This petite battement exercise will take place at the barre. This combination helps prepare dancers for quick movement of the feet and focus on keeping the hips and upper body stable. To learn a petite battement combination for the barre, watch ballet expert Elizabeth Quinn Welch in this video.
For this exercise, you will be holding the barre and starting in a tondue position. To begin you will bring your foot into front coupe and then to back. You will do this for one eight count. Then you will double time it with the same motion. You should repeat this at least twice through. After you have completed that, plie, sus-sous and balance in coupe.
This exercise is extremely beneficial if it is done correctly. When beating the foot in and out to front and back coupe, it’s important to keep the knee where it is. The leg should be hinging at the knee, so only the lower half of the leg should be moving. It’s also important to make sure the hips stay level as you are moving your leg. It’s easy to let your upper body loose since it’s not doing the work, but don’t let that happen! You want to keep your upper body just as engaged as the lower body. This includes your abdominals, back, shoulders and arms.
For this exercise, you will be holding the barre and starting in a tondue position. To begin you will bring your foot into front coupe and then to back. You will do this for one eight count. Then you will double time it with the same motion. You should repeat this at least twice through. After you have completed that, plie, sus-sous and balance in coupe.
This exercise is extremely beneficial if it is done correctly. When beating the foot in and out to front and back coupe, it’s important to keep the knee where it is. The leg should be hinging at the knee, so only the lower half of the leg should be moving. It’s also important to make sure the hips stay level as you are moving your leg. It’s easy to let your upper body loose since it’s not doing the work, but don’t let that happen! You want to keep your upper body just as engaged as the lower body. This includes your abdominals, back, shoulders and arms.