What does “Glissade” mean in ballet?
( ; literally 'glide.') A traveling step starting in fifth position from demi-plié . The leading foot brushes out to dégagé as weight bears on the trailing leg, weight is shifted to the leading leg via a jump and the trailing foot extends out of plié into degagé. The leading foot lands tombé and the trailing foot slides in to meet the leading foot in fifth position demi-plié. A glissade can be done en avant , en arrière , dessous (leading front foot ends back), dessus (leading back foot ends front), or without a changement of feet.
See also
New to ballet? Read our ballet guide — history, the five positions, class structure and how adults can start.
Definition adapted from Glossary of ballet on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Nearby terms
Fouetté
( ; literally 'whipped.') Fouetté itself refers to a move where a quick pivot on the suppo…
Fouetté jeté
A leap that begins with a fouetté .…
Frappé
( ; 'struck.') Abbreviation of battement frappé. Action of extending the working foot out …
Gargouillade
A complicated jump involving a pas de chat with a double rond de jambe.…
Glissade précipitée
( ; "precipitated glide".) A quick glissade generally done leading into a following step, …
Grand jeté
A long horizontal jump, starting from one leg and landing on the other. Known as a split i…
Grand pas
A suite of individual dances that serves as a showpiece for lead dancers, demi-soloists , …
Grand pas de chat
A jump where the leading leg extends forward through grand battement (a "French pas de cha…