Ballet has something magical about it and once ballet dancers start to move around a stage then a whole new fantasy world opens. This is a world defined by romance, beauty and grace, one that many want to belong to. It is in fact, not as far out of reach as you might at first believe.

In order to really get off to a good start with ballet dancing, you should begin with the basic moves that all ballet dancers need to have mastered. The ballet barre is one of the best ways to master these techniques. There are many ballet barres to choose from, but if you cannot afford a real bar then you can always substitute the back of a high chair, which is just as good and effective.

Ballet dancers use this basically as a stability tool. As they are working through the ballet positions and basic movements they tend to stabilize themselves with the use of the barre.

The first move that you want to work on is a simple eleve. The Eleve is merely the dancer raising themselves up onto the balls of the feet. This is an exercise that will significantly strengthen your feet, ankles, and calves. You should work through and eleve in all five ballet positions, and as you progress you can also work through a releve in the same positions. The difference between and eleve and a releve is simply that a releve is a rise to the ball of the foot from a deep plie.

The plie is one move that has to be mastered in any case. A plie is nothing other than a move in which you bend your knees while in one of the many ballet positions. How deep the knees are bent will be the determining factor on whether you are doing just a basic plie or the grande plie. Both of these are important and need to be mastered in that respective order.

While using the barre bar another basic ballet move that must be mastered is the tendu. This move basically is the stretching out of one leg while standing firm on the other leg. You want to be sure when ending this move that the toe is pointing straight before resuming its original position. Knowing this move aids in your flexibility and strengthening your turnout.

After working enough to be comfortable doing a tendu you can then start working on the rond de jambre. This move is not very different from the tendu, but you have to move your free leg on the floor in a semi-circle. Once again this move can be carried out during any of the five ballet positions and it is also among the best exercises you can do if you want to improve turnout. The circular motion is always done from front to back, but once you can easily do that you can start working on the jambe en dedans which is when you move from the back to the front.

Ballet is a complicated form of dance, but it is rooted in the basics. As you work your way through these basic ballet steps you will be building a foundation for yourself that you can expand on as a dancer in the future.

If you are considering taking dance classes in Arlington VA, one of the places you might consider is found at this website, with more info about ballet classes by Fairfax.

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