What does “Brisé” mean in ballet?
( ; literally 'broken') A jump consisting of an assemblé traveling either forward (en avant) or backward (en arrière), with an extra beat that "breaks" the jump in its travel. To execute a brisé en avant, the dancer demi-pliés in fifth position and brushes the back leg (through first position) to the front, then springs into the air and brings the second foot to meet it in the back before switching to the front to land, creating a beating action with the legs. In a brisé en arrière, the process is reversed, with the front leg brushing to the back and beating to land in front.
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Definition adapted from Glossary of ballet on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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