Croisé, croisée

What does “Croisé, croisée” mean in ballet?

( ; meaning 'crossed.') One of the positions of the body or épaulement . Facing one of the corners of the stage, the body presents at an oblique angle to the audience, such that the audience can see still both shoulders and hips. The working leg may be crossed to the front (devant) or to the back (derrière). Croisé is used in the third, fourth, and fifth positions of the legs. A dancer is in croisé devant if at a 45 angle to the audience, the downstage leg (closest to the audience) is working to the front and the arms are open in third or fourth with the downstage arm being the one in second. A dancer is in croisé derrière if at a 45 degree angle to the audience, the upstage leg (farthest from the audience) is working to the back and the arms are open in third, fourth, or allongé in arabesque with the upstage arm being the one out towards second, e.g. arabesque croisée or Russian fourth arabesque. Croisé derrière in the Russian school alternatively has the upstage leg working to the back, but the downstage arm out to second. Examples of croisé : the front leg is the right leg and the dancer is facing the front-left corner of the stage; or the front leg is the left, and the dancer is facing his/her front-right corner.

See also

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

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