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Cecchetti Theory Advanced I

Basic Principle of Cecchetti Method of Training ~A three dimensional training with coordination of body, arm, head and music; with no mannerisms. French Terms

1. la barre ~ the bar 2. plié ~ to bend 3. tendu ~ to stretch 4. port de bras ~ carriage of the arms 5. adage ~ slow movement 6. allegro ~ quick movement 7. demi ~ half 8. sauté ~ to jump 9. retiré ~ to withdraw 10. échappé ~ to escape 11. devant ~ front 12. derriére ~ behind 13. en bas ~ low 14. en haut ~ high 15. grand ~ big 16. battement ~ beating 17. à terre ~ on the ground 18. en avant ~ forward 19. arabesque ~ a position in dance 20. temps levé ~ time lifted 21. reverence ~ gracious bow 22. relevé ~ to rise 23. petit ~ small 24. jeté ~ to throw 25. chassé ~ to chase 26. à la seconde ~ to the second 27. cou de pied ~ neck of the foot 28. rond de jambe ~ round of the leg 29. en croix ~ in the shape of a cross 30. croisé ~ crossed 31. ouverte ~ open 32. coupé ~ to cut 33. changement ~ to change 34. pas de chat ~ step of the cat 35. à la quatriéme ~ to the forth 36. tour en l’air ~ turn in the air 37. degagé ~ to disengage 38. frappé ~ to strike

54. écarté ~thrown open 55. en l’air ~in the air 56. soutenu ~sustained 57. glissade ~to glide 58. sissone ~a jump named for the Count of Sissone 59. batterie ~beaten step 60. fouetté ~to whip 61. fermé ~closed 62. étendre ~to stretch 63. de suite ~continuously 64. éfaccé ~shaded 65. épaulé ~shouldered 66. soubresaut ~sudden leap or bound 67. en arriére ~backwards 68. petit tours ~small turns 69. entrechat quatre ~braided 4 times 70. attitude ~position taken from the statue Mercury 71. entrechat ~braided 72. courru ~to run 73. soussus ~under – over 74. demi-contretemps ~half against time 75. entrechat royale ~ braided royally 76. tourner ~ to turn 77. royale ~ royal 78. élancer ~ to dart 79. cabriole ~to caper 80. entrechat trois ~braided three times 81. entrechat cinq ~braided five times 82. ballonnée ~balloon like 83. brisé ~to beat 84. temps de cuisse ~time of the squeeze of the thigh 85. ballotté ~to toss 86. pas de basque ~step from the Basque region in France 87. grand preparation ~large preparation

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39. fondu ~ to melt 40. developpé ~to unfold 41. temps lié ~ time linked 42. detourné ~ turned aside 43. assemblé ~ to assemble 44. pas de boureé ~ step of the stuffed 45. posé ~ to pose 46. balancé ~ to balance 47. enchainment ~linked together 48. en dehors ~outwards 49. en dedans ~inwards 50. dessous ~under 51. dessus ~over 52. de côté ~to the side 53. pirouette ~to whirl

88. autour de la salle ~around the room 89. en diagonale ~on a diagonal 90. promenade ~to walk 91. Chaconne ~a late 16th century dance; pretty 92. Courante ~from courrir; to run 93. raccourci ~shortened 94. entrechat royale ~ braided royally 95. tourner ~ to turn 96. royale ~ royal 97. élancer ~ to dart

Numbers

1. ~un ~one ~premiere ~first 2. ~deux ~two ~deuxieme ~second 3. ~trois ~three ~troisieme ~third 4. ~quatre ~four ~quatrieme ~fourth 5. ~cinq ~five ~cinquieme ~fifth 6. ~six ~six ~sixieme ~sixth 7. ~sept ~seven ~septieme ~seventh 8. ~huit ~eight ~huitieme ~eighth 9. ~neuf ~nine ~nuefieme ~ninth 10. ~dix ~ten ~dixieme ~tenth 11. ~douze ~twelve ~douzieme ~twelve 12. ~seize ~sixteen ~seizieme ~sixteenth

Basic Head Rules

coupés, jetés & temps levés ~the head inclines to the foot you land on pas de chat ~the head is inclined and lowered over the front arm posés ~the head is inclined away from the audience pirouette ~the head is the last to leave and the first to arrive (spotting) assemblés ~when the working leg is coming from back to front,

the head inclines towards it ~when the working leg is coming from front to back; the head inclines away from it

pas de bourées & glissades ~the head inclines to the foot that finishes in front balancés de côté ~the head inclines to the leading foot chassés a la seconde ~the head inclines to the leading foot pas de bourée ouverte ~the head inclines to the leading foot

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Eight Points of the Room The audience is at wall five. Starting with the right front corner, count the corners counter-clockwise: one, two, three, and four. Count the walls in the same manner: five, six, seven, and eight.

Audience

Basic Allegro

sauté in 1st position changement petit jeté sur le cou-de-pied derrière petit jeté sur le cou-de-pied devant temps levé devant from one foot temps levé devant from two feet temps levé derrière from one foot temps levé derrière from two feet gallop side gallop forward polka – party polka polka – balletic polka side (jumped) polka – balletic polka forward (jumped) polka – balletic polka forward (stepped) échappé sauté à la 2nd spring points devant pas de chat assemblé dessus (over) assemblé dessous (under)

sissonne en arrière ouverte soubresaut entrechat quatre assemblé élancé de côté grand jeté en tournant assemblé en avant demi-contretemps pas de bourrée dessus pas de bourrée courru (bourrées) entrechat royale braided royally posé tours petits tours grand jeté en avant posé developpé assemblé devant assemblé derrière brisé dessus échappé battu (beating out and in) entrechat trois devant and derrière

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pas de bourrée dessous (under) chassé en avant jeté dessus (over) jeté dessous (under) balancé de côté balancé en avant balancé en arrière posé to 5th posé to retiré posé coupe posé to arabesque coupé dessus (over) from straight leg coupé dessous (under) from straight leg coupé dessus (over) from cou de pied coupé dessous (under) from cou de pied glissade devant glissade derrière glissade dessus (over) glissade dessous (under) pas de bourrée devant pas de bourrée derrière sissonne en avant fermé

glissades en avant and en arrière pas de bourrée en avant pas de bourrée en arrière pas de bourrée en dehors pas de bourrée en dedans pas de bourrée ouvert to 2nd position sissones dessus and dessous ballonné simple, écarté (arms opening to demi-2nd) ballonné simple, éffacé en avant (arms 4th en

avant) *On all ballonnés simples, the foot may be either stretched or relaxed on the cou de pied – candidate’s choice

entrechat cinq brisé dessous jeté battu à la seconde sissone battu dessus, dessous, en avant, & en arrière pas de basque en avant & en arrière temps de cuisse dessus & dessous coupé fouettéé raccourci cabriole derrière grand jeté à la seconde

Basic Adage movements (demonstrated in the Adage Enchainement)

- Dégagé en tournant à terre - Dégagé en tournant en l'air - Fouetté of adage en l’air - Developpé en tournant - Slow lift of the leg - arabesque penché - promenade en dedans in arabesque - promenade en dedans in attitude effacée - promenade en dehors in second position - jeté movement of adage in any basic position of the body

Positions of the Head 1. erect 2. inclined 3. turned 4. raised 5. lowered

Positions of the Feet 1. first ~premiere 2. second ~seconde 3. third ~troisieme 4. fourth open ~quatrieme ouverte 5. fourth crossed ~quatrieme croisé 6. fifth ~ cinquieme

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Correct Movements of the Feet 1. pied à terre ~flat 2. à quarte ~quarter pointe 3. à demi ~1/2 pointe 4. à trois quart ~3/4 pointe 5. à pointe ~full pointe 6. stretched or fully extended 7. sickled outwards 8. flexed (for character dance)

Incorrect Movements of the Feet 1. inwards sickle 2. clenched

Positions of the Arms

1. first 2. second 3. demi second

palms forward for adage palms down for allegro

4. third 5. forth en avant 6. forth en haut 7. fifth en bas 8. fifth en avant 9. fifth en haut

Movements of Dance 1. plié ~to bend 2. sauté ~to jump 3. relever ~to rise 4. étendre ~to stretch 5. glissade ~to glide 6. tourner ~to turn 7. élancer ~to dart

Positions of the Body

1. à la seconde ~ to the second 2. à la quatriéme derriere ~to the forth back 3. à la quatriéme croisé devant ~to the forth crossed front 4. à la quatriéme devant ~to the forth front 5. écarté ~thrown open 6. écarté derriere ~thrown open back 7. à la quatriéme croisé derriere ~to the forth crossed back 8. épaulé ~shouldered 9. éffacé ~shaded 10. efface derriere ~shaded back

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Attitudes

1. attitude croisé derriere ~with Mercury attitude arms or with attitude ordinaire arms (4th en haut in opposition) 2. attitude croisé devant ~arms are a la quatrieme croisé devant 3. attitude éffacé devant ~arms are éffacé 4. attitude éffacé derrière ~arms are éffacé

Arabesques

≈ all demonstrated en l’air 1. first arabesque ~same arm front as leg front 2. second arabesque ~opposite arm front as leg front 3. third arabesque ~both arms pointed front with one arm at eye level and the other just

below height (arm furthest from the audience is high) 4. fourth arabesque ~second arabesque on a plié 5. fifth arabesque ~third arabesque on a plié

Theory of Port de Bras ~ this includes several points and should be discussed with maturity and confidence,

not as though recited from memory** ~A much as one arm moves forward, the other arm moves backwards. As much as one arm moves up, the other

arm moves down. This is done in the same amount of time to maintain a balanced line. Sometimes one arm may have to move quicker than the other arm in order to arrive at the same time.

builds strength through the back and arms, arms are carried through the back uses positions and movement from and through positions should use the gate (5th en avant) to give greater depth to the movement co-ordination of arms, head, and eyes (and legs when appropriate) should compliment legs ~eg) demi-2nd with an assemblé over and 2nd with an assemblé élancé balance of line arms may have to move at different speeds to arrive together, mainly in 2nd & 4th port de bras anticipation, particularly in 1st and 3rd port de bras continuous movement, showing positions without stopping in them port de bras allows for the beauty and style of choreography and dancer; when done well can

convey messages and emotions as well as line and streng

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Basic Purposes of the Excercises ~a la barre

plié ~to warm up the leg muscles and stretch the heel tendons tendus ~to warm up the muscles in the feet and ankles; for use of foot against the floor degagés ~to warm up the muscles in the feet and the ankles; preparation of quick jumps

grands battements ~to loosen the leg in the hip socket for extension in large jumps in the centre

rond de jambe a terre ~for rotation of the leg in the hip socket in preparation for grand rond de jambe en l’air

frappés ~for control of the thigh; for quick stretch of the foot for jumps petit battements ~for control of the thigh; preparation for beats

rond de jambe en l’air ~for control of the thigh; for flexibility in the knee; preparation for similar allegro: rond de jambe sauté and for gargouliade

fondus ~for coordination of the arms and head; for bending and stretching of the knees; for strength through resistance

adage ~for coordination of the legs, arms and head; for balance, especially on one foot; for a sense of style and grace

retirés preparation for developpés, retiré relevés and pirouettes

battements balancés ~to show an even balanced motion; to loosen the leg in the hip socket for extension in large jmps in the centre

relevés ~preparation for pointe work retiré relevés ~preparation for pirouettes

au milieu

port de bras ~for a sense of style and grace; for coordination of the arms and head; for strength through the back

grands battements ~for balance; for extension of the leg in large jumps temps lié ~to show the smooth transition of weight from one leg to the other

adage ~for strength and balance; to show a sense of style and grace

pirouettes ~preparation for further turns, doubles triples, etc; preparation for pirouettes in open positions; preparation for fouetté turns

fouetté turns ~for the tricks of ballet