Top 10 Hardest Ballet Moves to Pull Off

People who aren’t ballet dancers themselves may not be familiar with this term; it’s a French word meaning “caper.” In essence, a cabriole is a jump where one leg comes up, and the other follows, taps it, then comes back down. It can be done in different ways–with a big jump or a little one, to the front or to the back–but it is a difficult step to master, because the higher leg must stay up while the lower leg moves, and both legs have to be straight. Also, the landing is expected to look light and graceful, even though the dancer is coming down on just one foot.

While it can be considered a technique depending on how/when it’s used, this graceful position is also a move that’s common in ballet dancing. However, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to execute; the arabesque requires great balance and flexibility. The dancer stands on one foot and extends the other leg back, straight, parallel to the floor. The head is held high, the lower back arched, and the rear toes pointed. The dancer’s arms must also look graceful, of course, so they can’t be used to steady the body; one usually extends forward, the other to the side. An arabesque may begin a dance, lead into another move, or sometimes simply stay in place for everyone to admire.

The pirouette is another move that every ballet dancer must have in their repertoire. Basically, it’s a spin, or twirl, done on the tip of one foot. That’s just the beginning, however; one must consider the placement of the arms, head, and other leg. Also, dancers rarely do just one pirouette and stop. In order to spin multiple times, they use a technique called “spotting,” where the head faces forward as long as possible, then snaps around for the next turn. This may sound unnecessarily complicated, but in fact, spotting is essential to keep dancers from becoming dizzy or disoriented when they have to perform multiple pirouettes.

Now imagine that instead of turning in one place, you have to perform several turns while moving across the floor–that is the piqué turn or piqué en tournant. Unlike a pirouette, which has a brief preparatory pose, the piqué turn begins with a step; after turning, the dancer takes another step, and then another turn, and so on, traveling in one direction. Spotting is just as vital in this move as in the pirouette, if not more, because the dancer must keep track of both the front of the stage and the way they are going. It is easy to lose balance in this move, and once lost, it’s hard to get back!

Remember the arabesque? Well, this is like that, only harder. “Penché” means “leaning” in French, and in this move the dancer leans far forward, with one leg supporting, and the other coming straight up to make a split. The position obviously requires excellent leg flexibility and balance, but some people don’t realize how much sheer strength is needed as well; the dancer has to keep their upper body raised on one side, and their leg on the other, engaging all their core muscles. While most amateur dancers could probably do a passable arabesque, only professionals can pull off the full vertical penché.

The Tour de Reins, which means turn of the back, is an unusual ballet move; the legs are spread and the knees stay bent, for instance, and the entire body leaves the ground for the turn. Because the step is more conducive to pants than a skirt, it is traditionally performed by men–but not always. The reason it is also called a barrel turn is because the whole body spins at once, like a barrel, all parts together. It is a wild, risky movement, easy to get wrong, whether in timing or in balance; however, it’s impressive when done well, like the rest of the moves on our list.

Now we are getting into the big jumps. As you can imagine, any high leap requires strength and agility; in the case of a grand jeté, though, that’s just the beginning. In this jump, the dancer must do a complete horizontal split in the air. So even though the move itself goes by quickly, it requires a lot of preparation and practice to master. Before doing a grand jeté, the dancer builds momentum with a quick run or hop; they lift their front leg, jump into the air, and do the split. Last, of course, they have to land on one foot, looking light and graceful. It’s not just a move, it’s a whole process!

There are two kinds of fouetté–don’t worry, we’ll get to the other. This one, the Italian fouetté, is a bit like a pendulum, which looks very graceful and elegant… when it is done right. The move begins with a high kick; then the dancer brings that leg down quickly, using it to make a turn, and by the end of the turn, the leg has come up again on the other side. If they want, they can kick forward and do the move again; in theory, a dancer could keep doing these over and over. In practice, however, it is usually done only a few times–and as you’ll know if you’ve ever tried it, that’s quite enough.

Unlike most of the entries on our list, this section of a grand pas is done slowly–and that’s exactly what’s so difficult about it. The ballet dancer must demonstrate incredible strength and balance by doing a series of attitudes and similar poses, slowly, but without stopping. They lift one leg in one direction, hold it there, then move it into another position, and another–and later on, they go through the same exercise with the other leg. While the grand adage doesn’t occur in many ballets, it may be part of ballet tests and auditions for advanced classes, as it gives the judges a chance to assess the dancer’s endurance–highly necessary for ballet performances, which often run for several hours.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Frappè
Not Coffee Related. Quick Striking Foot Movements Used as a Warm-Up

Sauté
Not Cooking Related. A Graceful Small Jump

Butterfly
A Jump With a Quick Outward Kick - Like Butterfly Wings

Double Tour
Tricky Jump With Two Turns

This is what most dancers mean by “fouetté,” although it is also called the Russian fouetté. It looks less complicated than the Italian version, since it refers to a single movement of the leg; however, it wouldn’t be at the top if it were easy. In fact, it is an essential part of our previous move, the pirouette: the dancer’s leg kicks out and back in at the end of a turn, giving them the necessary momentum to keep spinning. One of the most famous fouetté sequences is from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” in which the Black Swan performs thirty-two. Thirty-two turns, on one foot, using just that single movement–an extraordinary feat of gravitational defiance, and a fitting end to our list!