Essential Ballet Vocabulary - All Levels - Learn Key Terms

Oct 1, 2026

Essential Ballet Vocabulary - All Levels provides concise definitions of foundational classical ballet terms, including adagio, allegro, arabesque, battement, plié, tendu, pirouette, and multiple related variations. It also includes interactive exercises: a word search to distinguish ballet terms from non-ballet words, a crossword puzzle with clues for movement qualities and actions, and a practice section encouraging learners to film drills, apply weekly class corrections, and focus on alignment principles such as pointed feet, balanced weight, turnout engagement, and relaxed posture while maintaining strong yet soft arms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Word Search

Put it in Practice

Crossword Puzzle

Across

Down

Essential Ballet Vocabulary-All Levels ● Adagio: at ease or leisure; exercise consisting of slow and graceful movements. ● Allégro: brisk, lively; fast movements. ● Arabesque: one of the basic poses in ballet; longest possible line from fingertips to toes. ● Battement: beating action; to beat. o Grand battement: large beat. o Petite battement: small beat. ● Cambré: arched; the body is bent from the waist. ● Chaînés (turns) : chains, links; rapid turns done in a straight line. ● Changement: change of feet; jumping from fifth position, switching feet in the air and landing with the other foot in front fifth position. ● Chassé : chased; one foot literally chases the other out of its position. ● Coupé: cut, cutting. ● Dégagé: disengaged or disengaging step; pointing of the foot slightly off the floor. ● Développé: developed, developing movement. ● Échappé: escaping or slipping movement; opening both feet from a closed position to an open position. ● En bas: low; usually referring to starting arm position. ● En dedans: ● En dehors: ● Fondu: sinking down, melting; plié on one leg. ● Fouetté: whipped; whipping of the body from one direction to another. ● Frappé: struck, to strike. ● Glissade: glide, gliding. ● Jeté: throwing step; a jump from one foot to the other in which the working leg is brushed in a way which appears to be“thrown.” o Grand jeté: large throwing step. ● Pas de chat: large cat’s step, step of the cat. ● Passé : passed; passes the knee of the standing leg. ● Piqué : pricked, pricking; stepping directly onto the demi-pointe. o Piqué en arabesque: pi qué executed in arabesque position. o Piqué détourné : pi qué executed in a passé while turning inwards (en dedans) . ● Pirouette: whirl or spin. ● Plié: bent, bending; bending of the knee or knees. o Demi plié: half bend. o Grand plié: full bend ● Port de bras: carriage of the arms; movement of the arms. ● Relevé : raised. ● Rond de jambe: round of the leg; circular movement of the leg. o Rond de jambe à terre: rond de jambe executed on the ground. o Rond de jambe en l’air: rond de jambe executed in the air. ● Saut de chat: cat’s jump. ● Sauté: jumped, jumping; jumping from two feet and landing on two feet. ● Sous-sus: under-over; relevé in fifth position with feet and legs drawn tightly together. ● Tendu: stretched, to stretch. ● Tour jeté: turning throwing step, turning jeté . ***all definitions received from Technical Manual and Dictionary ofClassical Ballet by Gail Grant Word Search Find the ballet words and mark them with one color, mark the NON ballet words with a different color. H S U R B T C U I T J P X A X C D I G P A L D P D N R Z N S T R I K E B P A M L U V C U E E S E T E P G R T W K L U I L Y P T C G M M M Y X Z Q T R O L J I H R E A L Q A E E Q M J Y S Q E E E T Y B A I T O I G T F F I S E H L G M R Z D M Y U U T N E T I Q K W Z Z R E U R B L W O E D A E B A A Q K E J O L S F A O I O Y D H N Q U B P W D G K T M H W B Y U A S C G T E X O N Q N O H P C N V Y Q C P J P I J G T O R L J R I T M M F W V N N R K V K I C K U I W D J P G O J I I R O N Z R C M Z Y T M P H H Z F G L G U M J G E U Q S E B A R A F D C V L K R D K T A A V N L K E E W R K Q C Z I W F O W R A D D D Q P W F M Z J E K D D M A W D M T V Y A P V O O R Z O

FAQs

What does “Arabesque” mean in the vocabulary list?

Arabesque is one of the basic ballet poses, described as the longest possible line from fingertips to toes.

How should dancers use the practice section while working on these terms?

Practice with pictures or videos on social media, remember weekly correction feedback, and apply alignment guidance like pointed feet, relaxed toes, and equal weight distribution.

What is included in the workbook besides definitions?

It includes a word search, a crossword puzzle with clues for ballet movements, and a “Put it in Practice” section focused on real practice and relaxation.

Oct 1, 2026

Upload by Mary Man