Adage

The French term adage comes from the Italian phrase ad agio meaning at ease or at leisure. In music, adagio is a term which describes the tempo of a passage performed at a slow pace. In dance, we use it for a combination of slow, graceful coordinated movements of the arms, feet, body and head, performed with ease, grace and fluidity. Adage movements are combined to demonstrate beauty of line and form as well as subtlety of expression, and to develop the dancer’s sense of expression, and to develop the dancer’s sense of equilibrium when the body is supported on one food. They include controlled leg extensions at varying heights and in a variety of positions supported on the whole foot, en demi-pointe, or en pointe, and also slow rotary movements on the whole foot. To add contrast and interest, these lyrical actions may be punctuated by the occasional turn or spring.

It is an Adage that true expressive artistry emerges, affording the dancer an opportunity to display his or her unique sense of line, balance, musicality, and feeling for quality of movement.

Source : THE FOUNDATIONS OF CLASSICAL BALLET TECHNIQUE ROYAL ACADEMY OF DANCE