Fouetté

What does “Fouetté” mean in ballet?

( ; literally 'whipped.') Fouetté itself refers to a move where a quick pivot on the supporting leg changes the orientation of the body and the working leg. E.g. A 180-degree or 90-degree fouetté could involve a working leg beginning extended elevated in front; the supporting leg rising onto demi-pointe or pointe quickly executing a "half" turn inside/en dedans, leading to the working leg ending in arabesque and the body now facing the opposite direction or stage direction. (This brand of action can be seen in both tour jetés and waltz turns ( pas de valse en tournant ).) A fouetté could also change the leg/body orientation from, for example, en face à la seconde to épaulé (second) arabesque/croisé first arabesque or effacé devant, if outside/en dehors, via a 45-degree turn. Fouetté is also common shorthand for fouetté rond de jambe en tournant (pictured here en dehors ). A fouetté turn is a turn that begins with the supporting leg in plié . As the supporting foot transitions to demi-pointe or pointe , in an en dehors turn, the working leg extends forward and then whips around to the side as the working foot is retracted to the supporting knee in retiré, creating the impetus to rotate one turn. The working leg returns out of retiré nearing the end of a single rotation to restart the entire leg motion for successive rotations.

See also

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

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