Learn échappé sauté: jump from fifth position into second or fourth and back. With build-up, landing in plié and the rule for pointe shoes explained.
The honest answer to “What is an échappé?”: it is a jump in which your feet “escape” from fifth position (échapper = to escape) – straight into second or fourth position – and close back into fifth with the next jump. In échappé sauté you jump; in échappé relevé you rise to demi-pointe; on pointe it is only danced with your teacher’s approval.
Why do you learn it early? It trains the two things every jump needs: plié as suspension and landing in a controlled position. It is a technique step and a safety step at once.
The comparison of positions is interesting. A study with 27 professional dancers compared jumps in five foot positions: the ankle is loaded differently in each, and in fourth position the rotational power at the ankle was twice as high as in all others [2]. Second and fourth are not the same, even if they look similar to the eye. For you that means: start with second.
How hard is it really? The step sequence sits after an hour. Straight legs in the air, a quiet landing and clean positions take weeks (rule of thumb, no study evidence).
Stand in fifth position. Go into a soft demi-plié: both heels on the floor, knees over the toes, pelvis centred. The plié is your spring. Milestone: you plié deeply enough that the thighs press outward without the heel lifting.
You push off with both feet. In the air the legs stretch and open into second position, feet about one stride apart. The torso stays upright. It is not about height but about length and line.
You land successively on toes, ball, heel and go into demi-plié. Heels are down, knees over toes. If you land hard, the jump is too high or the plié too small. For context: a study of 13 collegiate dancers found that two-footed jumping from a neutral foot position was higher than from turnout [3]. The position costs a bit of height – a reason to practise the jump low.
You push off again. The legs close in the air (right leg front or back, as instructed) and land in fifth in demi-plié. The closing stays straight, not crossed and splayed.
Only when second position is secure do you move to fourth: one foot length between the feet, one in front, one behind. The study of professionals shows that the ankle works differently there [2]. Increase slowly, no all-out jumps.
The échappé has landings, and landings are the load. Practise on a floor that gives and always with plié. A build-up helps: Haber and Schärli show that load rises in the order relevé, relevé with jump intention, sauté; two-footed is easier than one-footed [1]. Go through these stages before you pile up jumps. Stop immediately at pain in the ankle, knee or shin.
Échappé sur les pointes (on pointe) is only with your teacher’s approval. A review shows that topple, airplane, sauté and relevé tests give better indications of pointe readiness than age alone, best together with strength, flexibility and the teacher’s judgement [4]. This description explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Listen to your landing. Quiet is right. Ask someone to listen with closed eyes, or record the sound with your phone: every dull thud is a landing mistake. If you land more quietly without slowing down, your plié is right. (Practical experience, no study evidence.)
Échappé means “escaped”. The feet “escape” fifth position and open straight into second or fourth position, then close again. It exists jumped (sauté), on demi-pointe (relevé) and, with the teacher’s approval, on pointe.
In échappé sauté you jump and land in plié. In échappé relevé you rise to demi-pointe without jumping and move into second or fourth position. The sauté demands landing technique, the relevé balance.
Only after your teacher’s approval. Sauté and relevé tests, strength, flexibility and the teacher’s assessment together count for more than age alone [4]. Pointe work without approval raises the risk of foot and ankle problems.
Because the ankle works differently there: in professional dancers the rotational power at the ankle was twice as high in jumps in fourth position than in the other positions [2]. Build security in second first and increase slowly.
Two to three times a week at the end of the warm-up, eight to ten clean jumps each, is enough to start (rule of thumb, no study evidence). Increase only when the landing stays quiet.
Assemblé: When the Legs Meet in the Air