entrechat

American  

[ahn-truh-sha] / ɑ̃ trəˈʃa /

noun

Ballet.

plural

entrechats

1. a jump in which the dancer crosses the feet a number of times while in the air.

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entrechat British  

/ ɑ̃trəʃa /

noun

1. a leap in ballet during which the dancer repeatedly crosses his feet or beats them together

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Etymology

Origin of entrechat

1765–75; < French, alteration of Italian ( capriola ) intrecciata intwined (caper), equivalent to in- in- ² + trecci- tress + -ata -ate ¹

Example Sentences

“But I still look at a ballet like ‘Swan Lake’ or ‘Giselle,’ and I’m like, I have to do 24 entrechat sixes,” he said, referring to a virtuosic jump with rapid, crisscrossing feet.

From New York Times • Oct. 30, 2022

In an entrechat, the beat of her feet in the air seems as natural and effortless as the beat of a hummingbird's wings.

From Time Magazine Archive

The latest step in Japan's Westernization is an entrechat.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Paris, balletomanes were treated to an unprogrammed novelty when Dancer Michel Rayne leaped up in an entrechat, came gracefully down, kept right on down through a prematurely opened trap door.

From Time Magazine Archive

The man at the controls of the machine practically performed a ritual entrechat.

From Helpfully Yours by Smith, Evelyn E.