Ballet Vocabulary

Devant To the Front Derriere To the Back A la seconde To the Side

Port de Bras Carriage of the arms

Grand Plie’ Demi Plie Half bend of the knees Full bend of the knees; heels come off the floor (except in 2nd position)

Battement “Beating” Three kinds of battement: tendu, jete/degage, & grand battement

Tendu “Stretched” Toe reaches out to a point on the floor Stretching your knees, ankles, and toes

Degage’ - Jete “Disengage” Starts off with a tendu but the foot lifts off the ground.

Grand Battement “Big kick”

En Croix Cambre “In the shape of a cross” Bending at the torso front/side/back/side Cambre Bending at the torso

Rond de Jambe’ “Circle of the leg” From first position, point foot front, bring it side, bring it back, then close in first position.

En Dehors “To the outside” En Dedans “To the inside”

Releve’ Eleve’ Rise onto the ball of the foot/feet. Eleve with a plie at the beginning

Sous-sus “Over / Under” From 5th, plie’ then rise to releve with no space in legs and heels

Passe’ “Passed”. The toe slides up the leg to the inside of the knee.

Developpe’ “Develop” the leg to an extended position through passe

Arabesque A famous pose in ballet where one leg is extended to the back and the opposite leg is standing straight on the ground.

Saute’ Changement A small jump that begins and ends in a demi-plie’. A small jump in fifth position that changes feet in the air

Echappe Temps Leve “Escape” Changing from a closed position to an open position Temps Leve “Raised time” A hop on one leg

Spotting The movement of the head and focusing of the eyes in turns to keep from getting dizzy SPOT

Chaine’ Chain like turns

Pirouette A turn in place with the leg in passe

Pas de Bourree’ “Step of the flowing”; Back, side, front.

Glissade “To glide”

Chasse’ “To chase” Second leg chases the first leg

Grand Jete’ “Thrown” A Big leap

Reverence A bow or curtsy at the end of class to show appreciation to the teacher and other dancers

Ballroom Stop Here

Assemble “To assemble” or put the legs together

Pique “To prick” or lightly tap as if dotting an “i”

Pique Turns Turns that step onto a straight knee and turn in passe

Soutenu A turn in fifth position that switch legs in the middle

Coupe’ “To Cut” Can be used as a preparatory position and can also be used to describe a foot placement

Winged Sickled Toe turned outward Toe turned inward

Bourree Rippling movement in sous-sus position. Rapid steps where front knee is slightly bent.

Pas de Chat Means “step of the cat”. Jump where one leg comes up in passe and the other legs switches in passe in the air.

Attitude A pose on one leg with the other leg lifted and bent at the knee in a turned out position

Sissone “Scissors” A jump that starts off on two feet and lands on one Can be done front, side or back

Cloche Degage front and back brushing through 1st

Fondu “Melting”

Sur le cou de pied On the neck of the foot

Pas de Cheval Step of the Horse Small coupe followed by a developpe

Frappe “To Strike”

Balance’ Shifting the weight from one foot to the other. ¾ timing (down, up, up)

Grand jete entournent entrelace AKA Tour Jete

contretempt “Counterbeating”

Fouette “Whipped” Can be done jumping or turning