Roughly, alignment of the body. Becoming properly placed means learning to
stand up straight, with hips level and even, shoulders open but relaxed and
centered over the hips, pelvis straight (neither protruding nor tucked under),
back straight, head up, weight centered evenly between the feet. This posture is
frequently described as "pulled up," but it is also a relaxed posture; you
aren't tensed up like a soldier standing at attention. (A teacher once said you
should imagine that you are suspended by a thread attached to the top of your
head. This suggests both the "pulled-up" and relaxed aspects of good ballet
posture.) And as you dance, you seek to maintain this posture except when the
step requires something different, like épaulement, or like the slight forward
arch of the spine that accompanies an arabesque.
