101 Reasons to Study Ballet - #15 Draw Circles on the Floor

Reason # 15 Draw Circles on the Floor

There is a step in ballet where you draw circles on the floor - rond de jambe a tere. Alright you don't draw with pen, ink, chalk or paint.  Rond de jambe translates from French literally "circle of the leg". Really it is  half-circles made by the pointed foot, one leg is the standing leg or supporting leg the other is the working leg returning through first position to repeat; creating the letter 'D' on the floor. Why would we do a step like that? Ballet is performed in "turn out" - A rotation of the leg from the hips - duck like. The rond de jambe a tere trains muscles to move in any direction while maintaining turn out. This is good for keeping your legs in good shape. What some nice looking ballet legs try a ballet class today.http://www.theballetcenter.org/