What does “Grand jeté” mean in ballet?
A long horizontal jump, starting from one leg and landing on the other. Known as a split in the air. It is most often done forward and usually involves doing full leg splits in mid-air. It consists basically of a grand écart with a moving jump. The front leg brushes straight into the air in a grand battement , as opposed to from développé (or an unfolding motion). The back leg follows making the splits in the air. It can be performed en avant (forward), à la seconde (to the side), en arrière (backward), and en tournant (turning en dedans). The dancer must remember to hit the fullest split at the height of the jump, with weight pushed slightly forward, giving the dancer a gliding appearance.
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Definition adapted from Glossary of ballet on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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