Develope'
(Sorry -- I don't know how to print the "e" with the accent, so the apostrophe will have to do).
A Develope' is danced by drawing the free foot up towards the inside of the knee of the supporting leg (into what is called pase' position), and then extending the free foot forward until the free leg is straight. Normally the free foot is then lowered to the floor while keeping the free leg straight, ending in a tendu with the foot pointed on the floor.
Things to keep in mind when practicing a develope':
-- Knee of the free leg is bent as the foot goes up, straight as the foot lowers to the floor.
-- The free foot should be fully pointed from the moment it leaves the floor and remain so throughout the entire delevope' action.
-- The free leg should not begin to lower until after the knee has completely strightened. It is a very common mistake to lift the knee too high and then lower it as it is straightening. You should lift the knee only as high as you are capable of doing with the leg in a fully strightened position. For most non-ballet-trained people, this means that the free foot will not even reach the knee of the supporting leg. To test your own capabilities, lift your leg straight up from a pointed position and hold it for 3 seconds. This is the level to which you should aim your delevope'.
Ballet dancers use maximum turnout when executing a develope', causing the knee to lift outward instead of forward (even when executing a forward davelope'). Although a ballroom dancer will not achieve (or even prefer) this degree of turnout, some turnout does make a more attractive line. Whatever you do, do not turn the foot in.
Ballroom dancers often prefer to commence the develope' with the free foot crossed in front of the standing foot, drawing the free foot up along the outside of the standing leg. Because most ballroom developes are preceded by a back step, the free foot is drawn backwards into a position where it is crossed in front prior to drawing it upwards.
Also, note that because the ballroom develope' is often followed by a forward step on count 1, the step is usually danced using a heel lead. You should make sure to lower the free foot to the floor in a pointed position, and resist the temptation to flex the foot until the toe has touched the floor and the body begins to move forward into the next step.
The typical (although definitely not the only) counts for a ballroom develope action are as follows:
WALTZ
1 - RF back
& - LF draws across or to the inside of RF
2 - LF draws up to pase' position
3 - LF extends forward from pase'
& - LF lowers to floor, pointed
FOXTROT
1 - RF back
2 - LF draws across or to the inside of RF
3 - LF draws up to pase' position
4 - LF extends forward from pase'
& - LF lowers to floor, pointed
Note: The above timing is a very rough estimate, not necessarily to be adhered to very strictly. Just remember that the step is typically on count 1, and the foot must have lowered to the floor sometime before the end of the measure, and especially before you commence any forward movement.
TANGO
Entire action is often done in one beat, however, when the action is this sharp we often don't think of it as a develope'. We just call it a sharp kick. Also, the free leg almost always snaps back into a pase position before lowering to the floor, not typical of a develope'.
I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Atkinson
