<P> The positions of the feet in ballet is a fundamental part of classical ballet technique that defines standard placements of feet on the floor . There are five basic positions in modern - day classical ballet , known as the first through fifth positions . In 1725 , dancing master Pierre Rameau credited the codification of these five positions to choreographer Pierre Beauchamp . Two additional positions , known as the sixth and seventh positions , were codified by Serge Lifar in the 1930s while serving as Ballet Master at the Paris Opéra Ballet , though their use is limited to Lifar 's choreographies . The sixth and seventh positions were not Lifar 's inventions , but revivals of positions that already existed in the eighteenth century , when there were ten positions of the feet in classical ballet . </P>
who developed the five positions of the feet in ballet that are still used today
choreographer Pierre Beauchamp