What does a la quatrieme devant mean in English?

What does a la quatrieme devant mean in English?

• A. To the fourth in front
• B. To the second
• C. Around the room
• D. Crossed behind

Answer: (A)

In ballet terms, positions are named by a number plus a direction. The phrase à la means “in” or “to,” quatrième is the fourth position, and devant means in front. So it describes the leg being placed in the fourth position with the front foot in front of the other. That’s why the natural English rendering is “to the fourth in front” (often said as “in the fourth position in front”). It isn’t about the second position, and it isn’t about moving around the room or behind the body, because devant specifies front and quatrième specifies the fourth position.

In ballet terms, positions are named by a number plus a direction. The phrase à la means “in” or “to,” quatrième is the fourth position, and devant means in front. So it describes the leg being placed in the fourth position with the front foot in front of the other. That’s why the natural English rendering is “to the fourth in front” (often said as “in the fourth position in front”). It isn’t about the second position, and it isn’t about moving around the room or behind the body, because devant specifies front and quatrième specifies the fourth position.