Ab-Track Ballet: One in which costumes expose the midriff<BR>Adagi-yo-yo: You can get your leg there; you just can’t hold it<BR>Degas-gé: Pretty leotard, awkward position<BR>Glee-sade: Drives your teacher wild with laughter<BR>Glis-slide: What happens when the floor is slippery<BR>Grand Butt-ment: Usually performed derrière, as in “if my derrière was smaller, I would have a much higher arabesque”<BR>Pirou-wet: You really shouldn’t stand next to the sweaty guy for the turning combination<BR>Wrong de Jambe: Self-explanatory<BR><P>------------------<BR>CygneDanois

Pli--é = my prayers for my ballet class to go well.<P>Ten --du = when I can't count to 8<P>rond de jam--b = stirring up the jelly, which is what my leg sometimes looks like.<P>A - dodge = trying to find an excuse not to do adage.<P>Petit = What I wish my teacher had.<P>Grand = my delusions - hence coming to ballet class in the first place.<P>Voyag - é = my excuse for a promenade.<P>Batterie = what my teacher is wishing she could do to me - along with assault.<P>

Grand butt ment avant. What you land on if you kick too high to the front.

I know you won't believe this.....butt ....I have done that, Maggie.<P>Much to the teacher's chagrin...and the butt of my chin....she thought I was a cut-up - but really I was a cut down....and that's where I went ....down....down....frown...<P>

pirou-eeks: tendu, fourth, releve, panic. i have heard that in some techniques (m. vorielli, in particular, was fond of this), the tradition is to land this with a petit buttement sur le (la?) terre.<P>tour je-taaaay: similar to bombs away in usage, although usually resulting in greater catastrophe.<P>f*!@#te: an advanced turn. not for children. some dancers are so advanced, they do 32 in a row -- some of the truly top notch (not to preen) end every turn with a f*!@#te or two.<P>everything i need to know about ballet i learned on criticaldance.com,<BR>--ari<P><BR>

ari, it's wonderful you are learning so much from the critical dance forum. So glad to know our work is not in vain. And I see you are a student of the Vorielli method. He is such a highly respected teacher. I believe most of us have had the privelege of studying with him at one time or other in his 95 year career as a teacher, following his successful career of 40 years as a dancer.

Or was it 95 yrs. as a dancer and 40 as a teacher?<P>Look, I don't give a frap-pé about those footés, what bothers me is those attitudes of the sur-ly pie-ds. <P> And I always thought that sauté was something done to an onion not a cat-chat-up.<P>

i only wish i was a student of the famed M. Vorielli. i have had the good fortune to once briefly breathe the air that one of the first of his students had breathed a few weeks ago when waiting to croise the street, and it was all i could do to re-assemble my composure. what attitude! <P>o well. at least, one day, i'll have my piro-eeks mastered, and it'll be all thanks to him.<P>squat-a-vous,<BR>--ari<P>

This reminds me of something I almost forgot I had saved into my 'puter.<P><B>Ballet Humour</B><P>arabesque: literally, of Arabian descent<P>battement: the balcony at the top of a castle<P>petit battement: a small balcony <P>grand battement: only for rich royalty<P>ciseaux: as in Shakespearan play, Julius Ciseaux<P>cou-de-pied: Texan cowboy<P>sur-le cou-de-pied: grouchy Texan cowboy<P>coupe: a revolution against the ruling government<P>croise: half a croissant<P>en croise: (see: croise) le jam or le butter en croise<P>degage: being dumped by your fiance<P>detourne: road closed for repairs, take detourne<P>enchainement: jailed for life<P>entrechat: French for Internet chat room<P>en dehors: mastery of riding (see: off de hors)<P>en travesti: a parking violation<P>extension: unknown to credit card companies, lawyers and tax officials<P>fondu: exotic Swiss dining<P>fouette: slippery floor<P>jete: a spray of water<P>grand jete: a fountain<P>petit jete: flushing the toilet<P>passe: out of fashion<P>penche: monetary compensation for being an old fart (see retire)<P>pirouette: French variation on Russian roulette<P>port de bras: wharf storage for undergarments<P>retire: when you stop working and start drawing your penche<P>temps: part-time staff<P>temps leve: promotion to full-time staff<P>temps lie: part time staff sleeping their way up<P>tour en l’air: when you can finally afford to travel by plane<BR><p>[This message has been edited by shazna (edited May 25, 2001).]

Wonderful, Shazna! I'm still laughing. Very clever!

Shazna - LOLOL - great!!