Ballet Blanc

White ballet. Any ballet in which the ballerinas were traditional long white dresses, as designed for Marie Taglioni to wear in La Sylphide in 1830. A white ballet or romantic ballet is wherein the second act most of the dancers were white to represent the spiritual world. Some white ballets are La Sylphide and Giselle.

Ballet d' action

A ballet with a story. Some ballets with a story are The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, and Cinderella to name a few. There are many ballet d' actions. In fact, they outnumber white ballet blanc.

Ballon

Bounce. The elastic quality of a jump. It is the light, elastic quality in jumping in which the dancer bounds up from the floor, pauses a moment in the air and descends lightly and softly, only to rebound in the air like the smooth bouncing of a ball. Showing lightness of movement in leaps and jumps. A dancer exhibiting ballon will appear to spring effortlessly, float in mid-air, and land softly like a balloon.

Ballonn`e

A bouncing jump in which the dancer lands on one leg in demi-plie with the working foot sur le cou de pied. It is a step where the leg is extended to the second or fourth position (can be front, side, or back) at 45 degrees. The knee is then bent and the foot brought to a sur le cou-de-pied position.

Barre

The hand rail used by dancers to help them balance while exercising. A sturdy horizontal bar, approximately waist height, used during ballet warm-up exercises and training. Fixed barres are typically mounted on mirror-covered walls; portable barres can be relocated as needed.

Barrework

Initial exercise of daily classroom work, performed at the barre.

Battement

Beating. A beating action of the leg when extended or bent. There are many types of battement, small and large. It is an alternating side-to-side movement of the working (non-supporting) leg. They are usually executed in front (en avant or à la quatrieme devant), to the side (à la seconde) or in the back (en arrière or à la quatrieme derrière).