A Lame Duck also known as a piqué or posé turn en dehor is aptly named because the up down motion of this step gives the appearance of the dancer hobbling on...

Called many things such as a posé turn, piqué tour en dehor or posé en tournant. This dynamic step can be seen throughout classical ballet repertoire. Usuall...

An en dedan pirouette meaning an ‘inwards’ pirouette involves performing a turn in a retiré relevé towards the supporting leg. Below are a couple of things t...

Grand battement en cloche is an exercise we use frequently at the barre. The swinging action of the leg mimics that of a bell which is where the name ‘cloche...

Épaulement meaning ‘shouldering’ or ‘the placing of the shoulders’ (Grant 2008) involves the body facing croisé either to downstage right of left in fifth po...

A balancé is a step which rocks from one foot to the other and is usually performed to waltz music of 3/4 time where the music has three beats in each bar. A...

A chassé involves moving from one position to another. The step can be taken croisé, effacé or acarté and can travel forwards, backwards and to the side. The...

The term relevé meaning ‘to rise’ is a step used frequently throughout the bbodance grades. The step can be performed in first, second, third, fourth and fif...

DE COTÉ - Traveling to the side. For example in an exercise you could tendu to second, plié transfer to pointe tendu on the other leg. ÉCARTÉ - This term rel...

The term jeté in french means thrown and therefore a petit jeté involves throwing the working leg landing onto it in a fondu with the supporting leg coming t...

A grand battement involves kicking the working leg devant, a la seconde or derrière usually from a first or fifth position keeping both legs straight and the...

A tendu is a step in ballet which involves moving from first or fifth position through demi pointe to a fully extended leg with the foot pointed. The step to...

Fouetté raccourci is a step which can be executed at the barre or in the centre. At the barre when the leg extends to second en l’air the supporting leg is i...

1. Standing in fifth position right foot forward* (This exercise can be performed at the barre or in the centre.) 2. Commence the step by bringing the right ...

Fondu meaning ‘to melt’ is a common step which involves bending one leg. This is different to a plié which bends using both legs. This can be performed en l’...

Echappé meaning to escape involves the legs escaping from a fifth position to a fourth or second position. Both legs move from a plié at the same time to a f...

The pas de chat step which literally translates to ‘step of the cat’ gets it’s name from the cat like movement it makes when performed on stage or during cla...

A pas de basque glissé is a step which stays close to the ground and travels from side to side from one croisé position to another. A pas basque can also be ...

Battement frappé meaning ‘to strike’ uses the ball of the foot to strike the floor. The foot comes to a cou de pied position (between the base of the calf an...

Rond de jambe which literally translates to ‘rounding of the leg’ is a common ballet step which involves making a semi circular shape with the working leg. T...