Insight: Ballet Glossary – Entrechat

Dawid Trzensimiech, Royal Ballet Artist, demonstrates entrechats.

Entrechat: Probably a french corruption of the Italian adjective intrecciato [lit.: interwoven]. A movement that the dancer performs when jumping straight up while rapidly crossing the legs before and behind each other at the calves. The noun is generally accompanied by a French number, such as quatre ‘four’ or six, to indicate the number of crossings required.

Read more: http://www.roh.org.uk/discover/ballet/glossary.aspx