What does chasse mean?
A chasse is a gliding dance step used extensively in ballet, ballroom, and social dancing, in which one foot moves toward the other and then the second foot slides away in the direction of travel, creating a smooth, skimming motion across the floor. In notation it is typically written with its French acute accent as "chassé", reflecting its origin in the vocabulary of classical French dance. Dancers perform chasses both as travelling steps that cover ground gracefully and as connecting movements between more elaborate figures such as turns and leaps. Beyond the dance studio, the word has an older, largely historical sense referring to a hunt or pursuit of game, a meaning preserved mainly in heraldry and antiquarian writing. Both senses descend from the French verb "chasser", meaning to chase, so the word shares ancestry with the everyday English verb "chase" — a fitting lineage for a step in which each foot appears to pursue the other.
A gliding dance or ballet step in which one foot is drawn to the other, which then slides away in the same direction.
"The corps de ballet swept through a sequence of chasses before the grand adagio."
Often spelled "chassé" in dance literature.
To perform a chasse; to glide using this step.
"She chassed lightly across the rehearsal room floor."
Verb use is confined almost entirely to dance instruction and criticism.
(Chiefly historical) A hunt; the pursuit of wild animals.
"The tapestry depicted a royal chasse in the forest."
Now rare; encountered mostly in historical or heraldic contexts.
The plural follows regular English formation; the accented spelling "chassés" is preferred in formal dance contexts.
"The routine was built from a series of quick chasses."
The ballet step "chasse" literally means "chased" in French — one foot literally chasing the other across the floor.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chasse
"Chasse" comes from French "chassé", the past participle of "chasser", meaning "to chase", adopted into English in the nineteenth century as part of the standard French terminology of classical ballet. The French verb itself derives from Late Latin "captiare", meaning to hunt or pursue, which also yielded the English words "chase", "catch", and "purchase", making them distant relatives of this elegant little dance step.
Related word forms
How chasse is actually used
In dance contexts the word is usually written with an acute accent as "chassé", though the unaccented form "chasse" is widely accepted in English texts. The term belongs primarily to the specialized vocabulary of ballet, ballroom, and other partner dancing, so it carries a somewhat technical register outside those circles.
Easily confused with chasse
"Chase" means to pursue something, while "chasse" is a gliding dance step — they share a French root but mean entirely different things.