Learn the développé: unfold the leg through retiré, train hip flexors and rotators, keep the pelvis quiet. With stages, error patterns and back protection.
The honest answer to “How do I get higher in développé?”: not by throwing the leg higher, but by combining hip flexor strength, hip mobility and pelvic control. In a développé you draw the foot up along the standing leg from retiré and unfold the leg slowly into extension: to the front (devant), to the side (à la seconde) or to the back (derrière).
What counts for that was measured in a study of 21 experienced ballet dancers (15–29 years): the strength of hip flexors, hip extensors and internal rotators and the external rotation range of motion were clearly related to static holding of the développé à la seconde (correlations 0.5–0.7); hip flexor strength plus flexion and internal-rotation range of motion of the hip together predicted 26 to 41% of static and dynamic performance [1]. Anchor: roughly a quarter to two fifths of your développé hangs on these hip values; the rest is technique, trunk, coordination.
How hard is it really? The développé is a strength-endurance skill. You learn a basic sequence to 45° in weeks; higher and held positions need months of targeted training (rules of thumb, no study evidence). The single-case study below shows an order of magnitude for targeted training: a good two months with seven sessions per week [2]. That is an example, not a promise.
Begin in a stable retiré at the barre, pelvis level, hip of the working side not pulled up. Milestone: ten seconds in retiré without the pelvis tipping.
Extend the leg from retiré forward, slowly, the heel leads briefly, then the foot. Stop at about 45°. The leg is straight, the hip level. Milestone: eight clean développés devant to 45° per side.
Increase height in small steps so that the back does not go into a hollow. In a study of 30 ballet and modern students, lumbar lordosis in the right développé à la seconde and in retiré was greater in the dancers who developed back pain over the following four months [3]. At the same time, longer holding of the bridge (rear trunk, glutes) was associated with less lordosis in these positions [3]. That is not proof but a hint: train glutes and trunk too.
From retiré open the knee to the side and unfold the leg sideways. The pelvis stays over the standing leg. Milestone: hold for five seconds at 45–90° without leaning the trunk.
Last comes développé derrière, again low. Then link développé and arabesque: in a study of développé arabesque, mainly pelvic control differed between skill levels [4].
Height loads hip and lower back. Pain in the groin, hip flexor or lower back is a stop signal. Do thorough hip mobilisation before développé, train the opposing muscles (glutes, trunk) and keep the height at which the pelvis stays quiet. A meta-analysis on strength training in dancers speaks for a supplementary strength programme [5]; discuss it with your teacher. Pointe work remains a topic of its own: développé on pointe only after clearance. This guide explains and motivates but does not replace supervised training.
Plan a targeted mini-programme instead of endless practice. In a single-case study with six dance students, développé height rose only in the weeks in which training was applied: four weekly 30-minute sessions with a taught approach plus three self-guided sessions per week with strengthening and stretching over 8.5 weeks [2]. A small group, but a concrete template: short, regular, targeted, and measure repeatedly (side video from the same camera position).
Mini practice plan (rule of thumb): Three times a week for ten minutes: single-leg standing stability, hip flexor lifts lying down or at the barre, glute bridge with a hold, then five développés per side at 45°. Every four weeks measure the same height with a side video. If the height grows without a hollow back, you are on the right track.
With hip flexor strength, hip mobility, a quiet pelvis and glute/trunk stability. In 21 experienced dancers, hip flexor strength and hip range of motion together predicted 26–41% of développé performance [1]. Height without control is risky.
In a développé you unfold the leg slowly and hold it; in a grand battement you swing it quickly and bring it back with control. Both need a quiet pelvis.
Ribs over the pelvis, reduce height, train glutes and rear trunk muscles. The study with 30 students linked greater lordosis in développé and retiré with later back pain [3]: a hint, not proof.
Yes, at the barre or a firm piece of furniture. Film yourself from the side and watch pelvis and back. It cannot replace class.
Two to three short sessions a week with a focus on control make sense to begin with (rule of thumb). The single-case study used seven sessions a week over a good two months [2]; that is no yardstick for every daily routine, and more is not automatically better.
Attitude: Holding the Bent Leg in the Air and Balancing