Ballet Term
Brisé
Brisé is a classical ballet term defined as “breaking.” A Brisé is when a ballet dancer jumps from one or both feet, beat their legs, and ends up on one or two feet. A brisé is done from either fourth or fifth position.
Brisé comes from a French word meaning “broken,” and the step lives up to the name with a small, darting beaten jump. In a brisé, the dancer springs from one or both feet, beats the legs together in the air, and lands on one or two feet. It is usually started from fourth or fifth position and travels in a chosen direction as it beats.
The Anatomy of the Jump
A brisé begins as a brushing leg shoots out along the floor and off it, carrying the body slightly toward that direction. As the dancer rises, the second leg catches up and the two beat together, crossing in the air. The dancer then lands, often bringing the feet back into fifth position. The beat is quick and clean, which is what gives the step its “broken” flicker.
Direction and Variations
Brisé can travel forward (dessus) or backward (dessous), and the direction changes which leg leads and how the beat crosses. A more advanced relative is the brisé volé, a “flying” version where the dancer finishes on one leg with the other extended, creating a lifted, soaring shape between beats. Both belong to batterie, the family of beaten jumps.
Because brisé packs a brush, a beat, and a landing into one small jump, it is an important building block for petit allegro. Dancers usually learn it after they are comfortable with basic beats and assemblé, since it asks for coordinated timing between the legs and a light, quick landing.