Breaking Down Brisé Volé With Philip Neal

Neal later became a principal dancer with New York City Ballet and is currently the artistic director of Next Generation Ballet in Tampa, Florida. “A brisé volé gives the illusion of flying, with the feet barely touching the ground as a dancer hovers in the air,” he says. “Add the traveling aspect of the step and it feels magical.”

Here, Neal shares his advice for performing brisé volé with finesse.

Brushing and Beating the Legs

While a normal brisé beats and then lands on both feet, brisé volé—sometimes referred to as a “flying brisé”—lands on only one foot, with the other crossed to the front or back (usually in cou-de-pied, but also performed with a straight extended leg). Brisés volés are often performed in succession traveling diagonally across the stage.

When first teaching brisé volé, Neal uses a mind trick to help students break down the movement. “It’s really just a cabriole front, and then you close your foot in the back,” he says. “The brisé action to the back is a bit harder,” he notes. “Just keep thinking ‘Cabriole into a changement’—it helps take the fear of brisé away.” (You can also think of a jeté or assemblé battu that travels backwards.) 

Focus on the legs’ brushing action, Neal advises. “In brisé volé, you must brush through first position,” he says. When passing through to the back, “think of pulling your toes back so you feel your turnout before even getting to first position—it’s the same action as passing through first in a rond de jambe en dedans.”

Port de Bras and Cambré

Your upper body and épaulement are crucial for brisé volé. Think of lifting the torso up and over your legs in an inclined or oblique line. To help dancers feel the proper positioning, Neal sets up two barres side by side and has them practice a simple brisé volé while lifting themselves up. “If the students put their arms on either side of the two barres, they can feel the cambré action and lean the upper body the way it’s supposed to go [as they brisé],” he says.

In brisé volé, Neal continues, “you can bend front and back, and also side to side.” Just make sure you don’t turn your face so much that it disappears from the audience’s view. “In brisé front, you should still see one eye and the downstage cheek.” Bending too far forward causes the eyes and face to drop, so be aware of how you’re presenting your profile.

Building Stamina

Performing a series of brisés volés takes a good deal of stamina. “You have to keep the energy going,” Neal says. Instead of stopping at the bottom of your plié, he suggests, feel the energy in the ball of your foot.

Neal says to think of jumping jacks (“You coordinate your arms with the legs, and there’s an energy that doesn’t stop”) or a yo-yo (“A yo-yo goes down, and it may suspend for a second, but it pops back up”). As soon as you land, you should already be thinking about your transition. “That way the energy is not wasted, and there is a coordinated rebound.” Let the music help you, he adds.

Common Mistakes

Neal says he sometimes sees dancers use a rond de jambe to move the legs back and forth, which affects their ability to control their hips and external rotation. Your feet should instead travel in a straight line along the diagonal, from the front corner to the back corner. “It’s not a circular movement,” he says. “Think of it more like a scissor kick or tour jeté action.”

Dancers are also prone to holding their breath, he adds, which increases tension in the port de bras. “I see hands get stiff like a spatula and arms like airplane wings,” he laughs. Try to maintain a fluid, soft quality, in the upper body, “without getting overly wrist-y,” says Neal. To find a balance, he often tells students to imagine petting a dog so that they use a soft palm and elbow.

Movement Quality

When you picture brisé volé, you might immediately think of the Bluebird coda from Sleeping Beauty, or of the male variation from Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations. Neal says you can’t underestimate how you present your head and bend your body. “Think about the quality and what it’s going to look like to people who don’t know ballet,” he says. “I say to my students: ‘Now we’re going to brisé volé…and we’re going to enjoy it!’ ”