An arabesque is one of ballet's basic poses: you stand on one leg with the other extended straight behind you, the arms making a long line with the body. In the classical definition the back leg reaches a right angle to the standing leg, but the line comes first and the height is built over time, with strength as well as flexibility. From the side the camera can read how straight your standing and back legs are, how high the back leg is, and how far your torso tips forward; pelvis tilt, the low back and fine foot detail are beyond it, so check those in the mirror.
Standing leg and hip
Start from a tendu derrière: the back leg straight, turned out from the hip, toes on the floor directly behind you. Set your placement here before you lift.
the back toe sits in line behind you, not off to the side.
Stand on a straight standing leg with the knee and foot lined up and your weight over the standing foot. The standing knee and ankle stay still while the back leg moves.
the line begins and ends with the standing leg and hip.
Keep the standing hip lifted and stacked over the standing foot, and keep the turnout of the standing leg working from the hip. Only turn out as far as your hips allow; don't force it from the knee or foot.
lifted up out of the standing hip, not sitting in it.
Back leg straight behind, pointed
Lift the back leg from the hip, using the glutes and hamstrings, keeping the knee straight and the foot fully pointed. Lift it straight back from the tendu, without letting it drift out to the side.
the leg lengthens away from you as it rises.
Take the leg only as high as you can hold with the hips and back placed. Classical arabesque is defined at a right angle (about 90 degrees) to the standing leg, but a lower arabesque with a clean line beats a higher one that twists the body. Lift with control; don't kick or whip the leg up.
height you can hold, not height you have to throw.
As the leg rises, the working hip lifts and opens a little. That is normal anatomy: with the leg turned out behind you, the hip bones can't stay perfectly square. Let it open only as much as your body needs, not more to chase height.
the hip opens a little; the ribs and shoulders don't follow it.
Lifted carriage, square ribs
Keep your ribs and shoulders square to the direction you face, even as the hip opens. Think of a slight twisting energy in the rib cage that counters the open hip, so the ribs don't collapse onto the lifted side.
hip opens one way, ribs stay facing front.
Lift the chest and let the arch come from the whole back, especially the upper back. In a study of 59 elite dancers, most of the spinal motion in arabesque came from the thoracic (upper and mid) spine. Never crunch into the low back to get the leg higher.
long and lifted through the upper back, low back not pinched.
Settle the standing-side shoulder down without pinching the shoulder blades, and extend the arms in the line your school's arabesque uses (Cecchetti, Russian and French schools number their arabesques differently). Hold the finished pose still.
one long line from fingertips to back toe.
Feel it
A tall, still standing leg and hip; a straight back leg that rises from the hip and keeps lengthening away; ribs facing front while the working hip opens a little; a lift through the upper back with no pinch in the low back. If you feel a squeeze or ache in the low back, the leg is higher than your back can support right now: lower it. From the side the app reads standing-leg and back-knee straightness, back-leg height and forward tilt of the torso; pelvis tilt, the low back, rib squareness and the shape of the pointed foot need a mirror or a teacher.
Fix-its
- You crunch into the low back to get the leg higher Lower the leg to a height your back can support and lift through the chest and upper back instead. Forcing the low back is linked to back strains, disc problems and spondylolysis (a spinal stress fracture). See a dance physio if back pain persists.
- Your working hip hikes and opens to chase height Go back to tendu derrière, set the hips, then lift only as high as you can without the hip swinging open more than it needs. Height comes with strength, not by turning the pelvis.
- Your ribs and shoulders twist toward the lifted leg Keep the rib cage square to the front and think of a counter-twist through the ribs against the open hip.
- Your standing knee bends or the standing ankle rolls in Straighten and lift the standing leg, line the knee up over the foot and keep the standing hip stacked over it; tipping the pelvis forward makes the standing foot roll in.
- Your back knee bends or the leg drifts out to the side Straighten the knee, point the foot, and lift straight back from the tendu. Lower the leg if that's what it takes to keep it straight and behind you.
Drill
- Tendu derrière at the barre: set the standing leg, hips and ribs with the back toe on the floor, then slowly lift the leg a little and lower it, keeping the placement. Stop at the height where the hip or low back starts to give.
- Back extension on a physio ball (from a Harkness Center for Dance Injuries clinician): lie face down with the ball under your hips, toes on the floor and heels against a wall, and lift your chest away from the ball with your back extensors and glutes into a slight arch. Keep the core on and don't crunch the low back. 10 reps, building to 20, 2 to 3 times a week as part of your warm-up.
- Slow arabesque holds at the barre: lift to your controlled height and hold still for a few seconds, standing leg straight, ribs square, then lower with control. Stop if the low back hurts.
- Film from the side, camera at hip height, to check the standing knee, the back knee, the back-leg height and how far the torso tips forward. Use a mirror for the hips and ribs.
Sources
- American Ballet Theatre — Ballet Dictionary (Arabesque, Attitude)
- Slattery (with ABT physical therapist J. Daugherty, MPT) — The Anatomy of Arabesque: Why Placement and Turnout Are Key, Pointe (2020)
- Loeffler-Gladstone (with L. Heflin Ponniah, Harkness Center for Dance Injuries; S. Jaffe, UNCSA) — Our Best Tips: Amp Up Your Arabesque, Pointe (2016)
- Hagins, Swain, Orishimo, Kremenic & Liederbach — Motion of the multi-segmented spine in elite dancers during passé and arabesque, Gait & Posture (2021)
Last checked 2026-10-26.