Cecchetti Ballet Grade 2 Practice Exam

In Cecchetti vocabulary, arm positions are described with French terms that tell you which position and where the arm sits. “À la” means “to the” or “in the,” and you add the position and whether it’s in front or behind. “Quatrième” is the fourth position. “Derrière” means behind. So the phrase means the arm is extended to the fourth position behind the body—that is, the fourth position with the arm behind.

That’s why the translation is “to the fourth behind.” The other options would require different descriptors: a second would be “à la seconde,” something in front would use “devant,” and an “over” concept uses a different term altogether.