Finally! Battement Makes Sense at Last

By Chelsea Weidmann, ballet educator with 29 years of teaching experience and author of Artistry Inside Ballet Technique

I was confused about the term “battement” for years. I knew it means “beating,” but did that really make sense? Battement tendu, battement dégagé, grand battement... The closest I got to an explanation was a teacher saying the working leg beats against the standing leg.

That never clicked for me.

What Does Battement Mean in Ballet?

Here’s the definition that finally made sense: the legs aren’t beating against anything. They’re showing you the musical beat.

Think of the “find the beat” games young dancers play, where you clap or march and bring your hands or feet down on the beat. With battements, closing the leg is the clap.

Try it

Next time you do battement tendu, battement dégagé, or grand battement, listen for the beat and close your leg right on it. Notice how it changes the way the exercise feels, and whether it starts to feel like a conversation with the music instead of a drill.

Make your barre musical

Hearing the beat in your own body is musicality, one of nine elements of artistry. The Ballet Artistry Deck has six prompts for each one, so you can try a new experiment at your next class.

Get the Deck