Dessus and Dessous

[Guest dancerlover]

I kept jumle mumbling coupe dessus and dessous with changing of feet (i) start with right foot front interchangably to (ii) left foot front..

 

The teacher said something about right foot to follow which ever confuses me even more...isn't going over just going over regardless which foot is front and isn't going under just going under desppite which foot is front?

[Mel Johnson]

Well, of course, that is to say, what you may call, how it's said, WHADYASAY? HUH?

[dianec]

It would be much easier if the two French terms didn't sound the same to all of us native English speakers....thankfully, most of my teachers use over and under instead. But yes, having to think in terms of over and under AND left and right at the same time is a bit of a challenge especially if like me you're often not totallly confident you're starting out with each foot in the right place. I don't know of any way apart from making your brain hurt - and keep smiling.

[Guest dancerlover]

I have taken 3 yeras of French in my uni years thus I am perfectly fine with the French terms. I am not sure whether the teacher herself got it confused or whether she is confusing me with how she is pronouncing it;

 

I would like to mark this on this thread for once to check with y'all if I had got my understanding correct;

 

1) Glissade dessous -

 

2) Pas de bourre dessous -

 

whats the difference on the execution of both the above with both right foot front and left foot front...why do one experience a change in footing and not the other...

[Victoria Leigh]

They are both movements that go under and change feet. I"m not sure where the confusion is here.

[Memo]

I have taken 3 yeras of French in my uni years thus I am perfectly fine with the French terms. I am not sure whether the teacher herself got it confused or whether she is confusing me with how she is pronouncing it;

 

I would like to mark this on this thread for once to check with y'all if I had got my understanding correct;

 

1) Glissade dessous -

 

2) Pas de bourre dessous -

 

whats the difference on the execution of both the above with both right foot front and left foot front...why do one experience a change in footing and not the other...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Glissade dessous the front foot goes to the back. Glissade dessus the back foot comes to the front.

Pas de bouree dessous is back side front. can be started with either foot. (teacher will specify) but the most commonly used is dessous or under with the back foot.

dessus (over) is front side back. with either foot.

Same with pas de bouree derrier and devant can be done with either foot. But with glissade if you are going under the only foot to start with is the front and over the only foot to start with is the back.

Dessus and dessous sound so similar that our english ears can barely tell the difference. So if we want to teach the french we usually use both words when teaching it.

The RAD examiners now use both words so dancers do not get confused. Exect perhaps in France if the examiner speaks French! then they can probably sort it out no problem and the over and under is confusing to them

Did I clarify that or make it more confusing.

[Mel Johnson]

A friend of mine has totally abandoned any hope of perfecting the French way of saying those two words; he says "dessous", "des-SOO", and "dessus", "des-SEE"! Oddly, since he stopped trying so hard to say it right in French, he's got a lot closer than he used to in approximating the authentic sound!

[Guest dancerlover]

I know them- but the way the teachers here pronounced them- their pronounciation confuses me:)

[Victoria Leigh]

THAT I can understand! Even I cave in on those two terms and use the over and under rather than the dessous and dessus.

[Memo]

I do what Mel's friend does I say desea and desoo and I tell them the desea is like over the sea which is over and the desoo is under. I tell them the correct pronounciation and we discuss how difficult it is tell. I want them to know the name but the reality is that most of us use over and under.

[Guest Hattie]

I have always had a huge problem with these, and I speak French!! My teacher when I was younger used "under" and "over", as well as dessous and dessus... somehow we didn't get too confused when she said it. I think maybe that she was Spanish helped a little, she pronounced it differently to an English person.

 

Having said that, does anyone remember the old RAD pre-ele tape of the music, with that woman doing the introductions to the exercise? There was actually NO difference in the way she said it (we used to listen over and over to check... sad, I know... but I guess that's how cool we were when we were 11!)

[Guest dancerlover]

Hattie

 

I agree- the way the French lady pronounced it; there are totally the same; thats pretty confusing as well should the teachers rely on the tapes.

 

Memo

 

Your way of remembering it sounds cool to me; I just hope the teacher pronounces it correctly to not further confuse the other students;

 

This is how my teacher sounds;

 

Desous -" DE-sils"

 

Dessous - " DE-shoes"

 

I was like "duh" ? Huh what?????

 

Hahah....thanks you all for contributing...

[Mel Johnson]

Remember, there is no vowel following the final "s" in both words, so the letter is silent. It's actually closer to the des-SOO and des-SEA that I quoted earlier. It's sort of the reverse of the situation for the word "vichyssoise" (a cold leek-and-potato cream soup, very good in summer!) Americans often say "VISH-y-swa'" as if it were virtuous not to say the final "s" (French, you know! ). But there's an "e" at the end of the word, so it's more correctly pronounced "VISH-y-swahs".

[Guest dancerlover]

After more exercises..I realised that I am confused by the following:

 

1) Coupe dessus and dessous

2) Assemble dessus and dessous

3) Glissade/glisse dessus and dessous

 

What I am confused at is how does one go about remembering the footwork for the above as the over/under movement of feet can be opposite for one of another.Is there a good formula to remember all of above and not to confuse them? Appreciate if some explanation could be given on the above with the (i) Right foot front (ii) Left foot front starting position...I am trying to formulate a table to remember the work.Thanks