In my opinion the best part of dance class is going across the floor. It is your opportunity to showcase your talents. We usually go across the floor in groups of three or four people, so other people get to see you dance, and you get to see other people dance. These are my favorite ballet exercises because I love having the space to move across the floor. I think that it is also fun to have a goal to reach for, and not just be attempting to stay in place for long periods of time. Some exercises that are done across the floor are grand battements, pirouettes, pique turns, and jetés. These exercises are actually usually done diagonally because there is more room to dance if you dance corner to corner.

I talked about grand battements that are done center floor previously. Grand battements are big beats (big kicks) that are usually done en croix (in a cross). When the are done in center, you usually do four battements to the front, side, back, and then side again. I don’t like doing grand battements in center because it feels so stagnant. I like going across the floor because it is done slightly different. First you battement once to the front with you right foot, then you battement front again with you left, next you battement to the right side, and finally doing a battement with the left foot to the back. The catch is that you also turn in a circle every time you do a set of four battements. You do the first two battements facing front. When you do the side battement, you also turn your body to the side. Finally, when you do the battement to the back, you also turn your body to the back. Before starting this combination over again you have turn your body to the front quickly.

Pirouettes are probably my favorite dance movements in the entire world. I love to turn more than anything, so it is only natural that I love pirouettes so much. I love doing pirouettes in center, but I love doing them across the floor more (at least in ballet class). I have mentioned pirouettes a lot before because they are so amazing. Pirouette means to whirl, and is done by turning in a circle on one foot. All of the turns down the floor are en dehors, which means outwards. In the beginning pirouettes may be difficult to do. An easy combination would be taking three step, and then doing a demi plie in fourth position and doing as many pirouettes as possible.

These can be done across the floor, in center, in circles and in many more ways. Everything that is done to the right across the floor must also be done to the left. Usually the combination is done at least four time across the floor. So for grand battements you would do the four battements (front, front again, side, and back) four times. The possibilities are endless when dancing across the floor, which is why it so amazing!