I have a question about petit jete.
When you jump from fifth into the petit jete you brush with you foot over the floor: tendu a la seconde and jump into your jete, ending with cou de pied behind ( derriere)
But then...you are in cou de pied behind...
do you also brush the floor with your whole foot? Or do you just stretch it out en l'air? So that al the power from the jump comes from your standing leg?
Because when I am doing petit jete's it feels if I am cheeting.
I just brush with my toes over the floor...is that correct?
So who knows and can help me with this question?

thanks

bloempje

Hello, bloempje...After landing in sur le cou-de-pied derriere, you should brush the floor with your working foot to second before pushing off the supporting leg into your next jete. When I am first teaching jete dessus (over) to my younger students, I ask them to place the foot in fifth behind before they begin executing the jete to the other side: plie fifth, brush, jete...plie fifth, brush, jete...etc. More advanced dancers may not execute a perfect fifth plie (heel down) when executing consecutive jetes, but they still aim for that fifth as much as possible as dictated by the tempo and speed of the jump. It is important to think of going "up" (bring the foot you will land on back "under" yourself) instead of side to side. You want to show that sur le cou-de-pied derriere at the peak of your jump, not on the way down. Hope this helps...

Hi Gina,

Thank you for your reply...
I already thought this. I asked it my teacher and she sad the same thing.
But I was confused because like you say....when the jete's are going faster I almost not brushing to floor any more..only with the ball of the foot
But now I know again how it really has to be...thanks

bloempje

The working foot should brush the ground and this pushes you upwards. Make sure that for a second both the legs are straight and pulled in together in the air. Also, don't travel sideways or it becomes jete elance.

Hello, Jeannine Staltaro, and welcome to Critical Dance. Thanks for posting, and we look forward to hearing from you in the future!

Thanks! Petit Jete is my students fav!
Heres a good combo: Jete, jete, jete, temps leve, (3x) -coupe, coupe, jump fifth. Emphasis on sur le cou-de-pied & arms en bas. En avant, en arrière and en tournant come later when they get this down.

By the way I teach Cecchetti (ISTD syllabus). Cecchetti method teaches petit jete without a brush, just simply changing feet for the younger levels. This lets them do it fast, but they are usually all over the place!