Pointe work & weight transfer
01 · Term and function
What is Sous-sus?
From a closed position the body rises onto demi-pointe or pointe and draws the legs tightly together into a long crossed alignment. Common or school-dependent terms in the source register: sus-sous.
rise · transfer · close · balance · travel
weight transfer and vertical organization on demi-pointe or pointe
Interactive schematic movement analysis with its own movement logic
02 · Technical execution
What matters in Sous-sus
Use the forefoot, toes, and ankle as an organized support system rather than collapsing into the shoe or floor.
Move the center of mass clearly onto the new supporting foot.
Knee and hip remain organized over the supporting foot as height changes.
Maintain torso and pelvic organization while the base of support becomes smaller.
Lower, step, or continue through space without losing control of the foot.
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
Sous-sus 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.
Maintain the position without freezing the body; support, breath, and gaze remain active.
Rotate with a clear supporting organization and maintain spatial orientation through torso, head, and gaze.
04 · For children and beginners
Observe and explore safely
First understand the same weight transfer on flat or demi-pointe. Pointe work belongs in appropriately supervised training with suitable strength and technique.
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 Sous-sus 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.
Demi-pointe and pointe alter the scale and narrowness of the supporting base.
Stationary balance and traveling steps create different spatial effects.
Holding a high support or transferring rapidly changes the perceived stability.
Weight changes can approach, withdraw, support, or avoid another dancer.
07 · Feeling, need, and relationship
Possible readings — not fixed meanings
Feelings and needs are not derived from Sous-sus 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 Sous-sus to related movements
A controlled rise from the full foot onto the forefoot or demi-pointe, with organized leg alignment, footwork, and vertical lift.
An opening movement from a closed foot position to a more open position, modeled here as échappé sauté or as an opening onto demi-pointe.
Very small rapid weight changes on pointe carry the body through space with closely organized legs and torso.
Piqué means “pricked.” The new supporting foot places precisely, the weight rises immediately over the straight leg, and the other leg becomes free.
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?