Ashley Oviedo

Ballet I
Melissa Anderson
Spring 2018 Vocab Chart
A La To the second To the second position in which the legs are turned
seconde position out from the pelvis and the feet are apart

Adagio In slow tempo A series of exercises consisting of a succession of

slow graceful movements which may be simple or of
the most complex character, performed with fluidity
and apparent ease.

Arabesque Arabic A posture in which the body is bent forward from the
ornamental hip on one leg with one arm extended forward, and
design the other arm and leg back

Assemble Assembled; Movement in which the feet or legs are brought

joined together together in the air and the dancer lands on both feet

Attitude Derived from A position on one leg, with the other lifted to the back
(Devant/Der the statue of or to the front. The knee bent at an angle of 90
rière) mercury (In degrees and well turned out so that the knee is higher
Front/to the than the foot.
back)

Balancé A rocking step Step where the dancer moves while alternating
like a pas de balance between their feet, usually done to a count
valse of three or waltz.

Battement Battement The working foot slides from the first or fifth position,
tendu stretched to the second or fourth position, without lifting the
toe from the ground. both knees must also be kept
straight.

Battement Disengaged A movement very similar to the battement tendu, but

dégagé battement done at half the speed, with the working foot rising
about four inches off the floor.

Battement Melting Movement in which a dancers supporting leg is

fondu slowly bent in fondu, with the working foot pointing
on the ankle.

Battement Struck Strong brush outward from a raised position at the

frappe ankle of the supporting leg
Cambré Arched Movement where the body is bent from the waist
and stretching backwards or sideways with the head
following the movement of the upper body and the
arms.

Chaînés Chains A series of rapid, linked traveling turns done with

both feet on relévé

Changeme Changement of A jump in which the dancers feet are reversed from
nt de pieds the feet the starting position

Chassé Chased The dance step is a triple step pattern, with gliding
character rather than hopping or jumping pattern

Coupé Cut; cutting A step in which one foot cuts the other foot away,
taking its place. It is typically done as an in-between
step for a larger step.

Croisé Crossed A position in which the legs appear crossed to the

audience

En Croix In the shape of The tem lets a dancer know that a step should be
a cross done to the front, side and then back. These steps
can also be reversed when you start from the back.

En dedans Inward The term is always attached to another ballet term to

describe the direction that it should move. For
example, a pirouette en dedans would mean the
dancer is pushing their back leg to the front and
turning inward to their supporting leg.

En dehors Outward Term for the other direction of movement. For

example, a pirouette done en dehors would mean
that the dancer would turn outward, away from their
supporting leg.

En face In front; facing Means that the dancer is facing directly towards the
the audience audience

Demi Half It is always attached to another turn to indicate only

half of the movement is performed. For example,
demi plié means, half bend at the knees

Derrière Behind; back A term that describes the position or direction of

another step or term. (to the back)
Détourné Turned aside Turning once completely around on both feet on
demi pointe or pointe. As the dancer turns, the feet
positions are reversed.

Dévélopé Developing Movement where the dancers working leg is drawn

up to the knee of the supporting leg and extended to
an open position.

Devant In front Used along with a step, movement, or placing of a

limb in front of the body. When used with another
step, such as tendu devant, it is meant that the
working foot is closed in front.

Echappé Escaping Legs and feet start in a closed position, usually fifth
position with the feet, the dancer slides both feet out
equally into either second or fourth position.

Effacé Shaded The term describes another step or pose in which

the legs look open and not crossed when seen from
the front.

Fondu Sinking down Describes both the movement and the quality of a
dancer where they are doing a plié on a sinking leg.

Frappe Struck Step almost always done at the barre as an exercise

to improve quick and precise movement of the legs.
Begins with outside leg in a flexed turned out
position and lifted off the floor and then the dancer
extends her leg toward the floor and out.

Glissade Glide A traveling, small, jump (glide) that is used to link

other steps together

Glissé Gliding A movement in which weight is transferred from one

foot, which is slid outward from the body and briefly
extended off the ground, to the other, which is then
brought to meet it.

Grand Big fast The part of ballet movements were all of the big and
allegro quick dance movements are done.

Grand Big battement A movement in which both legs are kept straight and
battement one leg is kicked outward from the body and in
again

Jeté To throw Describes a type of jump where the dancer extends

 one leg, then jumps off the floor with the other.

Pas de Bourreé step; Step that mostly relates to the direction that a
bourreé From a folk dancer is moving or if the legs are bending or
dance staying straight.

Pas de chat Step of the cat The dancer pliés, then jumps with the right leg going
into a passé. During the landing, the dancer places
the right foot on the floor followed by the left foot
back in front to fifth position.

Pas de Step of the a dancer will start in fifth position, lift the front leg
cheval horse into cou-de-pied, then extend front into a tendu. It
can also be done ending in a degage and to all three
directions; front, side and back.`

Passé Passed refers to the movement when a dancer goes through

a retiré position, which is when one leg is bent so it
looks like a triangle with the foot placed near the
other leg’s knee.

Petit Small battement A movement in which one leg is extended and

battement lightly moved forwards and backwards from the
ankle of the supporting leg.

Petite Brisk or lively term applied to bright, fast or brisk steps and
allegro movement. All steps where the dancer jumps are
considered allégro, such as sautés, jetés, cabrioles,
assemblés, and so on.

Piqué Pricked a movement in which the dancer steps onto one leg
without pliéing, so that the leg is kept straight.

Pirouette whirl It describes when a dancer is turning around one leg

with the other off the ground and in a position, most
commonly in passé

Plié (Demi/ Bending at the When a dancer is bending at the knees. Grande plié
Grande) knees (Half/ is a deep bend at the knees, while demi plié is not
Large) as much of a deep bend at the knees.

Port de carriage of the It describes how dancers move their arms from one
bras arms position to another. For example, if a ballerina
moves her arms from first position to fifth position,
that is considered a port de bras.
Port de Carriage of the The path and position of the arms during the cambré
bras au arms with an movement
corps arched body
cambré

Relevé Raised It describes the action when a dancer rises up and

seemingly is standing “on their toes” in a demi-
pointe or a fully en pointe.

Retiré withdrawn Often called passé, retire is actually the position in

which a ballet dancer raises their thigh en l’air with
the knee bent so that the pointed foot is placed
either in front, behind or to the side of the supporting
knee.

Reverence Reverence or curtsy performed by a female dancer after a

curtsy performance to acknowledge the applause of the
audience. Students, both male and female dancers,
can also perform a reverence at the end of class to
show respect to their teacher and piano accompanist.

Rond de Round of the A circular movement of the leg that can be done in
jambe leg many different forms such as en dehors (to the
outside), or en dedans (to the inside)

Ronde de Round of the A circular movement of the leg that is done while the
jambs en leg in the air leg is raised in the air.
l’air

Sauté Jump Sauté is a classical ballet term that can be used alone
or with another term to mean the step is performed
while jumping. When used alone, it simply means
“jump” and may be often repeated by a teacher during
a combination in a ballet class

Sissone Named after the A jump from two feet to one foot
orienteer of the
step

soutenu en Sustained describes a ballet dancer turning in a sus-sous or fifth

tournant position en pointe and ending up with the opposite foot
in front.

Sur le cou On the neck of The position is when the working foot is placed on the
de pied the foot other leg between the base of the calf muscle and the
top of the ankle.
Sous sus Over under describes when a dancer springs onto relevé demi-
pointe or pointe, quickly placing the back foot more
closely behind the front in fifth position with fully
stretched legs.

Temps levé Time lifted or A small hop on one foot, with the other foot raised on
raised the floor

Temps lié Time bound a series of systematized and connected arm and leg
movements done for practice.

Tombé Fallen; falling In this step, the dancer changes weight onto the
working leg in a demi plié

Waltz turn Valse A dancer doing a pas de valse will extend and step
one leg as the other brushes front while decorating the
step with classical looking port de bras. It is usually
done to counts of three.