Tendu/Degage

[ascballerina]

Tendu and degagé are the same movement, except one is slightly off the floor. If you can do one, you can do the other. Figure out what you are doing differently in the degagé.

 

 

Bringing this over to a forum I can ask a question on: I was taught that while degage and tendu look pretty alike, they achieve different things, because you use your foot differently (and this was not expounded on). I know that degage is for jumps, and tendu is more for pointework, but where does the difference arise?

[Victoria Leigh]

In my opinion there is no difference except that the degagé leaves the floor. The action of the foot is the same, through the metarsals to the full stretch of the foot and return the same way. They both are equally important in foot usage and articulation, and for p ointework and jumps and everything we do!

[ascballerina]

Ok. Context: one child was consistently doing a mini-degage instead of a tendu--her toes came off the ground just a bit. That was when the teacher said that. The reason I bring it up is usually if she wants, say, a fondu at 45 instead of 90, she'll say she wants what she wants when she wants it, rather than saying it works different muscles.

[vrsfanatic]

I am in agreement with Victoria. Both battement tendu and battement tendu degagé (or jeté as it is call in some schools) are instrumental in training both pointe work and allegro movements. As a matter of fact, almost every movement in ballet. I once had a wonderful teacher who used to say, "no tendu, no ballet". "no plié, no ballet". Since battement tendu is learned before battement tendu jeté (degagé), it is obvious that one must know how to accomplish a tendu well before a degagé (jeté).

[ascballerina]

Ok, thanks, Ms. Schneider. Just wondered.