Cecchetti Grade 5 Practice Exam

Epaulement describes how the upper body, especially the shoulders and head, is rotated to the side to create line and expression in turns. In a turning sequence, you don’t want the torso to stay completely square; you angle the shoulders and tilt the head toward the direction of the turn while keeping the hips aligned forward. This subtle upper-body rotation lengthens the line from the crown through the spine and arm, guides the gaze, and adds audible and visual fluency to the movement. It also helps balance the body as the turn happens, making the line appear clean and expressive.

The other terms refer to different ideas: an Attitude is a leg position with the knee bent and the leg held out, not about guiding the upper-body line in turns; Arabesque is a back leg extension with the torso held to create a long front line, which isn’t the function described here; a Fouette is a whip-like turning action of the working leg, a technique of the turn itself rather than the upper-body placement that creates line.