Dance to Success: Ace the Cecchetti Grade 1 Exam 2026 with Confidence!

The key difference is how much the foot leaves the floor. In a tendu, the working foot slides along the floor from the starting position to fully pointed, staying in contact with the floor the entire time. In a dégagé, the same outward path is performed, but the foot releases from the floor a brief amount, creating a small gap—about a few inches, commonly described as 4–6 inches—before returning to the floor.

This small lift in dégagé trains control, line, and the ability to prepare for elevation, while still maintaining turnout, point, and alignment. Tendu builds a clean, continuous line along the floor, emphasizing extension and precise contact with the floor and toe. The other options misstate the movement: one suggests the tendu lifts the foot, which it does not; another likens dégagé to a hop or jump, which are off the floor beyond the brief lift in dégagé; and another implies turnout is absent in dégagé, whereas turnout is involved in both.