I passed my grade 2 cecchetti exam on sunday and now I'm in grade 3 and completely lost. So bear with me, I'll probably be posting a lot of questions about it. Here's the ones I have for today. I hope someone can help.<P>*Battements tendus at Battements Degages- in the book it says 2 battements tendus a la 2de with demi plie- How do you do them with demi plie? Do you plie when your foot goes out or in or whatever please explain more.<P>*Grand Battements- After retires passes in parathenses it says 1 grand battement. I don't really understand. Do you do it in back, front, side?<P>*Adage- at the end when you do attitude and then releve, do you lower from releve before or after you put your foot down from attitude?<P>*Echappes et Releves- After echappe san changer do you do releve then passe or releve with one foot up to knee and then passe?<P>Please help.<BR>Stacey

Hello STacey - I am not a Cecchetti teacher or RAD - so I am unable to help you. But there are several on here that will be able to help.........so keep checking back....<P>------------------<BR>Approach life as a dancer approaches the barre, with grace and purpose.

stacey, i'll have a look at my syllabus later today, but first can i ask:- are you learning this out of the syllabus notes? rather than from the teacher in class? and if so, why? i.e. do you have a teacher? are you getting ahead of the teacher? look forward to hearing from you.<P>just for starters, even without checking my notes, i am pretty sure the battements tendus and dégagés 'with pliés', are pliés on the closing action. OK? but i'll check all your Q's.

OK stacey - had time to have a little look at my very basic syllabus materials, which are not super up-to-date.<P>i am a bit confused now, since attitude is not a grade 3 position....?<P>i know that Tuk will come in, when he gets a minute, and correct me if i'm wrong, because my Cechetti syllabus material is not completely up-to-date....but i notice that in the grade 3 i have - there is only a demi-plié in the tendu exercise, but as a separate movement from the tendus.<P>there are dégagés closing to pliés.<P>as expected, grands battements has no retiré, and there is no separate retiré passés exercise.<P>the adage has no attitude, at the barre or in the centre.<P>i can see that you might be talking about grade 4?<P>i could answer these questions with reference to grade 4, but hope that you might clarify YOUR situation first, please? including: please could you tell us how old you are? thank you. <P>also, Tuk, if any of my information supplied here is out of date, please do jump in and help us out. thank you! <P><BR>

Yes I have a teacher and in grade 3 she does teach it to us and we were given the cecchettit council of america grade 3 cecchetti booklet. I was reading the descriptions on what we did in class so I can remember them and those are what I'm unclear of. It does in the adage say change leg to attitude and I know we did it in class with the music. I'll post another reply and rephrase my questions. By the way you asked how old I was I'm 14.<p>[This message has been edited by stacey (edited December 05, 2000).]

*On the battements tendus et battements degages it says 2 battements tendus a la 2de with demi plie closing en 5me alternating derriere and devant. So do you do the plie when closing in?<P>*For grand battements you do 4 each a la 4me devant, a la 2de, and a la 4me dierrere, then says 4 retires passes and in parathensis says 1 grand battement. Do I ignore the thing in parathensis or do it? If I do then to the front, back, or second?<P>*Adage- after you complete all the developpes and degage into arabesque facing the barre it says change leg to attitude, releve, and close in 5me a terre. So after attitude and releve do you bring foot in attitude down and then get down from releve?<P>Maybe the rephrasing will help. if you still don't understand then I don't know what to say but that's what's in my book.

great info stacey - thanks!<P>i AM confused still, but now it looks like its me that's got the wrong info - not YOU! <P>Tuk - i wonder: do you think the American Cecchetti Council might have a slightly different syllabus? (i know that sounds unlikely, but would you have any way to check? - that would be most interesting....)<P>in the interim, stacey - i cannot give you definitive answers - but i know Tuk will do his best for you when he has some time.....<P>given what you have copied out here, i would say:-<P>1. battements tendus - yes, plié on the closing (and stretch as you re-extend)<P>2. the grand battement thing is confusing - as there would only be enough music to do the 4 grands battements in each position. i am <B>guessing</B> that doing grands battements again in second MIGHT be an alternative to the retirés - not 'as well as'!<P>3. adage - this ending is a traditional part of cecchetti work. when i did it, we always extended the leg to arabesque, smoothly lowering to point tendu and closing to 5th, all in one smooth movement. it was permissible to extend to a LOW arabesque, rather than a high extension, if necessary - but the whole 'closing' movement was to be smooth and efficient - no jerks or stops. <P>IF one was on demi-pointe, then you would lower AS you extended the attitude leg to arabesque/on the way down. but that is only what i was taught, and what i did, and what i taught - it is not necessarily what YOU are required to do, by your teacher or your syllabus now - so best to check with your own teacher, OK? <P>it would be great if you let us know what your teacher says - that way YOU are teaching US, as well!

Yes, the different countries do use slightly different syllabi up until elementary and then for the most part it is common...just slight differences.<P>Fortunately, I'm familiar with the american syllabus so I can help you out. Just to let you know, they're revising the grade 3 work this year, so you won't need to know all this for your exam...you'll be learning new combinations to new music within 2 years hopefully if your teacher keeps up to date.<P>(please excuse my french and incorrectly spelt ballet terms)<P>Battement Tendu and Degage - tendu a la second on the intro. Close in back as you plie and straighten as you go back out to second and repeat but closing front. Then 4 tendus with straight legs.....the timing is tricky though.<P>Grand Battement - 4 front, 4 side, 4 back, 4 ritire passes (up close front, up close back, up close front, up close back)<P>Adage study (with attitude)do the first part of the exercise then.....face the barre, attitude, then rise, lower the leg right from attitude position, turn 1/4 turn and begin the other side.<P>Echappe and releve exercise - I call it out as "echappe to second, 2, 3, close 5th, to the knee and passe back" You hold it out to second until count 3, close with your right foot still in front on coun 4. Releve devant (also know as pirouette position) on count 5, close 5th with right foot in front on count 6, releve devant on count 7, and close with right foot in back on count 8. You're ready to start the other side....<P>Hope I helped!!

tiff - thank you again - i hope stacey is around still to see this. if not, i will email her, if that is posible.<P>your descriptions make sense to me - in the adage, i take it you mean that the student lowers the attitude into 5th en demi-pointe (behind) while still fcing the barre? then does 1/4 turn. is that rifght.<P>still trying to work out the echappe ex: is this right?<P>1 - echappe releve to 2nd from 5th<BR>2 - hold<BR>3 - hold<BR>4 - close 5th front<P>5 - releve retire devant<BR>6 - close 5th front<BR>7 - releve retire devant<BR>8 - close 5th behind.<P>oh yes! now that makes perfect sense! (and sounds very familiar - in fact i can hear the old music.) thanks.

Thanks so much it really helped. Hopefully I might be able to pass in June or December 2001 and not have to worry with the changes being made. I think I'd get too confused. Thanks again.

Hello Tiff - welcome to the board - it's great to have you with us. - and thanks for your help.