Ballon

Ballon

Pronunciation: ba-lawn
Translation: to bounce

Ballon means “to bounce,” and in ballet refers to a dancer showing lightness and ease in jumps.  Ballon describes the quality of jump, not the height.  A ballet dancer who has great ballon would appear to pause at the height of a jump before descending and landing.  Ballon also makes jumps easier overall, because to have great ballon means you must quickly engage your muscles and maintain suspension in the air.  This means your muscle function  is very efficient and functional when jumping.