Glossary of ballet

Because ballet became formalized in France, a significant part of ballet terminology is in the French language.

A

À la quatrième

One of the directions of body, facing the audience, arms in second position, with one leg extended either to fourth position in front or fourth position behind.

À la seconde

If a step is done "à la seconde", it is done to the side. 'Second position'. It can also be a balance extending one foot off the ground in ‘Second Position’.

À terre

Touching the floor; on the floor.

Adagio

Italian, or French adage, meaning 'slowly, at ease.'

Slow movements performed with fluidity and grace.
One of the typical exercises of a traditional ballet class, done both at barre and in center, featuring slow, controlled movements.
The section of a grand pas, often referred to as grand adage, that features dance partnering.
Allegro
Brisk, lively motion. An attribute of many movements, including those in which a dancer is airborne.
Used in ballet to refer to all jumps, regardless of tempo.
A category of exercises found in a traditional ballet class, e.g. petit allegro and grand allegro.
Allongé

Refers to a foot and leg position when the toes and knees are extended and elongated, rather than forming the usual soft curve. Can also refer to a similar arm position.

[Aplomb]

The apparent elegance and precision exhibited by a confident, accomplished dancer.

Arabesque">Arabesque (ballet position)">Arabesque

In dance, arabesque is a body position in which a dancer stands on one leg with the other leg extended, straight, behind the body. The arm positions can vary and are generally allongé. The foot of the supporting leg may be flat on the floor, on the ball of the foot, or on the tips of the toes.

Arrière, en

A movement towards the back, as opposed to ''en avant.''

Arrondi

A position of the hand. Rounded, in contrast with allongé.

Assemblé

Sometimes also pas assemblé. A jump that takes off from one foot and lands on two feet. When initiated with two feet on the ground the working leg performs a battement glissé/''dégagé'', brushing out. The dancer launches into a jump, with the second foot then meeting the first foot before landing. A petit assemblé is when a dancer is standing on one foot with the other extended. The dancer then does a small jump to meet the first foot.

Attitude

A position in which a dancer stands on one leg while the other leg is raised and turned out with knee bent to form an angle of approximately 90° between the thigh and the lower leg. The height of the knee versus the foot and the angle of the knee flexion will vary depending on the techniques. The working leg can be held behind, in front, or to the side of the body. The alignment of the thigh compared to the midline in Attitude derrière will vary depending on the techniques. The foot of the supporting leg may be flat on the floor, en [|demi-pointe], or en pointe. The standing leg can be straight or bent.

Avant, en

A movement towards the front, as opposed to en arrière, which is conversely a movement towards the back. For example, a step travelling en avant moves forwards towards the audience, as in [|sissonne] en avant.

B

Balancé

A rocking sequence of three steps—fondu, relevé, fondu —executed in three counts. Before the first count, one foot extends in a dégagé to second position or to the front or rear. The second foot in the sequence assembles behind the first to relevé in fifth or fourth position.

Balançoire

Swinging the working leg between front and back through first position, usually in conjunction with [|grands battements] or [|attitudes] and involving seesaw like shifting of the upper body in opposition to the legs. Similar to en cloche.

Ballerina

A principal female ballet dancer in a ballet company. Ballerinas get more lead roles, which are referred to as principal roles as they are generally danced by principal dancers. Soloists also often dance in principal roles, but most of the time not in the first cast of the show

Ballerino

An informal term for male dancers in a ballet company in Italy.

[Ballet]

French word meaning a ballet performance, a ballet work, a ballet company and possibly the ballet dance genre, although the expression danse classique also exists for the latter meaning, is less equivocal and is more commonly used when referring to the learning of this dance.

[Ballet technique]

The foundational principles of body movement and form used in ballet.

Balletomane

A ballet fan or enthusiast. The word is of Russian origin c. 1930, with the suffix -mane coming from maniya.

Ballon">Ballon (ballet)">Ballon

Showing lightness of movement in leaps and jumps. A dancer exhibiting ballon will appear to spring effortlessly, float in mid-air, and land softly like a balloon.

Ballonné

In classical ballet, the term ballonné is a step where the leg is extended at 45 degrees. The knee is then bent and the foot brought to a sur le cou-de-pied position. This can also be done as a relevé or jump.

Ballotté

A ballotté is a jumping step in classical ballet that consists of coupé dessous and small developpés performed with a rocking and swinging movement. The step can be performed with the leg extensions at 45 or 90 degrees.

Barre">Barre (ballet)">Barre

A sturdy horizontal bar, approximately waist height, used during ballet warm-up exercises and training. Fixed barres are typically mounted on
-covered walls; portable barres can be relocated as needed. Used for balance, not support. A barre is a tool, not a necessary item to dance.

[Battement]

An alternating side-to-side movement of the working leg. Typically performed in multiples, quickly and in rapid succession so that the working foot appears to be fluttering or vibrating.

Batterie

A general term for jumps in which the legs open slightly sideways and close multiple times, alternating feet.

Battu

A movement with an extra beating of the feet included, as in jeté battu.

Bourrée

Quick movement of the feet, can be performed on pointe or on demi-pointe. The dancer straightens one leg and bends a leg and picks it up. Then the bent leg is straighted on the floor and the straight leg is picked off the floor and bent. These steps are repeated over and over again. The dancer looks as if he or she is flying across the floor.

Brisé

A jump consisting of an assemblé traveling either forward or backward, with an extra beat that "breaks" the jump in its travel. To execute a brisé en avant, the dancer demi-pliés in fifth position and brushes the back leg to the front, then springs into the air and brings the second foot to meet it in the back before switching to the front to land, creating a beating action with the legs. In a brisé en arrière, the process is reversed, with the front leg brushing to the back and beating to land in front.

Bras croisé

Arm placement in which one arm is extended in second position away from the audience while the other is curved in first position.

Bravura

A flashy, showy and elaborate style of dance that involves a lot of elaborate steps and style to similar music. Usually during a key solo.

C

Cabriole

An allegro step in which the extended legs are beaten in the air. Cabrioles are divided into two categories: petite, which are executed at 45 degrees, and grande, which are executed at 90 degrees. The working leg is thrust into the air, the underneath leg follows and beats against the first leg, sending it higher. The landing is then made on the underneath leg. Cabriole may be done devant, derrière and à la seconde in any given position of the body such as croisé, effacé, écarté, and so on.

Cambré

A bending at the waist in any direction, forward, backward, or to the side.

[Chaînés]

Also known as "chaînés turns", a common abbreviation for tours chaînés déboulés, a series of quick, 360 degree turns that alternate the feet while traveling along a straight line or in a circular path. Each foot performs a half turn, with feet held in a tight first position en pointe or demi-pointe.

Changement de pied

A jump in which the feet change positions in the air. For example, beginning in fifth position with the right foot front, plié, jump switching the right leg to the back, and land in fifth position with the left foot front. In the Vaganova vocabulary, petit changement de pieds indicates a changement where the feet barely leave the floor.

[Chassé]

A sliding movement forward, backward, or sideways with both legs bent, then springing into the air with legs straight and together. It can be done either in a gallop or by pushing the leading foot along the floor in a plié to cause an upward spring. It is typically performed in a series or as part of a combination of other movements.
A sliding movement as described above, but without the jump aspect. Instead, the leading foot is pushed along the floor in plié as described above, as a transition into another movement or position.
Cloche, en

Refers to brushing through first position from fourth devant or fourth derrière to the opposite fourth with the upper body held upright. Can be done continuously, as is often done with grands battements and attitudes. Similar to Balançoire, which additionally allows seesaw like upper-body shifting in counterpoint to the legs.
The Vaganova system may refer to en cloche as "passé la jambe" or "battement passé la jambe".

Coda

; literally 'tail'). The concluding segment of a performance or suite of dances comprising a grand pas. A particularly large or complex coda may be called a grand coda. If a large group of dancers participate, the terms coda générale or grand coda générale may be used.