The Electric Ballerina

Fouéttes Forever

The difficult, leg-swinging spin called a fouétte, also known as a whipped turn, demonstrates how ballet technique makes use of a basic principle in physics: the conservation of angular momentum in a rotating body. Only the strongest ballerinas can do a long series of fouéttes in a performance.

Luxuriant Leaps

The soaring jump sometimes called saut de chat (leap of the cat) gains an extra "kick" of excitement by the way the dancer's front leg unfolds as she flies into the air. Ballerinas use a "plié" (bend) on landing to absorb their momentum while holding their body position.

Tour Guide

Jeté en tournant, in which the dancer leaps and makes a half-turn in midair before landing, is often seen in male dancers' solos. The hardest part is holding the correct body position as the dancer's weight slams back to earth!

Pas de Deux

In partnering, or pas de deux (steps for two), a male and a female dancer must work together as a unit, with each extending the other's individual capabilities. Dancers learn to partner by working through special exercises that teach them to sense each other's balance and movements, and to coordinate with each other's movements without sacrificing the correctness of their own form.

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