Barre 9 - Grand Battement

Description of elements of a typical combination:

  • “The working leg is raised upward and away from the original position to maximum height and then brought back down again” (Lishka 1979, p. 23).

  • Common steps used in this combination:

  • Grand battement

  • Passé

  • Pirouette

  • Coupé

Meter

duple (2/4 or 4/4)

triple (3/4)

Tempo

maestoso - 65 bpm per "count"

Accentuations

  • Broad, loud, energetic, and uplifting (Cavalli, 2001, p. 109)

  • Strong up-beat for grands battements that start on the “and” and strong down-beats for those that start on the beat.

Example of Teacher Demonstrating a Grand Battement Combination:

Cues from teacher's demonstration:

  • The “and-a” in the teacher’s counting demonstrates that she wants it in a triple meter.

  • She is also demonstrating the need for an accent on the beat.

Music Selected: Cesare Pugni, Variation of Acteon from Pas de Deux

from La Esmeralda

PDF of Original

09_Original_Variation of Acteon_Esmeralda_Pugni.pdf

PDF of Arranged Score

Barre09_Grand Battements_Variation of Acteon from Esmeralda_Pugni10.22.22.pdf

Changes made in arranged score:

  • I added a four-bar introduction.

  • I added a repeat for the first 16 bars.

  • I simplified the right hand to include mostly the top notes of the texture.

Videos of Dancers performing combination with selected music:

Reactions while playing the combination:

  • The demonstration did not specify if I would need to play directly from one side to another, but the teacher did not stop the dancers (or me), so I kept going.