Posé Turns

[chocakety]

When I did RAD Intermediate, my teacher taught us to do Posé Turns with the leg extending out low en lair, but my open class teacher said that I was "cheating" and the proper way is to extend the leg out a terre. My open class teacher uses the French technique.

 

So was I really "cheating" or both are right?

[Victoria Leigh]

I have never done it with the leading leg making a tendu, but that doesn't mean it is wrong or cheating. I have only done, and seen it done, with a very low dégagé, though. I will be curious to hear from other teachers about this.

[chocakety]

Thank you Miss Leigh! But this is the teens forum so only teens and teacher moderators are allowed to post right?

[Victoria Leigh]

Yes, but there are 5 teachers! I could move this to the Adults forum, if you like. That way other teachers could also respond.

[chocakety]

Please and thank you!

[Hamorah]

A pique or a pose is essentially a low extension in order to step up onto demi-pointe, so I don't honestly see how else you could do the turns. Anyway, your RAD teacher was correct in the way that she taught you for your exam work. If this other teacher wants you to perform the exercise differently, she can of course require you to do so and you have to try and do it as she wishes. I object however to her description of "cheating". Our senior students work according to the RAD requirements with me, but their open class teacher uses the Russian pedagogical style and terminology. We actually do this on purpose in order to make them more flexible in responding to differing requirements. It is important to respect other systems - each are correct according to their own rules. Poor technique is not whether you perform a battement frappe with a flex swish pointe action or with a pointed foot and no use of the floor - it's if you perform either of these movements on a turned in supporting leg and/or a sickled working foot.............

[Claude_Catastrophique]

I learnt to extended it en l'air but recently I was told that this would be "old" and that nowadays the foot should stay à terre. I still have sometimes teacher who want it en l'air, others insist à terre and such who do not care at all.

[Hans]

By "à terre", do they really mean with the pointed foot touching the ground? I am having a difficult time figuring out how to do that at anything other than quite a slow tempo!

[Victoria Leigh]

I can't quite figure it out either, Hans.

[chocakety]

Mr Hans and Miss Leigh, yes she meant it that way, she demonstrated it and there she goes turning like a spinning top.... Amazing though

[swantobe]

Interesting. In all methods I've been taught, it's been a slightly raised leg. I can't quite imagine keeping the foot a terre...

[missvjc420]

My teacher calls it a "chug" when the foot is a terre, she refers to it as more of a Balanchine style, but she also danced in Bordeaux. She barely goes up on releve when showing the turn. If the foot is off the floor she goes all the way up.