Barre & battements
01 · Term and function
What is Rond de jambe en l’air?
The working leg is lifted à la seconde. The thigh remains as stable as possible while the lower leg circles around the knee and lengthens again.
lift · bend · circle · extend
coordination of hip and knee, control of the working leg, precision in the air
Interactive schematic movement analysis with its own movement logic
02 · Technical execution
What matters in Rond de jambe en l’air
Keep the supporting leg and foot organized while the working leg moves.
The working leg has a clear direction and returns without disturbing the pelvis.
Use the floor precisely through heel, ball, and toes according to the movement.
Avoid substituting pelvic shift or torso tilt for the intended leg pathway.
Close or recover the leg with the same control used to open it.
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
Rond de jambe en l’air 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.
Carry out this phase with a clear direction, coordinated weight organization, and controlled transition into the next phase.
Guide the working leg or body segment through the intended pathway without losing the supporting base.
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
Work in a small, controlled range first. Make the supporting leg, movement direction, and return position clear before increasing range or speed.
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
Alignment, footwork, supporting/working-leg organization, and controlled return.
Graded use of force appropriate to the movement task.
Usable range without visible compensation.
Timing, duration, movement flow, 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 Rond de jambe en l’air 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.
Slow, sustained, quick, or accented execution changes the visible quality.
A small or large leg pathway changes spatial emphasis.
Devant, à la seconde, and derrière reorganize focus in space.
The same leg action may mirror, answer, interrupt, or avoid another dancer.
07 · Feeling, need, and relationship
Possible readings — not fixed meanings
Feelings and needs are not derived from Rond de jambe en l’air 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 Rond de jambe en l’air to related movements
Rond de jambe à terre combines a circular pathway of the working leg with a stable supporting leg, organized pelvis, and continuous contact of the toes with the floor.
Fondu means “melted.” The movement combines controlled yielding of the supporting leg with gathering and subsequent extension of the working leg.
Frappé means “struck.” In ballet it describes a quick working-leg action from a prepared position at the supporting leg into a clear extension.
The working leg is first gathered through Retiré and then unfolded forward with control before returning through Retiré and closing.
The mostly extended working leg describes a large circle in the air from the hip joint.
With the thigh held, the lower leg performs two rapid circular actions before the starting organization is restored.
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?