Turns
01 · Term and function
What is Chaînés?
A sequence of rapid linked half-turns on demi-pointe in which the feet work closely together and the body axis is repeatedly reoriented.
prepare · align · turn · orient · finish
rotation and orientation around a controlled supporting axis
Interactive schematic movement analysis with its own movement logic
02 · Technical execution
What matters in Chaînés
Organize weight, foot placement, and turning direction before rotation begins.
The supporting leg remains aligned over the foot and ankle.
Pelvis, torso, and head organize around a clear axis appropriate to the turn.
Head and gaze coordinate spatial orientation; spotting may be used where appropriate.
Complete the turn in a controlled and spatially clear position.
Body awareness: Notice which part of the body supports the movement, which part travels, and where the movement can remain clear without forcing range, turnout, speed, or height.
03 · Movement phases
Chaînés step by step
Organize weight, direction, feet, torso, and focus for the movement that follows.
Carry out this phase with a clear direction, coordinated weight organization, and controlled transition into the next phase.
Rotate with a clear supporting organization and maintain spatial orientation through torso, head, and gaze.
Carry out this phase with a clear direction, coordinated weight organization, and controlled transition into the next phase.
Return or close with the same precision used to begin the movement and arrive in a clear final organization.
04 · For children and beginners
Observe and explore safely
Begin with a small amount of rotation and a clear supporting foot. Find a stable finish before increasing speed, range, or the complexity of the pose.
Which foot or leg is supporting you right now, and which part is moving?
Can you keep the direction and supporting organization clear while the movement changes?
Work only as large, fast, or high as you can control comfortably and without pain.
05 · Teaching and feedback
What teachers and learners can observe
Supporting foot, axis, free-leg organization, head/gaze coordination, and controlled finish.
Stable support through foot, ankle, leg, and torso.
Usable range of the pose without losing the turning organization.
Timing, duration, rotational phrasing, and intentional accent.
Direction, focus, beginning, and finish remain clearly readable.
Maximum height, speed, turnout, or range is not a meaningful criterion on its own. What matters is controlled, physically coherent execution.
06 · Choreographic use
How the effect of Chaînés can change
A technical movement is shaped on stage by time, space, form, gaze, and relationship. These variables change perception without assigning a fixed psychological meaning to the movement.
A single turn reads differently from a continued series.
En dehors and en dedans change spatial organization.
Vertical, inclined, or posed turning changes the visible line.
A turn may face a person, turn away from them, or move around them.
07 · Feeling, need, and relationship
Possible readings — not fixed meanings
Feelings and needs are not derived from Chaînés itself. They are possible readings of a specific situation. Feeling, need, intention, and movement operation therefore remain separate.
Possible feelings: concentration, composure. Possible needs: orientation, stability. Possible intentions: prepare, organize, sustain a state.
Possible feelings: determination, tension. Possible needs: clarity, effectiveness. Possible intentions: set an impulse, mark a direction.
Possible feelings: connection, caution, resistance, or curiosity — depending on context. Possible needs: cooperation, autonomy, respect, or orientation. Possible intentions: respond, follow, avoid, support, or mark a boundary.
Choreographic guiding question: How does one person’s action change another person’s possibilities for action?
08 · Continue learning
From Chaînés to related movements
A turn on one supporting leg: preparation in plié, rise to demi-pointe, organization of the free leg in Retiré, rotation around the body axis, and a controlled finish.
A controlled rise from the full foot onto the forefoot or demi-pointe, with organized leg alignment, footwork, and vertical lift.
A turning movement in which the working leg opens and is then quickly brought back to Retiré while the supporting leg turns on demi-pointe.
A small three-part connecting step with rapid changes of foot and weight organization; modeled here as a neutral back–side–front sequence.
Détourné is a small turn on both feet or on demi-pointe that changes body and foot orientation in a controlled way.
Couru consists of very small rapid steps on demi-pointe or pointe that carry the body continuously through space.
From an extended opening or a step, the body closes onto demi-pointe and turns in a closely organized position.
The three-part foot and weight sequence of pas de bourrée is combined with a turn of the body.
Additional professional background
Books on learning and body awareness
The movement lexicon complements two book projects by Mathias Ellmann: The Ballet Teaching Tree for reflective, healthy learning and Leni and Oscar and the Secret of the Ballet Tree for younger readers.
The Ballet Teaching Tree
A model for healthy, reflective, artistically oriented ballet learning — with body awareness, motivation, self-respect, and long-term development.
About The Ballet Teaching Tree
Leni and Oscar and the Secret of the Ballet Tree
A story about body awareness, courage, learning, and the joy of development for younger readers.
About the children’s bookConcept · Ballet knowledge · Choreography
Mathias Ellmann
Mathias Ellmann develops the Ballet Movement Lexicon as a connection between classical ballet technique, body awareness, learning, and choreographic application.
Movements are first described in observable terms. Choreographic variables, relationship, and possible dramaturgical readings are added only afterwards.
In the contemporary ballet projects, classical ballet technique is used as a precise language of human relationships. The central question is: How does one person’s action change another person’s possibilities for action?