Sissonne

What does “Sissonne” mean in ballet?

Although commonly thought to mean a scissor step, sissonnes are in fact named after the originator of the step. There are many types of sissonne, but all push off the floor with two feet and land on one. A sissone simple/ ordinaire devant starts in fifth position, shows fifth position in the air and lands in cou-de-pied devant. A sissonne fermée (close) has the dancer perform a medium to large jump from two feet, springing in any direction and leaving an extended leg behind, the ‘fermé’ is then a fast closing of the extended leg back into fifth position. A sissonne ouverte (open) will finish in the extended position. Advanced dancers can often be seen splitting their legs in a sissonne fermée and ouverte, this has perhaps led to some believing sissonne to be a ‘scissor step’. For reference, ‘scissors’ in French is ‘Ciseaux’ [see-ZOH]. Pas de ciseaux [pah duh see-ZOH] - a scissor step, is in advanced step in which following a temps levé from the left leg with the right leg devant, the legs pass each other at the height of the jump and the left leg is then immediately thrust backwards to land on the right leg with the left leg in arabesque (en fondue).

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

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