Ballet Glossary: Dégagé

Every ballet class begins with pliés followed by tendus and then dégagés. While a tendu keeps the toe on the floor, a dégagé takes this fundamental movement one step further by extending the leg up and out as the toe brushes off the floor and the leg lifts into the air. Dégagés are an integral part of a dancer’s daily warm up and training and we LOVE the way this ballet basic move lengthens and tones. Dégagé means "to disengage." Dégagé is a movement where the working leg "disengages" from the supporting leg. Mary Helen frequently includes dégagés throughout the Ballet Beautiful barre and dance cardio workouts. In this video she shares what a dégagé looks like and how it's used in ballet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp1-hZ8f6nI For more examples of how Ballet Beautiful incorporates dégagés in our workouts check out our Daily Dance: Barre and Center Videos!