Emboîté

What does “Emboîté” mean in ballet?

A small traveling step (en avant or en arrière) where each leg is alternately brought to cou-de-pied, passing the previous standing leg in doing so. Both legs shoot straight downward in the air, and land on one foot in cou-de-pied. This step is often done turning ("en tournant"), where each jump rotates 1/2 turn. A traveling series of jumps where each leg is alternately brought to attitude devant in the air, each foot passing the previous one in alternating. A series of small walks done on pointe or demi-pointe, traveling either forward ( en avant ) or backward ( en arrière ); the dancer stands in sous-sus and brushes one leg to the side, then closes it in the opposite position (front or back) of where it started, and repeats this motion several times in succession, alternating legs. A variation on the typical tour piqué/piqué turn, where the dancer does 1/2 piqué turn as usual, then, without coming off relevé, steps onto the previously working leg and lifts the previously supporting leg to retiré to finish the turn. This can be done several times in succession. (See "Piqué turn.")

Definition adapted from Glossary of ballet on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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