My ballet teacher said there are only three positions in ballet: plié, tendu, and coupé. When you watch a ballet, it looks infinitely complicated, with thousands of movements put together. But underneath all the complexity are a few small, basic things, including the tendu.
The tendu is so basic and fundamental that it’s overlooked. A ballerina performing Swan Lake will never get reviews about her tendu. It will be the turns, the arms, and the artistry.
The tendu isn’t very exciting. You press your foot into the floor, slide it outward, lift the heel when it’s no longer possible to keep it on the floor, point the toes, and then do the reverse to bring it back in. That’s it. It looks so simple and nearly invisible because it’s so fundamental, yet it’s essential to ballet. And every dancer, no matter their level, will practice tendus.
When I attended Ducon in 2025, Mr. Du said that he practiced tendus every day of his ballet training. Even on the last day of his professional career, he was at the barre practicing tendus. It grounds us and establishes our connection to the floor each day. It’s that essential.
So the tendu is never going to get grand praise. It’s not something we ever graduate from doing. It stays with us for the life of a dancer.
…
I guess I’ll be doing tendus till the day I die.