Ballet Dance Moves

Ballet is a form of dance which has a style of acting in mime set to certain music. A lot of the ballet dance terminology is in the French language as it has its roots in France. Ballet dancing is a style of dancing which has highly trained dancers, disciplined and dedicated, with the ability to take the entire audience to another world. Their hard work and skills result in superb performances which are flawless and truly beautiful. Learn about all the fascinating ballet dance moves in the following article. Read more on history of ballet dancing.

Basic Ballet Dance Moves
The basics of ballet start from the standing positions which are easy to learn and can be useful for other dance styles too as ballet is considered as the foundation of many dance forms. If you are fond of ballet, given below are some basic positions and ballet dance moves which you can practice at home. Read more on ballet positions and movements.

* Position 1: Keep your heels touched together in a straight alignment and knees touched with legs straight. Your feet should be in a 'turn out' position. This is the basic position for a ballet move.
* Position 2: Keep your feet turned out straight, like the first position but your heels should be apart.
* Position 3: When your feet are aligned in a turn out position, keep one foot to the front and the heel close to the arch of the hind foot.
* Position 4: Keep your feet in the turned out position and place the heel of one foot next to the toes of the other one so that the legs are crossed.
* Position 5: Same as the fourth but keep both your feet together.

Ballet is a simple dance which needs a lot of patience and hard work. If you are serious about learning ballet, read on to know some ballet dance moves for kids as well as adults. There are two basic ballet dance moves which can be practiced by any beginner who is thorough with the first five positions of ballet.

Posse

1. Take the first standing position.
2. Raise your right leg up and touch your toes to the left leg knee so as to form a 'P' with your legs.
3. This is the posse that you need to balance on as long as you can.
4. Lower your right leg to the first position and repeat the 2nd and 3rd steps with your left leg.
5. Now place your left leg back to the first position.

Developpe

1. Start by standing in the first position as mentioned above.
2. Raise your right leg in a posse as discussed above.
3. Pull the right leg up and bring the knee as close as you can to your body.
4. Now extend your leg from the knee gradually till your right leg is outstretched completely with your toes pointing towards the ceiling.
5. Try to hold your developpe as long as you can.
6. Now gradually lower your leg back to the posse by reversing the motions and put your right leg back in the first position and perform a posse with your left leg.

Advance Ballet Dance Moves
After you are proficient with the above mentioned basic ballet dance moves, you can learn some advance moves which can add the grace to your ballet.

Arabesque
This is the position of your body when it is supported on one leg, with the other leg extended behind your body with that leg's knee straight.

Couru
This is a combination of steps where you keep your calves together and glide on the floor with your feet also known as "massaging the floor with your feet".

Fondu
It means "to melt" and in this move you lower your body by bending one knee while the of the other supporting leg remains erect.

Fouette
It is the quick turning of the body on the toes of any one of your legs. The balancing leg is kept in turning motion where as the other leg is extended and brought close towards the knee of the balancing leg recurrently. This is done to attain grip and speed.

Grand jete
This is a long jump made by starting on one leg and landing on the other. This involves doing full leg splits in mid-air during the jump with your arms extended diagonal to each other.

Plie
This move involves smooth and continuous bending of the knees when the feet are in a turned out position with heels of both the feet touching. This is done on two feet unlike the fondue which is done on one foot.

Split
A split is a position of legs when both your legs are configured to a straight angle of 180 degrees. This can be done in mid-air or on the floor.

Read more on ballet dancing.

Those were some ballet dance moves which are commonly used in every ballet performance and is a must for all the performers. Ballet not only shows the flexibility in your body but also your hard work and dedication towards the dance. It is commonly known as the dance of substance as it has emotions which involves the audience with the dancers.