Why You Should Love Pliés
In my later years of dancing in a company, plié was always my favorite barre exercise. So today, I want to talk a little about pliés. If you’re a dancer, I hope this helps you get more out of your pliés, as well as barre in general. If you’re a ballet teacher, I hope this helps you to inspire your own students a little more when it comes to pliés.
In my final four of five years of dancing (really dancing—not just taking an open class here or there like I do now), I LOVED pliés. For me, pliés were an escape from the real world. Pliés meant barre was officially underway. I was in class and then rehearsal. I was in my happy place. Sure, I had been at the studio, stretched, and warmed up a bit—but the plié exercise in class was when I mentally left the real world and entered the ballet world.
Pliés also felt like a bit of a tuneup in those later years of dancing. Demi plié is one of the most very basic steps in ballet. It is the root of so many other steps. Your demi plié is the basis for your turns and jumps. They can help you or hurt you tremendously because when it comes to those steps. I always felt more grounded throughout class (and especially during turns and jumps) when I was very intentional during pliés, when I paid attention to where my weight was distributed over my feet, and when I thought about my weight going down into the floor while remaining tall at the same time. Also, when I imagined space in my hips as I pliéd, I felt like I had better turnout throughout the rest of class.
The other thing I loved about pliés was port de bras. When I finally learned to use my port de bras correctly, my dancing transformed. And plié was always a time when I would think about my port de bras. I’d think about performing. I’d imagine I was the Dew Drop Fairy if it was Nutcracker season. I’d imagine I was Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother or the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty. And with pliés being a relatively simple barre exercise I found I could really enjoy the port de bras. I could think of not just my arm movements, but also my head, shoulders, and upper back and how they related—just like a visual artist might think about her technique or an actor her craft. Pliés became that moment for me when time slowed down. I could simple be. I could focus 100% on what my body was doing. No wandering or interrupting thoughts. No wondering what I’d eat for dinner or who I would meet up with after rehearsal. I was there. I was present in my body. Pliés were a very meditative exercise for me. They allowed me to focus.
As a teacher, I’ve loved pliés for other reasons. The first one is a little selfish. I taught creative dance and pre-ballet for quite a few years before I taught what I would call “true” beginning ballet—you know, where students stand at actual barre and it feels like they begin to have attention spans and true control over the movement of their bodies. For the first few years, when I taught that “true” beginning ballet level, it was during demi pliés that I felt like I’d made it. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good preschool dance or pre-ballet class. But because I had wanted to teach beginning ballet for years before actually getting to, there was something extra special about it. Years later, I would still get that feeling of, “Oh yeah, this is what I LOVE. This is something I LIVE for.”
Speaking of beginning ballet—this is a level in which I especially love teaching demi pliés. There are a few simple mistakes your students may be doing in demi plié. And when you can help your students fix those mistakes, you’ve helped them in almost every other step they’ll learn in ballet. It’s crazy to think about, but SO true. Pliés don’t just set your students up for so many steps, they’ll also determine the quality of their their movement as dancers.
Finally, having a good (technically correct) demi plié will also help to protect your dancers from injury. As dancers, the health of our knees is SO important. So from a teaching standpoint, paying attention to your students’ demi pliés should not be overlooked. Don’t ever treat pliés as a throw-away exercise with little importance. Trust me, your dancers will thank you later!
xo, Ashley
Ashley Hartford, Director of Once Upon a Ballet
Psst—Have you checked out our OUB Story Ballet Curriculum for ages 7 to 12? If you teach a class in this age group, you’ll definitely want to check it out.