Croisé

Croisé is a French word meaning “crossed,” and in ballet it describes a way of facing the audience in which the dancer’s legs appear crossed from the front. The dancer stands at an angle to the audience so that one leg crosses the line of the other, giving the body a more three-dimensional, elegant look than facing straight on.

Croisé is one of the main body directions used to place a dancer on stage, and it is often paired or contrasted with effacé, where the legs look more open. A step such as a tendu or an arabesque can be shown croisé or effacé depending on the angle of the body. When a teacher calls for a pose croisé devant or croisé derrière, they are asking the dancer to turn the body so the working leg crosses in front of or behind the supporting leg from the audience’s view.