Terminology

adage ["at ease"]. The 2nd part of a ballet class: slow work with emphasis on sustained positions &on balance.

allegro ["happy"]. The 3rd part of a ballet class: fast work, jumps, turns. Usually divided into petit allegro&grand allegro.

arabesque ["Arabic"]. A pose with one leg stretched straight out to the back and one arm usually stretched out to the front. The back leg may be on the floor or at 45, 90, or 135 degrees. (These angles are measured from the vertical; 90 degrees means parallel to the floor.)

assemblé ["assembled"]. A jump: plié, brushing working leg out. Jump. Bring both legs together ("assemble" them) while in midair; land on both feet. The brush can be to the front, the side, or the back.

attitude ["attitude"]. A pose. As with the arabesque, the leg is raised. But unlike the arabesque, it is bent, not straight, and, also unlike the arabesque, it can be done to the front, the side, or the back. In attitude to the front or the back, if the angle is 90 degrees, the calf should be as nearly horizontal as possible.

balancé ["rocking"]. A waltz step. For a balancé to the right, start in fifth position.

battement ["beating"]. A generic term for various movements in which the leg is extended and then returned. See grand battement and petit battement.

chassé ["chased"]. A gliding step. The working leg slides out; put weight on working leg and draw other leg along floor to it.

coupé ["cut"]. A linking step in which the working foot displaces the supporting foot.

croisé ["crossed"]. A position on stage in which the dancer faces one of the front corners with the legs crossed.

croix, en ["in (the form of) a cross"]. Usually applied to exercises at the barre: the exercise is done first with the working leg moving to the front, then to the side, then to the back, and then to the (same) side again.

dégagé ["disengaged"]. A movement or position in which the working leg is lifted off the floor.

dehors, en ["outward"]. Used to describe motion away from the front of the body. In a pirouette en dehors, the dancer turns so the raised leg moves away from the front. In a rond de jambe en dehors, the working leg moves in a half-circle away from the front toward the back.

derrière ["behind"]. Directed behind the body. À la quatrième derrière is with the leg pointing back from the body.

developpé ["developed"]. A movement in which the working leg is drawn up to the knee of the supporting leg and from there smoothly out to a position in the air, usually at 90 degrees (i.e., parallel to the floor).

échappé ["escaped"]. A movement in which the legs move from fifth position out to second position or, occasionally, to fourth position.

effacé ["effaced"]. A position on stage in which the dancer faces one of the downstage corners with the legs crossed, upstage leg forward.

en face ["facing"]. A position on stage facing directly forward, toward the audience.

entrechat ["braided, interwoven"]. A jump in which the dancer's legs cross each other--from fifth in front to fifth in back--several times in the air. The number of crossings is indicated by a number after the word, and each crossing is counted twice (once for going out from fifth and once for returning to fifth).

fondu ["melted"]. Any movement that lowers the body by bending one leg. In a plié, both legs support the body; in a fondu, only one leg supports the body.

frappé ["struck"], in full, battement frappé, "struck beat". Working foot rests lightly on the ankle of the supporting foot. Throw the working leg forcefully out to a dégagé position so that it strikes the floor 1/3 of the way out.

glissade ["glide"]. A connecting step. Start in plié; move the right foot out to pointe tendu; then move onto that leg, closing the left foot and landing in plié. Can be done in any direction.

grand battement ["big beat"]. A "kick" in which the working leg is raised as high as possible while keeping the rest of the body still. "Kick" is in quotes because the battement should be a controlled lift, not a throwing of the leg into the air, and the leg must be controlled while coming down.

jeté ["thrown"]. A jump from one foot to the other foot, throwing the working leg out.

pas de bourrée ["bourrée step," the bourrée being an old folk dance]. This term has at least two meanings. 1. One of the simplest connecting steps, used to link other steps in a combination. The commonest form is probably the pas de bourrée dessous. Assume your right foot is in front: left foot on half pointe; step on it and put your weight on it; move the right foot to the side, transfer your weight to it (also in relevé); move the left foot to the front of the right and put your weight on both feet in a plié.

passé ["passed"]. A movement in which the pointed foot of the working leg is made to pass the knee of the supporting leg. Frequently used--incorrectly--as a synonym for retiré.

pirouette ["spin"]. A complete turn on one leg. The dancer usually goes round more than once. The raised leg is most commonly held in rétiré, but pirouettes with the leg in other positions are not uncommon.

plié ["bent"]. Knee bends, done with the legs turned out. Normally the first exercise in a ballet class. Demi-plié ["half-bent"] is a shallow bend (in all positions but second, as far down as you can go without lifting the heels off the floor); grand plié ["big plié"] is a deep bend, down to where the thighs are almost horizontal. In all positions except second, the heels release from the floor in a grand plié.

port de bras ["carriage of the arms"]. 1. How a dancer uses his arms. 2. Specific movements of the arms, as first port de bras, second port de bras, etc.

relevé ["raised"]. A movement in which the heels are raised off the floor. The rise may be smooth or aided by a slight spring.

rond de jambe ["circular movement of the leg"]. A movement in which the working leg is made to describe a letter D about the supporting leg. May be done with the working foot on the floor or in the air. In a rond de jambe en dehors ("outward") on the floor, the working leg moves from first (or fifth) position to pointe tendu forward, makes a half circle to pointe tendu in back, and then returns to first, if the rond de jambe is to be repeated, and otherwise to first or fifth. A wonderful exercise for turnout. In a rond de jambe en dedans ("inward"), the direction of movement is reversed. In a demi rond de jambe, the working leg goes only half-way around, stopping in second position.

sauter ["to leap"]. One of Noverre's seven movements

seconde, à la ["in second"]. In second position. (See feet, positions of and arms, positions of.)

sissonne [Named for its inventor]. A type of jump that has several forms, among them: sissonne simple, sissonne ouverte, sissonne fermée, sissonne fondue, and others. Not to be confused with ciseaux.

sous-sus ["under-over"] (or sus-sous ["over-under"]). A relevé in a tight fifth position with one foot almost on top of the other.

soutenu ["sustained"]. (a) Performed smoothly and slowly. (b) Also used to indicate a smooth détourné. For (a), can be: where from 5th position, the working leg is taken out to the front, 2nd position, or to the back, while the supporting leg is lowers to demi-plié. Then the supporting leg rises to demi or full pointe while the working leg is drawn into it, ending in a tight sus-sous position.

tendu ["stretched"]

tombé ["fallen"]. A movement in which the dancer extends the working leg and falls onto it in plié.