Ballet Vocabulary

Match the following

• Italian ballare, to dance.

• ballet

• one leg is lifted behind with the knee bent at right

  angles and turned out

• ballerina

• A leading female dancer of a ballet company

• arabesque

• to assemble: feet or legs are brought together in

  the air and the dancer lands on both feet

• attitude

• supported on one leg, with the other

  leg extended horizontally backward.

• assemblé

Match the following

• Chain

• chainé

• to whip: a pirouette performed with a circular whipping movement of the raised leg

  to the side.

• eschappe

• escape

• fouetté

• to glide

• glissades

• to change

• changement

Match the following

• to pass: pointed foot of the

  “working” leg passes the knee of the supporting leg

• pas de bouree

• a jump in which each foot in turn is raised to the opposite

  knee.

• pas de chat

• sideways step in which one foot crosses behind or in front

  of the other.

• passé

• to beat: a kick

• jeté

• to throw: This is a jump in which the weight of the body

  is thrown from one foot to the other.

• grand battement

Match the following

• to prick

• plié

• to bend at the knees

• port de bras

• A complete turn of the body on one foot.

• piqué

• the movement or carriage of the arms.

• pirouette

• to rise

• relevé

Match the following

• Jumped or jumping.

• sauté

• a small hop on one foot, with the other foot raised off the floor.

• retiré

• foot finds passe position on the supporting leg.

• temps leve

• to stretch

• tendu

What year was ballet started?

• 1300

• 1400

• 1500

• 1600

Match the following

• Geaogr Balanchine

• Russian born dancer went on to choreograph a string of musicals and co-founded the NYC Ballet

• Marius Pepita

• Principal choreographer of the Imperial Ballet who created over 50 ballets

• Cecchetti

• Italian born master founder of the Italian Method of Ballet technique.