Clearing up Commonly Confused Ballet Terms

We were just talking in class last week, about the differences between coupe and cou-de-pied, and between passé and retiré.  If you find yourself confused by these terms, you're not alone.  Ballet terminology can vary by method or school, but many commonly confused terms actually describe different actions versus positions.   By happy coincidence, Christina at Face the Barre has just come out with a new video that explains the differences between these and some other commonly confused ballet terms.   She gives such nice explanations, I think this video will be really useful for you.

Here is a summary of her key points:

Cou-de-pied vs. coupé:  Cou-de-pied is a position of the foot at the ankle.  Coupé is an action meaning “to cut,” where one foot replaces the other in cou-de-pied (e.g., switching feet in steps or jumps).

Relevé vs. rise/élevé (varies by school):  In many schools, relevé begins through a plié, then rises to demi-pointe.  Rise or élevé means lifting from straight legs directly to demi-pointe.  In the French school, both may simply be called relevé.

Retiré vs. passé: Passé means “to pass”—the working leg passes through a position and changes direction (front to back or back to front).  Retiré is a position where the foot is placed at the knee without directional change.  If the leg goes up and comes back down in the same direction, it’s retiré, not passé.

Third position of the arms vs. fifth position of the arms:  The same arm position may be called third (Vaganova method) or fifth (RAD/French/English styles).  The difference is terminology between schools, not the shape itself.

Tombé pas de bourrée vs. chassé pas de bourrée: Tombé means “to fall” onto a pointed foot before continuing into the step.  Chassé involves sliding the foot along the floor with the heel down before moving into the step.  These are distinct preparations, though often used interchangeably in class.