn one back down, keep nice and tall, squeeze that core, last one! Beautiful work everyone!
Abby: Great job everyone! You learned so many new things today. You learned how to do a Okay, join us next time for our Ballet final exam. We’ll review everything we’ve learned so far in our Ballet basic unit. You won’t want to miss it.
High five!