Excited to share some insight into the “primary-penta” within classical ballet, the 5 positions! First, here’s a refresher with the following links showing the 5 positions we tackle weekly during class time:
Probably the most foundational element within all of classical ballet are the 5 positions of arms and feet - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th. Literally the essential positions utilized within every movement of our dancing. Take any combination that we tackle at the barre or in the center during class and you see elements of nearly all the positions being utilized! Memorizing these positions and perfecting their application is integral to our daily and weekly training as dancers.
For this week’s ballet video clips, I’ve included some lovely excerpts from the classic story ballets, Sleeping Beauty and Paquita. Enjoy watching these beautiful ballets, and the amazing ballerinas performing, and take note of where you see the 5 positions of feet and arms show up amidst the ballerina’s dancing!
What position do you notice the most?
Is there a moment when both an arm position and foot position from “the 5” is used at the same time?
Happy dancing, ballerinas-in-training!