Croisé- The crossing of the legs with the body placed at an oblique angle to the audience. The disengaged leg may be crossed in the front or in the back.
En Croix- A classical ballet term meaning “in the shape of a cross.” This term lets a dancer know to step "front, side, back."
Effacé- A classical ballet term meaning “shaded.” The term describes another step or pose in which the legs looks open(not crossed) when seen from the front. *Effacé is the opposite of croise.
Écarté- A classical ballet term meaning “separated, thrown apart.” It is one of the eight directions of the body.
En avant- Moving forward or to the front. En avant is not an actual step or position itself and is almost always used with other terms, such as tendu en avant, which would mean to tendu directly toward the front.
En face- Ballet term describing the direction a dancer is facing and is one of the directions of the body. En face means the dancer is facing directly towards the audience.
En arrière- Backward. Used to indicate that a step is executed moving away from the audience.
Port de bras- A classical ballet term meaning “movement of the arms.” It describes how dancers move their arms from one position to another.
Glissade- A classical ballet term meaning “glide.” It is a traveling, usually small, jump that is usually used to link other steps together. It can be considered an in-between step.
Pas de chat- A classical ballet term meaning “cat’s step.” It gets its name because the step resembles how a cat jumps.
Balancé- A rocking step. A step that shifts body weight from one foot to the other, usually in 3/4 time. A balance may be performed by crossing the foot in front or in back.
Chassé- A step of one foot to the side, followed closely by te other foot. One foot leads and the other foot chases it. A chasse can be performed in any direction.
Tombé- A step in which a dancer falls from one leg to the other, landing with all the weighton the foot that has just moved, while flexing the knee.
Pas de bourrée- A classical ballet term meaning “beating steps.” A Pas de bourrée has many forms that mostly relate to the direction the dancer is moving or if the legs are bending or staying straight.
