pointe
/pwãt
/noun (plural pronounced same) Ballet
1The tips of the toes: she stalks onstage on steely pointes...
- Her pointes spark; her arms rise as if unveiling sculpture; and, when her leg swings out into a forthright arabesque, it's like a candid remark from the young, the bright, and the beautiful.
- Since the women had on pointe shoes we were given the treat of silent pointes.
- It was that Bengal tiger of a ballerina, Sofiane Sylve, stalking onstage on steely pointes, as if France itself had come to explicate this most elusive of texts.
1.1 (also pointe work) [mass noun] Dance performed on the tips of the toes: her athleticism and pointe work give her authority in a pas de deux...
- Only the steps of the Bouronville technique were taught - very little pointe work and little or no partnering or character dances - and academic study was often sacrificed to preparation for small parts in performances.
- What Joffrey observers often admire most now is the beauty and fineness of the women's pointe work, so essential for dancing Balanchine.
- Like much of Forsythe's choreography, Duo transformed pointe work from something ethereal into something earthy.
Phrases
on (or en) pointe
Origin
French, literally 'tip'.