Ballet Terms

Piqué turn

What does “Piqué turn” mean in ballet?

A tour piqué or piqué turn is a traveling turn executed by the leg stepping out onto an en pointe or demi-pointe foot becoming the supporting leg while the working leg moves from plié to retiré derrière, if an en dedans turn, or retiré devant, if an en dehors turn. In fast piqué turns, petit retiré may be executed instead (i.e. working foot at cou-de-pied). Most commonly done en dedans, piqué turns en dehors are also referred to as lame ducks .

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

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