Five positions of
the feet. There are five basic positions of the feet in classical ballet, and
every step or movement is begun and ended in one or another of these positions,
which were established by Pierre Beauchamp, maître de ballet of the Académie
Royale de Musique et de Danse from 1671 to 1687.
First position (Première position): In this position the feet form
one line, heels touching one another.
Second position (Seconde position): The feet are on the same line
but with a distance of about one foot between the heels.
Third position (Troisième position): In the third position one foot
is in front of the other, heels touching the middle of the other foot.
Fourth position (Quatrième position): In the fourth position the
placement of the feet is similar to that in the third position, the feet being
parallel and separated by the length of one foot. This is the classical fourth
position but it may also be done with the feet in the first position, only
separated by the space of one foot. The former is known as quatrième position
croisée (crossed fourth position), while the latter is called quatrième
position ouverte (open fourth position). Today quatrième position croisée is
done with the feet placed as in the fifth position, parallel and separated by
the length of one foot, instead of the third position.
Fifth position (Cinquième position): In the fifth position,
Cecchetti method, the feet are crossed so that the first joint of the big toe
shows beyond either heel. In the French and Russian Schools the feet are
completely crossed so that the heel of the front foot touches the toe of the
back foot and vice versa.
There are five basic positions of the feet in ballet. 1: feet in line with
heels together; 2. feet in line, heels apart (separated by about the length of
one's foot); 3. feet touching, one foot in front of the other and overlapping
by about half the length of the foot; 4. feet apart, separated about the
length of a foot, one foot in front of the other; 5. feet touching, one foot
in front, heel to toe and toe to heel. In a Cecchetti fifth, the feet do not
overlap completely; in a Russian fifth, they do. Fourth position is sometimes
qualified as an open fourth (like first position except for the separation of
the feet) and a closed fourth (like fifth position except for the separation
of the feet).
