Ballet Jumps Explained: Sauté, Jeté, and More

Ballet has a jump for just about everything. Little quick ones that make your feet look like they are barely touching the floor, and huge flying ones that get the whole audience to gasp. If the French names have you a bit lost, you are in the right place.

Here’s the deal: most jumps are simpler than they sound once you know what the words mean. We’ll go through the main ones, split into small jumps and big jumps, so you know exactly what your teacher is asking for when she calls it out across the studio.

First, a quick word on every jump

Before we get to names, there’s one thing that’s true for all of them. Every good jump starts and ends in a plié, which is just a bend of your knees. You bend to load up power on the way up, like squishing down a spring, and you bend again to land soft on the way down.

If you remember nothing else, remember that. Push through your feet on the way up, land toes-ball-heel and melt into a plié on the way down. That’s the secret to jumping higher and landing without the whole room hearing you.

The small jumps (petit allegro)

Petit allegro (say it puh-TEE ah-LAY-grow) just means small, fast jumps. These are the quick, bouncy ones that build your footwork and your stamina. Don’t let “small” fool you, they’re often the hardest part of class because they happen so fast.

Sauté

A sauté (so-TAY) means jumped, and it’s the very first jump you’ll learn. You start in a position, usually first or second, push off both feet, and land on both feet in the same spot.

Think of it like a pogo stick that stays in one place. Nothing fancy, just straight up and straight down.

• Keep your legs turned out and your feet pointed hard in the air.
• Stretch fully at the top, then bend to land in the exact spot you left.
• This is your foundation, so it’s worth getting really clean.

Changement

A changement (shahnzh-MON) means change, and it’s a sauté with a little twist. You start in fifth position with one foot in front, jump up, and switch your feet so the other foot lands in front.

The best way to picture it: your feet swap places while you’re in the air, like quickly crossing and uncrossing your ankles mid-hop.

• The change happens at the top of the jump, not on the way down.
• Your feet should look pointed and glued together in the air, then snap into the new fifth.
• Small and springy beats big and heavy here.

Échappé sauté

An échappé sauté (ay-shah-PAY so-TAY) means escaped jump, and the name is a perfect description. You start with your feet together in fifth, jump, and land with your feet apart in second or fourth position. Then you jump again to bring them back together.

Picture your feet escaping out to the sides, then getting called back home.

• Land the “open” part with straight, turned-out legs and a plié.
• Keep your upper body still and calm while your feet do the work.
• Try for equal weight on both feet when you land apart, not leaning to one side.

The big jumps (grand allegro)

Grand allegro (grahn ah-LAY-grow) means big jumps, and these are the ones that travel across the floor and get real air. They usually come at the end of class, when you have space to fly. This is where jetés live.

Jeté

A jeté (juh-TAY) means thrown, and that’s exactly what you do. You brush one leg out, throw it into the air, and travel from one foot onto the other, landing on a single leg.

The throw is the whole point. Imagine kicking off a wall to push yourself across a pool, except the wall is the floor and you’re launching sideways or forward onto the other foot.

• Brush the working leg strongly along the floor before it leaves.
• Land on one leg in a controlled plié, with the other leg held behind you.
• Small jetés are quick and low, so save your biggest throw for the grand version below.

Grand jeté

The grand jeté (grahn juh-TAY) means big thrown, and it’s the famous one. You usually take a running start, throw your front leg forward and your back leg back, and for a moment your legs are in a full split in the air. It’s the classic “flying” ballet picture you’ve seen a hundred times.

Here’s the honest part: the split in the air comes from the run-up and the throw, not from forcing your legs apart once you’re already up there. Speed going in becomes height going up.

• Take a strong preparation step, often a chassé or a run, to build momentum.
• Throw the front leg up and forward like you’re kicking over a low fence.
• Land on your front leg in a deep plié, then bring the back leg through.
• Keep your chest lifted so you look like you’re floating, not folding forward.

Assemblé

An assemblé (ah-sahm-BLAY) means assembled, and it does what it says. You brush one leg out to the side, jump off the standing leg, and then “assemble” both legs together in the air so you land on two feet in fifth position.

The easy way to remember it against a jeté: a jeté lands on one foot, an assemblé assembles two. Same idea of brushing a leg out, different landing.

• Brush the working leg out with a pointed foot, then draw it back in to meet the other.
• Both feet should hit the floor at the same time in a soft plié.
• Try to get both legs fully stretched in the air before they come together.

Sissonne

A sissonne (see-SONN) is named after the person who’s said to have invented it, so this one doesn’t translate to a plain word. It’s a jump where you take off from two feet and land on one, opening your legs into a shape in the air.

Picture a pair of scissors opening: you push off with your feet together, then one leg goes one way and one stays, so you land on a single leg with the other leg stretched out.

• Push off evenly from both feet, so you actually get lift.
• Open the legs sharply in the air to make a clean line.
• Land on one leg in plié, holding the other leg out in whatever direction the step calls for.

Putting it all together

Here’s a simple map to keep in your head:

• Land on two feet: sauté, changement, échappé sauté, assemblé.
• Land on one foot: jeté, grand jeté, sissonne.
• Stays in place: sauté, changement, échappé sauté.
• Travels across the floor: jeté, grand jeté, and often assemblé.

If you want to get better at all of these, it starts before you ever leave the ground. Strong, clean pliés and pointed feet make every jump higher and quieter, and steady legs help everywhere, including your turns. Our post on what an allegro is goes deeper on the fast footwork, and the ballet terms dictionary is handy when your teacher calls out a word you’ve never heard.

Jumps are one of the most fun parts of ballet, honestly. Take them slow, get the shapes right, and the height comes on its own. Trust me on this one.