2 3 Wacky Wednesday Sissonne and Scissors | Ballet Webb

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Wacky Wednesday Sissonne and Scissors




Wacky Wednesday Sissonne and Scissors

The word “sissonne” doesn’t mean “scissor”. The French word for scissors is “cisuaex”, which means either “a scissor kick” or a “chisel”. So the confusion is understandable. So what does “sissonne” mean? It is the name of the person who is believed to have invented the step. Isn’t it interesting that the inventor’s name should be so similar to a word that accurately describes the movement of the balletic step?  Hmmmmm. Truth is stranger than fiction, once again.

Like a pair of scissors, a sissonne jumps from two feet, the legs open in the air, and the dancer lands on one foot. The other foot may or may not close (that is a discussion for another day).

So who was the inventor? It is believed that a man named François César de Roussy, count of Sissonne, a 17th century French nobleman, is the one who created the step.

Isn’t ballet fun?

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #15x:  
 “A sissonne acts like a pair of scissors, but that is not the meaning of the word.”

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“History isn't about dates and places and wars. It's about the people who fill the spaces between them.”
Jodi Picoult, The Storyteller

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1 comment:

  1. The correct spelling of the French word is "ciseaux".

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