Fouetté

Fouetté means “whipped,” and in ballet it describes a quick whipping action of the leg or body. The word covers a whole family of steps that share that sharp whipping motion, from the famous fouetté turns to the way a working leg can whip from one direction to another to help power a turn or change of direction.

How the whipping action works

The key to any fouetté is a fast, controlled whip of the working leg. In a fouetté turn, the dancer extends the leg to the front or side, then whips it in toward the knee while turning on the supporting leg. That whipping motion feeds momentum into the turn, which is how a dancer can keep turning again and again. The same principle, a sharp whip of the leg, shows up whenever “fouetté” is attached to a step.

Where you will see it

The most famous example is the series of fouetté turns performed in classic variations and codas, where a dancer whips the leg out and in to spin many times in place. But fouetté also appears in other steps, such as fouetté rond de jambe en tournant, and in movements where the body itself whips to change facing. The whipping quality is always the common thread.

Common mistakes

Because fouetté depends on timing, the usual problems are whipping too slowly or too late, which kills the momentum, and letting the supporting leg wobble off balance. Dancers also tend to drop the working leg instead of whipping it cleanly in and out. Keeping the whip fast and sharp, the core lifted, and the supporting side strong is what makes a fouetté effective.