About This Quiz
In the 1400s, the Renaissance swept through Europe and fueled the rise of ballet. Since then, ballet has become an extremely technical form of dance that’s popular all over the world. With its graceful and athletic moves, both female and male dancers labor for years of their lives, yearning to perfect their form. In the meantime, they must also master the language of ballet, which is mostly based on French terminology. In this quiz, swoop into the “pas de chat” (step of the cat) and let’s see if you really know your ballet terms!
Are you on the same level as Anna Pavlova, Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn? They were virtuoso performers who took the world by storm with their technical precision and dancing prowess. You can bet they knew exactly what the “pas de cheval” and “petit saut” were before they ever took the stage. Do you know the finer points of the pirouette? Or do you confuse this common move with the poisson?
In ballet, “port de bras” is extremely important, as it refers to the way dancers move their arms to various positions. And to make it even more confusing, port de bras is different from place to place all over the world, so beginning dancers may take alternate approaches to this concept. Do you really think you can parse the details of ballet’s glossary?
Let’s see your best revoltade and royale in this ballet terminology quiz! Maybe you’ll prove to be a protégé worth of the stage … or perhaps you’ll fall flat on your face!
"Balance" refers to a series of three steps. These rocking steps are a basic move in ballet.
A "grand pas" is a suite of dances performed by lead dancers as a highlight of a show. The grand pas is made up of individual pieces like an entree (introduction) and coda (finish).
"Adagio" means that dancers perform a move slowly and smoothly. It means to do something with gentle ease.
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A glissade is one of the smoothest moves in ballet. In a glissade, one simply glides.
Arabesque is one of the fundamental poses in ballet. Dancers pose on one leg and create a very long line from the fingertips to the toes.
It means "lifted" or "raised." In an eleve, dancers push themselves to the points of their toes from a flat-footed position.
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Tutus are the classic ballet skirt. These very short skirts allow dancers to perform acrobatic moves without getting tangled in fabric.
In a brise, dancers jump and move a leg to one side, and the join the legs together in midair before landing.
If a choreographer wants a move performed briskly, he or she would specify "allegro."
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In French, "tombe" means fallen. A tombe is often used to describe a falling motion that leads into a type of traveling step.
A choreographer may specify "croix, en," and in this case, dancers perform their moves in the shape of a cross.
Male dancers often incorporate a powerful tours en l’air into their routines. These "turns in the air" find dancers performing a full rotation during a leap.
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A barre, or handrail, essential for ballet practices. Dancers use them for balance as they hone specific form.
"Ballerina" is term that’s generally used to describe female ballet dancers. Ballerinas struggle for years or even decades to reach the apex of their craft.
In French, cambre means "arched." In this move, dancers bend at the waist in any direction.
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"Attitude" has nothing to do with a problematic dancer. It’s a pose in which the dancer holds his or her leg behind and at a 90-degree angle at the knee.
Ballet dancers suffer and toil in hopes that one day they’ll approach virtuoso mastery of their craft. Only a tiny handful will accomplish the feat.
Not all ballet moves are high-flying jumps and leaps. “A terrer" means touching the floor.
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In a hortensia, male dancers leap into the air and put one leg in front of the other multiple times. It makes them look as if they are trying to swim in midair.
If a dancer performs a move in "demi," it means he or she performs a lesser variant of a full move.
A fouette finds dancers pivoting rapidly. Then, he or she will often dramatically kick out the working leg.
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Ballet dancers frequently turn their knees and toes away from each other. This is simply called a "turnout."
A triple run doesn’t involve a lot of running. It is simply a big step followed immediately by two smaller steps.
It’s a simple concept. If you double a move, you do it twice. Repetition is an important choreography concept.
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"Face, en" is another fundamental term. It refers to when dancers are directly facing something, and that something is generally the audience.
What, did you swallow concrete in your dreams last night? Add some "ballon," or lightness, to your steps.
In a fish dive, a male dancer holds a ballerina in downward-facing pose. It’s not the kind of lift you trust to a butter-fingered male dancer.
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“Bravura" means adding flashy showiness to moves. It is dramatic, sweeping, and grand.
The cou-de-pied finds one dancer’s foot arched and placed on the other foot. There are several variations of the cou-de-pied.
The coda is the final piece in a grand pas. It is the final flourish of a performance.
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