Learning attitude derrière
Attitude derrière could possibly be the most beautiful position in ballet, but it may also be the most difficult. It is a wonder how dancers ever develop this skill. I will not be daunted though. Attitude derrière here we come! Here, I will review everything I know about how to achieve this position.
Starting at my makeshift bar in first position, I set out to align my body correctly with proper ballet posture. I lift my body tall, shoulders down and back, pelvis tucked. Once I feel settled, I shift my weight onto my standing leg, first into coupé and then raising my leg into retiré.
From there, keeping my pelvis upright, I try to extend the working leg to the back with the knee up and the foot rotating down. Torso facing front, I hold the position, then extend my leg out and lower it to the ground. As I move into the position I feel my glutes tighten. It is a real struggle to keep my knee up and my leg rotated out while my feet push downwards.
Attitude at the barre is difficult for a beginner, but it can seem almost unthinkable in the centre. How do you get everything to stay where it is supposed to be? Your body rebels against the commands of your brain, sending back a clear message – this is impossible! As I work on attitude in the center, I am very conscious of my knee resisting my attempts to turn out my leg.
With your upper body feeling like a pretzel, you might imagine balance would be a real challenge! There are two things that seem to help. First of all, I keep my weight over my supporting leg- that is I bring the top of my supporting leg forward. Secondly, I pull the shoulder corresponding with my standing leg towards my working foot.
I will continue studying attitude derrière to uncover its secrets, which is clearly going to be a long-term project!
