The Centre Barre
This article is a continuation of The Barre: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. It will focus on the qualities of the centre barre such as:
- formats of centre barre construction
- the relationship between barre and allegro as the central position of the technique class
- the exercises
Centre Barre Construction
The breakdown in levels of technique are the same as discussed in The Barre: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced and will only be repeated here as necessary for clarity.
The centre barre is what the teacher uses as the basis for the entire class. It should be constructed so that it supports all of the allegro exercises that follow it and it is unique in that it is the first instance where the dancers can not rely upon the support of a rigid bar. Each exercise should refer back to the work done at the barre and should enhance the épualement positions to be used in the allegro exercises.
For beginning students, the centre barre should include each type of exercise that was previously done at the barre. In a 1 1/2 hour class the barre and centre barre will take up the majority of the allotted time. In the intermediate levels the centre barre includes most of the barre exercises combined in more challenging patterns. (The appropriate combination of exercises are listed in The Barre: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced). By combining the exercises in the barre and centre barre the time is reduced for both of these sections of the class and lengthens the time for the allegro section. Below is a chart that gives a basic breakdown of the time element in a technique class.
Flow of Exercises
Centre barre should open with a simple adagio. This should be short in duration and use only simple port de bras. In the beginning levels this exercise is executed separately from the other exercises and should include all the basic épaulement positions: éfface, écarté and croisé (both en arrière, and en avant). In the intermediate to advanced levels the simple adagio should be combined with battements tendus, battements tendus jetés and, where appropriate, tours. The adagio/tendus should always be the first centre barre exercise and resemble the plié and tendu barre exercises.
The exercise following the petite adagio and tendus should be ronds de jambes à terre. In the intermediate to advance levels this can include ronds de jambes en l’air, tours and large port de bras. It should also include the continuation of basic épaulement poses. In the beginning level these combinations are done separately, and, until a moderate level of mastery of balance is achieved, no ronds de jambes en l’air should be included.
After the ronds de jambes the choice of exercises is left to the descrection of the teacher. However, the exercises should mirror the barre exercise order and support the allegro exercises that come after the centre barre. For example: if there will be many forms of ballonné then battements fondu and frappé should be included in the centre barre; if there will be many forms of assemblé then battement soutenu should be included; if there will be many exercises that will include beats then a long and vigorous petits battements should be done. The point that is being made here is that, though all the exercises can be included, it is more important what type of allegro exercises that determines the mid-portion of the centre barre exercises. (Of course, the beginning level should include all the exercises from the barre, with special emphasis on the port de bras and all the épaulement positions).
The centre barre concluding exercises can include both grands battements jetés and a grand adagio. The grand adagio is more important to the development of the upper body strength for the allegro and the grands battements jetés for the power of the jump in grand allegro. The grand adagio is primarily for the intermediate and advanced levels. In the beginning levels this part of centre barre should always include grands battements, and, after grands battements, it is also also a good place for the dancer to practice tours (pirouettes), balance on relevé and more port de bras.
Conclusion
The centre barre is designed to empower the dancer’s allegro ability. It should not be relegated to a few tendu, port de bras and pirouette combinations. It is where the dancer masters most of their control and artistry. Unfortunately the centre barre is often neglected in favor of the barre and allegro. The distinction between centre barre and the allegro will be made clear in the next column.