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57 1.7 How Center Exercises Are Done Fondue When doing fondue in the center, Balanchine had a very imaginative description of how he wanted the step done. If one is doing fondue to écarté front with the right foot, on the preparation in coupé, the head and body are turned slightly left and the eyes look slightly down. The hands come together toward the left side of the body with the fingers slightly up, and as the fingers drop, as if picking something up, one imagines a magician with a little table on the left side upon which there sits a top hat. One reaches into the hat and, voila, as the fondue unfolds, one pulls a rabbit from the hat and lifts it to show the audience. The leg shoots up into the extended position, and the whole body hits the pose simultaneously as if for a photo. But the leg is never thrown; it is placed in the air as if it were a precious jewel. Passés When going to passé relevé, the toes brush along the floor as if to cross into a sous-sus, and then the knee lifts, giving a continuously crossed lifting position . The foot does not lift out and up. When returning to fifth, the small toe slides down the front of the leg as if to finish on pointe in fifth position, and at the last moment the toes slide out into demi-plié. Although the step is slow, do not concentrate on the demi-plié. Make the plié faster, giving the step a slow, sustained quality of accent on the relevé. Also, the lifted leg must arrive in passé at the same moment as the supporting foot reaches half-toe. The same crossed foot concept holds true for pirouettes from fifth position. Both heels must touch the floor simultaneously in demi-plié. Arabesque Balanchine had an exercise for doing arabesque correctly. Begin in fifth position , left foot front: [CT1–4] En face tendu the right foot directly behind 58 / Balanchine the Teacher, Part 1 you, very turned out but keeping the shoulders square. Bring the left arm down and forward until it is directly in front of your nose, fingers stretched forward. Take the right arm to the side and slightly back as far as possible, keeping the shoulders square. [CT5–8] Lift the leg up behind you so that the leg is totally hidden behind the torso, and extend your left arm forward. (Depending on the dancer, Balanchine would suggest that one was reaching for an ice cream cone or a martini.) The shoulders and ribs remain as square as possible, but the line is extended and creates a long position almost like a bird in flight. [CT2,2,3,4] Take arms out to the sides and remain en face. [CT5,6,7,&8] Penché arabesque and come up. [CT3,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] Bend the leg behind you to attitude, making sure that the leg from the hip to the knee remains hidden behind the torso. The foot and knee are parallel to the floor, in a direct straight line (unlike the Russian version, with more extended leg and foot slightly above the knee). Now bring the right arm down and up, keeping the right shoulder forward, chin up, and looking toward the left front corner. [CT4,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] Relevé and close fifth back. Arabesque can be done in many ways, depending on where it is used. It can be done with the arm very high and the head looking up to the hand, or with the head looking forward to the audience, etc. The beautiful arabesque in Serenade comes to mind, when the partner hidden under the skirt twists the leg around so that the dancer appears to float like a statue turning on a pedestal. Piqué Arabesque Piqué arabesque can be thought of as a seesaw, a plank of wood that does not bend in the middle. When stepping out into piqué first arabesque, Balanchine wanted the extended leg not to drop down but to extend out almost like a jump as the dancer pushes off or springs from the supporting leg and steps out as far as possible onto the piqué foot, which must be very turned out and crossed and placed like a tendu leading onto the big toe, raising the back leg simultaneously and quickly. One can imagine an arrow being released from a...

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