Help!

[Guest petiteanise]

In ballet class we're doing a combo of chaine, chaine, pique turn, pique turn, laying duck (or is it lame duck? I can't understand my teacher sometimes) in a circle and it sounds easy and I can do it in a straight line but I can't do it in a circle for the life of me. y'all have any suggestions? (excuse the texas speak, I can't help it sometimes.)

[Victoria Leigh]

Petiteanise, welcome to Young Dancers (I already gave you the "official welcome" over on the Pointe forum!)

 

Doing turns in a circle is a bit more difficult than across the floor, but it helps if you think of it as a square instead of a circle, and go from corner to corner, so that you have a definite line of travel and a spot. The turn you are doing following the piqué en dedans turns is a piqué en dehors turn, also know as "step over turn" and, unfortunately, "lame duck". I say unfortunately because I hate this term, and think it should only be used when the turn is being done incorrectly and sort of looks like a lame duck

[ConstanzaElisabeth]

may i ask why it is called a lame duck? at our school, we call them inside piques or step-up turns, and occasionally lame ducks, but thats usually outside our normal vocabulary. it just sounds very odd, and i am very curious. thank you!

[Victoria Leigh]

Actually, they are outside, or en dehors piqué turns. I don't know the origin of the "lame duck" term for these turns, but I think when they are done without any demi plié before the piqué they can easily look like a lame duck!