plié
/ˈpliːeɪ
/Ballet
noun
A movement in which a dancer bends the knees and straightens them again, usually with the feet turned right out and heels firmly on the ground.Budding ballet stars who want to practise their pirouettes and pliés with dancing star Wayne Sleep will have the chance this Sunday....
- He stands in a wide plié, then shifts his weight to one knee.
- A juicy plié will soften your landings and impel your take-off.
verb [no object]
Perform a plié: Krishtof would raise me, then plié round me...
- Claiming to have understood that ‘dancing was going to be my life’ by the time she was a teenager, she can plié astoundingly well and has been performing with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal for the past three years.
- He can pirouette and plié with the best of them but he needs professional help to dance his way to the top.
- On the first day I couldn't plié and my foot didn't stretch properly, but all I could do was pretend that I had never done ballet before in my life.
Origin
French, literally 'bent', past participle of plier (see also ply1).