Meanings of Selected Ballet Steps
14 August 2015
Ballet consists of 7 basic movements:
- Plier (to bend)
- Étendre (to stretch)
- Relever (to rise)
- Glisser (to slide or glide)
- Sauter (to jump)
- Élancer (to dart)
- Tourner (to turn)
At the Barre
| Terminology | Meaning | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Plie | Bend | How to execute Plie correctly |
| Tendu | Stretch | How to execute Tendu correctly |
| Jete | Throw | |
| Rond de Jambe a Terre | Circling of Leg on the Floor | |
| Frappe | Strike | |
| Fondu | Melt | |
| Petit Battement | Small Beating | |
| Adagio | At ease, Leisure | |
| Rond de Jambe en L’air | Circling of the Leg in the Air | |
| Grand Battement | Big Beating | |
| A la Seconde | To the Side | |
| Changer | Change / Switch | |
| Devant | Front / In Front | |
| En Avant | Forward / To The Front | |
| Derriere | Back / Behind | |
| En Arriere | Backward / To The Back | |
| En Croix | In the Shape of a Cross | |
| En Dehors | Outwards, Away from Supporting Leg | |
| En Dedans | Inwards, Towards Supporting Leg |
In the Centre
| Terminology | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Allegro | Brisk, Lively Movement |
| Arabesque | In Arabic fashion |
| Brise | Broken / Breeze |
| Cambre | Arched |
| Chaine | Chain |
| Changement de pied | Change of foot |
| Ciseaux | Scissors |
| Cou de pied | Neck of the foot, meaning ankle |
| Coupe | Cutting |
| Croise | Crossed |
| Ecarte | Wide apart |
| Efface | Shaded |
| En face | In front |
| Epaulement | Shouldering, with shoulder forward |
| Pirouette | Twirl, Turn on one leg |
| Port de bras | Carriage of arms |
| Promenade | A walk. Abbreviated wording of Tour de promenade |
| Releve lent | Slow lift or raise |
| Retire | Withdrawn |
| Saute | Jump |
| Sissonne | Name of the person who invented this step |
| Tour de promenade | Turn in a walk |
| Tour en l'air | Turn in the air |
| Tour lent | Slow turn (Vaganova terminology for Promenade or Tour de promenade.) |