Battement

Battement literally means “beating” in French, and in ballet it names a whole family of movements built on the working leg moving away from and back toward the supporting leg. Whenever you open one leg out from a closed position and then return it, you are doing some form of battement. Because so many exercises are built this way, the word rarely travels alone. It almost always carries a second word that tells you which kind of beating action is meant, such as grand battement, petit battement, battement tendu, or battement frappé.

A Family, Not a Single Step

Think of battement as a category rather than one move. A grand battement is a big throw of the whole leg into the air. A petit battement is a small, quick beating of the lower leg around the ankle. A battement tendu stretches the foot out along the floor without lifting it, and a battement frappé strikes the floor with a sharp brush outward. What they share is the core idea of opening and closing the legs with a clear beat. Learning the base word helps you decode the longer names as you meet them at the barre.

Why It Matters at the Barre

Battements make up a large share of daily barre work because they build the exact skills classical dancing needs: turnout, pointed feet, strength through the whole leg, and clean, controlled timing. Small battements sharpen speed and precision in the feet and ankles. Large battements build height, power, and flexibility in the hips. Practiced every class, they train the working leg to move freely while the standing leg stays strong and still, which is the foundation for balances, jumps, and turns later in the room.