Retombe

Retombé describes a dancer falling back to the position they started from. The word suggests dropping or falling again, and that is the sense of the step: after moving out of a pose, the dancer returns by letting the body come back down into the original placement.

For example, a dancer might rise or extend into a shape and then retombé to close back where they began, using the natural weight of the fall to travel or transition smoothly. Because it is a returning motion rather than a showpiece, retombé usually links steps together, helping a combination flow back to its starting point or on to the next movement without a hard stop.