-August Bournonville
A turned
out rond de jambe may indeed be one of the most difficult things to teach correctly
in dance. It involves the muscles of the
working hip moving together in harmony while the muscles of the standing hip
isometrically hold a stable, turned out position and support the weight of the
body.
The literal English translation of rond de jambe is circle of the leg. Although the working leg does not create a
full circle, it does move in a circular pattern and creates a half circle or
the letter “D”. This one simple exercise
involves all of the muscles of the hip.
The hip flexors, adductors, abductors, extensors and outward and inward rotators
must all be involved in order for the pattern to be completed. Since so many muscles need to be activated
during this exercise, it is very easy for the dancer to grip the muscles rather
than concentrate on the length created by the leg.
A rond de
jambe should only be performed by the leg, therefore, the dancer must be taught
to isolate the movement of the femur, or thigh bone, from the movement of the
pelvis. During a rond de jambe, the
pelvis does not initiate any movement and should only move as a result of accommodating
the circular motion of the leg.
Dance
educators tend to describe and teach rond de jambe en dehors to students by
speaking of it as a tendu devant (front)
that is carried à la seconde (to the side) that is carried to tendu
derrière (to the back) and closes to a position. This type of description, although accurate,
omits two very important positions that should be focused upon in this
exercise. In between the tendu devant
and the tendu à la seconde is the écarté devant position, and in between the
tendu à la seconde and the tendu derrière is the écarté derrière position. By focusing on these positions, the dance
educator will encourage the lengthening of the leg rather than the gripping
effect on all the muscles as they try to work simultaneously.
Trying to
attain both écarté positions will also encourage the dancer to maintain maximum
turnout in a rond de jambe for as long as possible. When the foot moves from à la seconde to
derrière, it is very easy for the dancer to begin to inwardly rotate the
hip. Focusing on the écarte derrière
position helps decrease that tendency.
When
performing a rond de jambe en dedans (from back to front), dancers often wait
to turn out the leg until the foot arrives à la seconde. Forcing the dancer to think about the foot
moving through the écarté derrière position, will encourage outward rotation to occur
sooner.
The same
ideas of attaining the in between positions and lengthening the working leg can
be used when the leg comes off the floor in a grand rond de jambe. When moving the leg à la second to derrière,
students tend to drop and rotate the leg inward. By emphasizing the écarté position and
encouraging the students to reach through the working leg and send the energy
out through the toes, the teacher will help the dancers maintain turnout and
avoid the dropping of the leg. The same
is true when performing a grand rond de jambe en dedans. Reaching out through the leg will result in
the leg turning out as soon as the movement begins and the leg lifting rather
than dropping.
Rond de
jambe is a difficult exercise to execute correctly, and it is a good bet that
if a dancer finds the exercise to be an easy one, he or she is performing it
incorrectly. Whenever something is
difficult, dancers tend to hold their breath, tighten muscles and keep their
energy bound. By thinking about rond de
jambe in a different way and urging students to make each rond de jambe larger than the one before, educators can encourage the muscles to lengthen,
decrease tension held in gripped muscles, free bound energy, and teach dancers
to enjoy what they are doing and achieve efficient, beautiful results.
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