How to Dance Allegro in Ballet

"To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful!" said Agnes De Mille. There are feelings and emotions that can be expressed in dance that cannot even be expressed by the music alone! There must be a dancer, and that is what the grand allegro in ballet is. An allegro is a very special part of ballet. It is the chance for the dancer to express who he truly is, and every ounce of his being should be expressed in the grand allegro. The allegro is the culmination of almost all ballet steps. It is the dancing across the entire stage, using leaps, bounds and jumps. The allegro is not easy to do, and students must know how to control their entire body.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

How to Dance Allegro in Ballet

1. Start with a series of small jumps. This is where the dancer traverses the entire stage. You need to make your leaps large here. As the music hits its crescendo, the movements need to be bigger and more energetic.

2. IIclude some grand jetes in your allegro. It is also known as a split jump, and it is done by brushing the front leg straight up. Be careful not to bend the knee at all.

3. Do some assembles. As you assemble your feet in the air, spin around.

4. Include a “temps de poisson.” This is a movement where the dancer jumps and arches his back, as a fish would do when jumping out of water.

5. Move with great leaps and bounds. Remember you will need to get across the whole stage in very little time, so you will need to be able to make those leaps really large.

6. Add a "grand jete en tournant". This is where a dancer will jump into the air, turn in the air, change legs and land on the other foot.

Tips & Warnings

• Pace yourself, and be patient with yourself. It takes time to build up your endurance.
• Don't attempt to dance allegro if you are just starting out. It's for experienced dancers.