Relevés, Slurping and Springs

A relevé is a small sharp movement which can be a part of many different ballet exercises. After my previous post on pirouettes, I wanted to give relvés some love as this little movement is a fundamental part in establishing a good pirouette turn.

But what is a relevé made up of? The movement starts off with the knees bent and the feet flat on the floor. This is important to give the dancer ‘lift off’. Think about pushing a spring downwards onto the floor, when you let go of the spring it will release upwards; this also happens in a relevé where the dancer will rise upwards after straightening the knees. As the dancer straightens their knees, in coordination the feet must swiftly slurp taking the heels off the floor into a rise, providing an upwards release. The slurping of the feet is comparable to a smoothie being slurped up a straw. But what goes up must come down right? To end the relevé a dancer should come off the demi pointe and bend the knees for a smooth landing.

Even though a relevé seems simple, there are some things that you may have experienced that can make it tricky. For example, if you are not wearing ballet shoes and the bottoms of your feet are very soft it can be difficult to get a slurping action. Another factor which may impede a relevé is the positioning of the upper body. If the upper body is not held tight, with the shoulders over the hips, then a dancer may find it difficult to balance!

To help you remember how to carry out a relevé I have attempted a little acrostic poem (I had no idea it was called that and did have to Google it!!!). I hope it works for you…

Ready with the shoulders over the hips

Engage your core and bend

Lift-off by straightening your knees!

Elevate with a slurp of the toes

Very strong hold on demi pointe

End on a bend