The Story Behind the “Full Contretemps” Zazzle Item Lines
In summer 2023, Tomas Karlborg resigned as ballet master for the Berlin Ballet. One of his parting gifts to the ballet world was a clip from their World Ballet Day 2021 company class on stage, accompanied by Nodira Burchanowa on the piano. It was a medium allegro combination inspired by George Balanchine.
The steps go as follows: temps leve 1st arabesque, 2 full contretemps into a temps leve passe, then a temps leve 1st arabesque into a contretemps to temps leve 3rd arabesque. The dancer then takes two steps arrriere (to the opposite direction) to a temps leve developpe ecarte derrière to a balance arriere. The dancer does a tombe, pas de bourree, glissade, to a grand pas de chat, or the pas de Balanchine as Karlborg calls it.
The clip was posted on TikTok in the middle of May in 2023, but later that next month, ballet dancers current and former started doing the medium allegro combo wherever they could, regardless of whether they were wearing sneakers and street clothes or pointe shoes and tutus. Sophie Silnicki did it down the shore in North Wildwood, NJ, in a bikini on the sand.
“Growing up, being trained constantly, day after day, you know all of those ballet terms. You can hear the terms and immediately know the combo,” she said.
Most organizations, ballet schools, and even ballet competition bodies also got into the act. The Dutch National Ballet had their danseurs in gowns pull it off. YAGP has at least two videos featuring female ballet students execute it in tutus.
Some competition-oriented studios and mom-and-pop ones also dove in. After all, it trended smack-dab in the middle of intensive season.
Even Silnicki’s former dance troupe, The Rockettes, hopped on the bandwagon - LaDuca Annie boots first, LITERALLY.
And later on, Ballet for All posted a living room-friendly version of the medium allegro enchainement. It may omit the temps leve avant 1st arabesque after the temps leve avant passe to a contretemps before the temps leve avant 3rd arabesque, but it’s about feasible.
And yes, I REQUESTED IT, having seen several videos of dancers pulling it off.
Apart from at least two tutorials of the combo on TikTok, Yelena’s on YouTube explicitly mentioned the aforementioned contretemps included in it!
Even days before Ballet for All’s tutorial was released, the medium allegro combo that went viral on TikTok sparked a merchandise line on the TFB for Safe and Age-Appropriate Dance Ed. Zazzle store: Full Contretemps. Each item is emblazoned with the script text that answers one of the deepest questions some ballet students ask, “Ummm… can you demonstrate a full contretemps once more?”
“This is an excellent example of important good content is on social media — even if it isn’t new,” Ceci Dadisman wrote on ArtsHacker, “Great content can be evergreen. Crafting captivating content significantly increases the likelihood of engaging a larger audience.”
And evergreen the medium allegro combo had been. And it became the influence behind the Full Contretemps merch line on Zazzle.
Full Contretemps collections:
Stationery and Treats: https://www.zazzle.com/collections/full_contretemps_stationery_and_treats-119490106935806660?rf=238359978314987621
Lifestyle Items: https://www.zazzle.com/collections/full_contretemps_lifestyle_items-119286775398051934?rf=238359978314987621
