Fig. 4

Frontal view of a dancer performing a sauté in a slightly open first position. A sauté begins from a demi-plié position (a) the sauté movement is initiated by the simultaneous extension of the hips and knees and plantar flexion of the ankles. This shifts the body weight from the heel to the forefoot, as the dancer moves onto demi-pointe [55] (b). The last point of contact before elevation is with the toes [55]. In the air, dancers maximally plantar flex the whole foot (pointe) (c). Dancers are taught to land with a nearly fully extended knee and a maximally plantar flexed foot at initial contact [55, 56]. The phalanges are the first point of contact, followed by ‘rolling through their feet’ to allow the heels to contact the ground quietly [56] (d). The sauté ends with a demi-plié (e)