Jeté Battu

A jeté battu is a petit jeté that adds a beat before it lands. In it, the dancer performs a small jeté but beats the legs together with the knees straight in the air, then finishes in cou-de-pied. The added beat turns a simple traveling jump into a piece of batterie, the family of beaten steps.

Jeté Plus a Beat

The base of the step is the petit jeté, a small jump from one foot to the other in which the working leg brushes out and the dancer lands on it. To make it battu, the legs come together and beat in the air with straight knees before the landing. The finish in cou-de-pied, with the free foot at the ankle of the supporting leg, keeps the shape neat and quick.

Building Toward It

Because it combines a jump, a beat, and a precise landing, jeté battu is usually learned after dancers are comfortable with the plain petit jeté and with basic beats. The straight knees during the beat are important: they keep the legs clean and the crossing crisp rather than loose. Like other beaten jumps, it belongs to petit allegro, where speed and clarity matter more than height. Practicing it sharpens a dancer’s timing and teaches the legs to beat cleanly under the pressure of a fast jump.