Ballet Vocabulary Worksheet – French Terms and Meanings

All 36 terms

At the barre 12

barre A waist-high rail held during warm-up exercises. The class begins at the barre.
cambré A bend from the waist, forward, backward or sideways. The French word means arched.
dégagé Brushing the foot off the floor to a low point in the air. The French word means disengaged.
développé Unfolding a lifted leg until it is fully stretched. The French word means developed.
fondu Sinking down by bending the supporting knee. The French word means melted.
frappé Striking the working foot out from the ankle. The French word means struck.
plié A smooth bending of the knees outward. The French word means bent.
port de bras The way the arms are carried from one position to the next. The French words mean carriage of the arms.
relevé Rising onto the balls of the feet or the toes. The French word means raised.
rond de jambe A half circle drawn on the floor by the pointed foot. The French words mean circle of the leg.
tendu Sliding the foot out until only the toes touch the floor. The French word means stretched.
turnout Rotating the legs at the hips so the feet point outward. Turnout begins at the hips, not at the feet.

Show all 36 terms (24 more)

Positions and directions 12

à la seconde To the side. The French words mean to second.
arabesque A pose with one leg extended straight behind the body. The raised leg stays straight.
attitude Standing on one leg, the other lifted with a bent knee. The knee of the raised leg is bent.
demi-pointe Balanced on the balls of the feet with the heels lifted. Demi means half.
derrière To the back. A tendu derrière goes to the rear.
devant To the front. A tendu devant goes forward.
en pointe Balanced on the tips of the toes. Dancers wear pointe shoes to dance en pointe.
fifth position Feet turned out, one placed closely in front of the other. Many jumps begin and end in fifth position.
first position Heels together, feet turned out in opposite directions. The two feet form one line.
retiré The working leg bent so its toe rests by the other knee. The French word means withdrawn.
révérence A bow or curtsy of thanks at the end of class. Dancers thank the teacher and the pianist.
second position Feet turned out in one line, heels set apart. It is first position with the feet stepped apart.

Jumps and turns 12

assemblé A jump from one foot that lands on both feet together. The French word means assembled.
chaînés A string of quick turns that travel in a line. The French word means chained.
changement A jump in which the feet swap places in the air. The full name is changement de pied.
chassé A slide across the floor with one foot kept in the lead. The French word means chased.
échappé Springing from a closed position of the feet to an open one. The French word means escaped.
grand jeté A long, high leap from one leg onto the other. It is known as a split in the air.
jeté A leap with one leg thrown in the direction of travel. The French word means thrown.
pas de chat A sideways jump with both knees lifted, one after the other. The French words mean step of the cat.
pirouette A spin on one leg, done on the spot. A pirouette can have one turn or several.
sauté A step done with a jump. The French word means jumped.
sissonne A jump that pushes off two feet and lands on one. It is named after the person who invented the step.
soubresaut A small spring from both feet that lands as it started. The feet do not change places.

How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-02. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day against the article Glossary of ballet in English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license and, where there is one, the term's entry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. The French spellings and their accents were compared letter by letter with that glossary. The example after each meaning is our own; where it gives the sense of the French word, that sense is the glossary's or, for développé and retiré, that of the French entry in Wiktionary (développé, developed; retirer, to withdraw). Licence: own work

How it works

This ballet vocabulary worksheet prints twelve French terms down the left and their plain English meanings, mixed up, down the right. Three sets cover the barre, positions and directions, and jumps and turns.

Read the full guide

Three sets of twelve

Set opens on At the barre: plié, tendu, dégagé, relevé, port de bras and seven more. Positions and directions has first, second and fifth position, arabesque, attitude, devant and derrière. Jumps and turns runs from sauté to chaînés.

French spellings, with accents

Each term keeps its French spelling, accents included: développé, échappé, révérence. Under the tool most terms show what the French word means, such as fondu, melted. For a studio list of your own, type term = meaning lines in the box.

Schools of ballet name some steps differently. The meanings here follow the general description in Wikipedia's glossary of ballet.

Questions and answers

What are the basic ballet terms?

Class starts at the barre with plié (bending the knees), tendu (sliding the foot out), dégagé, rond de jambe and relevé. Then come positions such as arabesque, and jumps and turns such as sauté, jeté and pirouette.

Why are ballet terms in French?

Ballet became formalized in France, so a large part of its vocabulary is French, and the steps kept those names in other countries.

Does the sheet come with an answer key?

Yes. It prints as the last page. Uncheck Add an answer key as the last page, under More options, for a sheet without it.