Ballet Glossary:
A guide to basic ballet terms for the uninitiated. NB: One useful term to help decode this glossary is ‘working leg’, the phrase used by dance teachers to denote the leg that is executing the movement while the weight of the body is taken by the supporting leg. Several of the definitions of dance steps, below, make this distinction.
Adage/io: A slow dance movement. A French word derived from the Italian for ‘ad agio’ – at ease. Measured and graceful, balanced movements, performed with apparent ease.
The term can also refer specifically to:
i) The opening section of classical pas de deux in which the female dancer
is assisted by her partner to perform a series of slow, beautifully executed
steps, turns and lifts.
ii) The part of a ballet class where slow movements are practiced to develop
grace and balance.
Alignments: Early ballet was presented at court before an audience of royalty and nobles. The performers had to abide by the rule of court etiquette and could not show their backs to the noble audience. This determined some of ballet’s most important rules - such as the dancers’ exact positioning and use of directions. A system of diagonals was thus employed, which was to inform, from that moment on, the use of space in classical ballet, as revealed by the four fundamental positions still taught today, the en face (or facing front), the croisé, the ecarté and the effacé (which all draw upon the notion of diagonal placing in space).
- Croisé (lit. crossed): in line with one of the stage’s diagonals, the dancer
has his/her front leg nearest to the audience and the back one furthest away
- Écarté (lit. separated): in line with one of the stage’s diagonals, the dancer
has his/her whole body facing that direction.
- Éffacé (lit. shaded): in line with one of the stage’s diagonals, the dancer has
his/her front leg furthest from the viewers and his back one nearest to them.
- En Face (lit. facing): the dancer’s body squarely faces the public.
Arabesque: One of the most basic static poses in classical ballet. The dancer balances on one leg with the other extended out behind at a right angle to the floor. The arms may be held in a variety of positions to accentuate the beauty of line from the tip of the extended toe to the tips of the extended fingers.
Attitude: One of the most recognised static poses in classical ballet, based on a famous statue of Eros shooting an arrow. The dancer balances on one leg with the other elevated parallel to the ground and bent at the knee with an angle of 90 degrees and well turned out at the hip. The arm on the same side as the raised leg is held over the head in a curved position while the other arm is extended to the side.
Ballet: From the Italian 'balletto', diminutive of 'ballo', or 'dance'. The term, as synonymous with a 'small dance spectacle' became fashionable in the second half of the 16th century, with court entertainments such as the 1573 Ballet de Polonais (ballet of the Polish Ambassadors) a seminal predecessor of the more famous Ballet Comique de la Royne.
Ballet d’action: A new choreographic genre that developed in the second half of the 18th century. The dancing had to be able to narrate a story and to express feelings and emotions. Dancers combined technical feats with expressive or narrative mime gestures, traditionally derived from the conventional mime vocabulary of the Italian Commedia dell’ Arte. The term has come to mean any ballet with a plot or story. See, the Short History of Ballet.
Ballet blanc: La Sylphide (1832) became known as a ballet blanc or 'white ballet' because of the colour of the bell-shaped tutus French designer Eugene Lami is said to have first created for it. By extension, the term has come to describe any ballet in which dancers wear such costumes, such as the second acts of Giselle and La Bayadère.
Ballet de cour: ‘Court ballet’, namely a fashionable, private, noble spectacular entertainment with political undertones. The genre lasted for almost a century from the late 16th to late17th century, attracting the interest of eminent dance and music composers, as well as that of many kings and queens. Among them was the semi-legendary French King Louis XIV, a truly skilful dancer, who often starred in spectacular creations aimed at highlighting his power and glory. Indeed, his famous nickname derives from a ballet he starred in, the 1653 Ballet de la Nuit or ‘Ballet of the Night’ in which he, in the role of Apollo the Sun God, presented himself as the Roi Soleil or ‘Sun King’. See ballet de cour in the Short History of Ballet.
Ballet Master or Mistress: The person who teaches and rehearses the dancers. At The Royal Ballet the ballet master or mistress is mostly responsible for rehearsing the dancers in the corps de ballet – the principals are rehearsed by a répétiteur.
Ballon/balon: Bounce. The weightless quality achieved by a dancer in mid-jump to created the illusion of being suspended beautifully in the air for a split second. From Jean Ballon, the famous French ballet dancer acclaimed for his high jumps. See, the Short History of Ballet.
Barre: The handrail that a dancer holds for support while in class.
Batterie/Battement: Movements in which the legs and feet ‘beat’ together quickly, usually as part of a jump. The may be performed as part of a jetés, entrechats trois, quatre, cinq, changements, grand jeté, etc. The difference between grande batterie and petite batterie [ lit. 'big' and 'small' batterie] depends upon the amount of elevation the dancer needs to jump to perform the 'beating'.
- i) Petits battements / battements tendus: extensions of the leg in which the working foot does not leave the ground, used to practise stretching the foot to a fully pointed position
- ii) Grands battements: high extensions of the whole leg, which is raised into the air and brought down again while keeping the
rest of the body still.
Boards: The floor of the stage.
Book, the: The musical score in which the stage manager writes all the cues for the dancers’ entrances and exits, set and lighting changes etc.
Bourré/pas de bourré: Step of the bourré (the drunk), an 18th-century dance which has many forms.
- In ballet, pas de bourrés are a series of linking steps consisting of three small steps. They may with executed with the back foot
or front foot, sideways, forwards, backwards or turning - usually from fifth to second to fifth.
- Bourrés can also be executed ‘en couru’ as a series of tiny steps on almost straight legs that make the dancer appear to glide.
The working leg flexes at the knee and the other is kept straight. The great Swedish-born dancer Marie Taglioni is believed to have
been the first dancer to perform this step en pointe in the ballet. She amazed viewers when she glided across the stage as the ghost of
a doomed abbess in the Ballet of the Nuns from act three of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s grand opera Robert le Diable.
See, the Short History of Ballet.
Bravura: From the Italian word meaning brave. Bravura refers to dance or music that is particularly virtuosic or showy, where the performer demonstrates brilliance in performance.
Cecchetti, Enrico (1850-1928). Italian ballet dancer and pre-eminent dancer teacher whose technique is still widely taught today. Ninette de Valois, founder of The Royal Ballet, studied under Ceccheti and his methods still underly those of the Royal Ballet's dancers. Ceccheti was born in Rome in 1850, the son of two dancers. He refined his technical skills in Florence under Giovanni Lepri, a pupil of Carlo Blasis. As a dancer, Cecchetti was acclaimed for his virtuosity and energy on stage as well as for his interpretative mime abilities. In 1887, he joined the Imperial Russian Ballet in St Petersburg. He created two roles in the original production of Sleeping Beauty: Carabosse and the Bluebird. As his dancing career waned be became famous as a teacher. At the Mariinsky he taught such famous dancers as Karsarvina, Nijinsky and Pavlova who relied on the precision and rigour of his daily class. In 1911, he joined Diaghilev's Ballet Russes as a teacher and mime. He emphasized the importance of daily class and specific technique: devising a weekly six-day schedule of exercises to perfect the classical vocabulary, and build strength, discipline and co-ordination. His teachings were recorded and codified in the 1922 A Manual of Classical Theatrical Dancing, compiled, under his supervision, by British dance historian Cyril Beaumont and Polish dancer Stanislas Idzikovsky. His teachings were also preserved by the Cecchetti Society, which was founded in the UK in 1922 and then became and affiliation of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing.
Character artist: Members of the ballet company who perform character roles in a ballet, often involving character dance or mime, such as Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty, Von Rothbart in Swan Lake, or Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker. In The Royal Ballet, these artist have the rank of Principal character artist.
Choreographer/choreography: A person who creates new dance works and dance formations. Choreography describes the actual steps danced on stage. From the Greek word ‘khoreia’ meaning ‘dance’. See, list of choreographers whose works are danced by The Royal Ballet.
Classical ballet:
- i) A formalized style of ballet based on academic technique
– as opposed to modern or contemporary ballet.
- ii) Late 19th-century works from the Imperial Ballet by choreographers such as
Petipa and Ivanov which adhere to a formal classical structure, with much
spectacle and technical virtuosity, such as The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake
– as opposed to Romantic or NeoClassical ballet.
See, the Short History of Ballet.
Cloths: Hanging scenery – usually made of painted fabric.
Coda: (literally ‘tail’) A musical term meaning 'end', used in ballet to denote the finale of a classical ballet, or the final dance of the pas de deux, etc.
Corps de ballet: The body of the ballet. The group of dancers who do not appear as soloists but work as one, with synchronized movements and positions on stage. Often they form a backdrop for the principal dancers. Specific roles are sometimes made for the corps de ballet, such as the dance of the Snow Flakes in The Nutcracker, or the Kingdom of the Shades in La Bayadère. See, the artists of The Royal Ballet.
Costume Bible: A record of all the costume designs, fabrics, and sources used in creating the costumes for a particular production. Each ballet or opera production will have its own costume bible that is referred and added to each time the production is mounted on stage.
Croisé (lit. crossed): One of the four fundamental alignments in ballet - in line with one of the stage’s diagonals, the dancer has his/her front leg nearest to the audience and the back one furthest away.
Cues: A cue is a signal or prompt for action that is to be carried out during a performance – this may be an entrance or exit onto stage by a dancer, or a change in lighting or scenery. Cues are recorded in the book by the stage manager and will be called by them during the performance in enough time so that the dancers and/or technicians can be ready.
Curtain Call: The bows taken by the performers at the end of a performance.
Demi: the French for ‘half’, used for demi-pointe – half pointe, demi-plié – half plié, etc.
Développé: To open out, unfold. A ballet movement in which, from a standing position, the working leg is drawn up to the knee of the supporting leg and slowly extended outwards and held there, demonstrating perfect control.
Divertissement: Diversion/amusement. A self-contained set dance piece inserted into a classical ballet. They are usually not associated with the main plot but are designed to give dramatic relief or to show off the company’s dancing skills.
Downstage: The area of the stage closest to the audience.
Dresser: Someone who helps the dancers to get into their costumes before they go on stage. A dresser may also help with quick costume changes during the performance.
Écarté (lit. separated): One of the four fundamental alignments in ballet - in line with one of the stage’s diagonals, the dancer has his/her whole body facing that direction.
Éffacé (lit. shaded): One of the four fundamental alignments in ballet - in line with one of the stage’s diagonals, the dancer has his/her front leg furthest from the viewers and his back one nearest to them.
En Face (lit. facing): One of the four fundamental alignments in ballet - the dancer’s body faces the public squarely.
Entrechat: Probably a french corruption of the Italian adjective intrecciato [lit.: interwoven]. A movement that the dancer performs when jumping straight up while rapidly crossing the legs before and behind each other at the calves. The noun is generally accompanied by a French number, such as quatre 'four' or six, to indicate the number of crossings required.
Entrechat: A movement which the dancer performs when jumping straight up while rapidly crossing the legs before and behind each other at the calves. The noun is generally accompanied by a French number, such as quatre 'four' or six, to indicate the number of crossings required. Probably a french corruption of the Italian adjective intrecciato [lit.: interwoven].
Élévation: The height of a jump, or any movement which requires a jump or spring.
Épaulement: The placing of the shoulders and movement of the torso from the waist upward in opposition to placement of the legs. One shoulder is forward and the other back with the head turned or inclined over the forward shoulder. Épaulement gives a finishing touch to every movement allowing an extra level of expressiveness. It is a particular characteristic of Frederick Ashton’s choreography.
Extension: The ability of a dancer to raise and hold an extended leg en l'air (in the air).
Fish dive: A dramatic example of partnering in which the female dancer is supported in the poisson (fish) position. The male dancer can hold her above his head or she may fall from a sitting position on his shoulder and be caught and supported on his bent knee.
Flown Scenery: Scenery that is hung on bars above the stage, and can be lowered and lifted using a system of pulleys and ropes.
Fly Out: To lift a piece of scenery or set piece above the stage.
Follow Spot: A spotlight that “follows” a main character on stage.
Fondu: Any movement that lowers the body by bending one leg, from the French 'fondre': 'to melt'. In a plié, both legs bend and support the body; in a fondu, only one leg does.
Fouetté: A whipping motion of the leg used to propel the dancer around. The dancer starts on flat foot in plié, and extends the working leg in fourth position en l'air (in the air) then whips the leg around pulling the working foot to touch the supporting knee. There are a variety of fouettés. In a fouetté en tournant, the dancer uses their free leg and arms to propel themselves around using a whipping motion. Done properly, the dancer should remain in the same place while performing a series of fouettés. The 19th-century dancer Pierina Legnani is credited with first performing Odile's famous 32 fouettés in Swan Lake, and they have become one of the defining challenges for every classical ballerina. See Marius Petipa.
Fred step: A signature step of Sir Frederick Ashton. Ashton put the step into many of his works, like a lucky charm. The basic sequence is coupe over and under with a petit devéloppé, pas de bourée, pas de chat. He first saw the step in Anna Pavlova's Gavotte. Look out for it, for example, in Act I of Cinderella, where the dancing master teaches the step to the Ugly Sisters, and Cinderella later copies it herself.
Gargouillade: A complex and distinctive step, made up of a pas de chat with a double rond de jambe. It is famously executed by the Sugar Plum Fairy in her variation in The Nutcracker. From the French gargouiller (to bubble).
Get in: The process of loading the scenery, set pieces, and any technical equipment into a theatre in preparation for a show. At the end of the show the process is reversed during the “Get out”.
Glissade: A travelling step which creates the illusion of gliding, often used to link other steps. The working foot glides from fifth position outwards and the other foot closes to it, with the dancer landing on a plié.
House: A theatre is sometimes referred to as a House.
House lights: The lights in the auditorium which are dimmed at the start of the performance.
Jeter /jeté: From the French verb ‘to throw’. A jeté is the usual word for a jump in ballet. A grand jeté is a technical jump in which the dancer jumps high in the air with both legs open horizontally, almost as if flying.
Legs: The small curtains that hang at the side of the stage, creating the wings, and the exit and entrance spaces for the dancers or actors.
Line: A rope used on stage to move scenery.
Mime: The use of gesture to convey narrative meaning. Classical ballet has a distinct language of mime where specific gestures convey precise meanings such as love, marriage, king, queen, etc. Highly stylized mime sequences are often used to spell out particular moments in the story, and to offer a vital change of pace between set pieces. Early theatre also used a complex language of mime, and early audiences would have been much more familiar with this silent language than today’s ballet goers. See, the Short History of Ballet.
Pas: a step. The basic building block of all dance.
Pas d’action: Dance action. An ensemble (group) dance which advances the plot/a dramatic scene. For example, in Giselle when Hilarion confronts Albrecht and Giselle realizes his deceit. See, the Short History of Ballet.
Pas de chat: Step of the cat. A distinctive buoyant step. The dancer springs from fifth position into a demi plié and jumps sideway into the air bringing the feet up like a cat. As executed by the four cygnets in Swan Lake who perform 16 consecutive pas de chat holding hands with their arms interlaced.
Pas de deux: A dance for two people, usually a man and a woman. In classical ballet, the Grand pas de deux usually forms the ballet’s centrepiece and has a specific five-part structure: an entrance, slow adagio section for both dancers, solo variations for the male female dancer (the male's is generally first), and a final virtuosic coda for the two. See, Marius Petipa.
- Pas de trois/pas de quatre/etc: A dance for three people/four people/ etc.
Pirouette: A famous ballet movement in which the dancer performs a complete turn en pointe or demi-pointe. Pirouettes may be performed in any given position, in arabesque, in second position, etc. Origin: from Old French pirouet, spinning top.
Plier /plié: French ‘to bend’/’a bend’. The bending of the legs - an essential element of dance. Dancers practice pliés in each of the different foot positions to warm up their muscles at the bar. A demi-plié is a half bend of the knees. All jumps begin and end with a demi-plié.
Pointe: French for ‘point’. Dancing ‘en pointe’ means dancing on the very tips of the toes using special shoes with hard reinforced tips. The development of pointe work in the early 1800s relied upon the invention of new slippers with toughened tips, originally intended to facilitate amazing balancing acts in ‘flying’ ballets such as Flore et Zéphire, but destined to become central to the art of legendary ballerinas such as Marie Taglioni (1804-1884) who amazed viewers when she glided across the stage en pointe. The demi-pointe refers to 'half-points' when a dancer, without pointe shoes, stands high on the balls of their feet. See, the Short History of Ballet.
Port de bras: Carriage of the arms. How the arms are held and moved in ballet takes many years of training to achieve. The arms usually travel through, or are held, in formally defined positions (see arm positions).
Positions of the arms: Ballet uses strictly defined positions through which most arm movements travel. There are five basic positions, which are often defined as first, second, third, fourth, fifth (although different ballet systems use alternative naming systems). See also Ports de bras.
First position: Both arms are held out in front of the body at approximately
80 degrees, maintaining rounded elbows and an oval shape, sloping down a little from the shoulders.
Second position: Both arms are held out to the sides to form a strong horizontal,
but with a slight slope downwards from shoulders to wrist.
Third position: One arm is held forward in first position, the other is held to the
side in second position.
Fourth position: One arm is held to the side in second position, the other is raised
up, slightly in front of the head.
Fifth position: Both arms are raised up high almost vertically, but held slightly
forward of the head.
Positions of the feet: In all schools of ballet, there are five basic foot positions: first, second, third, fourth, fifth. All ballet movements begin or end in one of these five positions. Ballet dancers must have good natural turnout of the leg from their hip to enable them to stand in first position with the feet turned out to the sides.
- First position: Heels together, toes pointed outwards to the sides.
- Second position: The feet remain pointing outwards, but are moved apart
in parallel with each other, by approximately the length of the dancer’s
foot and a half.
- Third position: The feet remain pointing outwards, but one is placed in front
of the other, the front foot’s heel touches the back foot’s instep.
- Fourth position opposite third / fourth open: The feet remain pointing
outwards, and in the same position as third but the front foot is placed slightly forward
(about the length of one of the dancer’s feet).
- Fourth position opposite fifth / fourth crossed: As above but the feet are
crossed further with the front foot placed opposite the toes of the back foot.
- Fifth position: The feet point outwards with the legs crossed and the feet touching.
The heel of one foot is placed beside the toes of the other.
Principal: A dancer of the highest rank in The Royal Ballet. See, Royal Ballet Principals.
Production: The staging or presentation of a ballet. For example, the current Royal Ballet production of The Sleeping Beauty had its premiere on15 May 2006 and is a reconstruction of the Sadler's Wells Ballet's 1946 production, with additional choreography by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon. It uses Oliver Messel's original designs for the 1946 production realised by Peter Farmer. The original ballet itself dates to the 1890s.
Proscenium Arch: The archway at the front of the stage which the audience looks through to see the action on stage. In a proscenium arch theatre the audience face the stage directly.
Red Light: In the Royal Opera House a red light is illuminated at the side of the stage when work is taking place on the stage. This tells the dancers and anyone else backstage that it is not safe to be on the stage itself.
Relevé: Raise up. To rise up on the pointe or demi-pointe from flat feet often using a little spring from a demi-plié during which both feet are swiftly drawn up. Relevés may be done in any position.
Répétiteur: The coach who works with the dancers, often rehearsing the solo and principal parts in the ballet.
Révérence: A bow or curtsy. A grand gesture of respect executed at the end of a dance to acknowledge the teacher, pianist, orchestra or audience. In classical ballet dancers often take their bows in character, with a révérence choreographed specifially to reflect the character they have been dancing.
Revival: A ballet production that has been performed in the past, and is being brought back into the current repertory.
Revolve: An moveable area of the stage that enables scenery to rotate.
Romantic ballet: A term often used to describe early 19th-century ballets, such as Giselle and La Sylphide, which rely upon the evocation of a strong mood or emotion to tell a story. Romantic ballets usually have a second act set in a moonlit, supernatural world. In ballet the terms ‘classical’ and ‘romantic’ are chronologically reversed from their musical usage. See, the Short History of Ballet.
Rond de jambe: ‘Circle of the leg’. A movement in which the working leg traces a half-circle on the floor with a pointed foot, returning through first position to repeat; creating the letter 'D' on the floor. Ronds de jambe are often used as an exercise in ballet class. They may be done clockwise or counterclockwise, on the ground or in the air.
Score: A written record of dance or music. The musical score is written in music notation. The dance score is written in one of several dance notation systems. The Royal Ballet uses Benesh notation.
Setting and Striking: Putting all of the scenery, set pieces, lighting, and other elements of a production in place in preparation for a performance or reversing the process to dismantle a production after the performance.
Spotting: A technique used in turns to maintain balance and direction. The dancer focuses the eyes on a set spot and keeps eye contact with it while turning the body. At the last moment, the dancer whips the head around and reconnects eye contact with the spot. This prevents the dancer becoming dizzy and gives them the appearance of turning very rapidly.
Sprung floor: A floor designed to absorb impact. Ballet companies usually use a floor that gives slightly with the movement of the dancers, so that it acts as a shock absorber.
Stage call: A rehearsal on stage.
Stage door: The door where theatre employees and performers enter the building. The stage door for the Royal Opera House is located on Floral Street.
Stage left: The left side of the stage from the performers’ perspective. Stage left is on the audience’s right.
Stage manager: The person responsible for running the show. The stage manager’s responsibilities vary but often include recording and calling stage cues in the book, coordinating stage rehearsals, liaising between different departments involved in the performance, and keeping everything running smoothly.
Stage right: The right side of the stage from the performers’ perspective. Stage right is on the audience’s left.
Tabs: The main curtains at the front of the stage.
Tour en l’air: A turn in the air danced on the spot. The dancer rises straight into the air from a demi-plié, makes a complete revolution and lands in the fifth position with the feet reversed. It is usually a male dancer's step.
Tutu: The skirt worn in classical ballet, usually made of many layers of net, often stiffened, and worn with an attached bodice. There are various style of tutu, from the Romantic tutu which is three-quarter length and free flowing (example), to the classical bell-shaped tutu which is a slightly curved down from the waist (example), to the ‘pancake’tutu which extends straight out from the hips and has many layers of stiffened net (example). More: view all tutus in our Collections. See, also ballet blanc.
Turnout: The turnout of the legs from the hip socket to allow the dancer to stand with their feet at right angles to their bodies.
Turns in second: Mainly executed by male dancers, a series of turns on one leg with the other in second position. Can be done hopping, en fondu, or with a relevé. This is considered virtuosity. As traditionally executed by the male dancer in Swan Lake in the coda of the grand pas de deux.
Terre à terre: 'Ground to ground', a term used to indicate steps where the feet barely leave the ground. Often the first act of a Romantic ballet uses predominantly terre à terre dancing. This is contrasted with a more ethereal second act, in which the dancers use more jumps and lifts.
Trap: A hidden door in the floor of the stage.
Travesty/i, en: cross dressing, a female dancer dressed as men (as was the norm in 19th-century France where female grace was venerated), or a male dancer dressed as a women (often for comic or dramatic effect, such as Widow Simone in some Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, or the Ugly Sisters in Ashton’s Cinderella).
Upstage: The area of the stage furthest from the audience.
Variation: A solo dance in a classical ballet. For example, the Sugar Plum Variation in The Nutcracker.
Virtuosity: Skill and proficiency, from the Latin virtus - 'skill'. A demonstration of outstanding technical ability, especially in jumps and complex quick steps.
Wing: The area at the side of the stage from where the dancers make their entrances and exits. Each side of the stage is usually divided into several wings by hanging fabric legs.
Credits
Giannandrea Poesio became a dance historian and dance critic after a brief performing career. He is now Principal Lecturer and Media/Performance Coordinator at London Metropolitan University, dance critic for The Spectator and Chairman of the European Association of Dance Historians. He works regularly as historical consultant and reconstructor for several ballet, opera and drama companies and specializes in ballet mime. He contributed to the choreographic revival of the 1886 Italian ballet Amor – presented in Rome in June 2008 – and is the author of To and by Enrico Cecchetti (2010) a critical investigation of long unpublished materials relating to the famous Italian dancer and pedagogue Enrico Cecchetti.