"If you always do what you always did you will always get what you always got." -Albert Einstein
Introduction
Petit jeté is a staple of any petit allegro combination. Like assemblé, it is a step that requires lots of plié and brushing, but there are a few other things to keep in mind:
If you practice your technique properly at the barre, jeté should come to you in no time!
- Always brush from fifth, but land in coupé
- Jeté travels up-and-down, not side-to-side
- Use your plié
If you practice your technique properly at the barre, jeté should come to you in no time!
Elements of a Jeté
As with almost any jump, a jeté must start in fifth position, with a generous plié to get you off of the floor. Brush the releasing leg across the floor (just like in assemblé) and use that to help power your jump. It is important to get some air time, but this is petit allegro, so do not feel that you need to stay in the air for as long as possible. Instead, focus on staying on the music. As you land, bring the opposite leg into coupé and find a nice, turned out position with both legs. As you land, take a deep plié and keep your coupé foot attached to your standing leg. When you land, your legs and feet should look as they do in the picture above.
Many times, as you dance, your jeté does not actually begin in fifth position, and instead starts from the ending position of a previous jump. If this is the case, you still need to close to fifth before starting your jeté. If the movement is very fast, sometimes you cannot really see that this is happening. If you watch a dancer with good technique however, you will see that they do close fifth, if only for a split second.
Remember that jeté means "to throw." In this case, the "throw" is the toss of your brushing leg, so be sure to give it good energy as you start your jump. This will not only help you get height in your jump, but it will also give you the right rhythm and energy for your petit allegro, which will in turn help you build stamina. So do not slack off on your jeté!
Many times, as you dance, your jeté does not actually begin in fifth position, and instead starts from the ending position of a previous jump. If this is the case, you still need to close to fifth before starting your jeté. If the movement is very fast, sometimes you cannot really see that this is happening. If you watch a dancer with good technique however, you will see that they do close fifth, if only for a split second.
Remember that jeté means "to throw." In this case, the "throw" is the toss of your brushing leg, so be sure to give it good energy as you start your jump. This will not only help you get height in your jump, but it will also give you the right rhythm and energy for your petit allegro, which will in turn help you build stamina. So do not slack off on your jeté!
Disclaimer
As a quick note, remember that just as with almost any jump in ballet, you can a straight jeté side (as explained above) which is the most common form, but you can also reverse it. In this case, you brush the front leg, which lands in the back, and the front leg lands in coupé. Finally, you can also do a jeté devant and jeté derrière. Here, you brush the front leg forward or back leg backwards respectively. If this is the jeté you are doing, the jeté does travel, but only minimally. Remember that jeté to the side does not travel.
Important Links
I apologize, but I did not find any links, videos, etc. that I felt adequately covered jeté beyond just defining it. However, I believe that you all have the tools and technique necessary to successfully learn jeté without them!