1. Ballet Vocabulary

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

3. Port de Bras
Carriage of the arms

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

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

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

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

8. Grand Battement
“Big kick”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

17. 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

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

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

20. Chaine’
Chain like turns

21. Pirouette
A turn in place with the leg in passe

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

23. Glissade
“To glide”

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

25. Grand Jete’
“Thrown” A Big leap

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

27. Ballroom Stop Here

28. Assemble
“To assemble” or put the legs together

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

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

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

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

33. Winged Sickled
Toe turned outward
Toe turned inward

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

35. 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.

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

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

38. Cloche
Degage front and back brushing through 1st

39. Fondu
“Melting”

40. Sur le cou de pied
On the neck of the foot

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

42. Frappe
“To Strike”

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

44. Grand jete entournent entrelace
AKA Tour Jete

45. contretempt
“Counterbeating”

46. Fouette
“Whipped” Can be done jumping or turning