ballet position

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Arabesque executed by Natalya Bessmertnova, with Nikolay Fadeychev, of the Bolshoi Ballet; Swan …—Novosti—Sovfoto

Any of the five positions of the feet fundamental to all classical ballet. First codified by Pierre Beauchamp (1636–1705) in 1680, the positions form the base from which a dancer achieves stability or aplomb, the basic law of ballet. Fundamental to all the positions is the turnout, or rotation of the dancer's legs out from the hips, which creates a firm basis for movement in any direction. Various positions of the arms and hands (port de bras) complete the figures.

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