- Arabesque : Position in which the dancer stands on one leg with the other extended behind. The arms may be in various positions but are always arranged to form a harmonious line.
- Attitude : Position in which the dancer stands on one leg with the other extended to the back or front, with the knee raised to 90 degrees and the corresponding arm lifted.
- Ballon : The quality of bounciness achieved in jumps.
- Barre : A wooden pole that runs round the walls of the rehearsal studio, and in the centre of the floor.
- Batterie : Term that refers to all steps in which the feet are beaten together or cross in the air.
- Corps de ballet : The ensemble of dancers that support the soloists - for example, the swans in Swan Lake.
- Elevation : Ability to soar in the air: a dancer noted for elevation jumps higher than his or her colleagues.
- Entrechat : Vertical jump in fifth position (see below) in which the feet change position in the air. If they change twice it is an entrechat quatre, three times entrechat six, four times entrechat huit, and five times ( rarely achieved ) entrechat dix.
- Fouette : Turning step in which the working leg whips out to the side and then in to the knee as the dancer turns, rising on to full toe on each revolution.
- Jete : A jump from one foot to the other: a 'thrown' step, of which there are many varieties. A grand jete is a big thrown step.
- Pirouette : Complete turn of the body on one foot with the working leg at various angles. Multiple pirouettes can be very fast and exciting.
- Plie : Bending the legs: every ballet class starts with plies in all five positions to loosen muscles and promote elasticity. Good plie gives impetus for jumps and also helps to cushion a landing.
- Pointe : The tip of the toe. The invention in the late 19th century of the blocked toe shoe allowed dancers to achieve great feats of virtuosity balanced on the tips of their toes. Male dancers occasionally, in character roles, dance sur les pointes - for example, Bottom in Sir Frederick Ashton's The Dream.
- Turn out : The basic principle of classic ballet technique. The dancer trains to achieve a 90 degree turn out of the leg from the hip without any strain. This gives maximum mobility.
- Variation : A solo dance.
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Ballet training, as it has developed over the past 300 years, aims to bring the dancer's body to the highest pitch of mobility, combined with perfect control. The degree of movement possible depends on the strength and flexibility of muscles and the length of the ligaments. Unlike muscles, ligaments are not flexible, but because they do not harden very easily they can be streched by careful and special exercises. Serious training usually begins at about the age of ten and lasts for some eight or nine years.
Training is based on the principle of achieving a 'turn out' of 90 degrees from the hip socket, so that the dancer can stand with heels together and the feet extending sideways in a straight line. This is known as the first position. There are five basic positions and all ballet steps begin from and end in them (see diagram below to help clarify the descriptions). Three of the positions, including the first, are 'closed' - meaning that the feet touch each other. In the third position, the heel of one foot is against the instep of the other, with the feet turned outwards. In the fifth position, the feet are turned outwards and placed side by side with the heel of the left foot against the toe joint of the right and vice versa. Many male solos begin from this position. The remaining two positions are 'open'. In the second position, the feet are opened out from the first position to give a space of about 30 cm ( 12 in. ) between the heels. In the fourth position, one foot is advanced about 30 cm in front of the other, and both are turned outwards.
Similarly, there are positions for the arms. Exercises are aimed at achieving a graceful flowing line with no visible 'joins' between movements.
A professional dancer normally starts the day with a practice class lasting about 1½ hours. It begins with exercises at the barre. From here, the class builds up in complexity, through slow exercises in the centre of the studio designed to achieve control and correct distribution of weight, to the final feats in virtuosity.
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