French For Dancers Newsletter: Dégagé
French For Dancers
Demystifying dance terminology and steps for dancers and dance-lovers!
Issue 4 : Dégagé
Bonjour! Welcome to French For Dancers!
Each newsletter, we will look at a dance term, its pronunciation, meaning, use. Often, different dance techniques will use varying terminology for the same step, so I will try to include those, too.
After tendus, come dégagés!
Parlez-Vous Ballet?
(Do you speak Ballet?)
DÉGAGÉ or BATTEMENT DÉGAGÉ
(day-ga-jay)
Dégagé is also known as battement glissé, battement jeté, or battement tendu jeté, depending on what your training is, your teacher’s preference, your geographical location, etc.
C’est Fou! (it’s crazy!)
The step is essentially the same across the techniques with slight variances in the height of the movement, but the words themselves have different meanings that might impact how the step is taught/perceived.
Glisser means to slide, to glide.
Jeter means to throw.
Dégager means to release or to disengage. Since this is the term I use most often (thank you, Cecchetti/R.A.D. training), I’ll use dégagé here, but the directions are the same for all of these terms.
Like its grounded cousin tendu (issue 3), the dégagé begins by brushing through the ground to a pointed position, either forward, side, or back. The working foot then quickly leaves the ground to come to a lifted position (still pointed). The connection with the floor prior to lifting off is extremely important. This seemingly small movement packs a lot of power as the energy moves along the leg and foot to press down into the floor and then lift, starting from the glutes and ending in the toes.
After reaching the desired extension height (which could be a few inches off the ground to 45 degrees, depending on the student’s level and choreography), the toe lowers to the ground in tendu and then returns to the starting position.
This step helps strengthen the feet, toes, and calves, and is a preparation for jetés and other brushed steps in the center (ie: assemblé, glissade, cabriole), as well as grand battements at the barre and in the center.
My friend Bleu demonstrating tendu and dégagé.
Savoir-Faire
(Know-How)
Student Tip:
Keep the working leg straight while performing dégagé – and feel the leg and foot lengthening as they leave the ground. It’s a bit like an airplane moving down a runway, keeping contact with the ground until the precise time for liftoff!
Teacher Tip
Tendus and dégagés give students time to develop control in their standing leg, which is so important to overall balance and strength! Make sure that students are maintaining their turnout on the standing leg (I equate it to putting down roots) and keeping their weight over this leg as the working leg brushes out and in. The hips and torso should stay still.
Teaching the meaning of dégagé (released), glissé (slid), and jeté (thrown) helps students understand the various qualities of the movement.
À La Carte
(From the Menu)
Recommendations, reflections, and/or useful links!
As we’ve just celebrated July 4th here in the US, I thought I’d pass along a peek into Balanchine’s Stars & Stripes ballet, in an excerpt narrated here by NYCB principal dancer Andrew Veyette. The ballet initially seems a bit fluffy and light on the surface, but is lots of fun to watch, and full of beautiful and technically challenging choreography. It’s well worth catching if you get a chance to see it in person!
Merci!
(Thank you!)
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- Peggy