ballet

[davedineley]

what is the french word that describes a dancer's leap during which the heels meet several times in the air

[auntiebertie]

entrechat - A jump in which the dancer's legs cross each other several times in the air

[Peter Pedant]

erm not being a bally dancer, but I thought it was pas de ...... - the record being pas de dix which was done by nijinsky in a grainy film and Wayne Sleep on video.

Mortals tend to do a pas de six.

[Narolines]

Definitely entrechat; a "pas" of any kind is a step, as in "pas de bourree", "pas de basque" or "pas de chat", or a "show-off" dance for one or more dancers - as in "pas seul" (solo), "pas-de-deux", "pas-de-trois" etc.

[Narolines]

Which would mean a "pas-de-six" would be a dance for six dancers..........meant to add that to my answer above!

[ursula62]

An Entrechat douze is where a ballet dancer leaps into the air and twists his feet one in front of the other 12 times before reaching the ground again. Wayne Sleep did one on Record Breakers years ago, but many people can only manage an Entrechat Six or Entrechat Dix.