19 replies to this topic

[Mel Johnson]

Well, that just sounds like a plain old grand jeté! If it's in a split, one could further describe it as "à grand écart". So grand jeté à grand écart.

(And welcome to Ballet Talk here at Ballet Alert! Online! )

[Victoria Leigh]

Jon, go to American Ballet Theatre and click on Education and Training, then on Library, and you will see the Dictionary of Ballet. Go to "Jeté, grand" and I think you will see what you are looking for. B)

[dido]

Wait, is the dancer facing straight out toward the audience? And is the jump straight up--no lateral moevement? That's the only thing I can think of, if it really isn't a jete. Not that I know what its called.

[BW]

Hi dido - have you checked out that website Victoria suggested? It's quite helpful with the visuals - movie clips actually!

[Hans]

If I understand properly, the step Dido describes isn't really a true ballet step and won't be in any ballet dictionary.

[Mel Johnson]

If there's no, or not much, lateral movement, it could be a big sissonne (fermée? Does it end in fifth?) en avant.

[dido]

Hans has got me, I think the Candy Cane in Balanchine's Nutcracker does what I'm thinking of (maybe not though, now all I can remember is the hoop spins). I have to admit I associate it mostly with cheerleaders (spring straight up, hoik the legs out in 2nd to as close as a split as you can get, maybe touch your toes, then down). It's certainly nothing I've ever seen in a dictionary of ballet terms. I guess technically it's just a jump from 2 feet to 2 feet though...

[Old Fashioned]

Do you mean a jump in a straddle position? Like the ones the male does in the Chinese dance of Balanchine's Nutcracker? In figure skating they're called Russian split jumps, and I apply the same term for it when I see it in ballet.

Here shows a few figure skaters performing the feat: http://www.sk8stuff...._sj_russian.htm

[dido]

YES! Thank you, Old Fashioned. That might be what I was thinking of in the Nutcracker, and it's a perfect description (and illustration) of what I was trying to describe.

[Alexandra]

My guess is that this is a step from Russian folk dancing -- maybe a split jump? (I'm sure it existed before skating competitions, although "Russian split" is such a descriptive term, it sounds perfect for an article for a general readership!)

[djb]

Jonfb, the Russian split jump starts by jumping straight up in the air from both feet. However, that position can also be achieved during a traveling leap, which would make it a grand jete of sorts.