In ballet there are eight positions of the body from which all the various steps are executed. All the different schools of ballet use them, with slight variations from one to another (and some methods incorporate more positions or variations, but we are not going to be picky, since our aim is just to get familiar with the terminology). In fact, we mentioned one of the positions (effacé devant) when we discussed Balloté, so we thought it was a good idea to present them here, since they are used all over the place. These are:
- Croisé Devant
- Quatrième Devant
- Effacé Devant
- Ã la Seconde
- Croisé Derriere
- Ecarté
- Epaulé
- Quatrième Derrière
Let us start with some French vocabulary
Devant: To the front
Derrière: To the back (close to the rear)
Croisé: Crossed alignment
Seconde: To the second position (lateral)
Ècarté: Separated or thrown wide apart
Effacé: Shaded
Epaulé: Shouldered (so when people talk about épaulement, they really are referring to the position of the upper body starting from the shoulders and the upper back)
Now one creates positions mixing the different components. Let us explain them carefully
1. Croisé Devant
Standing at an oblique angle to the audience (facing a corner), the leg nearer to the audience is the working leg and is extended in fourth position, pointing on tendú (=stretched) to the front. The arms are placed in (open) fourth position, such that the lower arm is on the same side as the extended leg.
2. Quatrième Devant
Facing the audience, the working leg is extended to fourth position, pointing on tendú to the front, with the arms in second position (open) and the head facing the audience.
3. Effacé Devant
Standing at an oblique angle to the audience (facing a corner), such as that part of the body is hidden. The leg further from the audience becomes the working leg and is extended in fourth position, pointing on tendú to the front. The arms are placed in (open) fourth position such that the lower arm is on the same side as the extended leg.
4. Ã la Seconde
Facing the audience, the working leg is extended to second position, pointing on tendú to the side, with the arms in second position (open) and the head facing the audience. It is also referred as à la seconde en face.
5. Croisé Derriere
Standing at an oblique angle to the audience (facing a corner). The leg further from the audience becomes the working leg and is extended in fourth position, pointing on tendú to the back. The arms are placed in (open) fourth position such that the lower arm is on the same side as the extended leg.
6. Ecarté
Facing any corner, the leg nearer to the audience becomes the working leg and is extended in second position, pointing on tendú to the side. The arms are in (open) fourth position so the highest arm is on the same side as the extended leg. The head is raised slighlty and turned toward the raised arm, so the eyes look into the hand.
7. Epaulé
Standing at an oblique angle to the audience, the dancer stands in arabesque facing one of the corners (the working leg is the one closest to the audience and is extended to the back in fourth position). The arm closest to the audience is extended forward, and the head is inclined and turned towards the audience.
8. Quatrième Derrière
Facing the audience, the working leg is extended to fourth position, pointing on tendú to the back, with the arms in second position (open) and the head facing the audience.
All these positions can also be done with the working leg en l’air (extended without touching the floor). And since these explanations might seem a bit confusing for the inexperienced, here are some drawings exemplifying the above descriptions:
The Eight Positions of the Body
Further Information: Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet by Gail Grant. BN Publishing. ISBN 1607960311.
A Dancer’s Journey: Lessons Learned
[...] on a proper rond de jambe en l’air. He emphasized the importance of maintaining turnout from devant to à la seconde, and the difficult task of transferring your weight and arm on the barre, to allow room for the leg [...]
Moselle
Very helpful… glad I found it!
Artifact
[...] body” as a number of relationships between different points. For instance, he considered épaulement – the oppositional alignment of the shoulders with respect to the waist – as “the [...]
Cameryn hope
Hey I was wondering can u show us in a 8 square box to know where we point r toes
Bag of Steps | Dos passos da bailarina
[...] Eight Positions – Oito posições Eight Positions in Action – Oito posições (do corpo) em ação Big Jumps [...]
victoria
This is GREAT! It explains it sooooo much better than any thing else I can find! It also
comes with pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My ballet teacher tests us on this and other things. I really needed help. Thanks for this great explaination!!!!!!!!!!
Bag of Steps: Adagio « The Ballet Bag
[...] square to the direction the dancer is facing, with the hips aligned. Développés can be performed in any direction (devant, à la seconde, derrière, etc.). Lauren Cuthbertson does an arabesque as the Winter Fairy [...]
Bag of Steps: Turns « The Ballet Bag
[...] either on pointe or demi-pointe, with the working leg positioned sur le cou-de-pied, in arabesque, à la seconde, in attitude, etc. Legs give the impulse from a deep plié in preparatory position, arms control [...]
Amanda
Thanks so much!
Linda
Don’t know about one but will give you a heads up if we find where to get it.
Amanda
I am desperately trying to find a poster with the 8 ballet body positions on it for my studio! I know “Dance Magazine” had a great one, but I can’t find one anywhere now. The only one I have discovered looks too young and cartoonish for my dancers. Anyone know where I could find a good, professional poster to frame?
Bag of Steps: Small Jumps (Part 1) « The Ballet Bag
[...] can be done en avant and en arrière: en avant, the dancer starts from fifth, back leg brushing in effacé devant and supporting leg pushing from the floor to beat the other leg from behind and front, finishing in [...]
Bag of Steps: Big Jumps (Part 2) « The Ballet Bag
[...] from, leaving the other leg extended in dégagé (pointed toe extended off the floor at 45 degrees, a la seconde or en [...]
Bag of Steps: Big Jumps (Part 1) « The Ballet Bag
[...] there are two beats, it is usually referred as double.  This step can be done from any position of the body (devant, derriere or à la [...]
Bag of Steps: Eight Positions in Action « The Ballet Bag
[...] 8, 2009 by Linda Continuing from the previous edition of Bag of Steps, where we looked at the eight positions of the body from which all the various steps are executed, [...]
Linda
Thanks for the compliment! Hope it is useful in the future. A friend also just told us that for once, she now remembers when to is croisé devant compared to effacé devant, whenever she is on the centre. So 2-0 for us, yay!. Keep the hard work in class since it will be worth it!
Annie
This is a great articulation of what normally gets fairly confusing at the barre in on the floor. In fact, in class today, I found myself remembering the little visual at the bottom of this post!