Ballet Terms Are French Because of One King
A dancer moves rhythmically to music. Ballet's vocabulary is French because Louis XIV founded the first academy.
A dancer is someone who dances, as art or recreation. Ballet's entirely French vocabulary has a single cause: Louis XIV, himself a keen performer, founded the Académie Royale de Danse in 1661, and the terminology codified there spread with the form. *Plié*, *jeté* and *arabesque* are used in Tokyo and Moscow exactly as in Paris.
- Someone who dances. *A professional dancer.*
- A performer in a company. *A corps de ballet dancer.*
- Dance (verb) — to move to music. *Dance all night.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | dancer | A lead dancer. |
| Plural | dancers | Twenty dancers. |
| Verb | dance | Dance the tango. |
| Noun | dance | A slow dance. |
| Related | ballerina | A prima ballerina. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The dancer trained for a decade.Ballet careers start early.
- The corps de ballet moves as one.The ensemble.
- Prima ballerina assoluta is the highest title.Rarely awarded.
Ballet vocabulary
- Plié — a bend of the knees
- Jeté — a jump from one foot to the other
- Arabesque — a pose on one leg with the other extended behind
- Pas de deux — a dance for two
- Corps de ballet — the ensemble dancers
From *dance*, from Old French *dancier*, of uncertain origin, possibly Frankish. The ballet vocabulary was codified in France from 1661.
Why is ballet vocabulary French?
Because the form was codified at the French royal academy founded by Louis XIV in 1661, and the terms travelled with it.
Dancer or ballerina?
Ballerina is specifically a female ballet dancer, and in strict usage a principal one. Dancer covers every form.