Why “entrechat” is a great word
ENTRECHAT — [Noun] A vertical leap in classical ballet where the dancer, while airborne, rapidly crosses and beats the feet together multiple times. From French entrechat, from Italian (capriola) intrecciata ("interlaced jump"), from in- ("in") + treccia ("plait, braid"). Unlike a sissonne, which opens decisively to travel through space, or a changement, a simple swap of the feet's positions, the entrechat is a virtuosic, percussive argument of the limbs in mid-air. It is the sharp whisper of satin shoes striking like a muffled bell, the fleeting lattice of limbs seen in a strobe-lit instant, the body writing a perfect glyph in zero-point space—a brief, brilliant knot tied in the fabric of time, undone the instant gravity calls it back.