Maintaining a safe, aligned knee during an extended leg movement relies on a long, clean line from hip to toe. The knee should be straight but not locked, because a locked knee loses control and can compress the joint; a slight softness keeps the supporting muscles active to guide the leg. The patella should track over the toes, showing the knee stays in line with the foot and avoids inward or outward drift. Turnout from the hip is essential to position the thigh correctly and guide the knee in the same plane as the foot, reducing stress on ligaments. Bending the knee or loosening turnout would disrupt the extended line, while a rigid torso that ignores turnout makes it harder to maintain proper alignment. This combination keeps the knee protected and the leg properly extended.

Tendu en l’air means the leg is fully stretched and raised off the floor, held in a straight line from the hip to the toe with the foot pointed. This is about the position of the leg you create when it’s elevated, not the surface you’re on. In Grade 1 Cecchetti, you’re aiming for the leg to reach a height where the hip can support a fully extended line, often described as hip height or about 90 degrees. That’s why the description matches a stretched point in the air with the leg lifted to that height. The other options describe either the foot staying on the ground, or only partial elevation, or the activity location rather than the actual leg position.

In Cecchetti, these terms describe the height of the arms (and the body) during movements. En bas means low or down by the body, while en haut means high or overhead. This is about elevation, not tempo or direction. For example, you’d hold the arms in bras en bas as the resting, low position and raise them to en haut when the arms are lifted overhead. The other ideas—tempo, up/down as opposite to what en bas/en haut mean, or front/back—don’t fit these phrases.

Pas de chat is a small, quick jump with a cat-like feel. The idea is to mimic the swift, chasing motion of a cat: both feet leave the ground, the feet “pass” each other in the air, and the dancer lands on the opposite foot. From fifth position with a light demi-plié, you brush one leg to the knee of the other leg, then the second leg follows to meet it in the air, finishing on the landing foot. This step emphasizes light, controlled turnout and the rapid, compact footwork that gives the characteristic cat-like image. Other terms describe different ideas: coupé is a specific foot position, not a jump; dessus refers to an over-crossing or over- movement in various steps; and jeté devant et derrière is a larger leap traveling front and back. None of those capture the distinctive quick, passing foot action of the cat step.