Bourrées

[Josiex33]

Helloooo! I'm sorry if I'm posting too much, but I just learned how do do this (posting on your website) and I have a couple of questions. But this should be my last for a while. These are about bourrées.

 

1. In bourrées, my teacher said that the feet retract a little bit from the ankle and instep- meaning that they go from a fully pointed position to a ginched one, like the shape of an "L" but not so exaggerated. Is this true?

 

2. I've also gotten information from other dancers and teachers about this step that contradict each other- some people say that the knees stay completely together, and that you should be able to put a piece of paper in between them without it falling out, and others say that the knees bend and seperate. Which of these is true?

 

3. Lastly, when you are traveling to the left, for example, couldn't your right leg be crossed over the left or the left over the right? Different teachers have taught me both, but which is more correct?

[Victoria Leigh]

1. The feet are not 'retracted'.

 

2. The 5th must be very crossed, the back foot is leading, and the knees are also crossed. The knees must be flexible in order to move quickly, and there is movement in the knee joint, but they should not look bent. They cannot be totally straight or the movement would be very stiff, but it also must not be in a plié.

 

3. When you travel to the left, the left foot is usually in front, and the right foot in back but leading. It can be done with the right foot front, but that would be a choreographic decision and it is generally not taught that way.

 

They can also travel forward and backward, as well as side and diagonal. You could travel forward in croisé, for instance, moving to the right with the left foot in front.

[Josiex33]

Thank you, Ms. Leigh! So you would not be able to fit a paper between the knees, correct?

[Victoria Leigh]

That is probably going to depend on the shape of your legs

[Malaika]

While we're at it, I have a question to bourrés also.

 

I've seen some dancers doing bourrés (on pointe) where it looks as though they were moving their feet seperately from their legs/knees (hoboy, this is hard to explain)... It seems almost as though each foot were going into a slightly "winged" position and back straight, again and again, real fast. So it ends up looking as though their legs stay in place and just the feet are moving, creating that on-wheels effect.

I like the way it looks, but I'm not sure if I have understood the principle of it correctly.

Is this a legitimate way of doing bourrés?

 

Thanks in advance.

[vrsfanatic]

I am sorry, I do not understand the image very well. In my experience, winging the feet ever is a big no-no!

[Malaika]

Hmm, maybe what I saw wasn't _winging_; but it was at any rate a movement in the ankle: The feet moving (rather a lot) in relation to the lower legs.

What I mean are the kind of bourrées where the feet seem to skim the floor, as opposed to the picked-up, almost pricking motion I sometimes see in bourrées, where the main movement comes from the knees.

 

I am sorry, but I am having trouble explaining. I tried to look for videos, but haven't found anything that would help.

It isn't all that important anyway, I was just curious.

[vrsfanatic]

Malaika, I notice you are German. Are you studying Vaganova by any chance? The study of pas de bourree traveling in direction does begin with little cou de pieds that become faster and faster, eventually traveling swiftly across the floor seemingly without lifting the feet off the floor. The feet however should not be unpointed in any way shape or form.

[Malaika]

Okay, thanks a lot.

So it is basically the same principle, the same movement of cou de pieds that just end up so fast it _looks_ like the feet are moving and the legs are still....

 

I am studying at a private school which does not follow a set syllabus... however, my teacher was Vaganova-trained and does use elements of the Vaganova method as far as possible (for a majority of students who pursue ballet simply recreationally).

 

 

Anyway, thanks again.

 

Greetings

Malaika