turnout

en-noun

turnout (countable and uncountable, plural turnouts)

(ballet) Rotation of the leg at the hips which causes the feet and knees to turn outward, away from the front of the body.


pirouette

/ˌpɪ.ɹuːˈɛt/

/ˌpɪ.ɹəˈwɛt/

/ˌpɪ.ɹuːˈɛt/

Borrowed from French pirouette, see there for more; attested since 1706.

"Serious as cognitohazard." Lillihammer danced down the corridor towards them, doing little pirouettes and leaping from toe to toe. "Reuben Wirth no longer exists. Gonna have to get Forsythe to do that brain scan to make sure I'm clean, but otherwise yeah. Poof."

2023 October 14, HarryBlank, “Face Time”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-05-23:

A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing, primarily in ballet.


barre

Borrowed from French barre. Doublet of bar.

(ballet) A handrail fixed to a wall used for ballet exercises.


étoile

Borrowed from French étoile. Doublet of estoile, stella, star, and aster.

doublet

(ballet) The leading ballet dancer in a company


attitude

en-noun

attitude (countable and uncountable, plural attitudes)

From French attitude, from Italian attitudine (“attitude, aptness”), from Medieval Latin aptitūdō (“aptitude”) and actitūdō (“acting, posture”), from Latin aptō and actitō. Doublet of aptitude.

der

Blasis was a man of many accomplishments. He invented the ballet position of attitude and codified the ballet technique of that time, distinguishing three types of dancers: the serious, the demi-caractère, and the comic dancer.

2007, Gayle Kassing, History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach, page 134:

(ballet) A position similar to arabesque, but with the raised leg bent at the knee.

attitude

ballet position similar to arabesque but with raised leg bent at the knee


aplomb

en-noun

aplomb (usually uncountable, plural aplombs)

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


fondu

fondu (countable and uncountable, plural fondus)

Borrowed from French fondu (“melted”). Compare fondue.

(ballet) A lowering of the body by bending the knee of the supporting leg.


ballerina

ballerina (plural ballerinas or ballerine)

/ˌbæləɹˈiːnə/

(nonstandard) A ballet dancer (unisex term)

A ballet dancer (unisex term)
A female ballet dancer.

Ellipsis of prima ballerina. The star female ballet performer in the company.

prima ballerina

(less common, nonstandard) A male ballet dancer; Synonym of ballerino


ballet

ballet (countable and uncountable, plural ballets)

Borrowed from French ballet, from Italian balletto (“short dance, ballet”), diminutive form of ballo (“group dance”), from Late Latin ballō (“to dance”).

der

a classically-trained ballet dancer

Let's go to the ballet in the theatre tomorrow!

A theatrical presentation of such dancing, usually with music, sometimes in the form of a story.

Zara joined the ballet at the age of 14.

The company of persons who perform this dance.

(music) A light part song, frequently with a fa-la-la chorus, common among Elizabethan and Italian Renaissance composers.


ballet

en-verb

ballet (third-person singular simple present ballets, present participle balleting, simple past and past participle balleted)

ballets (present singular third-person)
balleting (participle present)
balleted (participle past)
balleted (past)

Situations that typically require longer iliac limbs than the measurements suggest include extreme iliac tortuosity, “balleting” of the limbs (Endurant and Excluder) (Fig. 90-3), and the need to extend to the external iliac arteries. It these anatomic circumstances, it is prudent to choose a longer length when in doubt.

2014 Rutherford's Vascular Surgery E-Book - Page 1340

Unfortunately, he could only sustain so much abuse. Footfalls approached. Kanoa's lips smacked and his jaw hung open. His eyelids fluttered, their underlying gaze balleting without clarity. He felt beyond sick, and his world spun immensely. A garbled voice of incoherency seemed to be his only link to this realm of consciousness.

2016, Jacob Russell Dring, Endless the Chase:

Frankie's obviously going to ballet her way to the trophy.

2017, Num Nums, “A Total Bust a Move”, in The ZhuZhus:

To perform an action reminiscent of ballet dancing.


chassé

(dance) A gliding movement in dance (especially ballet) with the same foot always leading.


ballon

en-noun

ballon (usually uncountable, plural ballons)

Tall and slender, with a superb ballon and effortless flight in air, Malakhov […] will unquestionably have an extraordinary career.

1988 November 18, Dorothy Samachson, “Moscow Classical Ballet”, in Chicago Reader:

(ballet) The quality of a jump by which a ballet dancer appears to pause in midair


ouvert

Borrowed from French ouvert. Doublet of apert and overt.

(ballet) A position in which the feet are apart, or a movement which brings them apart.


arabesque

/ˌæɹ.əˈbɛsk/

/ˌæɹ.əˈbɛsk/

Borrowed from French arabesque, from Italian arabesco, from arabo (“Arab”). By surface analysis, Arab + -esque.

(ballet) A dance position in which the dancer stands on one leg, with the other raised backwards, and the arms outstretched.


pointe

pointe (countable and uncountable, plural pointes)

2007: Classical dance manages to get along without too many momentous events shuddering beneath its pointe work. — The Guardian 5th Jan 2007, p. 3

(ballet) The tip of the toe; a ballet position executed with the tip of the toe.


coryphée

Borrowed from French coryphée, from Latin coryphaeus, from Ancient Greek κορυφαῖος (koruphaîos, “leader of the chorus in an Ancient Greek drama”), from κορῠφή (korŭphḗ, “top of the head, crown”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“head, top; horn”)) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘belonging to, pertaining to’).

der

Mademoiselle Coralie Montmorrillion, a talented artiste from the grand opera, at Paris, and now principal coryphée at the theatre royal— [...]

1839 March, William E[vans] Burton, “Leaves from a Life in London. No. VI. Coralie, the Coryphee.”, in William E[vans] Burton, editor, Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine and American Monthly Review, volume IV, number III, Philadelphia, Pa.: William E. Burton, […], →OCLC, page 157:

A newspaper was in his hand, joy in his eyes, and as many capers in his toes as would make the fortunes of a Coryphée.

1841 March, Phelm O’Toole, “An Irish Love Adventure”, in Bentley’s Miscellany, American edition, volume VII, New York, N.Y.: Published by Jemima M. Mason, (late Lewer,) […], →OCLC, page 241:

The Coryphées now arrive, as well as the Corps de Ballet; the former holding a higher rank and receiving a higher salary than the latter. They are pretty trim-built girls, with sallow faces and large eyes—the pallor that overspreads their features resulting from cosmetics and late hours. They work very hard, and get very little sleep; but they appear to be very merry amongst themselves for all that.

1847, Albert [Richard] Smith, “Of the Morning Rehearsal”, in The Natural History of the Ballet-girl, London: D. Bogue, […], →OCLC, page 27:

Go into the wealthiest and gayest quarters of the town and you shall see maidens of fifteen tripping along in scores with their young cheeks bechalked and bedizened in a manner that almost puts to the shame a coryphée of the grand opera.

1866 August 18, “Painted Ladies”, in The Round Table: A Saturday Review of Literature, Society, and Art, volume IV, New York, N.Y.: The Round Table Association, […], →OCLC, page 40, column 3:

The sick throw away their crutches and dance like coryphées, the enfeebled strain to lift logs and boulders, [...]

1981, T[homas] Coraghessan Boyle, Water Music, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, 2006, →ISBN, page 305:

Alarmed at what was to be performed there, New York's clergy had been threatening hellfire and damnation for weeks to all who went to see the dozens of beautiful coryphées imported from Milan, Berlin, Paris, and London in "as little as the law allows" promised by the management.

1988, Russell Sanjek, “The American Musical Theater 1865–1909”, in American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years, volume II (From 1790 to 1909), New York, N.Y., Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, part 2 (1861 to 1909), page 303:

Ninette was only a sujet, a soloist, and a new-made one at that—one step up from the coryphées, and two from the quadrilles of the chorus, but not yet to the exalted status of the premier danseurs and as far from the etoiles as she was from the stars in the sky. Coryphées did not often have new shoes; one could see them backstage at rehearsal covering their old shoes with new silk, reblocking and reglueing the toes.

2007, Mercedes Lackey, chapter 1, in Reserved for the Cat (The Elemental Masters; book 5; DAW Books Collections; no. 1417), New York, N.Y.: DAW Books, →ISBN:

(ballet) A ballet dancer ranking above a member of the corps de ballet and below a soloist.


échappé

Borrowed from French. Doublet of escapee.

A certain mystique has always been attached to his extraordinary leaps. “Suddenly a tremendous jump straight up, grand échappé, his legs firmly locked,” […]

1991, Peter F. Ostwald, Vaslav Nijinsky: A Leap Into Madness:

(ballet) A movement performed in ballet involving a leap from both feet simultaneously.


balletomane

Borrowed from French balletomane. Equivalent to ballet + -o- + -mane.


on point

Possibly from the French "en pointe" meaning to be on the tip of the toes in ballet and reflects a higher degree of skill. "On point" also describes a degree of competence and in the military the man "on point" was at the front and most exposed position in a combat military formation, that is, the leading soldier or unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory. In recent American youth (especially hip hop) culture, the idiom "on point" refers either to someone who possesses abundant and various qualities of competence, leadership or style, or to specific acts which demonstrate such qualities.

(ballet) On the tips of the toes; en pointe.


battu

From French battu, past participle of battre (“beat”); first attested in 1947.

(ballet, of a movement) Performed with a striking together of the legs.


tombé

(ballet) A movement in which a dancer falls from one leg to the other while flexing the knee.


posé

This perversion illustrates a tendency on the part of even educated people to call everything which is posé or exhibitional in action by the name of Delsarte.

1897 June, “Perversions of Delsarte”, in S.S. Curry, editor, Expression: A Quarterly Review of Art, Literature, and the Spoken Word:

Dégagé with the right foot, the left; posé on point: coupé with the right foot behind, left foot in fondu; small développé to the side with the left foot, the right foot posé on point;

The dance opens with a développé posé fondu in arabesque followed by a step back.

2005, Gay Morris, Moving Words: Re-Writing Dance, page 19:

A classical ballet syllabus has a similar structure, where steps are grouped together into sets such as posé, jeté, batterie etc.

2016, Maratt Mythili Anoop, Varun Gulati, Scripting Dance in Contemporary India, page 165:

(ballet, dance) Held in position for a prolonged period.


relevé

(ballet) A position in which the dancer rises to the ball of the feet from demi plié to balance on one or both feet. Can be done on demi-pointe, or full pointe


tendu

(ballet) A move in which the leg and foot stretch to point in a particular direction, but the foot does not leave the floor.


glissade

(ballet) A gliding step beginning and ending in a demi-plié in second position.


balançoire

(ballet) 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.


ballerino

en-noun

ballerino (plural ballerinos or ballerini)

/ˌbæləɹˈiːnoʊ/

As aware as you are, though, consider how much more keenly the leaping ballerinas and ballerinos of the world feel the tow with every move they make.

2007 June 17, David Colman, “The Merman of La Scala”, in New York Times:

The star male ballet performer of a company.


fouetté

Sometimes, when they were drinking, Goran would get up from the floor and do a pirouette or a fouetté, for a moment so graceful and beautiful that it hurt to look at him.

2023, Brandon Taylor, The Late Americans, Jonathan Cape, page 143:

(ballet) A ballet move in which either the body or the working leg is whipped around forcefully.


piqué

piqué (countable and uncountable, plural piqués)

Borrowed from French piqué (“(noun) ribbed fabric; (ballet) step on to the point of the leading foot without bending the knee; (adjective) backstitched; (cooking) larded”), Middle French piqué (“quilted”), a noun use of the past participle of piquer (“to prick, sting; to decorate with stitches; to quilt; to stitch (fabric) together; to lard (meat)”).

bor

(ballet, countable) A movement in which the raised, pointed foot of the working leg is lowered so that it pricks the floor and then either rebounds upward or becomes a supporting foot.


assemblé

(ballet) A jump that takes off from one foot and lands on both feet.


cambré

(ballet) A bending at the waist in any direction, forward, backward, or to the side


divertissement

en-noun

divertissement (usually uncountable, plural divertissements)

Patricia Delgado, though taller and paler-skinned, strongly resembles Jeanette, and in Miami they often dance together (in the “Emeralds” pas de trois from “Jewels,” for example, or leading successive divertissements in Balanchine’s “Swan Lake”).

2009 January 24, Alastair Macaulay, “A Young, Lively Crew From Florida Steps Up and Takes Flight”, in New York Times:

(ballet) A short ballet within a larger work, usually providing a break from the main plot.


gargouillade

/ˌɡɑː(ɹ)ɡuːˈjɑːd/

From French gargouillade, from gargouiller (“to bubble”).

[…] Ms. Ashley didn’t trump that of the role’s originator, Patricia Wilde (whose gargouillades — the sideways jumps where the feet write rings in the air — are still recalled in awe).

(ballet) A complex balletic step, defined differently for different schools but generally involving a double rond de jambe


plié

Borrowed from French plié. Doublet of plicate.

(ballet) A smooth and continuous bending of the knees


première danseuse

première danseuse (plural premières danseuses)

/ˌpɹɛmɪɛː dɒnˈsəːz/

From French première danseuse (unlisted in dictionaries of French); from première, feminine form of premier (“first”) + danseuse, feminine form of danseur (“dancer”); feminine form of premier danseur (“first dancer”).

They honestly thought they were doing good with it, and so they were — with what was left after the publicity man and the printer and the première danseuse had been paid.

1920, National Municipal League, National Civic Review, volume 9, page 152:

The School remained under the management of Miss Margaret Curtis. Miss Rita De Leporte was Première Danseuse and Mr. Giuseppe Bonfiglio was Premier Danseur.

1931, Pierre Key, Irene E. Haynes, Pierre Key’s Musical Who’s who: A Biographical Survey of Contemporary Musicians, volume 1, page 64:

[…] in 1935 she joined the company formed by Leon Woizikowski, touring Germany, France and Spain, and became première danseuse of the Metropolitan Opera Company, New York.

1943, Albert Ernest Wier, Thesaurus of the Arts: Drama, Music, Radio, Painting, Screen, Television, Literature, Sculpture, Architecture, Ballet, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, page 148:

(ballet) The lead female dancer in a ballet.


premier danseur

premier danseur (plural premiers danseurs)

/ˌpɹɛmɪə dɑːnˈsəː/

/ˌpɹɛmɪeɪ dɒnˈsəː/

pʀəmyé däɴsöʀ

From French premier danseur (“first dancer”) (unlisted in dictionaries of French); from premier (“first”) + danseur (“dancer”); compare première danseuse.

première danseuse
première danseuse#English

(ballet) The lead male dancer in a ballet; compare première danseuse.


battement

Borrowed from French battement (“beating, hitting”).

[…] he raised slowly his rounded arms, stretched them gracefully backward and forward, moved his feet with precision and lightness, took a few small steps, made some battements and pirouettes, and disappeared like a butterfly.

1894, Arthur Machen, Memoirs of Casanova:

Ernst and Watson are superb dancers--extraordinarily agile and acrobatic, and their unison spins, battements, and body lines showed a split-second timing.

1988 March 11, Dorothy Samachson, “Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble”, in Chicago Reader:

(ballet) A ballet move involving a beating action with an extended leg


ballotté

(ballet) A jumping step that consists of coupé dessous and small developpés performed with a rocking and swinging movement.


entrechat

Borrowed from French entrechat, from Italian (capriola) intrecciata (“interlaced jump”), from in- + treccia (“plait”).

der

(ballet) A manoeuvre whereby the performer jumps up and strikes the heels together a number of times.


toe shoe

(ballet) A ballet shoe worn for pointework.


ballonné

(ballet) A step where the leg is extended (front, side, or back) at 45 degrees; the knee is then bent and the foot brought to a sur le cou-de-pied position.


jete

Finally one of the first three breaks through the barrier, but instead of a jete, he takes an incredible headfirst dive and slides along the floor.

1990 April 13, Laura Molzahn, “Priestly Perversions”, in Chicago Reader:

While some of the choreography was too obvious, there were stunning visual images throughout, such as Michelangelo (Paul A. Brown) being lifted in a wide jete on the arms and shoulders of a few dancers while the rest of the crowd reached imploring arms up to him.

1990 August 24, Effie Mihopoulos, “American Jazz Dance World Congress '90”, in Chicago Reader:

The men quickly lower their partners from a supported jete to lying flat on the floor with no apparent landing or transition; they swing them around the floor, spinning the women in splits, then on their knees.

1991 March 1, Cerinda Survant, “American Ballet Theatre”, in Chicago Reader:

(ballet) A leap from one foot to the other in which one leg appears to be "thrown" in the direction of the movement.


pas de chat

en-noun

pas de chat (plural pas de chat or pas de chats)

pas de chat (plural)
pas de chats (plural)

From French pas de chat (literally “cat's step”).

bor

(ballet) A sideways jump with both feet brought as high as possible, knees apart, while in the air.


modern dance

A modern form of ballet that is more informal than classical ballet.


epaulement

(ballet) A position in which one shoulder is thrust forward and the other back, and the torso turned at a right angle to the supporting leg.


pointwork

Though Mr. Lacotte makes certain nods to the early 19th-century ballet style of the first act of Giselle and August Bournonvilles ballets, he asks all his female dancers to do the sustained pointwork known to be late-19th-century in style.

2007 December 13, Alastair Macaulay, “A Beloved Spanish Gypsy Returns to Frances Arms”, in New York Times:


demisoloist

This pretty-in-pink affair, for a couple (Abi Stafford and Jared Angle), four demisoloists and six female corps dancers, is set to a Britten score for strings.

2009 May 22, Roslyn Sulcas, “Dancing to the Beat of an Elaborate Mathematical Equation”, in New York Times:

(ballet) A dancer of a particular rank below soloist.


soubresaut

/ˌsuːbɹəˈsəʊ/

Borrowed from French soubresaut, itself an obsolete form of sursaut. Doublet of somersault.

She took to the air so naturally that it made you feel, retrospectively, that this had always been her destiny from her entrance in Act I. Springing up from both feet while keeping those feet together (in soubresauts), she drove the audience — which had been in a tizzy of excitement all along — wild.

2009 June 15, Alastair Macaulay, “Natural Liftoff and Intense Inner Life for a Daughter of the Air”, in New York Times:

(ballet) A sudden jump from both feet, travelling forward in first, third, or fifth position and landing on both feet in the same position as they started.


bunhead

From bun (“a tight roll of hair worn at the back of the head”) + head.

compound

A bunhead who must have strayed from her New York City Ballet aspirations glanced furtively about the room, […]

2000, Donna Allegra, Witness to the League of Blond Hip Hop Dancers, Alyson Books, →ISBN, page 201:

"Sophie — you're meant to be saying what an honor it is to be studying at The Royal Ballet School, and how you can't wait to become a 'bunhead' — you know, one of those ballet-obsessed people who eat, sleep, and breathe nothing but ballet!"

2005, Alexandra Moss, Lara's Leap of Faith, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN:

[…] I'm an aging bunhead. That's my problem. Like I told you, my life is ... But a dancer—especially a ballet dancer—has a shelf life that's shorter than a quart of milk[…]

2006, Leslie Carroll, Spin Doctor, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 19:

(informal) An obsessive or extremely dedicated ballerina.


ballet slipper

A flexible shoe without a heel and fastened by a strap or ribbon, designed for dancing.


ballet shoe

(chiefly UK) A flexible shoe without a heel and fastened by a strap or ribbon, designed for dancing.


pointe shoe

Instead, I would stick to dancing and continue plunging my toes into the beautiful, tight, shiny sheaths called pointe shoes.

(ballet) A type of shoe with a strengthened toe, used for dancing on pointe.


sissonne

The pairs of backward-diagonal traveling sissonnes (jumps from two legs to one) are another motif so accentuated as to become irresistible.

2008 May 12, Alastair Macaulay, “City Ballet’s Itinerary: Robbins and Beyond”, in New York Times:

(ballet) A jump starting with two feet on the ground and ending with only one.


developpe

Performing a curiously melancholy, undulating developpe, the dancers point their legs at each other like accusing fingers.

1988 October 7, Laura Molzahn, “Between Heaven and the Gargabe Can”, in Chicago Reader:


Vaganova method

Devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova (1879–1951).

A ballet technique and training system that fuses elements of traditional French style from the romantic era with the athleticism and virtuosity of Italian technique.


saut de basque

(ballet) A jump in which the dancer draws one leg up to the knee of the other and turns in the air.


fairy ballet

en-noun

fairy ballet (countable and uncountable, plural fairy ballets)

(uncountable) A genre of ballet that developed in the 19th century, featuring fantasy characters and often employing technical effects.


ballet master

An employee of a ballet company who is charged with maintaining the skill of the company's dancers.


demipointe

demipointe (countable and uncountable, plural demipointes)

From demi- (“half”) + pointe (“tip of the toe”), via Old French demi from Latin dīmidius (“halved”), combined with French pointe (“point, tip”) from Late Latin pūnctum; in this sense short for pointe des pieds (“tippy-toe”, literally “tip of the feet”); cf. French sur la pointe des pieds (“on tiptoe”).

cog

(anatomy, ballet) The ball of the foot, the padded front part of the sole behind the tip of the toes; hence, a ballet position executed with the dancer up on the balls of one or both feet, the heels raised up off the floor.


demi-pointe

en-noun

demi-pointe (countable and uncountable, plural demi-pointes)

(ballet) Alternative spelling of demipointe (“a ballet position executed with the dancer up on the balls of the feet”)


ballet mom

A mother who teaches ballet or is a ballet dancer.


rond de jambe

/ɹɔn də ˈʒɑmb/

Borrowed from French rond de jambe (literally “circle of the leg”).

bor+

(ballet) The movement of a leg in a semicircular motion, either on the ground (par terre) or in the air (en l'air).


port de bras

From French port de bras (literally “carriage of the arms”).

bor

As a physical presence, nevertheless, he can bourree with the best of them and packs a mean port-de-bras.

1991 April 6, Ron Caldwell, “Kind of Stranger”, in Gay Community News, page 16:

(ballet) An exercise in which the arms are moved to different positions, sometimes also incorporating upper-body movements.


demi-caractère

(about a work for the stage or a performer's part in it, dated) Which, in the historical French nomenclature, was halfway between serious (sérieux) and comic (comique); typically, where the protagonists or the plot were not noble enough compared to those derived from mythology or history, but could still convey serious emotions (see for example the 1886 Camille Bellaigue quotation about Bizet's opera Carmen under French demi-caractère)


first position

(ballet) A position with the heels together and the toes going outwards.


third position

(ballet) A position in which one foot is placed in front of the other so that the heel of the front foot is near the arch of the rear foot.


fourth position

(ballet) A position in which one foot is placed approximately a short distance in front of the other. The heels may be aligned ("open fourth position") or the heel of the front foot aligned with the toe of the back foot ("closed fourth position").


second position

(ballet) A position in which the feet point in opposite directions, with heels spaced a short distance apart.


fifth position

(ballet) A position in which the feet form two parallel lines, with the heel of the front foot in contact with the big toe of the other, and the heel of the back foot in contact with the last toe of the front foot.


fish dive

(ballet) A partnering dance lift, often performed as part of a pas de deux, in which the male dancer supports the female in a poisson position.


revoltade

(ballet) A bravura jump in which one lands on the leg from which one pushes off after that leg travels around the other leg which is lifted to a level that is parallel with the floor.


saut de chat

French saut de chat (literally “cat's jump”)

(ballet) A jump similar to a grand jeté, differing in that the front leg extends through a développé instead of a grand battement.