![Fouetté en tournant (CF46618267 109996904033)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Fouett%C3%A9_en_tournant_%28CF46618267_109996904033%29.gif)
In
classical ballet
Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...
, aplomb () refers to an unwavering stability maintained during a vertical pose or movement. The word is of French origin, coming from ''à plomb'', "according to the
plummet".
'aplomb. (n.d.)'
Dictionary.com Unabridged, (Retrieved August 23, 2015)
French ballet master Jean-Étienne Despréaux
Jean-Étienne Despréaux (31 August 1748 – 26 March 1820) was a French ballet dancer, choreographer, composer, singer and playwright.
Biography
The son of an oboist of the orchestra of the Académie royale de musique, he made here his débu ...
used the term in 1806 to refer to the dynamic balancing that is fundamental to all well-executed ballet positions and movements.[Bernard Taper (1996) "Balanchine: A Biography", ] In 1887, German dance theorist Friedrich Albert Zorn analogized aplomb in dancers as "the sureness of touch of the pianist".
Grammar of the Art of Dancing, Theoretical and Practical
', a translation of an 1887 book by Friedrich Zorn Friedrich Zorn described aplomb in terms of both its outward appearance and its underlying technique, saying that " lomb is the absolute safety in rising and falling back which results from the perpendicular attitude of the upper body and the artistic placing of the feet. By means of aplomb the dancer acquires a precision and an elegance which ensure the successful execution of every foot-movement, however artistic and difficult, and thereby creates a pleasing and a satisfactory impression upon the observer." According to Agrippina Vaganova
Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova (russian: Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова; 26 June 1879 – 5 November 1951) was a Soviet and Russian ballet teacher who developed the Vaganova method – the technique which derived from the t ...
, aplomb relies on balance and on feeling and controlling the muscular sensations within the spine.Agrippina Vaganova
Agrippina Yakovlevna Vaganova (russian: Агриппина Яковлевна Ваганова; 26 June 1879 – 5 November 1951) was a Soviet and Russian ballet teacher who developed the Vaganova method – the technique which derived from the t ...
(1969) "Basic Principles of Classical Ballet: Russian Ballet Technique"
References
{{Ballet
Ballet technique
Ballet terminology