digital danseuses

The digital danseuse and her partner will happily and tirelessly perform some of the more spectacular steps and positions in classical ballet.

fouettés forever
The difficult, leg-swinging spin called a fouetté (whipped) turn demonstrates how ballet technique makes use of a basic principle in physics: the conservation of angular momentum in a rotating body. Only the strongest ballerinas can do a long series of fouettés in a performance - but the digital danseuse will happily do as many of them as you would like, right on your desktop! view movie (165K)

tour guide
Jeté en tournant, in which the dancer leaps and makes a half-turn in mid air before landing, is often seen in male dancers' solos. The hardest part is holding the correct body position as the dancer's weight slams back to earth! The digital danseuse's partner demonstrates. view movie (611K)

luxuriant leaps
The soaring jump sometimes called saut de chat (leap of the cat) gains an extra "kick" of excitement by the way the dancer's front leg unfolds as she flies into the air. As the digital danseuse leaps for you, also notice how she uses a "plié" (bend) on landing to absorb her momentum while holding her body position. view movie (248K)

pas de pixels
In partnering, or pas de deux (steps for two), a male and a female dancer must work together as a unit, with each extending the other's individual capabilities. Dancers learn to partner by working through special exercises that teach them to sense each other's balance and movements, and to coordinate with each other's movements without sacrificing the correctness of their own form. In this animation, our dynamic digital duo demonstrates some simple partnering exercises. view movie (644K)

The digital danseuse was created and is copyrighted by Jim Williams.