Ballet Positions of the Body

Eight directions of the body and Épaulement~
Épaulement is shouldering or the placing of the shoulders.
As the working leg goes through the positions, the body moves
from the waist upward, bringing one shoulder forward and
the other back with the head turned or inclined.
So, use the list below while watching both the legs and
the épaulement of Royal Opera House Ballet First Artist,
Romany Pajdak, as she starts with the right leg and then
repeats the eight positions of the body with her left leg..
Croisé devant
À la quatrième (1) devant
Écarté (2) devant
Effacé devant
À la seconde
Efface (3) derrière
À la quatrième derrière
Croisé (4) derrière
(Then, in class to get to the left leg, we draw in to coupé
then pas de bourrée en tournant to the other side.)
(1) Quatrième is like Premier or première~ first; Deuxième~second;
Troisième~ third; Quatrième~ fourth; and Cinquième~ fifth.
(2) Écarté means separated or thrown wide apart.
The dancer faces either one of the two front corners (one or two).
The downstage leg is pointed in the second à terre or en l'air.
The torso is held perpendicular and arms are en attitude with the
raised arm on the same side as the extended leg.
(3) Efacé (or effacée) means shaded so that when you stand at an
oblique angle to the audience part your body is taken back and
slightly hidden from view. Effacé can be devant or derrière and
either à terre or en l'air.
(4) Not to be confused with en croix (in the shape of a cross
when we go from fourth to the front, second to the side,
fourth to the back, or vice versa, as in battements tendus en croix)

[abc-ygtk]

Thanks for making this. Absolutely invaluable for a beginner. I have been confused about the various directions of the body, arms and leg but with this video I can practice from someone who does it so beautifully.

[jennifermaue]

Love the progression of body positions and lovely accompaniment…

Especially no speaking, even better!

[livedreamincolor]

Thank you.  These are the exact sort of remedial lessons I need.

[jennifermaue]

Always adored positions of the body in class…

[trasiano]

¡Congratulations! Excelente demostración. Saint Wayne era lo que estaba buscando. ¡Muchas Gracias!

[jennycaspe]

Thank you for posting this. :) God bless you!

[Chris]

Awesome thank you. I will practice these positions and hopefully I can memorize them in a couple days (before class).

[rebeccabush]

Love this...I'm sharing it with all my students!

[OffbeatHomesteader]

This series of videos are SO helpful for me. Thank you!

[leonida]

music is 4th Adage 3/4 by Richard Maddock, you can Shazam it!

[arianahope]

Vine a ver esto gracias a un libro que estoy leyendo, el Ballet es Arte muy hermoso 🦋✨

[LegitVisions]

FANTASTIC EXPLANATION! <3 Thank you. =]

[laylanahar]

I've seen the fast version of this with the original music - both yours and the original are great!

[anayacunha]

tysm lol i have a test and this really helped!

[thicbins]

lol I gotta learn this before I go to ballet class thanks ❤️😂

[isabellejouanne]

Et incliné vers le jambe tendue côté (bras couronne jambe de terre, bras seconde jambe à la seconde) ?
Merci

[kathycollins]

At 1:01 it says efface derriere but this is epaule, right? Efface would have to arm above the head in a "shaded" position.

[delph]

This is one of the Royal Ballet’s videos.

[mizpiripiri]

This content is from the Royal Ballet. On their channel you will find a complete glossary. It would have been polite to give the credits.

[snip-sniptear]

This is what I had on my notes for a Beginner Ballet class I am taking:
Corner 1 = En Avant
Wall 5 = En Face
Corner 2 = Croise en Devant
Wall 6 & 8 = De Cȏte
Corner 3 = Croise en Arriere
Wall 7 = En Derriere
Corner 4 = En Arriere

Am I somewhat on the right path to understanding the 8 directions of the body???
Any corrections or critic is welcome. And thank you for the help in advance!!