Insight: Ballet Glossary - Pirouette

Dawid Trzensimiech, Royal Ballet Artist, and Akane Takada, Royal Ballet First Artist, demonstrate pirouettes. Pirouette: A famous ballet movement in which the dancer performs a complete turn en pointe or demi-pointe. Pirouettes may be performed in any given position, in arabesque, in second position, etc. Origin: From Old French pirouet, spinning top. Read more: