Ballet Vocabulary Cheat Sheet

BALLET VOCABULARY WORKSHEET Adagio-The principal steps of adagio are pliés, développés, grand fouetté en tournant, dégagés, grand rond de jambe, rond de jambe en l'air, coupés, battements tendus, attitudes, arabesques, preparations for pirouettes and all types of pirouettes. Allegro-All steps of elevation such as the entrechat, cabriole, assemblé, jeté Allongé- is an adjective that describes a position that is stretched or made longer. Allongé is usually used with arabesque, such as extending your arm and leg further before closing into another position Arabesque-In ballet it is a position of the body, in profile, supported on one leg, which can be straight or demi-plié, with the other leg extended behind and at right angles to it, and the arms held in various harmonious positions creating the longest possible line from the fingertips to the toes. Assemblé- a jump; A step in which the working foot slides well along the ground before being swept into the air. As the foot goes into the air the dancer pushes off the floor with the supporting leg, extending the toes. Both legs come to the ground simultaneously in the fifth position. Attitude-position on one leg with the other lifted in back, the knee bent at an angle of 90 degrees and well turned out so that the knee is higher than the foot. Avant, en- moving forward Arrie’re, en- moving backward Balancé- shifting the weight from one foot to the other. Battement- A beating action of the extended or bent leg. There are two types of battements, grands battements and petits battements. Grand Battement- a large battement; lifting it higher than a petit battement Battement Tendu- Battement stretched. A battement tendu is the commencing portion and ending portion of a grand battement and is an exercise to force the insteps well outward. The working foot slides from the first or fifth position to the second or fourth position without lifting the toe from the ground. Battement Degage- The battement dégagé is similar to the battement tendu but is done at twice the speed and the working foot rises about four inches from the floor with a well-pointed toe, then slides back into the the first or fifth position. Battement Frappe- Struck battement; an exercise in which the dancer forcefully extends the working leg from a cou-de-pied position to the front, side or back. Battement en Cloche- Grands battements en cloche are continuous grands battements executed from the fourth position front or back en l'air to the fourth position back or front en l'air, passing through the first position. Cambre’ Changement- Change of feet;Changements are springing steps in the fifth position, the dancer changing feet in the air and alighting in the fifth position with the opposite foot in the front. Chassé- A step in which one foot chases the other foot out of its position; done in a series. Coupé- A coupé describes a step where one foot cuts the other foot away, taking its place. Its usually done as an in-between step for a larger step Croix, en-In the shape of a cross. Indicates that an exercise is to be executed to the fourth position front, to the second position and to the fourth position back, or vice versa. Derrière-Behind, back. This term may refer to a movement, step or placing of a limb in back of the body. In reference to a particular step, the addition of derrière implies that the working foot is closed at the back. Devant-In front. This term may refer to a step, movement or the placing of a limb in front of the body. In reference to a particular step the addition of the word "devant" implies that the working foot is closed in the fron Detourne’- A pivot turn on pointe. For instance, starting in fifth, the dancer relevés and turns towards the back foot. As the dancer lowers his/her heels the back foot becomes the front one. Développé- is a movement in which the working leg is drawn up to the knee of the supporting leg and slowly extended to an open position en l'air and held there with perfect control. Dehors, en- Outward. In steps and exercises the term en dehors indicates that the leg, in a position à terre or en l'air, moves in a circular direction, clockwise. Dedans, en- Inward. In steps and exercises the term en dedans indicates that the leg, in a position à terre or en l'air, moves in a circular direction, counterclockwise from back to front. Echappé- Escaping or slipping movement. An échappé is a level opening of both feet from a closed to an open position. Elevé-which means "to bring up" or "to rear.”— to go straight up Entrechat trois- Interweaving or braiding. A ! step of beating in which ! the dancer jumps into the ! air and rapidly crosses the ! legs before and behind each ! other. Entrechat quatre- means to beat the legs 4 times, This would have the dancer, who is starting with the right foot front in fifth, jump then beat the right foot back and to the front again to land in fifth. Épaulement-Shouldering. The placing of the shoulders. Face, en-Opposite (the audience); facing the audience. Failli- A transitional step, sliding through first position into an open position (usually fourth). The dancer starts in fifth and jumps vertically, changing the direction of the body and landing with the front foot on plié, back leg stretched. Fondu-Sinking down. A term used to describe a lowering of the body made by bending the knee of the supporting leg. Saint-Léon wrote, "Fondu is on one leg what a plié is on two. Glissade- Glide. A traveling step ! executed by gliding the ! working foot from the ! fifth position in the ! required direction, the ! other foot closing to it. Jeté (Petite)- Throwing step. A jump from one foot to the other in which the working leg is brushed into the air and appears to have been thrown.( the smaller version) Jete’ (Grande)- Large jeté. In this step the legs are thrown to 90 degrees with a corresponding high jump. It is done forward to attitude croisée or effacée, and to all the arabesques. Pas de basquePas de bourrée-Bourrée step. Pas de bourrée is done dessous, dessus, devant, derrière, en avant, en arrière and en tournant, en dedans and en dehors, on the point or demi-pointe. Pas de chat- Cat's-step. The step owes its name to the likeness of the movement to a cat's leap. Pas de chat, grand- ^ larger version of Pas de Chat Pas de cheval-a step in which the dancer hops on one foot and paws the ground with the other. Pas de valse-Waltz step. Done with a graceful swaying of the body with various arm movements Passé- A transitional step where the dancer draws one leg up to the point where the toes touch the back of the standing knee. When held as a pose the passé is referred to as retiré. Piqué-Pricked, pricking. Executed by stepping directly on the point or demi-pointe of the working foot in any desired direction or position with the other foot raised in the air. Pirouette-Whirl or spin. A complete turn of the body on one foot, on point or demi-pointe. Pirouettes are performed en dedans, turning inward toward the supporting leg, or en dehors, turning outward in the direction of the raised leg. Plié (demi)- Bent, bending. A bending of the knee or knees; demi- smaller bend Plie’ (grand)- a larger bend of the knees Port de bras-Carriage of the arms. Relevé- Raised. A raising of the body on the points or demi-pointes, point or demi-pointe. Retiré -Withdrawn. A position in which the thigh is raised to the second position en l'air with the knee bent so that the pointed toe rests in front of, behind or to the side of the supporting knee. Rond de jambe (en dehors)-Round of the leg, that is, a circular movement of the leg. Ronds de jambe are used as an exercise at the bar, in the centre and in the adage, and are done à terre or en l'air. - outwards Rond de jambe (en dedans)- Rond de Jambe is a classical ballet term meaning “round of the leg” or “circular movements of the leg.” - inwards Rond de jambe (à terre)- Rond de jambe on the ground. An exercise at the bar or in the centre in which one leg is made to describe a series of circular movements on the ground. Rond de Jambe (en l’air)-Rond de jambe in the air. Ronds de jambe en l'air are done at the bar and in centre practice and may be single, or double, en dehors or en dedans. Grand rond de jambe- grand means big, so these are bigger rond de jambe Royale-A changement in which the calves are beaten together before the feet change position. Also termed "changement battu." Sauté- Jumped, jumping. When this term is added to the name of a step, the movement is performed while jumping. Saut de chat-Also called a développé grand jeté. The working leg passes through retiré and is thrown forward into a développé, so both legs end up extended forming a 180 degree angle. Sissone-It is a jump from both feet onto one foot with the exception of sissonne fermée, sissonne tombée and sissonne fondue, which finish on two feet Soubresaut- A straight up jump from fifth, with both legs and arches extended. Starting from a demi-plié to gain impulse, the dancer springs into the air, being careful not to brush one calf against the other. Soutenu en tournant-is a classical ballet term meaning “chase, turning.” This is when a dancer performs a chassé but does a single turn in the air as the feet and legs come together, then lands on the back leg with the front leg extended front. Sous-sus-a classical ballet term that translates to “over-under” and describes when a dancer springs onto releve demi-pointe or pointe, quickly placing the back foot more closely behind the front in fifth position with fully stretched legs. Sur le cou-de-pied- means “ on the neck of the foot”. The working foot is placed on the part of the leg between the base of the calf and the beginning of the ankle. Temps lie’-Connected movement on the points. Tombé-Fallen. With the working leg raised in the air the dancer falls backwards, forwards or sideways into a fondu on the working leg.