The Seven Movements of Ballet - Basic Building Blocks of Dance

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I have long been fascinated by dance and movement analysis. The first framework I learned about is the concept of their being seven “basic movements” of ballet or dance.

The Usborne Book of Ballet and Dance states that “Every step in ballet is based on one of seven movements. These are movements which your body can make naturally.” It goes on to illustrate real-life examples of a person bending to tie their shoe, rising to greet someone else with a wave, stretching to hang laundry, turning to peer over their shoulder, darting to hit a ball in tennis, gliding on ice skates, and jumping over another in Leap Frog. Tennis, leapfrog, and ice skating are arguably not such “natural” or “everyday” movements as bending and stretching, but I suppose all would be potentially necessary from a survival standpoint.

In Ballet Pedagogy: The Art of Teaching by Rory Foster states: “The general goals of your syllabus as well as the specific exercises in the lesson plan should be balanced in terms of variety of movement and time allotted to each section of the class. There are seven movements of ballet. They can be helpful to reference as the divisions or sections of the barre and center floor are being planned. All dance movement, including the seven movements, can be broadly categorized as axial and locomotor - steps that are stationary and those that move through space, respectively.
Plier To bend
Relever To rise
Etendre Stretch
Glisser To glide
Tourner To turn
Sauter To jump
Elancer To dart”

I have found that these concepts are a useful tool in choreography and expression as well as pacing and sequencing a class, and considering our movement goals in reflective practice. For example, as a student and/or dancer I might currently be satisfied with my jumping technique, but want to focus on improving turns.

The 7 Basic Movements provide a useful structure for dance pedagogy, design, and analysis, as well as a choreographic device. But is it comprehensive? In the future I plan to discuss Laban Movement Analysis and other frameworks to deepen our understanding and practice of dance.

A Blythe Coach: Blythe Stephens
Dance Education & Coaching to move through life with balance, grace, & power
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